Our education podcast Teachers' Lounge is also on the radio. We feature interviews with Illinois teachers and education stories you love, along with exclusive segments, in a monthly, hourlong show on WNIJ.
On this episode, it's Jason Piscia! He's the director of the Public Affairs Reporting program at the University of Illinois Springfield.
It's a 10-month master's degree program for up-and-coming journalists — a sort of apprenticeship in which students spend much of their time in internships doing real journalism covering the Illinois Statehouse.
We talk about what it's like for students entering an industry constantly in flux, especially in a time when government is more openly hostile to journalism.
What motivates students to want to become journalists in 2026? Piscia said some of it is the same as it ever was: government dysfunction and watching powerful people avoid accountability.
"Journalism is one way to address that, to question it, to maybe contribute to some solutions for that," he said. "I think students feel a real sense of power and duty to be a part of a solution."
We also dove into why he became a journalist and what it was like as a newspaper reporter when the internet blew up the business model and layoffs ripped through newsrooms like his.
We also sit down with Juliet Moderow and Karla Giuffre!
They're biology instructors at Highland Community College. They also created and lead the college's Women+ in Science Club, which brings together students across science disciplines.
They mentor students and keep them motivated by highlighting the work of prominent women in science. That can include everyone from historical figures such as Marie Curie to women winning Nobel Prizes today.
They bring in guest speakers — women working across a variety of fields, from veterinarians to micropaleontologists — to talk about both the challenges women face in these fields and the opportunities available in these careers.
We also have a "classroom correspondent" on the show. This is the teacher we interview each month during the school year to follow their experiences over time.
This year, our correspondent is Caio Gomes! He teaches English as a second language at Clinton Rosette Middle School in DeKalb.
It's the end of the school year and it's time for our final conversation with Caio as we reflect on an emotional rollercoaster of a year.
Finally, we check in with our student correspondents for the spring: students from the Whiteside Area Career Center's CEO program who are starting their own businesses from scratch.
If you have never listened before, the show is based on a simple idea: We have all had teachers who shaped who we are. We want to hear about the educators who inspired you. Every guest on Teachers' Lounge — whether a teacher, coach, counselor or professor — is nominated by listeners.
So tell us about the person who comes to your mind. Send us an email to nominate an educator at teacherslounge@niu.edu, and they could be on the show!
Don't worry — the podcast is still available. You can catch episodes every other Friday on WNIJ.org or wherever you get podcasts.
