Social media editor Ryan Smith has some parting words about politics and his three-and-a-half-year tenure at the Chicago Reader.
Author Archives: Ryan Smith
Posted inBlogs
The Jason Van Dyke case showed the danger of being ruled by fear
The murder of LaQuan McDonald isn’t a just a story about one man’s exaggerated fear. It shines a light on the fear that drives much of Chicago’s and America’s politics and criminal justice.
Posted inBlogs
The Intercept’s Jeremy Scahill is at war with American exceptionalism and imperialism
A Q&A with the Chicago-born investigative reporter, who returns to town October 9 for a live taping of his political podcast Intercepted.
Posted inBlogs
An ESPN podcast documentary gets a first-of-its-kind premiere party in Chicago
An ESPN audio documentary about former MLB star Jose Canseco will make its world premiere in front of a live audience in Chicago.
Posted inArts & Culture
In praise of autumn, time for guilt-free staying in
Sometimes Chicago summers can feel like New Year’s Eve stretched out for four months.
Posted inNews & Politics
America, start bowling again
Fall is all about those spares, splits, and strikes.
Posted inBlogs
Deadpool jumps from the silver screen to the silver ball thanks to Stern Pinball
Logan Arcade is throwing a launch party for Stern Pinball’s latest—an adaptation of the Marvel comic book Deadpool.
Posted inBlogs
Will Elon Musk’s bullet train to O’Hare go up in smoke?
The Tesla and Space X CEO’s bizarre, pot smoke-filled performance on Joe Rogan’s podcast casts doubt on his O’Hare bullet train project.
Posted inBlogs
The end of Rahm Emanuel’s rule means that the center may no longer hold in Chicago
Our mayor is on the ropes, and with him the centrist brand of politics aggressively practiced by Emanuel over the last 25 years.
Posted inBlogs
Josh Tsui, Chicago video-game vet turned documentarian, gets his due with a ceremony and award this Saturday
After a quarter century working in Chicago’s up-and-down video game industry, Josh Tsui is getting a lifetime achievement award this weekend.
Posted inBlogs
Rapper Vic Mensa: Chicago’s newest Black Panther?
At this past weekend’s “anti-bait-truck” shoe giveaway, the 25-year-old rapper declared himself a revolutionary.
Posted inBlogs
How the 1968 DNC protests in Chicago ‘killed’ protest folk singer Phil Ochs
Fifty years ago, Phil Ochs performed at the bloody and chaotic protests in Lincoln Park and left a changed and broken man.
Posted inBlogs
The owners of the Pierogi Wagon are selling their food truck business—on Craigslist
Got $25,000? You can buy the Pierogi Wagon food truck and everything else—including special recipes and training in making pierogi.
Posted inBlogs
In Stephen Markley’s debut novel, Ohio is more than just a political football
A Q&A with writer Stephen Markley, whose first novel, Ohio, debuts this week.
Posted inBlogs
Alderman who joked about the ‘gangsters’ on the City Council to plead guilty to corruption charges
Hmm, maybe 20th Ward alderman Willie Cochran really wasn’t joking about being a gangster after all.