Alex Kotlowitz speaks about his years looking into the city's most vexing problems, the differences between writing and making movies, the neighborhoods President Obama's message of hope and change never seem to impact, and more. more ›

The story of a year in the life of three "violence interrupters" as they step into confrontations at the moment they are about to turn into violent altercations in Chicago's toughest neighborhoods, the film's thoughtful and jarringly intimate look at a new approach to dealing with the persistent violence has struck a chord with audiences everywhere it's been shown, and we expect this will shortly be the movie everybody's talking about here. We sat down with Steve James, who is also known for other documentaries such as Stevie and features such as Prefontaine in addition to the legendary Hoop Dreams, at the offices of Kartemquin Films on the north side last week. Our interview with Kotlowitz will run separately. more ›

On Saturday, a team of Eyewitness News Chicagoist scribes were walking the streets of downtown Chicago (which we enjoy), scribbling metaphors about the gritty city into our Pulitzer Prize-winning notebooks and getting all hopped up on coffee drinks, when we encountered this young man and his sign standing on the Boule Mich, just outside the Art Institute. "Will play Nietzsche trivia for a dollar," it says. "If you win I will give you 50 push-ups." He told us his name is Michael, and that he comes here by way of San Francisco. He'll be sticking around town for a while, so brush up on your Zarathustra and pay him a visit. Oh, and yes, that's a Nietzsche tattoo. more ›