Amidst severe crises, the world of journalism has changed—for better and for worse. There are struggles with aging organizational models and, even more so, in the fundamental role of news in an ever-changing world. The Local Journalism Project is an investigation of the current state of local journalism, with a focus on the Midwest, exploring causes of decline and possibilities for restoration & innovation.
As protests and unrest continue, Midstory considers the Midwestern identity and the role the region has historically played in civil rights progress.
Wisconsin is the number one producer of ginseng in the U.S. with ginseng products that are coveted nationally and internationally. The healing herb highlights the unique commercial and cultural interconnectedness of Asian communities across the globe with communities in the rural Midwest.
Amidst ever-increasing globalization, American audiences are slowly beginning to recognize international film industries, as evidenced by South Korea’s Parasite (2019) being the first non-English-language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. As production companies pull rights for their content to start their own streaming services, platforms like Amazon Prime Video have found competitive avenues through hosting international films and television (think K-drama and European crime shows), opening up accessibility to global film industries.
What does transportation look like from here? In the first installment in a series examining the future of public transit post-COVID-19, Midstory Fellow Stefan Binion talks with Stu Nicholson, Executive Director of All Aboard Ohio!, about what current discussions are amidst the pandemic and re-opening, from accessibility to the environment.
Connie Schultz’s debut novel intricately showcases not only the hardships, but also the dignity and resilience of the lives of small, working-class, Midwestern towns and the women who inhabit them.
As COVID-19 cases rise across the nation, masks (and requiring citizens to wear them) have become a major point of contention. We speak with Dr. Jeffrey Shaman, a professor of environmental health sciences and an infectious disease modeler at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, about the use of masks and other ways to slow and prevent the transmission of COVID-19.
For decades, the Midwest was the example of perfect, accent-less English. Now, increasing dialectic quirks are changing that perception, and with it, Midwestern identity.
Through conversations with her grandfather, the author unpacks his personal history during the Civil Rights Movement and the Great Migration—one that paved the way for generations to come. Read his story and listen to excerpts from the interview.
Toledo has some name recognition (Holy Toledo!, anyone?), but most know very little about the Glass City besides what they may see on TV. When has Toledo made it to the big screen and how does TV influence the way the world sees Toledo, for better or for worse?
The path that brought us to Toledo was a winding one. In a way, you could say that we were brought here by the birth of our first child. Our beautiful baby girl was born on the evening of August 20th, 2016 in Bismarck, North Dakota.
