In chilly San Francisco Bay, open-water swimmers find warmth in community
By Lucy Roberts Medill Reports SAN FRANCISCO – The water in the San Francisco Bay rarely rises above 60 degrees, even in the summer. But these chill temperatures do not stop swimmers from diving into the bay, chasing not just the shock of the cold water, but also the warmth of community they find in […]
In the Zooniverse, AI can’t take the citizen out of citizen science
By Sara Cooper Medill Reports Dan Caselden had little interest in astronomy before he became an expert in identifying undiscovered celestial bodies. Scrolling through social media in 2017, he heard of a digital project called Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 where he could volunteer his time to help astronomers identify rogue planets, brown dwarfs and potentially […]
Chicago pulls strings to become international puppetry hub
By Paulina Czupryna Medill Reports According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, a puppet is “a small-scale figure (as of a person or animal) usually with a cloth body and hollow head that fits over and is moved by the hand.” Puppeteers might disagree. They can debate the definition for hours — a “common joke,” said Elaine Petkovsek, […]
Striking out ALS one pitch at a time
By Emily Iannaconi Medill Reports As the Boston College players perch on the top step of the dugout, their arms touch the red flag with a white ribbon that looks like a baseball and has the words “Strike Out ALS” inscribed in blue lettering. No matter where or when they play, the Eagles support and […]
New early voting location draws more traffic
by Christen Gall Reyna Hernandez wanted to make a difference in the election by casting her vote early on the second day of the early voting period. “It felt like a really important statement and to see the numbers changing early, that’s one of the other reasons why I think voting early was important because […]
Clock ticking for Springfield to resolve budget crises
By Harvard Zhang Springfield, Ill. — Illinois lawmakers have until midnight Tuesday to push the brakes on the state’s entering a second budget-less year, which would continue to take a toll on a large swath of Illinoisans and dim the state’s future. House Speaker Michael Madigan said Monday he had scheduled House special sessions for […]
South Side Diabetes Project Changing Nutritional Norms
By Anna Boisseau Passersby at an Auburn Gresham Save-a-Lot sport a mixture of confusion and annoyance as they squeeze past the small gathering of 10, who are listening to Mary Lucy, a dietetic technician, speak about the appropriate daily portion size for servings of fruit. “Bananas have a lot of sugar, right?” asks Gregory Thompson, […]
You Can’t Take It With You, and you may not want to
By Alexandra Garfield You Can’t Take It With You takes us back to a depression-era classic that feels all too relevant today. The show centers around the Sycamore family who live their lives on the premise of compulsively pursuing happiness. This eccentric bunch does everything from practicing ballet while baking to making fireworks in the […]
Venmo’s social mobile payments win the day with Millennials
By Taylor Hall On a recent weekend, South Loop resident Christina Rojas and a handful of her closest friends flew from Chicago to Las Vegas for a weekend trip. “Between all the cabs and food and drinks, I think I Venmo’d every ten minutes,” the 25-year-old University of Illinois at Chicago medical student said. “I […]
Anatomy of a body of work at the surgical museum
By Lucy Vernasco The International Museum of Surgical Science’s new Anatomy in the Gallery exhibit feels more like an immersion into the study of physiology than a walk through a classical art show. This is because the art displayed in Notes on Life: Visual Lectures from the Vitruvian Fine Art Studio, on view until Friday […]