Terri Hemmert Knows Music Can Save Your Life
The beloved Chicago DJ is celebrating 50 years at WXRT. We spoke with her about The Beatles, breaking tough news, and her loyal audience.
Custom Placements: Culture Lead
Dad’s Old Records
It’s easy to assume you know Jeff Tweedy. From his early days in Uncle Tupelo to 29 years at the helm of Wilco, the Grammy winner has crafted alt-country gems with heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics that offer his perspectives on love and life. But World Within a Song: Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed … Read more
Opposable Thumbs
Legendary film critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel didn’t always see eye to eye, especially as their WTTW show was just getting started. But as this exclusive excerpt from a new book details, those early days set the stage for one of television’s most influential partnerships.
Next Steppenwolf
A feminist political comedy kicks off coleader Audrey Francis’s new era for the storied theater company.
To Know Ernest Hemingway, Begin in Oak Park
The writer rarely returned to his birthplace after leaving at age 18, but it’s where his story begins nonetheless.
Behind the Scenes
As a movie extra, the author has ridden the L with George Clooney and watched Christopher Nolan direct. But it’s not always so glamorous.
Ike Barinholtz
The comedic actor, 46, on his bullshit detector, weed, and why he’ll never have a six-pack
Five Things: How the Great Fire Changed Chicago
In The Burning of the World: The Great Chicago Fire and the War for a City’s Soul, Scott W. Berg offers new conclusions about the 1871 fire and its aftermath.
Why Nathan Hill Sets His Stories In Chicago
Nathan Hill’s award-winning debut novel, The Nix, was set in Chicago and its suburbs. Similarly, his second book, Wellness, follows the life cycle of a young couple, Jack and Elizabeth, from their meeting in Wicker Park in the early 1990s, to their move to the North Shore. Hill has been observing Chicago for most of … Read more
Mortal Kombat Is a Chicago Export
“Even in our Williams Electronics days,” says cocreator Ed Boon, “everyone had this very Midwestern ‘roll up your sleeves and do the work’ attitude about their jobs.”