Afternoon Shift Book Club: ‘All Our Names’
Love, war and loneliness are three of the threads that run throughout our Afternoon Shift Book Club selection for May. We always pick books that involve Chicago or are by Chicagoans. Our May selection, “All Our Names,”  is really more of a story about the Midwest.  The book centers around two young men in Kampala and the story of how one of them, Isaac, emigrates to the Midwest in the 1970s. Isaac’s past of violence and looming civil war in Uganda are interspersed with his present relationship with his social worker, Helen, in the small town he has been relocated to. It’s the third novel by Ethiopian born, Peoria-raised author Dinaw Mengestu who joins us from New York.

Guest: Dinaw Mengestu is a writer, novelist and author of ‘All Our Names.’

How books become musicals
Phantom of the Opera, Les Mis, Wicked, even Cats! What do of all these well-known musicals have in common? They’re all based on books. We all know what it’s like when one of our favorite books is turned into a movie but translating the page into a musical presents a special set of challenges. WBEZ’s General Admission co-hosts Tyler Greene and Don Hall join us along with Doug Peck, Music Director of the Secret Garden which runs at the Court Theatre through June 21.

Guests:

• Tyler Greene is a co-host of WBEZ’s General Admissions.
• Don hall is a co-host of WBEZ’s General Admissions.
• Doug Peck is Musical Director of the Secret Garden.

Stalled CTA development impacts property owners in Lakeview
The Chicago Transit Authority has been kicking around development plans for a new Brown line flyover north of the Belmont stop in Lakeview for nearly a year. CTA says the new track would speed up travel times for Red and Purple line commuters and reduce overcrowding on trains. Property owners in the area say the longer the city continues to stall, the more the uncertainty of the situation is costing them. Crain’s Chicago Business reporter Dennis Rodkin has been following the story and joins us with details.

Guest: Dennis Rodkin is a Crain’s Chicago Business reporter.

Chicago youth organize rally for climate change
Chicago Public School students from all over the city organized Thursday at the Thompson Center to send a message to Illinois lawmakers about climate change. But before the rally kicked off, we spoke to two youth activists: Eve Robinson is a student at Whitney Young, and Maria Sanchez is from Northside College Prep. 

Guests:

• Eve Robinson is a Whitney Young student.
• Maria Sanchez is a Northside College Prep student.

Bulls fire coach Thibs, Blackhawks stay alive
The drama is over for now former-Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau. The Bulls announced the firing of Coach Thibs on Thursday. The Blackhawks won big Wednesday night forcing the Western Conference championship series to a game 7 on Saturday in Anaheim. WBEZ sports contributor Cheryl Raye-Stout joins us with the latest.

Guest: Cheryl Raye-Stout is WBEZ’s sports contributor.

Tech Shift: Summer STEM resources for Chicago’s kids
All week on Tech Shift we’re talking about opportunities for kids to boost their  STEM skills over the summer. WBEZ digital producer and co-host of the Nerdette podcast, Tricia Bobeda, joins us in studio with some science, engineering, technology and math resources Chicago once school lets out. 

Guest: Tricia Bobeda is a WBEZ digital producer and co-host of the Nerdette podcast.

Proposal to help curb heroin overdoses moves to Illinois Senate
On May 27, the House took a break from budget negotiations for a few minutes to unanimously approve a proposal to help heroin addicts. The proposal is modeled from a  program in DuPage County that requires police officers to carry a drug called Narcan. That drug helps save the lives of heroin addicts who have overdosed. DuPage County Coroner Rich Jorgensen explains.

Guest: Rich Jorgensen is the DuPage County Coroner.

Chicago starts to feel the effects of its “junk status” ranking
First, there was Illinois’ pension ruling. Then, the downgrade of Chicago’s debt by Moody’s Investors Service. Two weeks later, the city starts to feel the effects of that downgrade to junk status. A Chicago Tribune analysis shows that the City of Chicago will pay at least $70 million more on a bond deal now that Moody’s has put the city at “junk status,” the lowest tier for credit ratings. That means Chicago will have to pay a lot more money to borrow money, something that’s crucial to operating a municipal government. Joining us with more analysis is Brian Battle, Director at Performance Trust, an investment advisory firm in Chicago. 

Guest: Brian Battle is director at Performance Trust.

FCC considers plan to bridge the broadband divide
Subsidized broadband access may soon become available to the poor. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler shared a plan today with fellow FCC commissioners that would ensure more Americans have fast internet connections. Karen Mossberger is professor and director of the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University. The former UIC professor is still researching digital inequalities in Chicago and she joins us with more on the FCC’s plan.

Guest: Karen Mossberger is professor and director of the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University.