OTL: Episode #481- Inside Uptown’s Shake Rattle & Read, Quitting social media cold turkey, Re-visiting Batavia’s Beardsgaard Barbers

Mike Stephen talks with:   Shake Rattle & Read owner Ric Addy about closing shop after 50 years in Uptown;   artist/author Dmitry Samarov about quitting social media cold turkey; and   Beardsgaard Barbers co-owners Natalie and Tyler Anderson about cutting hair in Batavia (from OTL #416, our first show on WGN Radio).   Meanwhile, HAPPY NEW YEAR!   This week’s local music is provided by City Mouth.   OTL host Mike Stephen in the Shake Rattle & Read basement   To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our iTunes page or RSS feed.

OTL: Episode #467- Taste Talks Chicago, The unsung heroes of local craft beer, Pop-up retail in Chicago’s public spaces

Mike Stephen talks with:   Taste Talks festival director Will Levitt about the future of food and the future of taste in the Chicago food scene;   Working For Beer creator Matt Tanaka about the stories of the men and women who make the local craft beer industry what it is; and   Activate! founder and Latent Design owner Katherine Darnstadt about the movement to create pop-up retail spaces across the city.   Meanwhile, we announce that OTL no longer crashes the WGN Radio app!   This week’s local music is provided by Clip Art.   Sniffly OTL host Mike Stephen doesn’t mess around with mere pocket tissue packs.   To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our iTunes page or RSS feed.

OTL: Episode #455- Why Chicago won’t go bankrupt, Urban Sketchers Chicago, Fighting residential parking permits

Mike Stephen talks with:   Roosevelt Institute fellow and ReFund America Project director Saqib Bhatti about his In these Times piece “Why Chicago Won’t Go Bankrupt—And Detroit Didn’t Have To;”   Urban Sketchers Chicago co-administrator Wes Douglas for a preview of his organization’s seminar next weekend; and   The Expired Meter blogger The Parking Ticket Geek about “How To Avoid & Beat Residential Permit Parking Tickets.”   This week’s local music is provided by Armitage.   Outside the Loop host Mike Stephen shows off one of his many City of Chicago parking tickets. [circa September 2013]   To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our iTunes page or RSS feed.

OTL: Episode #451- Exploring analog photography in Wicker Park, Fighting airport noise pollution, A pet pig lives in Portage Park

Mike Stephen talks with:   Lomography Embassy Store & Emulsion Gallery Chicago owner Piper Robbins;   Fair Allocation in Runways (FAiR) Coalition co-founder Jac Charlier about the ongoing fight against O’Hare noise pollution; and   Linus… the pet pig of Jennifer & Matt Folino in Portage Park!   This week’s local music is provided by Low Spark.   Linus the Pig and OTL host Mike Stephen get real.   To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our iTunes page or RSS feed.