Christine Hatfield
LightNews LightNews
banner
christine.21st.show
Christine Hatfield
@christine.21st.show
1.2K followers 1.2K following 280 posts
producer of Illinois Public Media's @21st.show, @transjournalists.org member, nerd. 📻🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ she/her. based in Champaign-Urbana. past: UIS PAR '21, WPR.
Posts Replies Media Videos
christine.21st.show
I swear I'm not making this up.
A random right click menu in Windows for a .wav file, giving me the option to edit this file in Notepad for some reason.
November 21, 2025 at 6:02 PM
christine.21st.show
More to come soon on the next edition of Headlines of the Obvious
a bubble in Christine's weather app reading "Trending Now: Snow Could Be Measured In Feet"
November 10, 2025 at 8:20 PM
christine.21st.show
oh hey that's me!
a picture of Christine next to a picture of Jeff Rogers. the text reads: New Board Members Elected. Two of those elected are brand new to the INBA board, and each does work representing newer directions in broadcast journalism. Christine Hatfield is a producer of the 21st at Illinois Public Media in Champaign. The award-winning radio talk show features news and culture, and airs on 5 NPR stations in Illinois. Jeff Rogers is Editor of Capitol Illinois News in Springfield, a state-government focused nonprofit news organization. His team produces primarily print stories, but also offers some radio and TV versions. . Christine and Jeff were elected alongside Devin Brooks of WQAD-TV in the Quad Cities, Alex Degman of WBEZ in Chicago, and Redrick Terry of WHBF-TV in the Quad Cities, who has recently returned to the industry. All 3 have served on the board previously. Yvonne Boose of WNIJ radio and Mike Miletich of WAND-TV continue in the second years of their terms.
October 23, 2025 at 8:59 PM
christine.21st.show
shout out to my colleague Emily Hays, whose Arden Cho interview is on NPR's front page right now! 🥳 (bottom right corner)
September 6, 2025 at 1:18 AM
christine.21st.show
brb, gotta go meet people at the table-less bench-less picnic table
A black structure meant to hold benches and a picnic table, with the benches and table removed.
August 14, 2025 at 7:05 PM
christine.21st.show
all dressed up, and somewhere to go

(tomorrow, courtesy of the work of @josezepeda.21st.show, The 21st Show from Danville!)
Christine, a fairly young trans woman with a short pixie cut-esque blonde haircut, sits in the back seat of the station van. She's wearing a blue Illinois Public Media polo, her usual necklace, and a nametag indicating she's Christine Hatfield, producer of The 21st Show at Illinois Public Media.
July 10, 2025 at 7:05 PM
christine.21st.show
we're doing the pre-transition photos vs. now thing on Bluesky today apparently, so I guess I'll have a go

(summer 2017 -- about a year before I figured things out -- vs. today)
July 8, 2025 at 6:42 PM
christine.21st.show
oh no
an email reading Good news! Nintendo Switch™ 2 + Mario Kart™ World Bundle is waiting for you! Thanks for waiting! We're happy to say it's now your turn to buy this from the My Nintendo™ Store. This opportunity expires on June 13, 2025 at 6:30 PM PDT.
June 12, 2025 at 2:13 PM
christine.21st.show
the clocks at work are a little on the nose today about how the passage of time feels lately
May 23, 2025 at 3:39 PM
christine.21st.show
Know how I know it's almost the end of the Illinois General Assembly session?
Christine's inbox, showing several emails from comms people in the General Assembly, in the span of 10 minutes, highlighting several bills making progress in the legislature.
May 22, 2025 at 10:16 PM
christine.21st.show
The Irish Daily Star was clearly workshopping its headlines waiting for this...
Front page of the May 9, 2025 Irish Daily Star. The top reads "It's American Pious," and below is a picture of Pope Leo XIV overlooking crowds in the vatican. Below, in bold caps, is the headline "YES WE VATICAN."
May 9, 2025 at 6:38 PM
christine.21st.show
love to get new glasses every now and again. you know, as a treat
A girl with short blonde hair wearing a shirt with a lot of cherries on it, and earrings that look like cherries, smiles while wearing her new glasses, which are a colorful swirl of white, blue, and brown.
May 7, 2025 at 10:53 PM
christine.21st.show
Post your comfort album
Album cover -- Donald Fagen's "The Nightfly." In a radio studio, a white, brown haired, middle-age man sits holding a cigarette with a vintage radio microphone and turntable in front of him. On the wall are a clipboard and a clock reading about 4:09.
April 25, 2025 at 2:25 PM
christine.21st.show
there comes a point where it's nice not to have a profile pic that's bordering on 3 years old
April 17, 2025 at 9:53 PM
christine.21st.show
Coming soon to The 21st Show, at the rate things are going:
A red card called "An Hour of Shouting" from the board game The Networks. The card depicts three men in suits with their mouths wide open and their teeth bared, all apparently shouting at each other.
April 9, 2025 at 2:00 PM
christine.21st.show
Happy Trans Day of Visibility!

