In 2014, WBEZ Chicago reporter Linda Lutton followed a class of fourth-graders at William Penn Elementary School on Chicago’s West Side. She wanted to explore a big idea that’s at the heart of the American dream: Can public schools be the great equalizer in society, giving everyone a chance to succeed, no matter where they come from or how much money their families have?

Lutton told the story in a Peabody Award-nominated show, “The View from Room 205.” This week, Reveal presents a condensed version of that documentary.

Don’t miss the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.

Last fall, we threw out a simple question after a show about U.S. immigration policies: What do you wish you knew about immigration?

Across the country, listeners responded with hundreds of text messages – from small towns in Iowa, Colorado and Massachusetts to big cities such as Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago.

We chose four questions and took our team of reporters and producers to task to answer them.

To figure out the answers, we go deep into immigration court, help one listener uncover her grandfather’s secret past about entering the country and break down the path to legal citizenship. On the way, we meet scam artists, attorneys, asylum seekers and do-gooders learning immigration law for kicks.

Far from the World Cup stadium cheers, a prisoner held in Russia is six weeks into a hunger strike.

Reveal host Al Letson talks with Masha Alyokhina, a founding member of the Russian feminist punk rock collective Pussy Riot, about the efforts to free Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker convicted of an armed plot during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He denies any involvement. His supporters fear U.S. President Donald Trump has undermined their cause. Alyokhina knows the topic well: She spent time in prison for challenging Russian President Vladimir Putin, too.

Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.

Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.

A giant mysterious illegal dump in Chicago was part of a federal investigation that brought down a dozen corrupt politicians, but it left neighborhood residents angry and feeling used.

Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.

How a baggie of crack cocaine packed with fear, distortion and misconceptions, and one presidential address in the 1980s, helped shape the war on drugs.

*
*Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.

A giant, mysterious illegal dump in Chicago was part of a federal investigation that brought down a dozen corrupt politicians, but it left neighborhood residents angry and feeling used.

Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.

**A bombing in rural Nevada you’ve probably never heard of. A plot to blow up a government building.  Reveal teams up with the podcast series, Bundyville, produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting and Longreads, to see what happened to rancher Cliven Bundy’s supporters since his original armed standoff with the government.

Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.

How a baggie of crack cocaine packed with fear, distortion and misconceptions, and one presidential address in the 1980s, helped shape the war on drugs.

Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.

Oil rigs may soon be coming to the nation’s largest wildlife refuge. We find out what that could mean to the people who live there.

Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.

Al Letson with a programming note on Reveal's upcoming episodes

Wednesday on Political Rewind , the pandemic reveals fault lines of unequal access in our society. Health care and community leaders are highlighting a disproportionate impact of the public health crisis on black and African American communities. We look at the contributing factors in Georgia and across the country.

Returning with another pop gem, UK artist Harry Strange releases the melancholic dark-pop single "Turn Away." Following the previous EARMILK approved single "Four In The Morning", this new track takes a different approach to songwriting by delving into moodier melodies and sadder lyricism. Submerged in hazy synths and infectious underlying bass grooves, "Turn Away" captures […]

The post Harry Strange reveals dark-pop single "Turn Away" appeared first on EARMILK.

First, an update on how the City of Oakland is handling the coronavirus pandemic. Then, a teen in Los Gatos creates a space where her peers can safely reveal some of their deepest personal struggles. And, from the Uncuffed team at San Quentin , we’ll hear how a man who grew up in Cambodia and ended up incarcerated in the U.S. Plus, a reading from a Bay Area author for our series " New Arrivals ."

You can store and trade Pokémon for free with this cloud-service app when it launches next month, but premium users get expanded capabilities.

It has been 20 years since that final, and Sunday the United States will seek its fourth World Cup title. The meaning of Brandi Chastain’s viral celebration has continued to evolve, though, even for Chastain.

NEW YORK (AP) — Almonds used to have about 170 calories per serving. Then researchers said it was really more like 130. A little later, they said the nuts may have even less. Calorie counting can be a simple way to help maintain a healthy weight — don’t eat and drink more than you burn. […]

Farm field workers, many undocumented, have now been categorized by the Department of Homeland Security as "essential critical infrastructure workers" during the pandemic.

