Why Do Drivers Hate Cyclists?

Practically any mention of bikes versus cars on the internet incites a flamewar. It’s a curious phenomenon, particularly given the minor threat bikes pose to cars. Nonetheless, I’m convinced that drivers are more afraid of bicyclists than vice versa.

The Word "Hipster" Shall Always Be With Us

A prehistory of Chicago hipsters, in which we meet Harry “The Hipster” Gibson and Lord Buckley, discuss the important difference between “beat” and “beatnik,” and scare the cool kids away from our less-than-fair city with Aristotle and crappy weather.

Youth Violence, Public Schools, and Public Health

NPR is the latest outlet to focus on “what some call an epidemic of youth violence in Chicago.” It’s likely to be an issue as Rahm Emanuel selects new heads for CPS and the CPD. But research suggests that youth violence is as much a matter of public health as anything else.

N’DIGO Publisher Hermene Hartman: Loyalty Not One of Obama’s Qualities

In a face-to-face interview Thursday afternoon, Hermene Hartman, publisher and editor in chief of died last year at 89]. CF: Give me an example of your work for candidate Obama in 2008? HH: Al Sharpton… was with Hillary. I got Sharpton to support Obama before Hillary dropped out. I called him every day for a … Read more

College Comeback: The University of Chicago Finds Its Groove

U-TURN: For decades, undergraduates at the University of Chicago seemed to live by the ancient notion that scholars must “suffer into learning,” and over time applications and enrollment declined. As a result, school officials have worked to reinvent the place, and today Hyde Park has become a hot destination among students applying to the country’s top-tier colleges