Episodes

This week on, “Inside the Skev,” we sit down with Khemarey Khoeun and Punisa Pov. Khem is a Skokie Park District Commissioner, and the President of the National Cambodian Heritage Museum & Killing Fields Memorial. Punisa is the Artist in Residence at the museum. In this episode we discuss Khem’s story of how and why she came to America, the museum, the history of Cambodia, Khem’s work at the Skokie Park District and the programing Punisa is running at the Museum.

This week on, “Inside the Skev,” we sit down with Juliana Taimoorazy. Juliana is the Founder and President of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council, a Senior Fellow at the Philos Project and a Skokie resident. We discuss what is currently happening in Iraq and Syria, Juliana’s journey from Iran to the United States and her connection to the Assyrian community in Skokie and Chicago.

This week on, “Inside the Skev,” we sit down with Sean Simpson, the co-founder of Lanzatech. LanzaTech is based in the Illinois Science and Technology Park that is located in Downtown Skokie. Lanzatech is a company that recycles carbon waste from steel mills and other carbon producers and turns it into fuel and chemical by-products. In this episode we discuss what brought Lanzatech from New Zealand to the Chicagoland area and specifically Skokie, and what they do.

This week on, “Inside the Skev,” we sit down with Sam Glassenberg from Level Ex. Sam is a Skevanston resident, and founder of Level Ex, which is a company that creates breathtaking video games for doctors that capture the challenges of practicing medicine: from puzzling diagnoses to rare surgical complications. Level Ex has been dubbed the, “Deep Dish Hotdog of Chicago Tech.”

This week on, “Inside the Skev,” we sit down with Miriam Ament from No Shame on U. No Shame On U is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to eliminating the stigma associated with mental health conditions and raising awareness. Their goal is for the people who need help to seek it, for family members and friends to know how to provide proper support and to save lives.

This week on, “Inside the Skev,” with Cesar Maron and Shawn Decker from Sketchbook Brewery. Sketchbook Brewery is located at 821 Chicago Avenue, Evanston, IL 60202 and are building a second facility at 4901 Main Street, Skokie, IL 60077. First opened to the public on November 15, 2014, Sketchbook has come a long way from its early days filling growlers from an alley. Fueled by fierce customer loyalty and a passion for brewing excellence, this Evanston success story is expanding its distribution of cans and kegs quickly.

This week on, “Inside the Skev,” we sit down with David Sutton from Sutton Studios. David has been a photographer for many years and specializes in taking square black and white photos of people and their pets. He is also a musician and writer. He is located in Skevanston at the corner of East Prairie Road and Church Street at 3417 Church Street Evanston, IL, 60203.

This week on, “Inside the Skev,” we sit down with Elisabeth Foran, the community manager at the Industrious coworking space in Downtown Evanston. We talk about what coworking is, what Industrious offers and how Elisabeth got to this position.

This week on, “Inside the Skev,” we interview Nina Barrett the owner of Bookends and Beginnings. Bookends and Beginnings is an independent bookstore located in, “Bookman’s Alley,” located at 1712 Sherman Ave, Alley #1 Evanston, IL 60201. We discuss her ties to the store, why she became a bookstore owner, the book selling industry, her career in writing and her connection to Evanston. Her store is purpose driven in a personal way.

This week on, “Inside the Skev” we interview Lorri Lippitz from the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band. We discuss her passion for music, Yiddish and connections to Jewish culture through music. We also discuss her goals in sustaining music and Yiddish to future generations and how children can enter this world.

This week we broadcast live from Bangkok, Thailand. We interview Michelle Mills Clement, the CEO of the Chicago Association of Realtors (CAR), Maurice Hampton, the President-Elect of CAR, and Mabel Guzman, the head of the Global Real Estate Council for CAR and Past President of CAR to discuss CAR's trade mission to Thailand.

This week on, “Inside the Skev” we interview Mayor Steve Hagerty from the City of Evanston. Mayor Hagerty discusses his passion for being mayor, his triumphs, his challenges, his hopes and his passions. He also discusses new development projects in the area, both private and public like the new Robert Crown Center and the redesigned Fountain Square.

In this episode, we sit down with Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen and Trustee Karen Gray-Keeler. We discuss their motivation, how to become civically engaged and what new things are happening in Skokie.

