Author Bill Natale on His New Book and Race Relations in Chicago

Is it possible to see people for who they are and not the color of their skin? Will we ever learn from our bloodied past of events like 1968 in Chicago, or are we destined to repeat our actions in ignorance? Can we truly accept other people and still speak our minds, or does open discourse have to end in resignation for everyone to feel valued? As we have painfully seen lately in cities, political debates and universities across America, we haven't made the progress in race relations and acceptance we had hoped for.

I discuss this and more with author Bill Natale on my podcast The Dinner Party with Elysabeth Alfano on WGN Radio's WGN Plus. His new novel, 1968: A Story as Relevant Today as It was Then, based around the facts of the 1968 riots in Chicago, highlights race in America through a fictional story. Natale began penning the story three years before the Laquan McDonald video was released and it is a story that, sadly, is as timely as ever. Over charcuterie and seafood from Epic Restaurant, Bill and I dish on his new book and how-47 years after 1968-we are still a nation torn apart.

Enjoy this podcast and feel free to leave comments below to keep the discussion moving forward. For more information on Bill Natale, see below the podcast.



Bill Natale is an Emmy Award winning producer/director and an executive member of the Directors Guild of America, Midwest Council. In addition, he works as a freelance broadcast professional at radio stations around the nation.

Before penning his first adult novel, 1968: A Story as Relevant Today as It Was Then, Natale was the Executive Director for the Chicago Campus of the Illinois Center for Broadcasting, as well as the Executive Producer of Internet Streaming Corporation and the Executive Producer of Watch312.com.

Natale has served as a member of the board of directors for the Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Television Arts & Sciences and as Chairman of the Broadcast Promotion & Marketing Executives Association. Natale continues to work as a consulting producer for the children's educational science program, The Moochie Kalala Detective Show, on PBS' WTTW and as a consulting producer for the latest Dreaming Tree Films feature, Traveling Without Moving, starring Steve Guttenberg and Harry Lennix.

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