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Rummana Hussain--Where Was Bill When Abdul Needed Him?
The Jensen Huang sex scandal may—key word—get Americans interested in AI dangers. Ben riffs. Rummana Hussain talks Abdul El-Sayed victory. In particular, the time Bill Clinton praised El-Sayed. But when it came to endorsing him over Haley Stevens? Well, that’s another story. Rummana is a columnist for the Sun-Times. Her views are her own.
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Nov. 11, 2026
Dodge City
The protagonist of Patrick deWitt's latest novel--Dodge City--faces a fight-or-fight choice that propels you through 248 pages of stay-up-late reading. At least it did for me. Finished it at 7 am. A new record for all night read-a-thons. Got about…
Nov. 10, 2026
The Power Of Powerlessness
On Halloween night, we took the train to Lincoln Park--went to the Steppenwolf Theater to see Topdog/Underdog. Written by Suzan-Lori Parks and directed by Kenny Leon, one of America's greatest directors. How to encapsulate just how fantabulous thi…
Nov. 4, 2026
Billy's Chowder House
My Back Down Memory Lane Road Trip ends with a visit to a town for which I have no memories because...I'd never been there before. Let me explain... It was in July, soon after my wife and I had decided we'd travel east to Connecticut and Rhode I…
Oct. 28, 2026
Fountain Of Youth
In Part Two of my Back Down Memory Lane Road Trip, I venture to Barrington, Rhode Island--a small town outside of Providence, where we used to live long, long ago... First thing I notice as my wife and I turn onto Fountain Avenue is that it's not a…
Oct. 22, 2026
Down On Main Street
It's day one of my Back-Down-Memory-Lane Road Trip... I call it that cause I've traveled across the country to see where it started. For me. In the east. Before my family moved to Evanston in 1966 and my life really got started. I want to see how …
Oct. 20, 2026
The Blue Flame
It feels like I've been enthusiastically reading novels by George Pelecanos since I was born. But, no, I was well past 50 before I'd heard of Pelecanos, much less read one of his novels. This was in 2008 or so when I read a review of his latest. …