Chicago Reader

Former Dead Steelmill front man Cornelio "Corny" Ramirez has died at 61, after a lifetime of insisting on justice and dignity for his blue-collar comrades. bit.ly/4AjHJ5o

The stalwart of Chicago's storefront scene is entrancing as Winnie, a woman entombed in a mound of dirt, in Samuel Beckett's tragicomedy. bit.ly/48N6P0E

Kate Douglas's play, now onstage with Clark Week Productions, offers a blend between screwball workplace comedy and the threat of death. bit.ly/4sW1nlw

"An O & Their ABC (American Born Cat)” at the Chinese American Museum of Chicago points as much to omission as it does to olivier. bit.ly/4etFrYS

Hans Christian Andersen's morality fable gets a charming and inventive outing in Mallory Swisher's new adaptation. bit.ly/4zdg7xG

A group of Black nurses at a fictional Atlanta hospital wrestle with faith, the stresses of the job, and an embezzlement scandal. bit.ly/4Av8yUp

A Filipino drag queen throws himself a 29th birthday party with the (distracted) help of his family in this comedy by Nate Cozens. bit.ly/4Au3pMk

Collecting local fossils has grown from a childhood hobby to an academic interest and a reason to create content and build community. bit.ly/4zgJGP7

I had only been at Sheridan Correctional Center for three months when my tooth began to hurt.  Months prior, before I was transferred there from Stateville prison, I had part of a filling break off, leaving a large hole in one of my lower left teeth. I ... bit.ly/4iC9kbX

The sweaty, sleazy, all-vinyl queer disco party became a nightlife mainstay over two year and numerous iterations. bit.ly/4sNodvn

While at Anshe Emet Synagogue, Moses J. Silverman also trained Danny Thomas for a remake of The Jazz Singer and prepped Lionel Hampton for a tour of Israel. bit.ly/3WCw2YU

In wartime Ukraine, a Chicago psychologist found a country under fire building a rehabilitation network for torture survivors. Back home, he watched his own government pull the ground out from under them. bit.ly/4iGETzZ

Sian Heder's drama about Judith Heumann and the 1977 San Francisco sit-in trades Hollywood disability porn for radical crip activism. bit.ly/4AbZm6X

A recap of the best animated features and shorts at the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival bit.ly/4iCr4T9

Chicago-based filmmakers Alex Thompson and Kelly O'Sullivan weave simple moments of vulnerability into a beautifully devastating feature. bit.ly/4sGUkNf

Democrats have a chance to address the inequality, military incursions, and domestic secret police force that led to the so-called "blue tsunami." bit.ly/4iFKTt0

The Cinema Scrapbook places film screenings in conversation with other local creative happenings, illuminating Chicago's rich cultural connectivity. bit.ly/4BHUyIl

Los Angeles–based rage rapper Lucy Bedroque likes tracks that push your speakers into the red, a choice that's practically de rigueur in the subgenre. bit.ly/4iHOeI4

Editor's note: November 2026 issue bit.ly/4z207P2

From Sudanese milk fermentation to Filipino herbalism, Azadi's classes help students reclaim traditional self-sufficiency. bit.ly/4kyOBXN