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– Brenda Hernandez, Friend of Lumpen

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– Drew Mitchell, 606 Records

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– Sofia Gabriel Del Callejo, Hyde Park Art Center

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– Vanessa Sanchez, Yollocalli Arts Reach

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– Mario Smith, News From the Service Entrance

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‘Pongan Caifanes’

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The Memory Project • Fall 2025

The Memory Project is a hybrid radio and print series featuring the voices of longtime Chicagoans. The Memory Project explores Chicago’s past, present, and future through an ongoing collection of oral histories and narratives with longtime Chicago residents. As the first collaboration between Lumpen Radio and South Side Weekly, the series was designed to uplift community stories that often go unheard, with a focus on multigenerational memory, place, and transformation.

Participants and hosts co-produced one-hour interviews featuring neighborhood knowledge-bearers and cultural figures.

Listen to all the episodes here: The Memory Project 2025

The Memory Project is powered by South Side Weekly and Lumpen Radio as part of Alliance Matters Temperature Check. This work was made possible in part by funding from the Alliance Matters campaign, an initiative of Chicago Independent Media Alliance (CIMA) and the Field Foundation.

Episode 1: Ed Marszewski (interviewed by Malik Jackson)

Air Date: 09/26/2025
Description: Malik Jackson speaks with publisher, artist, and entrepreneur Ed Marszewski about the intersections of cultural production and neighborhood change, specifically in Bridgeport and Wicker Park.

Episode 2: Lee Bey (interviewed by Mario Smith)

Air Date: 10/03/2025
Description: Mario Smith sits down with Lee Bey and talks about South side Chicago neighborhoods, buildings, and the memories tied to them.

Episode 3: K. James Henderson (Interviewed by Dud Lawson)

Air Date: 10/10/2025
Description: Dud Lawson interviews printmaker, photographer and educator K. James Henderson about what it was like to be in the stands for Opening Night at historic Wrigley Field.

Episode 4: K. Jamie Kalven (Interviewed by Sarah Conway)
Air Date: 10/17/2025
Description: Sarah Conway interviews writer, journalist, and human rights advocate Jamie Kalven about the power of community, public housing, state violence, and how documenting truth can serve as a form of resistance and collective memory.

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The Memory Project • Fall 2025