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Film, Small Screen Oct 1, 2020
Is Breaking Bad as good as we remember?

Seven years after the show’s finale, a rewatch reveals both problems and growth.
- By Taryn Allen
- Tags: Small Screen, Breaking Bad, Walter White, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Jesse Pinkman, AMC, Vince Gilligan, COVID

Arts & Culture, Book Review Oct 26, 2014
Bob Odenkirk's literary debut is a load of sharp satire

A Load of Hooey finds the comedy legend doing what he does best: lampooning pretension.
- By Tal Rosenberg
- Tags: Book Review, Bob Odenkirk, A Load of Hooey, Mr. Show, Breaking Bad, The Ben Stiller Show, Fargo FX, The Larry Sanders Show

News & Politics, Feature May 27, 2014
The drug warrior

In his three-decade career, Chicago DEA chief Jack Riley has targeted the Outfit, dirty cops, street gangs, and the Sinaloa cartel, yet the drugs keep coming. He says that's all the more reason to continue fighting.
- By Mick Dumke
- Tags: Feature, Al Capone, Anthony Zizzo, Austin, Barack Obama, Beth Jantz, Bradley University, Breaking Bad, Brothers, cannabis, careers, Chapo Guzman, Chicago Crime Commission, Chicago Police Department, Chicago Tribune, cocaine, Colombia, CPD, crime, DEA, Department of Justice, drug arrests, drug cartels, drug dealers, Drug Enforcement Administration, drug trade, drugs, DuPage County, El Chapo, El Paso, El Paso Times, Eric Holder, Florida, gangs, Gangster Disciples, guns, heroin, heroin overdoses, Jack Riley, Jesus Vicente Zambada-Niebla, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, Juarez, Little Wolf, Mariano Lettieri, marijuana, marijuana legalization, Mazatlán, Mexico, Mexico, Miami Vice, murder, Nedrick Miller, neighborhoods, New Mexico, Notre Dame University, organized crime, Peter Bensinger, prisons, regulations, Robert Berlin, Ronald Reagan, Saint Louis, Sinaloa cartel, Texas, The Outfit, Top Cap, United States-Mexico border, University of Illinois Springfield, Vice Lords, Vine Gilligan, violence, war on drugs, Washington Pines, William Maloney, Willie Lloyd

Blogs, Bleader Mar 21, 2014
More thoughts on Resnais, Breaking Bad, surrealism, and "surrealism"

Considering the influence of 20s and 30s surrealism on more recent film and television
- By Ben Sachs
- Tags: Arts, Television, Film, Surrealism, Alain Resnais, Breaking Bad, Vince Gilligan, Andre Breton, Salvador Dali, Simon of the Desert, Mon Oncle d'Amerique, Same Old Song, First Surrealist Manifesto, automatic writing, Communist Party, Leo Tolstoy, Enemy, Denis Villeneuve, Jose Saramago, The Double, The X-Files

Blogs, Bleader Mar 14, 2014
Video
The Face of Love, the face of Wes Anderson, and the rest of this week's screenings

New reviews and notable screenings in this week's issue
- By J.R. Jones
- Tags: Opening, Film, Wes Anderson, Khmer Rouge, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Rithy Prahn, The Missing Picture, Music Box Chicago, Ben Sachs, The Face of Love, Annette Bening, Ed Harris, European Union Film Festival, Gene Siskel Film Center, Expedition to the End of the World, The Sarnos: A Life in Dirty Movies, Joe Sarno, The Stuart Hall Project, John Akomfrah, When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism, Corneliu Porumboiu, Police Adjective, Need for Speed, Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad, Particle Fever, Large Hadron Collider, Rock My Religion, Visitors Godfrey Reggio, Visitors Philip Glass, Facets Cinematheque, Independent of Reality: The Films of Jan Nemec, Sebastian Silva The Maid, University of Chicago Doc Films, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Naked Spaces Living Is Round, Black Cinema House, Shirley Clarke, Portrait of Jason, Gene Siskel Film Center, Quentin Tarantino, Reservoir Dogs, George Kuchar, Unstrap Me!, Nightingale Cinema, University of Chicago Logan Center for the Arts, Charlemagne Palestine Videoworks, CLAW: The Movie, Collective of Lady Arm Wrestlers, film festivals, movies, Video

