Chicago Ideas Week 2015

Chicago Ideas Week 2015

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Chicago Ideas is a movement built on one core belief:  When a broad spectrum of thinkers and instigators share ideas, we have the power to transform our world. A week of thought provoking conversations and talks from influential figures begins October 12th and runs through October 18th.

This year’s event features political, cultural and business minds like Michael Strahan, Martha Stewart, Gen. (Ret.) David Petraeus, Common, Judy Smith, Tom Arnold and many more!

A full list of scheduled events can be found, here.

We recommend the following events which feature WBEZ speakers.

A City Divided: Reimagining the Future of Race in Chicago
Chicago is one of the most diverse cities in the U.S. It’s also the most segregated. In a Conversation that goes beyond the headlines, experts take on our city’s past, present and future.

What to expect: Maria Krysan, Natalie Moore, Report at WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, Gary Slutkin, Diane Latiker and Marisa Novara on Chicago’s continued struggle to integrate

Food As Medicine
You go to your doctor’s for a routine check-up, and come out with a prescription—for fruits and vegetables. Culinary medicine stands poised to revolutionize the medical field and alter the way doctors and patients approach pervasive chronic health conditions and disease. Join a physician, policy expert and chefs for a discussion of how food can be used as medicine, with the potential to control and change the path of a disease.

What to expect: Dr. Geeta Maker-Clark on taking your health—and diet—into your own hands; Rebecca Katz on cooking dinners that fight cancer; Michel Nischan on ensuring every community has fresh, local food; Monica Eng, Producer at WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, on food policy and health.

The State of Mental Health in America
One in five adults in America experience a mental illness. Yet the national conversation on mental health is often shrouded in secrecy rather than illuminated by medical fact. CIW invites experts to dive into the realities of mental illness and its impact on the individual and the community.

What to expect: Patrick Kennedy on how his own struggles with mental illness shaped his view of public policy; Dr. Nneka Jones Tapia on using her experiencing as a clinical psychologist to lead the Cook County Department of Corrections; Dr. Thomas Insel, the director of the National Institute of Mental Health, on the link between genetics and mental illness; Shannon Heffernan, Reporter at WBEZ Chicago Public Radio.