Morning AMp (Weekdays 8-10AM CST)

Reggie Ponder the Reel Critic has the latest movie news, from box office results to new reviews. He joins hosts Molly Adams and Brian Babylon in the studio to talk about the surprising success of The Great Gatsby and the disappointing results for Tyler Perry’s Peeples at the box office. Reggie then reviews the latest Star Trek film: Star Trek into Darkness.

“Her life is so amazing, if she had never become a popular psychologist, we probably still would have done her obit.” - Josh Eisenberg on the multifaceted, amazing life of Joyce Brothers.

The original mass-media therapist Joyce Brothers passed away this week. Historian Josh Eisenberg from Obitoftheday.com joins hosts Brian Babylon and Molly Adams on the phone to discuss her life, from quiz show champion to popular psychologist and media icon.

“I think it’s one of the more fun things about the NBA. It seems like it’s this competition between the players of who can put on the most ridiculous outfit and get away with it.” - Molly Adams on NBA players post-game fashion.

The Bulls may be out of the playoffs, but we still have something to look forward to: the flamboyant fashion choices of the NBA, defying stereotypes and cutting edges. Senior Fashion Correspondent Alison Cuddy of WBEZ joins hosts Brian Babylon and Molly Adams in the studio to talk about style in the NBA. She also lets us know what she has found in the Chicagoland area that will meet your sustainable shopper needs.

It’s graduation season and intern Erica DeAngelis is in the studio talking about a commencement controversy at Boston College.

Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley is boycotting Boston College’s graduation ceremony because of who the commencement speaker is: Ireland’s Prime Minister Enda Kenny. Kenny supporting new legislation that allows Irish physicians to perform emergency abortion procedures only in cases when the life of the mother is in immediate danger. Erica talks with hosts Molly Adams and Brian Babylon and fellow interns Maggie Dziubek and Gillian McGhee, about whether Cardinal O’Malley’s actions help the pro-life movement or are just a distraction.

Then, everyone goes around to discuss who their all-time commencement speaker choice would be (spoiler: someone’s includes the Nutty Professor). 

THE INTERNS HAVE TAKEN OVER FEMINIST WEDNESDAY!

Gillian McGhee, Maggie Dziubek, and Erica DeAngelis came prepared with some discussions of their own. In Gillian’s segment, we take a look at a video dubbed “The Ted Talk that Might Make Every Man a Feminist.” It has been getting a lot of hype on various social media platforms. Brian, Molly, and the interns discuss why it has received so much attention, its shortcomings, and the valid points speaker Jackson Katz makes about sexism and rape culture in the US.

“He tries to make it gender neutral, but is also like ‘Let’s be real about who commits these crimes…’ This is a human issue, we all live on this planet together.” —Molly Adams on “Violence and Silence” TedxTalk.

The interns are coming, the interns are coming!

Maggie Dziubek, Gillian McGhee and Erica DeAngelis have taken over the Morning AMp. With their Jedi masters hosts Molly Adams and Brian Babylon sticking around as guides, the intern crew is in the studio for a very full hour of Feminist Wednesday.

In this segment, Maggie Dziubek revisits two stories from previous Feminist Wednesdays with updates and further discussion. First, checking in with the Steubenville rape trial as a Grand Jury gathers evidence at a digital forensics company, a possibly involved head football coach has a contract renewed and girls who wrote so-called ‘bad tweets’ about the victim are charged with ‘telecommunications harassment’.

Then, an exploration of radical parenting techniques in the digital age. How do parents effectively discipline their young kids online? The interns had an issue with Brian’s take on a Dayton man who whipped his daughters for posting ‘twerking’ videos online. A similarly extreme, but more creative and not physically harmful approach comes from the YouTube-famous ‘laptop Dad’.

Drew Marquardt is a freelance bacon curer. His business started off as a brandless, nameless side project as he  used to spend his all his spare time cooking and curing until his bacon game hit at an all time high. His business, “Flesh for Food” has expanded its scope as they’ve catered art openings and even teaming up with local bars and brewers for “pop-up” food stands. Drew joined AMp host Molly Adams and guest co-host Ernest Wilkins as he brought some of that bacon into the studio for every one to try. It was glorious!

“Listen people, I’m new to farmers markets, and brunch, get off me.” -Ernest Wilkins

How intense are you about your coffee? Intense enough to know what bean, water temperature, brewing method you would like? Ernest Wilkins of the RedEye talks with Molly Adams about Chicago’s Intelligentsia coffee company expanding into New York in a super fancy way. They talk discuss big questions like what they’ll spend big money on in the grocery store, comparisons between coffee enthusiasts and wine enthusiasts, and why baristas have to always wear a little vest.

Yesterday was Mother’s Day and everybody and their mom shared photos of their moms.

Guest co-host Alison Cuddy of WBEZ joins Molly Adams in the studio to talk about the flood of pictures posted on social media for Mother’s Day. Even the relatively mom-free space of Instagram was full of mom photos. Molly and Alison talk about what is it about this holiday and family relationship that makes people want to share it online.

WBEZ’s Alison Cuddy fills in for Brian Babylon, and she’s got her rant pants on about media coverage of the Chicago Bulls. Alison and Molly launch into an extended conversation about Chicago sports teams and the Bulls-Heat tension, and listeners chime in with their two cents. Molly also brings in the recent lawsuit against the NHL for the alleged “wrongful death” of NHL enforcer Derek Boogaard.

“I feel like all Chicago teams are getting this same kind of “grit” coverage right now. I don’t follow the Bulls, but what you’re saying sounds eerily familiar to what the Bears have been getting for the last few years…. [W]e’ve been chronically underestimated by the media and every time we do well, it’s because we’re “gritty” - not talented, gritty. I feel like that’s now the Chicago narrative that’s easier for the sports commenters to cover, since they don’t have to bother really learning about the individual teams.”— Listener Amanda Renee King