1. These Suburban Preppers Are Ready for Anything
In Chicago’s affluent communities, the Joneses are getting ready for the apocalypse (or maybe Ebola) with bug-out bags and canned food. Chicago goes inside the panic room.
2. Rauner at 100 Days
Having settled into the office, the Governor sits down for an extensive, tough interview with Amanda Vinicky. WUIS asks the hard questions.
3. No Chef in America Cooks Dinner Quite Like Phillip Foss
His tiny near-South-Side restaurant EL Ideas is a risk. Is it Chicago’s most important eatery? Eater profiles the modernist chef.
4. Q&A: Vic Mensa on His Debut Album, Kanye, and Not Knowing What U2 Sounds Like
He guested with Chicago’s most famous rap expat on SNL and signed to Roc Nation. Now he wants to be colossal. Grantland talks with the next big thing in hip hop.
5. The Art and Science Behind the Glow of Chicago’s Skyline
Energy-efficient lighting is changing the city’s look from orange to blue. WBEZ explains.
6. Let’s Watch Kris Bryant Do Something Amazing
What an early-season double tells us about the Cubs’ young star. Fangraphs breaks it down.
7. Letter of Recommendation: Skiing
Aleksandar Hemon is one of Chicago’s great writers. If he wasn’t that… he’d be a ski bum. He sings the sport’s praises in the New York Times Magazine.
8. How the Conservatively Radical Architect Howard Van Doren Shaw Changed the American Home
His quiet North Shore country homes are still popular among the elite. But behind the facade was a pathbreaking modernist. Chicago tours his work.
9. When Muhammad Ali Was a Has-Been
John Schulian was a boxing writer for the Chicago Daily News and the Sun-Times, where he followed the end of the champ’s career. Deadspin collects some of his finest work.
10. Grant Achatz: The Search for the Impossible
How does creativity work for the Alinea and Next chef? “By building walls, and forcing yourself to climb over them.” He opens up for an hour with the Huffington Post.