“At a crossroads when Chicago profiled him nine years ago, Jerryon Stevens is now in jail, awaiting trial on a murder charge. At home, his mother reckons with her son’s path — and tries to hold her fractured family together.”
Elly Fishman
Posted inEditor's Pick
They Came Here for a New Life. Now They’re Trapped in O’Hare
“Angi and her family left Venezuela for a better life in the States. But after Texas Governor Greg Abbott put them on a plane to Chicago, they and so many others were stuck in limbo at the airport.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Year Mahbuba Found Her Voice
“The young refugee from Afghanistan arrived on the doorstep of a Chicago school. She was deaf and had no previous exposure to formal sign language. What happened next was transformative.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
What $500 Means to Zinida Moore
“In an experimental program, 5,000 Chicagoans received monthly cash payments from the city for a year, no strings attached. Here’s how the money changed one woman’s life — and how it didn’t.”
Posted inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
As January draws to a close, our favorite stories this week included a stirring critical essay, a paean to the world’s greatest boxed meal, a rethinking of psychedelics’ impact on the planet, a profile of a craftsperson at his peak, and an eye-opener about how humpback whales use air in some unexpected ways. 1. Corky […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Violin Doctor
“He’s trusted to repair some of the world’s most fabled — and expensive — instruments. How does John Becker manage to unlock the sound of a Stradivarius?”