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Mick Dumke--Parking Meters Follies
A listener gently chides Ben for not giving DSA enough credit for congressional wins in NYC—in other words, it wasn’t just Mamdani. Ben riffs. Mick Dumke explains the latest chapter in the Parking Meter Debacle. As Mayor Johnson looks into buying back the control of our streets that Mayor Daley foolishly sold for a relative pittance. Learn about the Investment Bros, the mayor’s “dream team” of advisors, the non-disclosure agreement, the letter from Webb, Andre’s mic drop and more. It’s all so pa
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June 29, 2026
Slouching Towards Fiction
It only took over 50 years, but I finally got around to reading Slouching Towards Bethlehem--Joan Didion's iconic essay.Not sure why I didn't read it earlier.It's a classic of New Journalism, a style of non-fiction where the writers put the…
June 27, 2026
Mark Singer's Warning
In 1996, a magazine writer named Mark Singer got an assignment from his boss that he didn't want to do.Hang around with Donald Trump and write a story about it.I don't blame him for not wanting to hang around with Trump or write about him. Till …
June 17, 2026
April In Spain
Took me awhile to find my way to John Banville, the great Irish novelist. But find him I did, and now I’m hooked.In the last two months, I've read three of his novels and got a fourth on the way, on order from the library. It’s like fr…
June 8, 2026
This Land Was Made For You And Me
A few days ago, my wife and I took off for California by way of Iowa, Nebraska and Arizona--by car. Yes, a real road trip.And before I left, I reminded myself...Benny, old, boy--it's a big country out there, and you'll be driving through MAGA la…
June 5, 2026
Worse Than Chicago
I've been writing and thinking about Chicago politics for so long that just about everything I see in politics reminds me of something I've already seen in Chicago.But sometimes Chicago fools me. Sometimes I'll see something in Chicago and think--…
May 20, 2026
North Side South Side
As the self-appointed bridge between those who are addicted to sports and those who know nothing about it, I feel compelled to update the know-nothings about the latest brouhaha gripping Chicago's baseball world.So here goes...First, the name.…
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