1/29/2010
We Were Also There

Listen to the recollections of friends of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This symposium, moderated by the award-winning journalist and television personality Merri Dee, focused on local activists who came together to share stories of how they joined with Dr. King on his journey for justice. This program was presented on MLK Day in collaboration with the DuSable Museum of African American History.

The featured speakers were Dr. Timuel Black, who was the advisor for the Chicago contingent of the 1963 March on Washington,  Rev. Clyde Brooks, who was a board member for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and George O'Hare, who was friends of the family and entertained Coretta Scott King and their children while they went on shopping sprees at Sears Roebuck and Co, where he worked.

Duration: 54:30 minutes

1/5/2010
Smart Mouth: Separation of Church and State During the Holidays

Smart Mouth is back with a brand-new format! Recorded in December, 2009

Join the Freedom Museum for an exciting new program, Smart Mouth that allows you to test your limits and be anything but agreeable. Each program includes a new panel of local “movers and shakers” discussing current events facing the nation. Designed with a program format similar to Bill Maher’s Politically Incorrect on HBO, we will meet at the Chicago Cultural Center’s beautiful Millennium Room on the fifth floor.

Duration: 53:27 minutes

12/3/2009
Reinventing Republicans

How can the Republican Party recover from the 2008 elections?

As the 2010 elections near, many wonder what the consequences of the 2008 Democratic election sweep will be, for both conservatives and liberals. On November 12, 2009, authors Matt Latimer and Reihan Salam lead a dynamic discussion on the future of the the Republican party. Latimer, a former speechwriter for Donald Rumsfeld, recently authored Speech-Less: The Tales of a White House Survivor. Salam co-authored Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and save the American Dream. Join these two profound authors for a discussion of the future of conservative politics. A book signing will follow the program.

Duration: 56:08 minutes

10/26/2009
Madeleine Albright: Read My Pins

Perspectives on foreign policy from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright

On October 8, 2009, Secretary Albright spoke to a crowd of close to 500 people at the Chicago Cultural Center. Hometown journalist and author Elizabeth Brackett interviewed Albright on a variety of topics, from her experience as Secretary of State under President Clinton to her wardrobe choices when meeting foreign dignitaries. Her choice of pins and brooches at those meetings are the subject of her new book, Read My Pins: Stories From a Diplomat's Jewel Box. Listen to this entertaining and enlightening conversation with the first female Secretary of State. The program was co-sponsored by the McCormick Freedom Project and the Chicago Cultural Center.

Duration: 44:36 minutes

10/22/2009
Smart Mouth: Health Care Reform and Economic Stimulus

Smart Mouth is back with a brand-new format! Recorded in September, 2009

After almost a year of hiatus, the Freedom Museum's Smart Mouth has returned with a new format. Instead of an evening affair, Smart Mouth is now a more relaxed lunch time discussion, where the topic of conversation is driven by the audience, not the panel. This installment of Smart Mouth was recorded on September 24, 2009 at the Chicago Cultural Center.

The featured speakers were Adolfo Laurenti, Deputy Chief Economist for Visceral Finalcial, and Professor Harold Pollack, Co-director of the University of Chicago crime labs. Shawn Healy, the Freedom Project's Managing Director, moderated the discussion

Duration: 52:25 minutes

10/22/2009
Table of Nations: Romania

This podcast is another audio appetizer for the quarterly Table of Nations program.

In late 2009, the country of Romania will host its presidential elections. Since the fall of communism in Romania in 1989, the country has steadily built relations with the U.S and the E.U. What will the election mean to Romania, and to the relationships it has forged?

Table of Nations is the McCormick Freedom Project's quarterly signature dinner series which takes place at local restaurants in Chicago. The Freedom Museum invites you to expand your mind and palate with Table of Nations where a country or region is selected to explore its cuisine and to discuss current freedom topics facing that region.

Duration: 55:31 minutes

8/19/2009
Smart Mouth 3, The Triumphant Return of Smart Mouth!

Smart Mouth is back with a brand-new format!

After almost a year of hiatus, the Freedom Museum's Smart Mouth has returned with a new format. Instead of an evening affair, Smart Mouth is now a more relaxed lunch time discussion, where the topic of conversation is driven by the audience, not the panel. This installment of Smart Mouth was recorded on July 16, 2009 at the Chicago Cultural Center.

The featured speakers were Steve Sanders, an attorney for Mayer Brown LLP, and Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Acting Director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom of the ALA. Tim McNulty, the Freedom Museum's Senior Journalist, moderated the discussion.

Duration: 53:02 minutes

8/18/2009
Supreme Court Review 2009

A detailed analysis and review of a selection of cases heard by the 2009 Supreme Court

For the fourth straight year, University of Chicago Distinguished Service Law Professors Geoffrey Stone and Richard Epstein discussed a selection of First Amendment-related cases heard by the United States Supreme Court. Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich returned this year to moderate the discussion, which was recorded on July 30, 2009 at the Loyola University Law School's Ceremonial Courtroom. Loyola University's School of Law and the American Constitution Society joined the Freedom Museum in promoting this program.

Duration: 81:42 minutes

7/28/2009
Cokie Roberts: We Are Our Mothers' Daughters

Listen to a recording of the Freedom Museum's most highly attended program to date.

Cokie Roberts is a New York Times bestselling author, political commentator for ABC news, senior analyst for National Public Radio - and a mother, grandmother, and daughter. In the tenth anniversary revised and expanded edition of We Are Our Mothers' Daughters, Roberts adds fascinating new profiles to illustrate the unique opportunities and challenges that women face today, how far the women's movement has come, and how far we have to go.

On July 13, 2009, Elizabeth Brackett, a NewsHour correspondent since 1984 covering politics and urban problems, interviewed Cokie Roberts at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago. Listen as she discusses her insights and observations, and recounts in person the illuminating, surprising and sometimes humorous stories found in her book.

Duration: 53:36 minutes

6/26/2009
Freedom in the News: Election Protests in Iran

Listen to an interview with an expert on Iran to learn about their current political turmoil.

Hamid Akbari, Ph.D is the Chair for the Department of Management and Marketing and Faculty Director of the Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh Leadership Fund at Northeastern Illinois University.

In an interview with Nathan Richie, the Freedom Museum's Director of Exhibits and Prorgrams, Dr. Akbari discusses the most recent developments regarding the disputed Iranian Presidential elections, its fallout in Iran and around the world, and the role America should take in the controversy.

Duration: 20:50 minutes