WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

Have you ever taken a stand on something and then wished maybe you hadn’t done so in a public manner so that you could quietly go back on your word? Because this is me right now, with the Bears. I feel like I just told the world I am giving up chocolate for Lent and the planet’s most delicious brownie is sitting in front of me and Easter is still a month away.

I’m having second thoughts about my plan to boycott the Chicago Bears this season, stemming from my issues with Brandon Marshall’s off-field behavior. I have been good so far: I haven’t tuned into a minute of a single Bears game, not on TV, not on 780-AM (I miss you, Jeff Joniak! You and your Wheaten Terrier), not on real-time Internet scoreboards.

But I’m starting to weaken. And here’s why.

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Inspired by something I saw outside my house yesterday. . .

underwear

mattresses

pizza

synthetic hair*

balloons

*If you need some, though, there is a bunch of it on the corner of Kenmore and Berwyn.

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I was very sad to learn that today's interviewee would be leaving WBEZ. Steve Edwards was the first person to ever interview me at the station. His good nature and professionalism made me, and I'm sure many others, feel comfortable on-air. After over a dozen years with the station and a stint as the host of The Afternoon Shift, last week Edwards took his leave to work at the University of Chicago's new Institute of Politics.

Edwards’ reports and interviews have been honored by the Society of Professional Journalists, the Chicago Headline Club, the RTNDA, the Associated Press, UPI and Public Radio News Directors, Inc., and he earned a National Headliner Club's Grand Award for radio.

I got a little help from Steve's former colleagues, who will miss him, for some of the "deep cut" questions.

Your new job sounds very professional but a little confusing to the sleep-deprived. What will you be doing there, in layman’s terms?

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Forgive me pop culture father, for I have sinned. Mortally.

Confession 1:

I DVR and watch “Toddlers and Tiaras.” I realize that this probably puts me on some sort of creepazoid list.

“T&T” hits a few of my guilty pleasure sweet spots, however: children behaving badly (for some reason whenever I’m out and hear a child throwing a tantrum, I am filled with the desire to go see what the kid looks like. It’s like wanting to see if the person who cut you off in traffic looks as dumb as they are) and grown women behaving badly (hence why I also like “Bridezillas.”)

Most often it’s the mothers who behave badly on “T&T,” or at least are the reason why their children do so. MacKenzie is one of the breakout stars of “T&T” because of her strange blend of brattiness and odd maturity, but if you watch the show regularly, her terrible behavior is obviously a result of her indulgent, somewhat spineless mother. Other times the mothers are clearly trying to live their glory days through their reluctant children, which is truly unfortunate.

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I look good in both black and white.

I have experience speaking into a microphone.

I am not afraid of whistles.

I’m not averse to being on television.

$149,000 per year sounds pretty good to me.

I am used to criticism.

Being near professional athletes seems fun.

I have other places to be so the game won’t drag on for too long.

I’m not afraid to make a tough call, or even a wrong call, because it’s not really my job.

I am blind and on drugs.

I don’t care for the Packers.

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Today I interview Hanna Rosin, the author of the fascinating and provocative new book The End of Men: And the Rise of Women, which explores the shift in power dynamics between men and women and what it means for the future. Rosin is also a senior editor at The Atlantic and a founder and editor at DoubleX, Slate's women's section. You can learn much more about her here.

After completing your book, did you consider changing your parenting tack in order to raise sons who not only do right by themselves but also do right by women (particularly after you worked on your "hookup culture" chapter)?

My concern about raising my sons has more to do with teaching them to meet whatever demands school places on them without making them frustrated or miserable or think they have to be just like girls. I try to be realistic — I can't make my sons into people they're not.

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Today I confessed to my husband that I yelled at the baby.

I’m sure the baby couldn’t hear me, as he was much louder than I was, but what they say about the sound of a baby crying being calculated to a certain pitch that drives you insane is true. I don’t typically yell as a way of expressing frustration but it had been a rough couple of days. Our kid’s not even that bad in terms of crying; most of the time we can figure out what it’s about and, blessedly, most of that time can do something about it.

But our kid hasn't yet figured out how to modulate his requests. Everything is an emergency — dire and desperate — and everything merits a scream at full volume. Somehow this one-month-old doesn’t understand when I tell him, “I will feed you shortly! I just need to finish making your bottle!” He goes from sweet and sleepy to full-blown tantrum, which is hard to handle all day and all night.

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