Author: Robert Loerzel

Election Night 2016

Letter from Chicago: Misery engulfed Clinton supporters as outcome became clear London Evening Standard, November 9, 2016 — In this overwhelmingly Democratic city, many of the people who’d gathered in downtown bars to watch election results grew sullen and angry as the night went on. “How is it close?” asked Rachael Smith, a DePaul University student wearing… Continue reading Election Night 2016

2016 Winter Culture Guide

Crain’s Chicago Business, November 7, 2016 — Read about “The 52 Must-Do Events in Chicago This Season,” including my previews of the Tatsu Aoki, Aretha Franklin, Patti Smith, the Chicago Podcast Festival and Henry Darger exhibits.

Lawsuits aim to put iconic folk songs back in the public domain

ABA Journal, November 2016 — As he hitchhiked around the country in 1940, Woody Guthrie got sick of hearing Irving Berlin’s patriotic hit “God Bless America” on car radios and jukeboxes. So the itinerant folk singer penned his own anthem in response—with lyrics that challenged the concept of private property. He called the song “This Land.”… Continue reading Lawsuits aim to put iconic folk songs back in the public domain

Displaced: When the Eisenhower Expressway Moved in, Who Was Forced Out?

WBEZ’s Curious City, August 26, 2016 — My story answers the question: “What happened to the people displaced by the Eisenhower Expressway?” Read and explore the interactive story (with web design by Logan Jaffe) and listen to the podcast and radio version.

Hamilton’s Chicago superfans

Past and Present: Hamilton, a musical of historic ambition, arrives in Chicago By Robert Loerzel Originally published in the August 2016 edition of Playbill. The smash Broadway show Hamilton is a hot topic when students drop by the office of Northwestern University history professor, Caitlin Fitz. “They come in and say, ‘What do you think about this musical?… Continue reading Hamilton’s Chicago superfans