In this episode, we sit down with Matt Ryan, the farm manager at the Talking Farm in Skokie. The Talking Farm is a non-profit farm on Howard Street in Skokie. They grow fresh, hyper-local food using innovative and sustainable practices while educating the community about the environment, agriculture, biodiversity, permaculture, horticulture, gardening, and social justice and health issues.

In this episode, we sit down Katherine Gotsick, the executive director of the Main Dempster Mile. The Main Dempster Mile is a Special Service Area for the commercial districts that currently make up the Chicago/Dempster business district and the Main Street business district. A Special Service Area (SSA) is defined by Illinois State Statute as a contiguous area within a municipality or county in which special services are provided in addition to those services provided generally throughout the municipality or county. Special services include things like landscaping, advertising, public art, and extra garbage collections. The special services are paid from revenues collected from taxes levied or imposed upon property within that area.

In this episode, we sit down with brothers Flavius Maximus and Sam Oanta, the owners of Ignite Gaming. Ignite Gaming is a premier e-gaming lounge with locations in Skokie and Chicago. The Skokie location recently opened on Skokie Boulevard directly across the street from the CTA Yellow Line's Oakton stop.

In this episode, we sit down with the leaders of the YWCA/North Shore which includes Karen Singer, the CEO of the organization, Tiffany McDowell, the Director of the Equity Institute at the YWCA Evanston/North Shore and Trimmy Stamell, the Director of Corporate Relations and in charge of the Race Against Hate. The Race Against Hate takes place on June 16, 2019 and is co-sponsored by Dreamtown Realty.

In this episode we sit down with David Lipschutz, the owner of Blind Faith Cafe. Established in 1979, Blind Faith is a certified green restaurant located in Evanston that has been transforming the way people enjoy vegetarian cuisine for more than thirty years.

In this episode, we visit the Terrence J. O'Brien Water Reclamation Plant (WRP), which is part of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Chicago located at Howard and McCormick in Skokie. We speak with KImberly Du Buclet, one of the commissioners of the MWRD, Aruch Poonsapaya, the O'Brien WRP Operations Manager and Patrick Thomas, the public affairs specialist for the MWRD.

In this episode, we hear the story of Yuval Degani, the owner of Dreamtown Realty. Yuval started Dreamtown in 1998 from scratch. Capitalizing on the early internet, he developed a website that was ahead of its time, and helped lead to explosive growth. Now he leads a company with over 400 agents spread out in offices across Chicago and Evanston.

In this episode, we sit down with Ellen Blum Barish. Ellen is a writer, editor and author. Ellen won the 2018 Individual Artistic Excellence Award from the Skokie Arts Commission. She also heads two literary publications. They include Thread, which contains original, long-form essays, and Stitch, a monthly publication featuring 100-word essays.

In this episode, we sit down with Rabbi Sam Feinsmith. Rabbi Sam Feinsmith has been immersed in the world of Jewish contemplative living, learning, and teaching for over fifteen years. Serving as a consultant on a number of cutting-edge projects related to prayer, spirituality, and education, he has conducted Jewish meditation workshops and retreats for young children, teens, and Jewish educators and community leaders. After fourteen years of teaching Jewish mindfulness to teens and educators in NY and Illinois, Rabbi Feinsmith currently directs the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s National Educating for a Jewish Spiritual Life pilot for Jewish day schools and summer camps and the Clergy Leadership Program for rabbis and cantors across the country. Sam is also a Skevanston resident.

In this episode, we sit down with Kenneth Mantel. Ken is running for Skokie Park District Commissioner. Ken is a Skevanston resident, father to Walker Elementary School students and a local insurance broker at Mantel Insurance Company. Ken even wrote the Affordable Care Act policies for Illinois from 2014-2018.

In this episode, we sit down with Gretchen Oehlschlager and Alex Gurvich from the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) department at Northwestern University. CIERA’s mission is to promote research and education in astrophysics through support of independent postdoctoral fellows, advanced graduate and undergraduate research, a vigorous visiting researchers program, and multi-faceted seminars, education, and public outreach programs. Special emphasis is given to interdisciplinary connections with computer science, applied math, statistics, electrical and mechanical engineering, planetary science, education and the arts. Gretchen Oehlschlager is the Communications & Events Coordinator for CIERA. Alex Gurvich is a PHD student in the department.