Mary Hall

1 week ago | gpb.org | Mary Hall

The Middle Georgia State University School of Aviation will receive a $2.5 million grant thanks to the Delta Air Lines Foundation, enabling more students to study to become pilots. The funds will provide scholarships to graduates of Clayton County's 12 public high schools who show "aptitude for aviation," MGA said in a release. Delta considers the county to be a pipeline for future airline workers due to its proximity to Delta's headquarters and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

2 weeks ago | wbez.org | Natalie Y. Moore |Mary Hall

Soap operas are the foundation of American television storytelling — and their roots sprouted right here in Chicago. From its early radio days in the 1930s to streaming today, soaps have endured by telling intergenerational family stories. Their unique immersive storytelling embraced the sexual revolution and told complex stories centered on women, well before primetime touched these subjects. This genre and its conception goes back to one Chicagoan: the “Queen of Soaps,” Irna Phillips.

2 months ago | wbez.org | Mary Hall |Erin Allen

Pashae Johnson found her courage to change her life not in one exciting moment, but in the mundane and routine. “I had my laptop in this chair … bingeing myself to death on a weekend, unless I had to work,” she recalled, standing in a bedroom just big enough for a dresser, twin bed and west-facing window. Johnson is a bright and soft-spoken woman, but you get the feeling she will accomplish whatever she’s determined to do. “I learned that about myself,” she said. “I’m a homebody.

2 months ago | wbez.org | Micah Yason |Mary Hall

When Clarissa Aljentera wanted to teach her 6-year-old son about the impact of Filipinos in Chicago, she ended up in what some might consider an unusual place: A re-creation of a boxcar from the historic Pullman Company, where train porters served luxury travelers beginning in the 1880s. “Some of the images that we see here on the wall, there’s someone who is helping a passenger get ready for bed. There’s someone who’s folding what maybe looks like linen,” Aljentera said.

Jan 15, 2025 | wbez.org | Alex Degman |Susie An |Erin Allen |Mary Hall

World’s largest ball of twine; the state’s biggest rocking chair; “mystery spots.” For many drivers, roadside attractions are a much-welcome stop on an otherwise long and monotonous road trip. But they are so much more for Violet Fox, who was born in Decatur and has an extra appreciation for Illinois’ lesser-known landmarks. “I love getting out and seeing all of these really fun, unique, beautiful, exciting, interesting, kitschy things that we have around the state,” Fox said.