Column: ‘Sirens in the Loop’ book gives us City News Bureau in all its raucous glory
“Sirens in the Loop: A History of the City News Bureau of Chicago,” is not at all a textbook, but rather an intimate look at a time long gone.
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Column: How Billy Branch bought a harmonica, found the blues and changed his life
Chicago blues great Billy Branch says a concert in Grant Park got him hooked on the music many decades ago. His latest album is “The Blues is My Biography."
Column: You can start your St. Patrick’s Day early with Trinity Irish Dance
There are, of course, many ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, including seeing the Trinity Irish Dance Company perform.
Column: Drinking & Writing’s new musical began with a dream about a leopard print coat
Sean Benjamin and Steve Mosqueda are the founders of the Drinking & Writing Theater and have long been part of the creative life of this city. They have a new...
Column: The Chicago Reader bursts back in a ’50 Years’ book and a lively new issue
“Free Chicago: 50 Years of the Reader” is a big, beautiful book that coincides, serendipitously, with the “rebirth” of the Chicago Reader itself.
Column: Telling the amazing story of Black jockey Isaac Burns Murphy
Author and performer Nancy Hays first encountered his remarkable story in a small museum at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
James ‘Boz’ O’Brien, owner of the Reilly’s Daughter tavern in Oak Lawn, dies at 75
His was a family-friendly place and you could walk in on any night and run into pals and politicians, neighbors and labor leaders, or, for a time, members of the...
Column: ‘I Bid You Peace’ documentary explores the accusations that ended the Frugal Gourmet
Jeff Smith was better known as the Frugal Gourmet, and he pioneered the food-on-television trend with his show on WTTW. But accusations of sexual assault later ended his career.
Column: Who’s that new anchorman? He’s no Walter Cronkite.
The new CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil recently compared himself to Walter Cronkite. That's not a smart move, if you ask me.
Column: Inside the Green Mill, the Malört and stories flow in a new movie
“The Green Mill: A Real Chicago Joint" will premiere at the Davis Theater in Lincoln Square, both telling some history and focusing on the present of this Uptown treasure.