I've been a reporter for a long time.

And for much of my career here in my hometown of Chicago, I've reported on race.

I've done stories on housing, segregation, food injustice, economic development.

It's been so fulfilling.

But something you likely don't know about me and maybe don't expect, I am a huge soap opera fan.

And I mean huge. You might be thinking so what?

Soaps are known for the absurd, people returning from the dead, amnesia as a popular plot device,

possession by the devil. Sometimes the acting is overwrought, chalk it up to all the lines that must be memorized. There are no reruns, therefore stories without end, 250 episodes a year.

I argue that there is a deeper picture of the daytime drama, an important part of American television history and popular culture. Not to mention the social issues soap's tackled before other shows,

abortion, divorce, and queer representation have been front-burner stories

with flushed-out characters and storylines played out over months,

not just one very special episode. Soap operas are a part of families and childhoods.

We age with those characters and families who've been around for decades. Those bonds are strong.

I want you, dear listener, to join me on this journey where I argue that soaps have not gotten

the credit they deserve.

They're dismissed as low-brow entertainment for women.

Yet, as you'll learn throughout this season of making stories without end,

soaps are the foundation for American television storytelling

and served as a financial powerhouse to the networks for decades.

Without soaps, we wouldn't have dramas, reality shows.

Without soaps, we wouldn't have many of the TV tropes and shows we love to stream and binge watch.

Clifhangers, serials, vixen's, all come from soaps.

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