Communication has changed thanks to our use of digital and mobile tools. From emojis and abbreviations to how we talk to our virtual assistants, how do we talk to each other today?

Rhythm is of course a fundamental part of music. But neuroscience is revealing that it’s also a fundamental part of our innermost selves: how we learn to walk, talk, read and even bond with others. From heartbeats heard in the womb, to the underlying rhythmic patterns of thought, rhythm — as one researcher puts it — is life.

Is there a way of responding to the coronavirus that is both effective and ethical? That contributes to the tasks of social cohesion and mutual concern?

Cardinal George Pell was aware of abuse being committed by clergy as early as the 1970s, and failed on two occasions to take action to remove paedophile priests, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has found. Cardinal Pell said he was surprised by some of the views of the Royal Commission about his actions, and he said these views are not supported by evidence.

The culture within the Perth City Council reached its "zenith" in the lead-up to its suspension, breeding an environment unlike anything one of its councillors had experienced previously, an inquiry hears.

Attorney-General John Quigley intervenes to order woman's release from prison for murdering her partner after her history as a victim of domestic violence came to light, declaring "now is the time for mercy".

One West Australian is tasered the equivalent of every weekday by police officers, new data obtained by the ABC via Freedom of Information shows.

As family and friends of Joyce Clarke demand to know why the young woman was shot dead by police, a tragic picture of her early life blighted by drugs and mental illness is beginning to emerge.

Over the past seven weeks, ABC readers have been submitting questions about the NSW election in the process, you actually told us three things would decide your vote this Saturday. Here's a peek.

Extreme drought conditions have all but dried up the Barwon River in western NSW, and now the unprecedented dry has exposed an extraordinary piece of maritime history.

The driver appeared nervous, police say, triggering a search of his car and allegedly revealing almost $1 million in cash stuffed in the bottom of a fuel tank in outback New South Wales.

Western Australian lithium miner Galaxy Resources has announced an operating loss of nearly $40 million for last year.

Accused Claremont serial killer Bradley Edwards is at the centre of the longest and most expensive criminal trial in Western Australia's history and yesterday was the first time the public heard from him.

A NSW health district has collated its data from recent weeks and it shows a clear picture of how COVID-19 arrived and spread in the west of the state.

Scores of crew members on the Ruby Princess celebrated with a party on the day it docked in Sydney unaware of the public health disaster that was about to happen.

Smoking rates have dropped massively since the 70s down from 40 per cent to only 14 per cent but some areas of the country are not getting the message.

Data suggests Australia's strict physical-distancing measures are beginning to work — but the risks are huge if we relax too quickly.

A study of riverbank sediment found there used to be a massive lake in the Lower Murray Darling, spanning hundreds of kilometres.

The former South Australian Premier said it's now time for states and territories to take control of childcare and treat them more like schools.

Working 7 days a week, juggling multiple gigs, all for $28,000 a year this is the life of an Australian artist in 2019.

The wife of former AFL star Danny Frawley reveals her husband had removed himself from treatment and medication for his depression about eight months before his death last week.

The NSW Transport Minister says he didn't decide to contest federal politics to be called "that type of smear" by his "mate" John Barilaro as he abandons his bid for pre-selection in the Eden-Monaro by-election.

Full-cycle docking of Collins Class submarines could disappear from its current site in South Australia by 2024, Freedom of Information (FOI) documents reveal.

An Adelaide business owner says buildings residents are not being informed about dangers posed by potentially flammable aluminium cladding, as an audit reveals dozens of structures are at risk.

US surfer Kelly Slater says he's still "coming to terms" with the grief following Sunny Garcia's attempt to take his own life

For now, Australia appears to have kept the virus in check and avoided a full-blown coronavirus crisis. This data shows how we did it.

In 1979, the CSIRO imported a boutique wine grape from France. Since then the drop has been celebrated by growers and experts alike — but it turns out they've been enjoying a different variety all along.

More than $15 million could have been lost from the Wimmera Southern Mallee economy as a result of events being cancelled because of the coronavirus.

A diver reveals footage of the final resting place of Nyora, a beloved steam tug that sank in treacherous seas off South Australia 102 years ago.