The writer takes on the media's ignorance of history, why Chicago is an ideal case study for discrimination, and how uncomfortable it is to undo policies that were racist by design. Read more
Segregationist policies divided Chicago—and America. Those ideas impacted blacks as well as "probationary whites," setting the stage for stories like "The Case for Reparations" today. Read more
Chicagoland began sprawling in the wake of the Great Fire—and its infectious growth influenced the spread of other cities, laying the groundwork for suburbia as we know it. Read more
A look back at the city's good ideas (ski jumping at Soldier Field, animatronic dinosaurs) and bad ones (like the scooter nuns), through the lens of British Pathé. Read more
A talk with the 'House of Debt' co-author and University of Chicago economist on the roots of the financial crisis, the problem of student loans, and how to talk about the issue of debt. Read more
Turning readers' invective into smart dialogue is not a new challenge—but now, it's a bigger problem than ever. Solving it takes a lot of manpower, and some well-designed software. Read more