Blogs, Bleader Feb 12, 2014
Reader's Agenda Wed 2/12: Reggie & the Full Effect, Breaking Bad Trivia Night, and "I Saw You"

What's on the Reader's Agenda for Wednesday, February 12
- By Jillian Sandler
- Tags: Do This, Arts, James Dewees, Reggie & the Full Effect, Promotional Copy, Dads, Pentimento, Breaking Bad, AMC, Atlantic Bar & Grill, Breaking Bad Trivia Night, I Saw You, Matches, X-Matches, Town Hall Pub

Blogs, Bleader Jan 27, 2014
Finding the right stories for winter, when getting to the theater proves difficult

There aren't many epic narratives playing in theaters, so I've had to get my fix elsewhere.
- By Ben Sachs
- Tags: Books, Arts, Television, Moviegoing, Film, Moviegoing, Buddenbrooks, Thomas Mann, Breaking Bad, epic narrative, Blue Is the Warmest Color, At Berkeley, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Hirokazu Kore-eda

Blogs, Bleader Nov 4, 2013
Can television be "cinematic"?

Impressions of the new golden age of U.S. television after a decade of going without TV
- By Ben Sachs
- Tags: Television, The Internet, Moviegoing, Film, Small Screen, Moviegoing, Breaking Bad, television, Hulu, Netflix, The Long Day Closes, Doc Films

Blogs, Bleader Sep 30, 2013
It’s all over now, baby blue: A Breaking Bad chat

Three Reader staff members discuss one of the most heavily anticipated finales in television history.
- By Mara Shalhoup, Kevin Warwick, and Sam Worley
- Tags: Arts, Television, Small Screen, Breaking Bad, Vince Gilligan, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul

Blogs, Bleader Sep 29, 2013
Video
Reader's Agenda Sun 9/29: Breaking Bad's series finale, the Fun House, and Jenny Hval

What's on the Reader's Agenda for Sunday, September 29
- By Jillian Sandler
- Tags: Do This, Arts, Breaking Bad, Blue Line Lounge & Grill, Stage 773 fund-raiser, Jenny Hval, Acteurs, the Humminbird, Video

Blogs, Bleader Sep 25, 2013
Reader's Agenda Wed 9/25: Breaking Bad Quiz, Black Twig Pickers, and Laura Veirs

What's on the Reader's Agenda for Wednesday, September 25
- By Jillian Sandler
- Tags: Do This, Breaking Bad, Los Geeks Hermanos: A Breaking Bad Quiz, Geeks Who Drink, Appalachians, Virginia, West Virginia, Black Twig Pickers, Hideout, Rough Carpenters, Portland, Laura Veirs, Schubas, Warp and Weft, Karl Blau

Blogs, Bleader Aug 13, 2013
Breaking Bad engages warp drive

Two Reader staffers discuss the return of Breaking Bad.
- By Mara Shalhoup and Kevin Warwick
- Tags: Arts, Television, Film, Small Screen, Breaking Bad, AMC, Bryan Cranston, Vince Gilligan, Aaron Paul, meth, Blood Money, Anna Gunn, Gchat, ricin

Music, Gossip Wolf Aug 7, 2013
Gossip Wolf: Icy Demons bassist Griffin Rodriguez needs help bouncing back from a bike crash

Plus: Oshwa's eagerly awaited debut, Lollapalooza celebrity sightings, and more.
- By J.R. Nelson and Leor Galil
- Tags: Gossip Wolf, Griffin Rodriguez, Icy Demons, Bablicon, the Shape Shoppe, GoFundMe, Oshwa, Dirty Projectors, Alicia Walter, Michael Mac, Chamomile Crush, Naked Ally, Quenchers, Para-medics, Shiloh, Options, Lollapalooza, Tim Meadows, Chance the Rapper, Breaking Bad, Aaron Paul, Steve Aoki, Nick Newlin, Yen Tech, Supreme Cuts, Jody, The-Drum, Brandon Boom, Kit, Revengeance

Arts & Culture, Lit Feature Jun 6, 2013
The Reader's guide to the Printers Row Lit Fest

