News About the Show
Bulls Blogging 09.22.07
Aaron and a few friends have a blog! Step on over to http://www.thankyouisiah.blogspot.com for endless speculation about the Chicago Bulls.
!!! 08.29.07
Emily is now a staff reporter for the Daily Southtown!
Rebroadcast on Wakeup Call 06.26.06
Our interview with Indian labor activists Ashim Roy and Anannya Bhattacharjee was recently rebroadcast on WBAI in New York City. The weekday morning show Wakeup Call, hosted by Deepa Fernandes, will be occasionally airing some Fire on the Prairie content. The 6 a.m. segment of the archive for Tuesday June 20th contains the rebroadcast.
Learn Something More Today 05.12.06
This month’s show featured Kaveh Ehsani, Juan Torres and Anthony Arnove. To read Ehsani’s work, check out the Middle East Report at the Web site of the Middle East Research and Information Project. To learn more about the organization that Torres belongs to, visit Gold Star Families for Peace. The publisher of Anthony Arnove’s new book The Logic of Withdrawal is the New Press. Former Fire on the Prairie guest Howard Zinn wrote the introduction.
Fire on the Paper 04.27.06
Not to toot our own horns, but rather to fill you in on some of our activities outside of producing our monthly show, Aaron and I have a few bits of new writing out there in the world. Aaron’s review of past guest Heather Rogers’ book Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage was recently published in the Brooklyn Rail. I wrote a news piece for the latest issue of In These Times about Exxon Mobil, the IRS and Greenpeace. Let us know what you think….
Astounding Circus Punk Marching Band 02.13.06
We don’t normally credit the songs we use as transitions for the show, but when we appropriate from friends we like to give them a little shout out. The song we use under the end of show credits is from the awesomely great Chicago band Mucca Pazza. Visit them at Mucca-Pazza.org to find out more and hear a few of their tunes.
Fire in the ‘Burbs 02.13.06
Fire on the Prairie has just debuted on a new community station—88.9 FM WMXM. WMXM broadcasts from the campus of Lake Forest College in the north suburbs of Chicago. If you would like to bring Fire to your community, please email us at or give us a call at (773) 772-0100, ext. 240. We’d be glad to provide you with audio for your station. We know a monthly half-an-hour show is hard to fit into some stations’ programming schedules, but have worked out a variety of arrangements with our broadcasters and would be glad to find something that works for you. Also, if you are using audio from our site to play on your show, please let us know. We won’t be mad, we’ll just be happy to know how and where we’re reaching people!
Resources for the Current Show 01.10.06
Learn more about Letters from Young Activists at their Web site. Read “commentary, analysis and investigations on issues affecting African Americans” at the Black Commentator. Check out Jessica Pupovac’s article on Citgo and the CTA at the NewStandard News. Also, you can read about the aftermath of the story, also posted on the site.
Join the Shopocalypse 12.15.05
To learn more about Rev. Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping—featured on this month’s show—and to find out if the Shopocalypse tour is coming to a city near you this holiday season, visit their Web site. Rev. Billy also has a book out on the New Press called What Should I Do If Reverend Billy is in My Store? To learn more about Heather Rogers book Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage, also on New Press, click here. Find Andrea Smith’s book Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide at South End Press.
White-collar Workers of the World Unite! 11.15.05
In this month’s interview with Barbara Ehrenreich, she mentions that her Web site is now a forum for professionals suffering the brunt of corporate downsizing, for people having the kind of experiences she documents in Bait and Switch. The site nickelanddimed.net is a place to share and read real-world tales of white-collar unemployment and job insecurity. It also provides opportunities for community networking. The idea is to generate alternatives to the dead-end “networking” events out there for unemployed professionals looking for work (or, even worse, church sermons advertised as networking opportunities).
A Good Old-fashioned Barnraising 11.02.05
On the weekend of November 11-13 the Prometheus Radio Project (of the famous Prometheus Radio Project v. the FCC) will be holding a barnraising in Champaign-Urbana (that’s downstate Illinois) for Radio Free Urbana, WRFU 104.5 FM. It’s sure to be a rollicking good time, with tons of workshops for all you radio geeks out there. Aaron will be participating in a panel on Sunday with our friends Julie Shapiro and Roman Mars, radio producers with the show re:sound and the Third Coast International Audio Festival. I’m crossing my fingers that my busy schedule will allow me make it down to the beautiful land of corn and cows to participate in the panel. Either way, the weekend should be a smashing time for all those contributing to the construction of the brand-spanking new independent community station. Viva Prometheus!
Fire in AREA 10.06.05
Folks, we have finally arrived! Check out our interview in the new Chicago-focused art/education/activism magazine AREA. You can say you knew us when we were in the little league!
Arab Voices 09.24.05
After much ado, you can read Andrew Stelzer’s profile of Samar Damash-Jarrah, which appeared in the last edition of In These Times. Jarrah is the author of Arab Voices Speak to American Hearts.
As Promised…. 09.16.05
Read Aaron’s review of Howard Zinn’s Voices of a People’s History of the United States. You can also listen to an interview with Zinn on this archived edition of Fire on the Prairie.
