Prairie Fire: Season 4 - Episode 2 - October 2026

Cemeteries are a great place to learn about local, state, and national history. Librarian and historian John Kokoris gives the Prairie Fire crew a guided tour of some great graves and important cemeteries in Illinois and introduces us to a few of the the famous residents, architecture, and lore that surround them. Then, we visit with fight director Paul Dennahardt, and we help celebrate the 150 year anniversary of an important agricultural experiment on the U of I campus.

Illinois Cemetery Tour

Cemeteries are a great place to learn about local, state, and national history. Librarian and historian John Kokoris gives the Prairie Fire crew a guided tour of some great graves and important cemeteries in Illinois and introduces us to a few of the the famous residents, architecture, and lore that surround them.

Paul Dennhardt - Fight Director

And meet fight director Paul Dennhardt, who for 35 years has been designing and choreographing staged physical violence in theaters across the country, most recently in Bloomington, Illinois. He uses his expertise to train the next generation of actors to integrate storytelling and movement. Dennhardt shares how he discovered his passion for combat, demonstrates his teaching techniques, and reflects on his legacy as a teacher.

The Morrow Plots

The Morrow Plots at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is celebrating 150 years as America's longest continuous agricultural experiment.  Located in the heart of campus, this former patch of prairie has been cultivated year after year, generating invaluable data on soil health and agricultural sustainability that continues to inform researchers around the globe through a freely available dataset.