WBEZ Teams Up With Comedy Central to Bring Real Talk, Humor to Chicago’s South Side in New Podcast
A new kind of media partnership explores the combined power of humor and journalism.
James “The Oil Man.” Arthur, the 72-year-old self-taught hip-hop producer. Midge, owner of a popular black hair salon. Chicago police officer Stephen Boyd, who works in the Englewood gang unit as a side hustle — but is also an actor and comedian.
These are the people who make up Chicago’s South Side. Their stories come alive in a new podcast by WBEZ and Comedy Central called South Side Stories, created and hosted by Diallo Riddle and Bashir Salahuddin, the duo behind Comedy Central’s hit TV show “South Side.”
The podcast, which was released Sept. 4, highlights the real-life people and places that inspire “South Side” and shows a different media narrative than what most people know. It aims to show the diversity, the positivity, and the humor that make up neighborhoods like Bronzeville, Englewood, Auburn Gresham, and the street lines that define communities.
South Side Stories is also making history in the podcast industry. It’s the first partnership between a public media organization and a cable television partner, bringing together a top brand in comedy with Chicago’s award-winning NPR station.
“This is an exciting collaboration for us at WBEZ,” said Kevin Dawson, managing director of content development for WBEZ and executive producer of the podcast. “South Side Stories will give podcast listeners an authentic portrayal of what life on our city’s South Side is all about and worth celebrating, with the funny and sharp humor that only Comedy Central can deliver.”
Steve Raizes might be one of the biggest podcast fans out there, and he was an integral part of bringing the new partnership to life. Raizes, who is also an executive producer of the podcast, is the senior vice president of podcasts for Viacom Media Networks, Comedy Central’s parent company, which has produced award-winning podcasts such as The Daily Show with Trevor Noah: Ears Edition.
As a longtime executive in the podcast world and a big fan of WBEZ’s work and the TV show “South Side,” Raizes wondered what would happen if the two came together to better tell the nuanced and layered stories of South Side Chicagoans. After reaching out to Dawson with what he felt like was an unusual idea, the two started talking, and the partnership was born.
“[The partnership] is one of those stories that makes me really love podcasting, and the very kind of collaborative spirit and nature of the business,” Raizes said. “It was two really great brands that do really good things that were able to really benefit from each other. It’s a perfect partnership in that way.”
Raizes said the collaboration pulls on the strengths of both companies: the deep, investigative reporting that WBEZ is known for mixed with the humor that brings people to Comedy Central.
He said the combination sparks the hope for further partnership with other media companies that can influence the direction of the podcast industry.
“There’s so much that we do together that we can augment and support,” he told me. “We’re in a scenario where everyone in podcasting is really trying to grow the pie.”
James Edwards, one of the podcast’s producers, complimented the blend of different styles to tell the stories. Incorporating journalism, narrative, and humor helped the project flow naturally and not categorize it into only one box, especially since it was the first time a show has been formatted this way — there wasn’t a model to follow, he said.
“Experimenting and trying something new [is] one of the most exciting things I love about working in podcasts,” Edwards said. “Coming out of a news background, being able to tap more to the creative side and tell a longer story [was exciting].”
The show’s format does not have any scripted narration; it’s more like two friends talking and laughing while telling people’s stories and the city’s history. A typical episode begins with comedy and improv and then dives into a character who the producers and a comedic host interview on the street or at a South Side staple. In a few episodes, the hosts interview people about their passions and life on the South Side.
Edwards, host Salahuddin, and fellow producer Bia Medious are all native South Siders, which helped them to deliver an authentic portrayal and embed themselves in the community.
Edwards, who grew up in Chatham, said making the podcast was like going out to make a funny home movie.
“It’s telling the story of the South Side that I grew up with,” Edwards said. “Growing up, it was [normal] going to different neighborhoods [and experiencing] that wonder and sense of discovery, and also how funny regular people you meet are.”
Being able to share a personal narrative that encompasses the humor from regular people like bus drivers, teachers, comedians, and musicians was a refreshing experience for Edwards, who often tells stories of Chicago’s violence.
For Medious, who grew up in Beverly and Jackson Park, the best part of producing the show was talking to the variety of characters.
“There are so many cool and rich characters to meet,” Medious told me. “Being from the area, I already knew that, but actually going into the field and looking for those stories and finding them was a different experience. It was really rewarding.”
She remembers talking to James “The Oil Man” Redmond in the third episode about street vendors. His story is an example of the multi-faceted stories on the South Side, she said. Yes, he sells essential oils on the train with a strap that looks like a bullet holster (every Chicagoan has probably seen him around the city — he’s that popular) but that is not his only identity. He is also a house music DJ and used to be an airbrush artist.
“He’s a street vendor, but he also is so much more than that,” she told me. “He has so many more connections than that. And he has so much more life experience.”
Most of the reporting on the South Side centers around crime, so seeing people with big microphones and recorders who spent lengthy time in neighborhoods was a new site for most, Medious said.
“The community was overwhelmingly supportive and appreciative that a podcast like this was being made,” she said. “They jumped at the chance to share their stories and not talk about violence.”
Medious said she hopes listeners will experience the joy, love, and laughter that flows through the neighborhoods.
“We have so much of that here that doesn’t get highlighted all the time,” she said. “We deal with situations and issues that our community has, but that’s just one small piece of the community.”
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