In 1993 the audio diaries of two Chicago teenagers, LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman , brought US radio listeners face to face with life in of one of Chicago's worst housing projects.

With the help of National Public Radio producer David Isay they put together the documentary Ghetto Life 101. It became one of the most acclaimed programmes in American Public Radio history and went onto win a host of awards, including the Prix Italia.

Today, LeAlan and Lloyd are men and have gone their different ways, and the Chicago they described has to a large degree vanished. However, the violence, poverty and drugs that informed their old world remain endemic problems for many.

As the US presidential elections approach, BBC World Service broadcasts Ghetto Life 101 in the first half-hour of this special one-hour programme, followed by LeAlan's assessment of life in the city today, viewed through adult eyes and fuelled by experience.

17 October - programme times (Friday Documentary)