Shows / Perspectives
Perspectives
Perspectives are commentaries produced by and for WNIJ listeners, from a panel of regular contributors and guests.
Episodes
- Perspectives
Perspective: Puppies, unicorns, fire-breathing dragons
Suzanne Degges-White celebrates (?) the joys of dog ownership.
- Perspectives
Perspective: Goodnight, Beloit College
Svea Jones says goodbye to some of the little things that have made their time as a student at Beloit College transformational.
- Perspectives
Perspective: Resistance and celebration
It's Juneteenth and Joseph Flynn says the holiday deserves celebrating.
- Perspectives
Perspective: Yes, waste time!
Lonny Cain assures you it's OK to waste a little time each day.
- Perspectives
Perspective: My summer watch list
Nothing on TV? Let Paula Garrett make a few suggestions.
- Perspectives
Perspective: Sparkle & shine vs. food divine
Rosie Klepper asks, "Are you a cooker or a cleaner?"
PerspectivesPerspective: Let's find the common ground
Nia Springer Norris says it's important to stand up against injustice — just start on common ground.
- Perspectives
Perspective: Not my clown, not my circus
Saturday, June 14, a military parade is expected in Washington D.C. to celebrate the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary and the President's birthday. Megan Bichon…
PerspectivesPerspective: The forgotten details of history
Frances Jaeger introduces us to Friederich Wilhelm Von Steuben, a man who set the U.S. military on the right path 250 years ago.
- Perspectives
Perspective: The root of all evil
The root of all evil? Taylor Atkins says it's bigger than money.
- Perspectives
Perspective: For the price of a yearly cup of coffee...
The feds are making a dangerous mistake by cutting funding to the nation's weather service, says Andrew Nelson
PerspectivesPerspective: Summer reading lists should be generated by humans, not by A.I.
Frances Jaeger rage-reads against the AI machine to kick off our summer reading list. What's on your list? Share it on social with #WNIJReads
PerspectivesPerspective: The continuing saga of Monty and Rose
We wait with bated breath to see if the next generation of Great Lakes piping plovers will hatch. David Gunkel is keeping an eye on the nest.
PerspectivesPerspective: Getting help with the loss of our dear pet, Betty
Connie Seraphine is comforted by friends after the loss of her dog Betty.
- Perspectives
Perspective: Is Chicago's Pope up to the job?
Wester Wuori ponders what, if anything, it means to have a pope from Chicago.
- Perspectives
Perspective: Thank you!
Have you ever run interference on a lone child darting through a store or airport, so the parent could catch up? Kelli McGee Yugsi wants to say thanks!
- Perspectives
Perspective: It's a bad, not beautiful, budget bill
Deborah Booth says the budget bill doesn't take the health of many Americans into consideration.
PerspectivesPerspective: Surely it couldn't happen here
Rick Brooks asks how we got here politically.
- Perspectives
Perspective: Treating others with dignity is one way to heal America
Dan Kenney supports an idea he says can help heal America.
- Perspectives
Perspective: Sailing away with Yacht Rock
Lindsay Curtis escapes to sunnier days with Dad's favorite tunes.
PerspectivesPerspective: Family estrangement and grandparent alienation
Between Mother's and Father's Days, Suzanne Degges-White looks at how people get through less-than-ideal family situations.
- Perspectives
Perspective: The circus is in town, part II
Lou Ness is critical of our nation's current crop of leaders in a follow-up to a previous Perspective.
- Perspectives
Perspective: Elder, not elderly
Katie Andraski says older women have a lot to offer the world.
- Perspectives
Perspective: The grace of lifelong friends
Marnie O. Mamminga is meeting up with friends from childhood — and there's one thing that's OFF the menu.
- Perspectives
Perspective: A distorted view of 'refugees'
Joseph Flynn shares his thoughts on genocide, land, and apartheid.
- Perspectives
Perspective: A simple sentence
Lonny Cain shares the sentence that changed his life for the better.
- Perspectives
Perspective: It's time to act for endangered species
The Trump administration is on the verge of gutting the Endangered Species Act. Holly Jones says there's still time to weigh in.
PerspectivesPerspective: Coming together over kittens
A stray kitten helps Paula Garrett overcome some big differences with her neighbor.
- Perspectives
Perspective: Liver makes me shiver
What's the worst food? Rosie Klepper knows from experience.
- Perspectives
Perspective: The beauty of our dreams
Amarion Weathersby has known what he wants to be since he was six years old.
PerspectivesPerspective: Raise your voice for AmeriCorps
Ann Wasser says for every dollar spent on it, AmeriCorps provides $34 in value to the community. And that's an investment that needs to be saved.
- Perspectives
Perspective: Homework
Andrew Nelson says an awful lot of people neglected their homework before last year's election.
- Perspectives
Perspective: The digital bar mitzvah
David Gunkel asks the big question: When should a kid get their first phone?
- Perspectives
Perspective: About that book you borrowed...
Kyle White discusses overdue books, the end of the world, and how YOU are part of the problem.
- Perspectives
Perspective: Animal rescuers should give us hope -- and inspiration
Connie Seraphine points out some animal behaviors that put our nation's leaders to shame.
PerspectivesPerspective: Broken but unbowed
It's another big break for Wester Wuori. And he will survive.
- Perspectives
Perspective: Logging and mining National Forests won't solve wildfires
Holly Jones takes a look at who really benefits from recent forestry rule changes.
- Perspectives
Perspective: The strange arc of Russian/American relations
Reed Scherer compares American views on Russia today to what his grandparents lived through.
- Perspectives
Perspective: Celebrate Earth Day by saving money
Bob Babcock of Rockford invites you to learn about Demand Reduction at the Earth Day Energy Expo in Rockford.
- Perspectives
Perspective: Dysfunction at the micro and macro levels
Suzanne Degges-White looks at how dysfunction at home translates into dysfunction in the workplace.
PerspectivesPerspective: The time capsule
Lucy Atkinson opens a gateway to the past and sets one for the future.
PerspectivesPerspective: The love behind the anniversary
Katie Andraski shares an unusual tale to explain 39 years of marriage.
PerspectivesPerspective: The perilous path of tariffs
Bob Evans weighs in on President Trump's use of tariffs.
PerspectivesPerspective: Farmers, food insecurity, and chainsaws
Federal cuts are hitting home in the most basic way, says Kyle White.
- Perspectives
Perspective: I dream of ferries
A visit to Sydney Harbor expands Paula Garrett's horizons.
- Perspectives
Perspective: The bright side of Doomsday
Lori Drummond-Cherniwchan says she learned compassion can rise from the ashes of catastrophe... from a podcast.
- Perspectives
Perspective: From carbon footprint to civic footprint
Worried about your carbon footprint? Thomas Skuzinski says try thinking about your civil footprint.
PerspectivesPerspective: Who are the most evolved politicians?
How do you deal with someone who hasn't evolved as far as they should? Ask Connie Seraphine.
- Perspectives
Perspective: A few words of gratitude
Wester Wuori takes some advice from his wife and accentuates the positive.
PerspectivesPerspective: A reading from George Orwell
Andrew Nelson finds a classic story holds a lot of truth today.
- Perspectives
Perspective: Finding hope in a Tolkien deep-cut
Cody Schmitz finds goodness and love in a classic.
- Perspectives
Perspective: What has your government done for you lately?
The howling winds make Emily McKee wonder what's being swept away — and whether we will let it be taken.
- Perspectives
Perspective: The alarming pile of disregards
Mary Gardner says our government is "disregarding" us.
- Perspectives
Perspective: OK, Betty, you win
Mark Rosie Klepper's words, four-eyes. Age comes for us all.