OTL #1,005: Funkytown Beer expands, Paying musicians what they’re owed, New music from Gina Marie and The Golden Bucks
Release Date: 01/17/2026
OTL #1,006: Borderless Magazine tells the story of immigrants in Chicago, The connection between school attendance and successful students
Outside the Loop RADIO
Mike Stephen learns about ’s work of telling the immigrant story in Chicago from co-founder and executive director Nissa Rhee and then chats with Meril Antony, senior research analyst at the UChicago Consortium on School Research, about looking at the link between school attendance and successful students.
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OTL #1,005: Funkytown Beer expands, Paying musicians what they’re owed, New music from Gina Marie and The Golden Bucks
Outside the Loop RADIO
Mike Stephen talks to Richard Bloomfield and Zachary Day, the owners of Chicago’s , about their expansion plans, chats with owner/operator Donnie Biggins about how that venue properly pays their artists, and chats with about her new music.
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OTL #1,004: Wage theft in Illinois, A look at the state’s fiscal health
Outside the Loop RADIO
Mike Stephen talks to senior investigative reporter Alejandra Cancino to learn how wage theft of workers continues in Illinois and then gets the lowdown on that examines the fiscal health of the state from senior policy advisor Paula Worthington.
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OTL #1,003: A look back at 2025
Outside the Loop RADIO
Mike Stephen takes a look back at some highlights of the show from 2025. Happy New Year from your friends at Outside the Loop!
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OTL #1,002: A college in degree in Illinois can go a long way, The Secret History of Kitty Haywood
Outside the Loop RADIO
Mike Stephen discusses a new report that shows a college degree is the most promising path to a good job in Illinois with bureau chief Becky Vevea and then discovers the Secret History of 20th century soul vocalist .
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OTL #1,001: Straight Outta Skokie, Creative Cypher's Chicago entertainment ecosystem
Outside the Loop RADIO
Mike Stephen talks to Al Krockey, the author of a new book about coming of age in the 1960s and 70s in Skokie and Chicago called , and then learns about the plans has for building an entertainment ecosystem in Chicago from founder Troy Pryor and interim president Cindy Beasley.
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OTL #1,000: The 1,000th episode live from Fitzgerald’s!
Outside the Loop RADIO
Mike Stephen hosts his 1,000th episode of Outside the Loop at Fitzgerald’s Nightclub! Guests include: -Will Duncan and Jess King, owners of -Dominic Pacyga, professor emeritus of history at Columbia College Chicago and author of -Steve Krakow (aka: Plastic Crimewave), local musician and author of -Holley Brandchaft-White and Genia Yovankin, founders of -Surprise guest: , co-founder and former producer of Outside the Loop and current producer at
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OTL #999: The new editor in chief of the Chicago Reader, How are CPS students doing after they graduate?, New Holiday music from Kevin Brown
Outside the Loop RADIO
Mike Stephen talks to , the new editor in chief of the , about the future of the paper, discusses with the To&Through Project director of data and research Alexandra Usher, and gets the lowdown on new Holiday music from local guitarist .
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OTL #998: Rethinking housing in Chicago and beyond, The Robert Townsend Pop-Up Film Fest, Public transit reliability
Outside the Loop RADIO
Mike Stephen learns about from UIC architecture professor Alexander Eisenschmidt, chats with actor and director Robert Townsend about , and re-visits a segment on local public transit reliability.
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OTL #997: Local journalism ethics in a time of ICE occupation, New music from These Peaches, The Haitian American Museum of Chicago
Outside the Loop RADIO
Mike Stephen discusses the role of local journalists during a time of local ICE occupation with publisher Justin Kerr, gets the lowdown on new music from the local band from frontman Rich Klevgard, and learns about the significance of the from founder and CEO Elsie Hernandez. AND...come out to Fitzgerald's at 6615 W. Roosevelt Rd. in Berwyn on Saturday, November 22, at 3:00 p.m. for the Outside the Loop 1,000th episode taping! It's a FREE event, but you need to RSVP using .
info_outlineMike Stephen talks to Richard Bloomfield and Zachary Day, the owners of Chicago’s Funkytown Beer, about their expansion plans, chats with Robert's Westside owner/operator Donnie Biggins about how that venue properly pays their artists, and chats with Gina Marie DeGregorio about her new music.