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Making

Making

WBEZ Chicago

WBEZ's critically-acclaimed bio-podcast series explores how an icon is made.
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Top 10 Making Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Making episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Making for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Making episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Making - Beyoncé 2: Star Search
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11/22/19 • 37 min

After failing to secure a record deal, Beyoncé and the members of Girls Tyme try another avenue to success: a TV talent competition. The girls are poised and ready for the national spotlight, but tensions in the group are rising behind the scenes.

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Making - Making RuPaul
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11/17/22 • 43 min

When RuPaul’s mother was pregnant, she went to a psychic who said RuPaul would be famous. That psychic was right. With Emmys, Tonys and 14 studio albums, RuPaul Andre Charles has become the world’s most famous drag queen. But before superstardom, Ru was just a kid in the big city, go-go dancing to make ends meet. “None of us had any money back then. We were all shopping at thrift stores,” said friend and legendary drag queen Lady Bunny. “We were all kind of artsy-fartsy bums.” Joining Lady Bunny are DJ and songwriter Larry Tee, author and drag historian Simon Doonan and RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars winner Shea Couleé in conversation with host Brandon Pope. A dive into the critical years that turned RuPaul into a supernova.
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Making - Beyoncé 1: Girls Tyme
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11/15/19 • 47 min

Before the Grammys, before the platinum records, before Destiny’s Child, there was just a shy girl growing up in Houston. We follow Beyoncé Knowles from the stages of local talent shows to her first crack at a record deal with the group Girls Tyme.

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Making - Making Jordan Peele
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05/18/23 • 39 min

Jordan Peele is responsible for modern classics in the horror genre, including the films Us, Nope and the Oscar-winning Get Out. Before all that, he was a self-described nerd. He majored in puppetry in college before dropping out with his friend Rebecca Drysdale to pursue a career in comedy. Hear from Drysdale, Peele’s early collaborator Brendan Hunt and cultural critic Aisha Harris about Jordan Peele’s rise to comedic and horror genius.
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Making - Beyoncé BONUS: Fearlessly Herself
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03/06/20 • 32 min

In the lead up to Beyoncé's solo album debut, Dangerously in Love, a lot was at stake. She was hoping to break out not only as a solo artist, but as a star on multiple levels — music, endorsements and film. Along the way she’d find love, but she’d also have to battle doubt, even within the record label.

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Making - Beyoncé 3: Destiny Begins
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11/27/19 • 33 min

After Girls Tyme dissolves, Beyoncé and the other girls begin building their new group, Destiny’s Child. Finally, things start to click.

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Making - Obama 6: Yes We Can!
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03/15/18 • 58 min

Barack Obama burst onto the national stage during his U.S. Senate run. Hear how ambition and luck propelled him to Washington.
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From the creators of Making Oprah, Obama and Beyoncé, WBEZ brings you a new season of its hit bio-podcast series, Making. With new host Brandon Pope, each episode tells the origin story of a different iconic Black figure. Through inner circle interviews and exclusive archival tape, this series looks at Serena Williams, Kanye West, Maya Angelou and many more. The years before they skyrocketed to success – the making years.
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Making - Making Toni Morrison
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03/21/24 • 39 min

Toni Morrison is widely considered one of America’s greatest writers. She published 11 novels and is the recipient of a Pulitzer, a Nobel and a Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, Tar Baby, Sula and Beloved are just a few of her works that are considered great American classics. Before she was a celebrated author, she was a pioneering editor at Random House, opening doors for a whole generation of Black writers, including Angela Davis, Huey P. Newton and Gayl Jones. Her editorship assembled a strong network of the most prominent Black intellectuals of the 20th century. But Toni Morrison’s road to success was not a straight shot. She only published her first novel around 40 years old. And when she found her footing, she changed the face of American literature. On the Making season finale, host Brandon Pope sits down with leading Toni Morrison scholars, including Dana Williams, Carolyn Denard, Autumn Womack and Courtney Thorsson, to unpack the trajectory of an American literary hero. Making tells the story of a different, iconic figure every episode. Subscribe now.
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Making - Making Serena
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10/13/22 • 38 min

Serena Williams is a household name. The recently retired tennis legend has won 23 Grand Slam titles – more than any player in the Open era. But before becoming one of the most dominant athletes of all-time, Serena was a girl from Compton with a dream. In the Season 4 premiere of WBEZ’s Making podcast, host Brandon Pope revisits the years before anyone knew Serena’s name. Hear from the people in the room and on the court during her evolution to tennis prodigy, including her sister Isha Price, former tennis pro Chanda Rubin, and childhood coach Rick Macci.
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FAQ

How many episodes does Making have?

Making currently has 46 episodes available.

What topics does Making cover?

The podcast is about Society & Culture and Podcasts.

What is the most popular episode on Making?

The episode title 'Making Jordan Peele' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Making?

The average episode length on Making is 37 minutes.

How often are episodes of Making released?

Episodes of Making are typically released every 7 days, 10 hours.

When was the first episode of Making?

The first episode of Making was released on Nov 3, 2016.

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