Under Rocks

Northern Public Radio · northernpublicradio.org

What’s so great about the Midwest? WNIJ’s Under Rocks podcast isn’t afraid to dive into that question head-first every month. In fact, our team won’t leave a stone unturned when it comes to hunting down the most interesting people, places, and events in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.What are you excited about? We’re always looking for a shove in the right direction, so send us on our next adventure by messaging us at Rocks@niu.edu.

20 episodes

1mo ago latest

monthly cadence

English language

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Episodes 20

The art of the bale: Strawfest, Mt. Morris | Under Rocks podcast
3d ago · 25:18
Encore Mt. Morris has a mission: To create a unique rural arts environment in northwest Illinois. And boy, did they nail it with the annual Straw Sculpting competition. We meet up with organizer Jeff Bold and artists Chris and Cecelia Mann.
Test Site: The Art of Praxeology | Under Rocks podcast
1mo ago · 28:08
We learn about Rockford's Test Site on this latest edition of Under Rocks.
Little bits of magic: Mysterious Toynbee Tiles appear in Rockford | Under Rocks podcast
2mo ago · 41:40
Toynbee idea in movie 2001. Resurrect dead on planet Jupiter. What? And why is this message on a tile in the streets of Rockford, Illinois? The Under Rocks team investigates.
Restoring the Geneva Grotto's glory | Under Rocks podcast
3mo ago · 25:05
Thousands drive past it every day, but only a few lay eyes on it. It's the Geneva Grotto. And nearly a century after it was built by local Catholic priests, the mosaic and stone structure is returning to serve as a connection between the faithful and their God.
Dirt-fishing with the Driftless Digger | Under Rocks podcast
4mo ago · 42:29
The Under Rocks team goes on a treasure hunt with a real life detectorist.
Mrs. Fisher's by the bag, by the bucket: It's always better to be the chip person | Under Rocks podcast
5mo ago · 42:02
If you grew up anywhere near Rockford, Illinois, in, oh, the last century or so, you probably have eaten at least a handful of Mrs. Fisher's potato chips. This regional delicacy started in Ethel Fisher's kitchen and still maintains that small-batch flavor, even as the company goes through 2.6 million pounds of local potatoes every year. So join Mrs. Fisher's vice president Chris Spiess as he takes the Under Rocks team on a tour of Rockford's salty treasure.
Good curling II: The never-ending bonspiel | Under Rocks podcast
6mo ago · 31:36
Curling fever doesn't have to end on the Olympic medal podium! Join your local curling league and the next four years will fly faster than a granite stone across a sheet of ice. We revisit our 2022 curling adventure at the Waltham Curling Club in Triumph, Ill. Plus, our resident curling superfan recaps the 2026 Olympic highlights — and explains the shocking controversy. Good curling!
Together for eagles, arts, and environmental education | Under Rocks podcast
7mo ago · 33:07
It’s been just over a year since Northern Illinois University closed its outdoor education campus high above the Rock River in Oregon, Illinois. While its future is still in limbo, a group called Together for Taft is making progress in its effort to bring it back as an environmental education center. WNIJ’s Under Rocks podcast team stopped by the group’s fundraiser recently, which was held across the river from the shuttered campus.
A feast for your ears! Our favorite food shows | Under Rocks podcast
9mo ago · 48:33
The Under Rocks team is thankful for all the fine food and drink here in northern Illinois. So pile your plate high as we revisit some of our favorite culinary adventures. Plus aspic! We hope you're hungry.
Leave the ghost light on: the spirits of DeKalb's Egyptian Theatre | Under Rocks podcast
10mo ago · 27:59
Who’s haunting your local theater? The Under Rocks team goes in search of theater ghost lights…and finds a whole lot more.
Sixty years of printmaking, one more show | Under Rocks podcast
1y ago · 40:13
A new exhibit at Northern Illinois University’s Art Museum is an ambitious look at the school’s vaunted printmaking program, which is in its 60th year. It also marks the end of a chapter for the museum. In the latest Under Rocks podcast, curator Peter Olson takes us on a tour of the exhibit and clues us into what the future holds for the campus museum.
A stalwart friend: Revisiting the Rock River Trail ride | Under Rocks
1y ago · 1:00:59
In June of 2018, two brave correspondents set out to make history. WNIJ's Carl Nelson and Dan Libman would be the first to bike the Rock River Trail. Pedaling 320 miles in just five days, they even managed to send dispatches out to listeners every morning. We revisit their journey.
The Luthier Next Door | The Under Rocks podcast
1y ago · 33:22
In a quiet wooded neighborhood on the south side of Rockford, there’s a man making magic in his basement workshop. Tom Asher uses the tools, knowledge, and creative skills he’s gathered over a lifetime as a musician, woodworker, and artist -- to craft violins.
Hiding history, preserving our past | Under Rocks podcast
1y ago · 23:14
2000 called and wants its phone book back. And now it's in the hands that last touched it 25 years ago. Join Northern Star reporters past and present as they relive the past and plan for the future through a time capsule in a wall at Northern Illinois University.
Inside the snow globe: Putting Edith back in the Farnsworth House | Under Rocks podcast
1y ago · 35:48
One of the world’s most precious architectural gems rests on the banks of the Fox River in northern Illinois. Maybe you’ve seen the Edith Farnsworth House in Plano: It’s a mid-century glass and steel marvel designed and constructed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The Under Rocks team got a chance to visit and learn more about the woman who commissioned her glass get-away in the woods, Edith Farnsworth.
Where the cities meet the cornfields: Who's preserving our stories? | Under Rocks podcast
1y ago · 44:43
There's a museum around every corner in Illinois. The Under Rocks team explores three of them near us to see how they are preserving our histories. Got a favorite? Tell us at rocks@niu.edu
Vexed! The Illinois Enthusiast vs. The Illinois Flag Commission | Under Rocks podcast
1y ago · 51:21
Does Illinois really need a new flag? Or is the old "seal on a bedsheet" good enough? In this Under Rocks Extra, we call on our favorite expert, self-proclaimed state symbologist and Illinois Enthusiast John Kokoris to review the options the state's flag commission is offering. And he is, respectfully, not pleased.
Here we go again! Groundhog Day in Woodstock | Under Rocks podcast
1y ago · 34:45
Thanks to a small town in northern Illinois, Groundhog Day is bigger than one chubby rodent and its shadow dropping a dubious weather forecast. In Woodstock, the groundhog takes a backseat to the real cause for celebration: the 1993 Bill Murray movie that was filmed there. The Under Rocks team visited the famed town square with the head of the annual festival (and Groundhog Day movie extra!) Rick Bellairs.
The Napa Valley of Corn | Under Rocks podcast
1y ago · 42:07
Craft distilleries are the new craft breweries: There’s a growing number of these small operations in northern Illinois, offering their own take on the art of whiskey-making. And to wrap up another year of the Under Rocks podcast, our team heads out in search of some holiday spirit at Whiskey Acres in DeKalb.
The End of Things II: A walk in the woods at Lorado Taft | Under Rocks podcast
1y ago · 18:18
We say goodbye to a field campus that meant a lot to northern Illinoisans during its decades of serving students interested in the environment and the arts. And we revisit a deep dive we took into one of the works of art that made the Lorado Taft campus so special.