Essays, Lit, Soapbox

Opinion: A Pre-Obit for the Physical Book

Make no mistake, I love physical books. I love the weighty feel of a book in my hands. I love the aroma of a book when you open it whether a […]

Patrick T. Reardon /
Architecture, Beyond, Chicago history, Chicago history, Children's books, Comics and Graphic Novels, Fiction, Lit, Nonfiction, Poetry

Essay: In Defense of “Unregulated” Little Free Libraries

Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) thinks the little free libraries along many Chicago sidewalks are bad—very bad. They are “unregulated”! And they’re “popular”! And many of them are planted in city soil! (Collective […]

Patrick T. Reardon /
Beyond, Soapbox

Nightmare on Huron Street: Seven Hours in the ER

Yep. ER = Emergency Room. Not a place you want to spend time but if you have to go there, be prepared—to spend time. I had a late night medical […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Soapbox, Today

Essay: Haymarket Voices Have Echoed in the Streets for 135 Years

May Day is a Chicago tradition, one that goes back to 1886. It’s woven into the city’s DNA, part of the bones of the big shoulders that hold up the […]

Aaron Cynic /
Beyond, Soapbox

Essay: The Sights and Sounds of Baseball, Fans Optional

Some guy on ESPN the other day was complaining again about men who bring a mitt to Major League Baseball games, and I just don’t get it. Maybe that’s because […]

Patrick T. Reardon /
Beyond, Soapbox, Stages

Essay: Streaming Theater in the Age of Covid — and Beyond

By guest author W.C. Turck  On Sunday, February 21, from 1-3pm CST, Kerri Kendall and Bill Turck will hold a radio roundtable on streaming theater one year into the COVID-19 pandemic. […]

Guest Author /
Beyond, Soapbox

Essay: The Rise  (and Fall) of a Charismatic Leader in a Post-Truth Era

Post-truth is pre-fascism, and Trump has been our post-truth president. Historian Timothy Snyder characterizes our past president and describes his followers vividly in his essay, “The American Abyss: Trump, the […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Soapbox, Today

Call It by Its Name: Wednesday Was a Fascist Riot

Wednesday left us in shock. Rioters stormed up the steps, climbed up the walls of the U.S. Capitol, broke windows and battered through doors to get into the building. Then […]

Aaron Cynic /
Beyond, Soapbox

Essay: Return to Kenowhere

I had no idea when I wrote about Kenosha just a few weeks ago we’d be where we are today. I had no idea I’d be trolling Twitter and see […]

Marielle Bokor /
Beyond, Soapbox

Essay: The Road to Kenowhere Leads to Me

Picture of the author

By now, if you’re on social media, especially Twitter, you may have noticed that Kenosha is trending on Twitter. In fact, Kenosha made the national news–or rather, an author at […]

Marielle Bokor /
Beyond, Food, Recipes, Soapbox

Eight Things I Learned From Cooking My Grandma’s Gołąbki

2020 was hard for us even before the pandemic. Save for a working vacation that was fulfilling on a professional level and fun because I got to do it with […]

Marielle Bokor /
Beyond, Soapbox

Essay: Haircuts, Prison, Love and Sheltering in Place

Cathy gave me a haircut today on the back porch. In our 37 years of marriage, that hasn’t happened before, but we’re not leaving the house for haircuts or much […]

Patrick T. Reardon /