Listen to Hour one of Afternoon Shift

Today on Afternoon Shift we talk about escapes, some literal and some figurative. Steve Edwards talks with Noam Scheiber, author of The Escape Artists, while Jim DeRogatis explains what he’s seen in his escape to SXSW. We’ll talk about basketball; why do so many Illinois players leave the state to play the game? And Paul Weitz gives us a look at his new movie Being Flynn — how far is it from his past work like Little Fockers and About a Boy?

NCAA Recuriting: So many top-tier players come off Chicago courts, but very few of them play their college ball in front of a hometown crowd. ESPN’s Lester Munson, longtime WGN sports reporter Dave Kaplan, and player-turned coach Todd Townsend join us to talk about the madness of college basketball recruiting and why Illinois has no game.

Being Flynn: Steve Edwards speaks with Paul Weitz, the director and writer of the new film, Being Flynn, starring Robert Deniro, Julianne Moore and Paul Dano. The movie is based on the memoir Another Bulls**t Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn.

SXSW DeRo: WBEZ Music Blogger Jim DeRogatis joins us live from South By Southwest in Austin Texas to let us in on some of the musical nuggets he’s witnessed so far, and others that he’s looking forward to in the coming days.

Hudzik/Dems: WBEZ’s Sam Hudzik takes us inside the battle royale taking place in Illinois’ 2^nd congressional district between Jessie Jackson Jr. and Debbie Halvorson. 

Escape Artists: Author Noam Scheiber discusses his new book The Escape Artists, which takes readers inside the White House as President Obama tries to deal with an economy on the verge of collapse.