Judy Blume, Art Spiegelman, D.T. Max, Haki Madhubuti, and more: Our critics pick favorites for the annual book blowout.
- By Jena Cutie, Aimee Levitt, Kate Schmidt, Julia Thiel, and Kevin Warwick
- Tags: Lit Feature, American Heritage Dictionary, Jenniffer Weigel, D.T. Max, New Yorker, Manus Carlsen, Helene Grimaud, Grant Achatz, David Foster Wallace, Jennifer Day, Chicago Tribune, Printers Row Journal, Judy Blume, mysteries, Art Spiegelman, Ivan Brunetti, comics, graphic novels, Columbia College, Printers Row, Printers Row Lit Fest, Sharon FIffer, Gillian Royes, Libby Fischer Hellmann, Jamie Freveletti, oral history, history, books, novels, Third World Press, Haki Madhubuti, Hot Doug's, Doug Sohn, Tavi Gevinson, bloggers, blogs, fashion, Alan Sepinwall, Slate, Grantland, Salon, Paste, television, writers, authors, Phil Rosenthal, The Wire, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, HitFix, What's Alan Watching?

Blogs, Bleader Mar 22, 2013
I tried Ommegang's Game of Thrones tie-in beer Iron Throne

Any excuse to drink-slash-talk about a really great show
- By Gwynedd Stuart
- Tags: Arts, Television, Booze, Food & Drink, game of thrones, iron throne, ommegang, craft beer, hbo, walking dead, breaking bad, monks pub, Daenerys Targaryen

Blogs, Bleader Nov 30, 2012
The Flipside: a party for audiophiles

This Saturday bring your favorite record to Town Hall Pub, play it for the masses, and maybe exchange numbers with a fellow music fanatic
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music, Town Hall Pub, music, vinyl, the Flipside, Willis Earl Beal, Breaking Bad, Horseshoe, Ryan Ehresman, DJRC, Michael Jackson, Benny Goodman, Off the Wall

Blogs, Bleader Jul 16, 2012
Homer Simpson, Don Draper, and other sociopaths

Adam Kotsko discusses Why We Love Sociopaths: A Guide to Late Capitalist Television, his book on contemporary television
- By Sharon Lurye
- Tags: Books, Arts, Media, booking signings, book reviews, television, Adam Kotsko, Why We Love Sociopaths, Dexter, Breaking Bad, the Sopranos, Mad Men, 24, Occupy Wall Street, The Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy, cartoons, reality TV

Arts & Culture, Book Review Apr 27, 2012
'52' equals zero

DC Entertainment's new line of superhero comics is more of the same nothing
- By Noah Berlatsky
- Tags: Book Review, DC Entertainment, DC Comics, DC Entertainment new 52, comics, superheros, Animal Man, Alan Moore, Wonder Woman, Neil Gaiman, Batman, Scott Snyder, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Scott Lobdell, 24, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, First Aid Comics, Marvel, Avengers, X-Men

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Seven years after the show’s finale, a rewatch reveals both problems and growth.

A Load of Hooey finds the comedy legend doing what he does best: lampooning pretension.

In his three-decade career, Chicago DEA chief Jack Riley has targeted the Outfit, dirty cops, street gangs, and the Sinaloa cartel, yet the drugs keep coming. He says that's all the more reason to continue fighting.

Considering the influence of 20s and 30s surrealism on more recent film and television

New reviews and notable screenings in this week's issue

What's on the Reader's Agenda for Wednesday, February 12

There aren't many epic narratives playing in theaters, so I've had to get my fix elsewhere.

Impressions of the new golden age of U.S. television after a decade of going without TV

Three Reader staff members discuss one of the most heavily anticipated finales in television history.

What's on the Reader's Agenda for Sunday, September 29

What's on the Reader's Agenda for Wednesday, September 25

Two Reader staffers discuss the return of Breaking Bad.

Plus: Oshwa's eagerly awaited debut, Lollapalooza celebrity sightings, and more.

Judy Blume, Art Spiegelman, D.T. Max, Haki Madhubuti, and more: Our critics pick favorites for the annual book blowout.

Any excuse to drink-slash-talk about a really great show

This Saturday bring your favorite record to Town Hall Pub, play it for the masses, and maybe exchange numbers with a fellow music fanatic

Adam Kotsko discusses Why We Love Sociopaths: A Guide to Late Capitalist Television, his book on contemporary television

DC Entertainment's new line of superhero comics is more of the same nothing

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