Still here, still living life.
Christine, a white trans woman with short blonde-ish hair, stands in front of some bushes and a tree that's flowering. Christine is wearing a blue and black dress with a black coat, and is wearing glasses, a necklace with two intertwined "female" symbols, and earrings with the colors of the trans flag.
March 31, 2025 at 6:57 PM
christine.21st.show
Coming soon to an Illinois Public Radio station near you, @21st.show in concert! We taped a few songs and some conversation this afternoon with @emilytheband.bsky.social -- you can hear it all on the show this Thursday around 11:30.
In a television studio with black walls (and some brick facades off to the left), Camryn Proctor and Emily Antonacci of emily the band talk with 21st Show host Brian Mackey. Camryn is a young Black non-binary person. They're holding a guitar. Emily is a young white woman. She's holding a ukulele. Brian is a middle-aged white man. All three are sitting in front of microphones. In a television studio with black walls, Camryn Proctor and Emily Antonacci of emily the band perform for The 21st Show. Camryn is a young Black non-binary person. They're playing a guitar. Emily is a young white woman. She's playing a ukulele. Both are singing in this photo.
March 11, 2025 at 8:57 PM
christine.21st.show
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker in his State of the State speech (the "as prepared" remarks), drawing a direct line from history:
I’m watching with a foreboding dread what is happening in our country right now. A president who watches a plane go down in the Potomac – and suggests — without facts or findings — that a diversity hire is responsible for the crash. Or the Missouri Attorney General who just sued Starbucks – arguing that consumers pay higher prices for their coffee because the baristas are too “female” and “nonwhite.” The authoritarian playbook is laid bare here: They point to a group of people who don’t look like you and tell you to blame them for your problems. I just have one question: What comes next? After we’ve discriminated against, deported or disparaged all the immigrants and the gay and lesbian and transgender people, the developmentally disabled, the women and the minorities – once we’ve ostracized our neighbors and betrayed our friends – After that, when the problems we started with are still there staring us in the face – what comes next? All the atrocities of human history lurk in the answer to that question. And if we don’t want to repeat history – then for God’s sake in this moment we better be strong enough to learn from it.
February 19, 2025 at 6:35 PM
christine.21st.show
because even when the world is going crazy, public radio still loves its books

(coming soon to a @21st.show near you)
Christine, a blond-ish haired trans woman with glasses, reads a paperback copy of Alexandra Lange's "Meet Me By The Fountain," a book about the history of American malls.
February 5, 2025 at 9:43 PM
christine.21st.show
Rep. Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) out with a press release about the NDAA and "key local and national priorities" passed in it in the U.S. House yesterday. No mention of the ban on gender-affirming care for some trans youth in the bill that led to many House Democrats voting against it.
Budzinski Priorities Passed in National Defense Bill WASHINGTON, DC — This week, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) celebrated key local and national priorities passed in the National Defense Authorization Act, including pay raises for service members, bringing military boot production back to America, funding to secure our telecommunications infrastructure and support for the iFAB Tech Hub at the University of Illinois. The legislation now heads to the United States Senate for consideration. “Our service members risk their lives every day to keep us safe and defend our freedoms. This pay raise is both a well-deserved recognition of their sacrifice and a way to support our troops facing the rising cost of living,” said Congresswoman Budzinski. “I am also encouraged by the inclusion of funding for key priorities I have long advocated for, such as securing our telecommunications infrastructure, supporting the iFAB Tech Hub and bringing military boot manufacturing back to American soil - including in Belleville, IL. While this bill is not perfect, it represents an important step forward in addressing critical issues that impact our national security and our local community.” Key local provisions in the bill include: Bringing Manufacturing Back to America The legislation also includes language requiring the Department of Defense to provide a briefing to Congress on the feasibility of changing regulations to ensure that boots worn by service members are entirely American-made. This provision stems from language from Budzinski’s BOOTS Act, which would address safety concerns for our military personnel while bringing military footwear manufacturing back home to the United States with American-sourced materials. The BOOTS Act would support domestic military footwear production at places like the Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Company. Funding for Secure Telecommunications Infrastructure The NDAA also includes funding for secure telecom infrastructure that Budzinski has long championed. In July, Budzinski introduced the Secure and Affordable Broadband Extension Act, which proposed dedicating $3.08 billion to remove and replace wireless internet equipment from Chinese Communist Party-associated corporations, like Huawei and ZTE, with secure infrastructure. This year’s NDAA answers that call, designating that funding level for this project. Supporting Local Tech Hubs Additionally, the legislation allocates $280 million to the Department of Commerce's Regional Tech Hubs Program, providing the necessary resources to fully implement all approved Tech Hubs. This marks a major win for the University of Illinois’ Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing Tech Hub, also known as iFAB, which will receive a portion of this funding as one of the awarded tech hubs.
December 12, 2024 at 9:58 PM
christine.21st.show
this should not be allowed before Christmas
the weather conditions for Champaign, IL, on a blue background. It's listed as 12 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny, with a few rays of sun shown to the right on my weather app to illustrate the point. Underneath all of that, the high is listed as 23, and the low listed as 10. Circled in red is the text "Feels like -5°".
December 5, 2024 at 2:11 PM
christine.21st.show
Showing some public radio pride for Illinois Public Media Friendsgiving!
Christine, a white trans woman with short brown hair and glasses, holds a sign saying "I HEART The 21st Show!"
November 20, 2024 at 11:21 PM
christine.21st.show
I may be a mess but at least my desk isn't 🫡
A picture of Christine's desk setup at Illinois Public Media. The main desk has two computer screens and a laptop off to the right of the screens. Also on the desk are some business cards and a "Public Radio Nerd" waterbottle. Along the wall are some mementos from her time in journalism and her personal life. On the first shelf are various tchotchkes, including a statue of Mario from Super Mario Bros 3, Funko Pops of Alex Trebek and Wynonna Earp, a small Kirby plushie on top of a giant estrogen pill, and a statue of a Dancer stone from Final Fantasy XIV. On the top shelf are greeting cards, a message board reading "say more about that!", a statue of Sylveon, and some maps of Midwest independent bookstores.
November 20, 2024 at 11:17 PM