Often called “the people’s poet,” Martin Espada was recently awarded one of the nation’s top literary awards. 

With its ever-changing demographics, Chicago has seen many churches close in the last 50 years. A viewer wants to know what happens to the art and sculptures inside those churches as they near their last days.

Burgers, country music and secret gardens usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

After nearly half a century of answering questions ranging from the trivial to the technical to the taboo, the Chicago Reader’s informative and irreverent weekly column has ended.

The city’s mega-food fest returns to Grant Park. We get a preview of the Taste of Chicago.

Organic gardener Jeanne Nolan stops by our organic vegetable garden, where we’ve already begun to harvest some of our early starters.

What is most impressive about this romantic comedy, the first work to be produced in Folks Operetta’s “Reclaimed Voices” series, is the exceptional beauty of the voices in the show’s large cast, and the performers’ comic swagger.

We visit a local nonprofit that offers free scuba training to adults and children with special needs.

Director Diane Paulus taps into the pain and high comedy of the story, but Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre is far too big a venue for this essentially intimate show.

The elaborately produced 75-minute show has all the energy and magic necessary to keep young audiences engaged. At the same time, the adult aspects of the story emerge with particular force and clarity.

Despite the growing number of farmers markets in Illinois and across the U.S., a number of reports in recent years show that sales across the country are down. How markets are adapting to reach today’s consumers.

Learn about a new report on sexual harassment in the sciences – and the suggestions it makes to better combat it. 

From Supreme Court justices to crusading journalists, the stories of the people who made the U.S. Constitution what it is today.

In this encore edition of Ask Geoffrey, the keys to the story of a symphony orchestra made up of all pianos – and all women. And: The story behind a colonial-inspired park district field house in the Austin community.

An unusual new art show looks at fantastic and strange paintings made by Chicago and Midwestern artists in the mid-20th century. We visit the Arts Club of Chicago.

Local alt weekly the Chicago Reader has a history dating back nearly 50 years. We speak with the paper’s new publisher.