Lumpen Radio
Lumpen Radio, WLPN-LP Chicago 105.5FM launched in 2016 and broadcasts 24/7. WLPN-LP is operated by a community of curators working to connect you with the music and ideas you love. Our aim is to spotlight the hidden parts of the city by amplifying its voices and sounds. We promote open media, uniting communities and magnifying the hard work of artists, musicians, activists and cultural workers like you. WLPN is a project of Public Media Institute (PMI).
Episodes

Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
The Art Design Chicago Talk Series by Lumpen Radio is set to explore and celebrate Chicago’s rich artistic heritage and its diverse creative communities. This series will examine the intersections of art, design, and activism and the city’s relationship with indigeneity, migration, and displacement.
Episode 8: Persistencia: El rugido de los leones en la plástica puertoriqueña
Join us for a Spanish-language conversation led by artist Efren Candelaria with Jorge Felix, curator, and Mara Ayala, multidisciplinary artist. They will explore the migration of Puerto Rican artists and provide a snapshot of the rich and enduring art and cultural exchanges between Puerto Rico and Chicago. This discussion will highlight the experiences and contributions of the participating artists, emphasizing their journey and impact on the Puerto Rican arts landscape in Chicago. @jorgefelix111

Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
How to Make a Scene is a conversation series about artist-run cultural ecosystems of the 1980s and 1990s in Chicago. This series is a collaborative effort between the Public Media Institute and MdW, with support from the Terra Foundation for American Art as part of the city-wide initiative, Art + Design Chicago.
The project aims to connect veteran artist organizers with those working today through a combination of intimate events at Co-Prosperity, broadcasts on Lumpen Radio, and live streams on LumpenTV. The series will offer audiences trailheads for further exploration of Chicago's storied history of alternative gallery spaces, independent publications, and socially engaged collectives.
This episode features: Mary Patten, Greg Ruffing, Rebecca Wolfram, and others from Axe Street's history

Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Dish with David • David Weeks • 09-08-2024 • Tony B's Steak Chips
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
DISH (WITH DAVID)Airs: 2nd & 4th Sundays of the month from 2pm-3pm on Lumpen Radio, WLPN-LP 105.5 FM Chicago
Dish (with David) is a show exploring Chicago’s diverse dining scene dish by dish where we strive to understand what chefs, baristas, mixologists and others in the industry are striving to achieve.
In this episode, Tony B of Tony B's Steak Chips

Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Tech Scene Chicago • Host Melanie Adcock • 09/15/2024
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Created and hosted by Melanie Adcock, and brought to you by listeners like you, Tech Scene Chicago focuses on what’s trending in the local tech community, technology-related events in and around Chicago, and how you can infiltrate and become part of the scene. Tech Scene Chicago airs on Lumpen Radio 105.5 FM WLPN-LP Chicago and broadcasts the local lowdown on Community technology events in and around Chicago.
IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode broadcast on September 15, 2024, host Melanie Adcock interviews Phil Tadros, a successful tech entrepreneur based in Chicago. He shares his personal story and gives inspiration on how to persevere after hardships.

Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Perceptions of the Real • 09-13-2024 • Luciana Diaz
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Perceptions of the Real is an exploration of what swims beneath our consciousness and how it surfaces through writing. Hosts Sarah Conway and Eli Ramirez are joined by a guest who produces a piece of writing live on-air. Together we will detangle the question of why we make what we make.
Airs: Every 2nd and 4th Saturday @ 11AM

Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Neighborhood Audio Portraits, Bronzeville • 09-27-24 • Live @ Blanc Gallery
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Lumpen Radio is proud to present *Neighborhood Audio Portraits* - a new project spotlighting three vibrant Chicago neighborhoods—Little Village, Bronzeville, and Back of the Yards-New City. Through community interviews, music, and art, this project celebrates the unique culture of each neighborhood.
Listen to Lumpen Radio for a very special feature of audio portraits voicing artists, residents and entities celebrating the beautiful Bronzeville neighborhood!
Neighborhood Audio Portraits: Bronzeville was curated by poet, educator, and radio personality, Mario Smith.
Listen in to our live recording from Blanc Gallery for some good conversations, good music, & good vibes!

Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Neighborhood Audio Portraits, Bronzeville • 09-27-24 • Part 4
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Lumpen Radio is proud to present *Neighborhood Audio Portraits* - a new project spotlighting three vibrant Chicago neighborhoods—Little Village, Bronzeville, and Back of the Yards-New City. Through community interviews, music, and art, this project celebrates the unique culture of each neighborhood.
Listen to Lumpen Radio for a very special feature of audio portraits voicing artists, residents and entities celebrating the beautiful Bronzeville neighborhood!
Neighborhood Audio Portraits: Bronzeville was curated by poet, educator, and radio personality, Mario Smith.
In this segment, you will hear the following audio:
"Poets in cars talking history" Khari B
"Be Bronzeville BLK! (Black)" Avery R. Young

Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Neighborhood Audio Portraits, Bronzeville • 09-27-24 • Part 3
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Lumpen Radio is proud to present *Neighborhood Audio Portraits* - a new project spotlighting three vibrant Chicago neighborhoods—Little Village, Bronzeville, and Back of the Yards-New City. Through community interviews, music, and art, this project celebrates the unique culture of each neighborhood.
Listen to Lumpen Radio for a very special feature of audio portraits voicing artists, residents and entities celebrating the beautiful Bronzeville neighborhood!
Neighborhood Audio Portraits: Bronzeville was curated by poet, educator, and radio personality, Mario Smith.
In this segment, you will hear the following audio:
"So you want to know about Bronzeville?" Patric McCoy
"I grew up in this neighborhood!" Felicia Preston

Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Neighborhood Audio Portraits, Bronzeville • 09-27-24 • Part 2
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Lumpen Radio is proud to present *Neighborhood Audio Portraits* - a new project spotlighting three vibrant Chicago neighborhoods—Little Village, Bronzeville, and Back of the Yards-New City. Through community interviews, music, and art, this project celebrates the unique culture of each neighborhood.
Listen to Lumpen Radio for a very special feature of audio portraits voicing artists, residents and entities celebrating the beautiful Bronzeville neighborhood!
Neighborhood Audio Portraits: Bronzeville was curated by poet, educator, and radio personality, Mario Smith.
In this segment, you will hear the following audio:
"King Drive Traffic"
"Pemon Speaks! The history and beauty of Bronzeville"
"A night out"
"Chicago Historian Dilla here!"

Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Neighborhood Audio Portraits, Bronzeville • 09-27-24 • Part 1
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Lumpen Radio is proud to present *Neighborhood Audio Portraits* - a new project spotlighting three vibrant Chicago neighborhoods—Little Village, Bronzeville, and Back of the Yards-New City. Through community interviews, music, and art, this project celebrates the unique culture of each neighborhood.
Listen to Lumpen Radio for a very special feature of audio portraits voicing artists, residents and entities celebrating the beautiful Bronzeville neighborhood!
Neighborhood Audio Portraits: Bronzeville was curated by poet, educator, and radio personality, Mario Smith.
In this segment, you will hear the following audio:
"Good afternoon Pastor" Ernest F. Ledbetter
"K-Fleye!" Kelley Mosely
"Why Intonation chose Bronzeville" Tonya Howell