Usually at a live performance, the audience is encouraged to give the performers their undivided attention. But at Meanwhile Chicago – a variety show featuring storytellers, essayists, comics and dancers – the audience is encouraged to draw and doodle the whole time. “When you put a piece of...

Even though summer is officially over, Chicagoans know September is a bonus month of warm weather, outdoor fun and live music — both outdoors and in the clubs. Here’s what to circle on your calendar this month until the leaves start to fall. Michael McDermott and the Arsonists.

Before Rhanni Davis allegedly went on a deadly Labor Day shooting rampage on a Blue Line train, the 30-year-old had been arrested repeatedly and had struggled to pay rent — all while continuously changing their name. Flashpoints in Davis’ life are laid out in a tangled web of court...

Anyone who has spent time listening to folk music knows that it is less about the notes and words and more about the community it fosters between the performers and audience. Few exemplify that more than Mark Dvorak, one of Chicago’s primary catalysts of the city’s folk music tradition, which goes back more than a century. A performer and songwriter, he has built a career as a longtime teacher and organizer. He sees himself as someone who uses music to connect with people, not just in clubs and theaters, but in places that typically offer little access to live music: hospitals, libraries, senior residences and elementary schools.

The U.S. Surgeon General says parents across the country are struggling with increased stress and declining mental health. Long-term stress can have many negative outcomes for parents and children in the U.S., so much so that the surgeon general has said it’s a public health issue. Parents are juggling...

Over six million Illinois voters had their personal information exposed by a right wing news site earlier this year. Local Government Information Services published street addresses and dates of birth of millions of Illinois residents, including dozens of judges whose information is legally protected from being disseminated. A judge ruled that some of this personal information had to be redacted, but a WBEZ investigation found that much of it is still searchable online.

Beneath the Salvation Army bonnet, the woman’s cheeks are too pink — as if she needs to come in out of the State Street cold. And her blue eyes express the pleading weariness of someone whose work helping the poor is never done. “Think about how many people...

In the 1990s, a Chicago public library building that had sat unused for a decade got a second life. Or maybe, because of the traditions at the Old Town School of Folk Music, which took over the Art Deco building, it’s more accurate to say it got a Second Half.

WBEZ’s analysis shows the sites published home addresses of most of the state’s voters, including prosecutors involved in public-corruption cases, prominent Illinois-based actors, Chicago sports luminaries and several billionaires. An election conspiracy peddler exposed dates of birth and home addresses online for more than 6 million Illinois voters...

JERUSALEM — The family of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin says he has been killed in the Gaza Strip. The family issued a statement early Sunday, hours after the Israeli army said it had located bodies in Gaza. “With broken hearts, the Goldberg-Polin family is devastated to announce the death...

Discount grocery operator Yellow Banana pitched itself to city officials as a “business with a purpose,” operating 38 stores nationwide. And in return, they negotiated a multimillion-dollar deal to refurbish and reopen six Chicago Save A Lot stores within two years in neighborhoods lacking access to affordable and fresh foods.

Whenever the family of Pamela Wilkening sees photos of her, grief instantly gnaws at them. So when an advertisement aiming to attract people to the nursing profession featured a photo of her without their knowledge, it brought not only strong emotions but also a lot of questions. Wilkening was one...

Students return to school amid record-breaking heat and demolition begins on local landmark to make way for Chicago’s first permanent casino. Attorneys for former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan request evidence be thrown out ahead of his upcoming corruption trial, demolition begins on local landmark to make way for riverfront casino and local radio host resigns from high school coaching duties after controversial comments.

Chicago musicians Marquis Hill – a jazz trumpeter and bandleader – and Manasseh – a singer and soul artist – both stopped by Vocalo to talk with Nudia Hernandez about their lives, their love for one another, and their recent and upcoming collaborations. “He’s booked and...

Summer is the season of sound in Chicago: from fireworks to car stereos, the jingle of paleta carts to outdoor concerts. That’s exactly what happened to North Park resident Emily Tamblyn. On a warm summer night, Tamblyn was in her backyard when she heard a voice that sounded a...

Reset explores how design shapes the day-to-day life of Chicago. What do you think of when you hear the word “design?” Maybe it’s Photoshop or video games. But what about urban planning, street art and choreography?. There’s a spot right at the corner of Michigan and Randolph...

The Chicago Jazz Festival happens every year during Labor Day weekend. Performances are starting Thursday at the Chicago Cultural Center from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. with acts like Amina Claudine Myers, The Southside All Stars and The Young Masters. Reset gets the rundown with an organizer and hears from...

Planning out the week’s meals, making a shopping list based on that plan, and then dedicating time to prepare veggies, starches and proteins can help avoid the dread of having to figure out what’s for dinner when you’re already hungry. Plus, it helps keep costs in check at the grocery store.

Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates said Thursday she’s not working behind the scenes to engineer the ouster of Schools CEO Pedro Martinez. She simply wants him to “do his job” and deliver the schools poor children deserve. “We give them an opportunity to remediate. I’m...

Chicago trumpeter Marquis Hill and singer Manasseh met through, perhaps unsurprisingly, music. Manasseh attended one of Hill’s shows, and said that the connection was instant. “He’s not full of it, and it’s hard to find that,” said Manasseh. That connection led to a recent collaboration from the pair: “I Promise To Listen” appears on Hill’s new album Composers Collective: Beyond The Jukebox.