Odyssey is a daily talk show of ideas produced by WBEZ Chicago Public Radio. Hosted by Gretchen Helfrich, Odyssey explored topics ranging from religion in the public sphere to reasoning about risk; pacifism to post-national identity; memory to Microsoft; societal views on mental health to the state of marriage. Odyssey first went on the air in Chicago in 1998 and was launched as Chicago Public Radio's newest national program in November 2001. "Talk radio has a reputation for being either inflammatory or pretentious," said Torey Malatia, the president and general manager of Chicago Public Radio. "Odyssey moves this format in a new direction by providing a forum for the best minds in fields as diverse as politics, science, culture, philosophy, law, and the arts to engage in insightful conversation." Odyssey's guests had varied and complementary views and were invited to investigate ideas and issues—rather than just to debate them. The first part of the program was an in-depth discussion of ideas that influence the world in which we live. Towards the end of each show, listeners were invited to call in and join the conversation. Odyssey ended production on September 30, 2005, although the audio archive remains available.
