Natalie Y. Moore

2 months ago | wbez.org | Natalie Y. Moore

Before the mainstreaming of Ellen and the hit show Will and Grace, soaps did their best to bring tenderness to LGBTQ+ storylines. That’s the nature of the form: It gives room for anyone and everyone to be complex, fleshed out, loved and hated all at once. From supporting roles to legacy characters to complex depictions in their full humanity, from respectability politics to sometimes making missteps, soaps have found ways to evolve their depictions of queer life.

2 months ago | wbez.org | Natalie Y. Moore

Public transportation is as essential to me as Harold’s fried chicken or Stony Island Avenue, singing the Andriana Furs jingle or memories of Marshall Field’s on State Street. I grew up taking Chicago Transit Authority buses and trains. Still do. We are a CTA family whether going to work, festivals, airports, museums or for croissants in Old Town. My brother uses Pace buses weekly. Trekking to summer Ravinia concerts via Metra is easier than driving.

2 months ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Natalie Y. Moore

Public transportation is as essential to me as Harold’s fried chicken or Stony Island Avenue, singing the Andriana Furs jingle or memories of Marshall Field’s on State Street. I grew up taking Chicago Transit Authority buses and trains. Still do. We are a CTA family whether going to work, festivals, airports, museums or for croissants in Old Town. My brother uses Pace buses weekly. Trekking to summer Ravinia concerts via Metra is easier than driving.

2 months ago | wbez.org | Natalie Y. Moore

According to an executive at CBS, Black women overindex as soap watchers, which has led to the first new daytime soap in decades. Beyond the Gates debuted with a core Black family in February 2025. It’s an exciting time to be a Black soap fan. Even though there’s been Black representation, Black writers and actors have often had to push to be more than sidekicks, according to soap writer Shannon Peace. “You see the faces; they’re there,” Peace said. “But what are the storylines?

2 months 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.