The BEZ

Playground mishaps, an Afro-Cuban tribute and Persian love emergencies

By: Worldview | Aug. 3, 2012

Aug. 3, 2012

Gruesome Playground Injuries at Rasaka Theatre Company Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m., Sunday at 4:00 p.m.; Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division; Tickets $25, Senior Citizens $20, Students $15

Catch the last three performances of Rajiv Joseph's two-person play about a playground daredevil, a self-harming masochist, and 30 years of cuts, bruises and friendship between them. Steppenwolf graduates Mouzam Makkar and Tim Martin portray Kayleen and Doug, two star-crossed, screwed-up soulmates as they navigate life's injuries.

Rasaka Theatre Company bills itself as the "Midwest's first South Asian American ensemble," but according to Director Lavina Jadhwani this play is "the least South Asian thing we've done so far." Jadhwani pursued the rights to perform the play in Chicago after reading through it on the steps of her back porch and being moved by the “unusual, intimate friendship between two deeply flawed but deeply likable characters.”

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Week in Review: Twitter and NBC, Chick-fil-A and black comic book characters

By: Kate Dries | Aug. 3, 2012

Aug. 3, 2012

Friday on Eight-Forty-Eight, we look back at the week in news with some of Chicago's most in-the-know journalists.

"My film column today highlights a few offerings at the Black Harvest Film Fest, one of which is a documentary about the problematic history of black superheroes in comic books," says the Chicago Tribune's Nina Metz. "It’s really interesting. The first black character to appear in a mainstream comic book was the Black Panther, who joined the Avengers—and nope, The Avengers movie does not include this character; for whatever reason, studios are not casting black men as superheroes. (Which is why that Donald Glover as Spider-Man meme probably didn’t go anywhere.) "

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Bringing art back to the community

By: Alison Cuddy | Aug. 3, 2012

Aug. 3, 2012

This summer WBEZ is embarking on a series of stories and conversations centered around race.  Race: Out Loud aims to ask honest, in-depth questions about how we talk and see race in our nation and in Chicago.
 
As part of the series, Eight Forty-Eight looks at diversity in the arts, and whether there is equal opportunity for artistic production and consumption across metropolitan Chicago.

 

There's been lots of emphasis lately on building up Chicago's cultural profile. At the city, the push is to move arts and culture away from the lakefront and out into the neighborhoods. Some of the ideas, as befits Chicago, are big and bold. Mayor Emanuel has discussed turning Uptown into a music district and Commissioner Michelle Boone (who heads up the city's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events) has mentioned developing "Motor Row," the historic area on Michgan Ave.

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Eight Forty-Eight for 08.03.12

By: Kate Dries | Aug. 3, 2012

Aug. 3, 2012

 

This Friday on Eight-Forty-Eight, we review some big stories from the week with Chicago magazine’s Scott Smith and Chicago Tribune’s Nina Metz. And as part of the series Race: Out Loud, we look at how Chicago’s neighborhoods and institutions support cultural and artistic diversity with Alison Cuddy, the Field Museum’s Alaka Wali and  Michelle Geddes, Event Producer for the Chicago Park District. Plus, music from the von Grey girls fills the hour.
 

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What to watch in your cube, what to watch on your couch

By: Kate Dries | Aug. 3, 2012

Aug. 3, 2012

We know you have a job or school or a life outside of these Olympic games, but it doesn't really feel like it right now, does it? So, like the winners we are, we've outlined a few events you should catch everyday in what we're calling What to Watch in Your Cube/What to Watch on Your Couch (WTWIYC/WTWOYC). All times CDT and we've primarily focused on the USA because, well, where do we live?

Friday, August 3, 2012

Week one wraps up and the tides begin to shift:

  • There's men's trampoline final at 8 a.m. Like, what?
  • Women's preliminary matches for water polo at 12:20 p.m. are Great Britain vs. Italy and China vs.

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The Morning Drive Podcast: Friday

By: Lauren Chooljian | Aug. 3, 2012

Aug. 3, 2012

Good morning!

Welcome to this edition of the Morning Drive Podcast! In today’s episode, we hear 

But first, some news:

►Federal prosecutors on Thursday indicted a one-time top aide to former Cook County Board President Todd Stroger on charges that he solicited $34,700 or more in kickbacks.

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Kofi Annan resigns as U.N. envoy to Syria

John Heilprin of Associated Press and Worldview | Aug. 2, 2012

Aug. 2, 2012

 

Kofi Annan said Thursday he will quit his high-profile role as special envoy to Syria at the end of the month, delivering blistering criticism of world powers' failure to unite to stop the country's escalating violence.

Annan told reporters that when he accepted the job, "which some called 'Mission Impossible'" — he wanted to help the international community, led by the U.N. Security Council, find a peaceful solution to the crisis.

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What the Vatican should learn from corporate America

By: Al Gini | Aug. 2, 2012

Aug. 2, 2012

Even if you are a true believer and a card carrying member of the Catholic Church, you’ve got to be troubled by how the Vatican is responding to the needs and demands of their most dedicated followers – American nuns. The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which represents about 80 percent of women’s Catholic religious orders in the United States, was severely criticized by the Vatican this spring for their lack of “doctrinal commitment and loyalty to the church.” The Vatican is asking, actually demanding, that the nuns unquestionably obey the Church.

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