Notes on the New Show 09.14.05
On this episode we include a contribution from reporter and anchor Andrew Stelzer from WMNF 88.5 FM in Tampa, Florida. Andrew interviews Samar Dahmash-Jarrah, author of the new book Arab Voices Speak to American Hearts. You can participate in the dialogue by visiting Jarrah’s Web site (click on her book title). On September 23rd, you can also read Andrew’s profile of Jarrah, which appeared in the latest edition of In These Times, on the Web. To learn more about the journalist to whom Amy Goodman refers in her speech—George Weller, who was the first reporter to enter Nagasaki after the dropping of the A-bomb—check out this article in Editor and Publisher. Also listen to the interview Goodman did with Weller’s son Anthony on Democracy Now! I tried to find the text of Weller’s up-til-then unpublished report on the Web site of Mainichi Shimbun, the Japanese paper that bought the story when Anthony Weller couldn’t find an American paper to do so, but I couldn’t. If anyone reading this knows where to find the text in English online, please drop me an e-mail at .
End of Summer Dispatch 08.18.05
We haven’t posted any news in awhile, caught up as we have been with work and squeezing in time to enjoy the few fine-weather months in Chicago. Here’s a round-up…. The latest episode of the show has now been posted on Alternet. Adding a comment on Alternet is a great way to tell us what you think of the show if you’re too shy to e-mail us directly. I’ve been busy with another of my jobs at the national news and culture magazine Punk Planet. You can read an excerpt of one of my latest contributions—an interview with documentary filmmaker Liz Nord, who just made a movie about punk rock in Israel—here. Aaron’s review of Howard Zinn’s book Voices of a People’s History of the United States will appear in the upcoming issue of In These Times. I’ll post a link to the story as soon as it’s online. Finally, Aaron and I were interviewed for the debut issue of AREA magazine. AREA should be out in September. —Emily P.S. For Chicago-area folks…. The Daily Meaning: Life Inside America’s Service Industries exhibit at the Peace Museum opens on September 2nd. (Listen to the interview with curator Ben Calhoun here.) Some of the audio from the show will also air on WBEZ.
After Party 07.27.05
The 21st birthday party of Fire on the Prairie was a smashing success. Our friends and supporters converged on the offices of In These Times for beer, food and conversation last Friday evening. We managed to finish off the keg in a great effort of collective peoplepower. It just goes to show what we can accomplish when we all work together! Thanks to all those who attended and made the party a fun celebration.
Fire Turns 21! 07.08.05
In celebration of producing our 21st show, we at Fire on the Prairie are going to do what any upstanding 21-year-old would do: drink beer! Join us at In These Times HQ for a keg party (what else?), snacks, prizes, radio theater and good times. The skinny: July 22nd, 8 PM at 2040 N. Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. For more information, call (773) 772-0100, ext. 240, or e-mail .
Fire on Alternet! 06.30.05
Fire on the Prairie is now being featured on Alternet’s new multimedia section. Check it out and leave your comments about the latest edition of the show!
Allied Media Conference Workshop 06.14.05
On Saturday June 18th we’ll be presenting a panel workshop on radio production at the Allied Media Conference in Bowling Green, Ohio. Our friend and radio producer extraordinaire Catherine Komp will be presenting with us. Catherine is a news producer and reporter in Syracuse, New York, and Media Editor of Clamor Magazine. We look forward to meeting those of you who will be attending the conference. Stop by the In These Times table in the exhibit hall and get a free Fire on the Prairie button.
Invisible Labor 05.26.05
On Thursday June 2nd, we’ll be co-moderating a panel at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago. The topic is “Invisible Labor: How Art Speaks the Language of Labor.” The event is co-sponsored by the Public Square at the Illinois Humanities Council and the Neighborhood Writing Alliance. Participants include John Langford, a musician best known for his work with the band The Mekons; Jeff Manes, who has written about his life as a steelworker; Ben Calhoun, Deputy Director of News at WBEZ; James Thindwa, Executive Director of Chicago Jobs with Justice; Jamie Owen Daniel, labor scholar and activist. There will be readings from the Neighborhood Writing Alliance, a slide show presentation of Ben Calhoun’s photojournalism project on workers in the service industry; and music by John Langford. Please join us from 6-8 PM in the Pritzker Auditorium for this event. For more information, follow this link.
Show Your Love…. 05.06.05
Fire on the Prairie now has delightful little 1-inch buttons, made by our friends at Busy Beaver Buttons. Dress up any outfit and show your love for progressive radio by sporting one of our pins—featuring our flaming microphone logo! We’ll send you one if you send us a nice e-mail (our addresses are on the “About the Show” section of the site). You can also contact us via postal mail at:
Fire on the Prairie, c/o In These Times, 2040 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL 60647
Accolades for the Latest Show 04.19.05
We have received a really gratifying response to the profile of Teatro Americano we produced for our most recent broadcast from many members of Teatro cast.
I really loved the story you did on our theatre group. It really captured the essence of what we’re trying to accomplish and what drives our push for an innovative approach to social organizing for positive change in our community. It’s stories like this that tend to fall by the wayside in today’s corporate-controlled media, but need to be told. Thank you for giving voice to the voiceless with your program and keep on fighting for justice on the media front. Sincerely, Sergio Hernandez Jr. (cast member, sound engineer, community activist, etc. etc.)This kind of feedback really encourages us to keep on keepin’ on! Thanks to the Teatro volunteers, and to anyone else who takes the time to drop us a line about the show.
New Broadcast Outlet 04.14.05
Fire on the Prairie is now being broadcast on WNYM, an online radio station based in Buffalo, NY. Check out the WNYM site at www.wnymedia.net.
Enjoy our fancy new web site! 02.18.05
In addition to our archive of past shows we’re now available for podcasting. Hook it up! You can also sign up for our email updates and we’ll let you know about new shows and news.
