My entire life, I sought the language to push up against the idea that God made animals to eat. After reading Alyssa Battistoni’s Free Gifts: Capitalism and the Politics of […]
Open Will Quam’s Fire and Clay and you’ll find your notion of Chicago (and its suburbs) transformed. You’ll suddenly notice all the brick buildings and walls and individual rectangles of […]
When Chicago-area author Megy Karydes first wrote the proposal for her book 50 Ways to More Calm, Less Stress, “doomscrolling” had yet to appear in the dictionary. It would soon […]
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson interviewed noted anti-racism writer Dr. Ibram X. Kendi at the Chicago Humanities Festival’s Bridgeport Day on April 18. The New York Times-bestselling author of How to […]
Rick Steves was in the spotlight this week for the Spring Chicago Humanities Festival. Steves is a travel virtuoso, activist, and humanitarian. He is known for his travel series, seen […]
In the back of my mind, I thought someone would surely write about the inestimable Margaret Anderson: editor, bohemian extraordinaire, and LGBTQ+ icon. Some day. And now someone has, Adam […]
I drove down Cuyler Avenue the other day, and, as usual, I was reminded of Kiki Cuyler who played outfield for the Cubs from 1928 through 1935 during a 19-year […]
Louis Sullivan and Daniel Burnham lived parallel lives. Both were born in the East and came to Chicago in their youth. Both were poor students and relatively aimless until they […]
In the mid-1960s, Anne Keegan wore white gloves to apply for a job as a reporter at City News Bureau of Chicago. She recalled riding the elevator to the wire […]
Karen Lewis was a teacher, labor leader, and president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU)—among many other things. Reading through I Didn’t Come Here to Lie: My Life and Education […]
More than 30 years ago, two hundred trees—cottonwoods, mainly, with some horse chestnuts and hackberries—were cut down behind Lane Technical High School, and only arborist Robert Wulkowicz was there to […]
One of the many joys of reading Carla Bruni and Phil Thompson’s Chicago Homes: A Portrait of the City’s Everyday Architecture is the way the book dazzles the reader with […]