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We make podcasts and newsletters that connect people with the cities they love.

City Cast Chicago

 want to get into the Halloween spirit? Hop in the car and drive to nearby scary destinations.

Shaker’s Cigar Bar in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Once a graveyard, the Capone brothers owned the building as a speakeasy and brothel. Later, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer frequented the spot. Today, patrons can tour the haunted bar and stay overnight above the bar. 

City Cast Chicago lead producer Simone Alicea is making a pit stop …

Downtown Public Library in Peoria, Illinois

Believed to be built on cursed ground, the Central Illinois library’s first three directors died unusually. Ghosts are thought to haunt the library to this day.

Legend has it that the Black Angel statue has been struck by lightning and that virgins will die if they touch the 9-foot sculpture.

‘America’s Most Haunted Small Town’ in Alton, Illinois

McPike Mansion is supposedly home to ghosts of former residents and servants. Unitarian Church and Mineral Springs are also popular haunted sites in the town. Hop on a ghost tour if you don’t want to explore alone.

Stay on the fourth floor of the historic hotel, where guests have seen toilets mysteriously flush and employees have heard doors shut in empty rooms.

Itching for a weekend getaway to get into the Halloween spirit? Hop in the car and drive to these nearby scary destinations.

The Best Midwest Haunted Road Trips

Chicago's Best

Break out the flannel and scarves: We’re going apple picking! Here are some of the spots Chicagoans can hit up as the fall equinox hits Saturday.

Pick Gala, Golden Delicious, and more at the orchard. Hop on a tractor ride, visit the petting zoo, and sample fall treats.

🍎 $10 for a half-peck bag or $20 for a full bag

The no-frills orchard only offers apple picking. Open for the season Friday, get McIntosh, Jonathan, and Empire apples.

🍎 Admission includes a quarter-peck bag

The 230-acre farm also has a corn maze, bakery, pumpkin farm, pig races, mountain slide, a life-size Charlotte’s Web, and more.

🍎 Admission includes a quarter-peck bag — bigger bags cost more

The orchard has been voted among the best apple-picking spots in the U.S. Your fav newsletter writer went from being an apple cider doughnut hater to convert at this place.

🍎 Even more apple picking

Break out the flannel and scarves: We’re going apple picking!

Where to Go Apple Picking Near Chicago

Who else is curling up with a book now that the days are getting cloudy and cool? Meet up with fellow Chicago bibliophiles to discuss the books you’re reading.

📘 ”The Coldest Winter Ever” at the Chicago Bee Branch Library Sunday

The club reads fiction and nonfiction by women authors from across the African diaspora.

📘 ”The Warmth of Other Suns” Sept. 23 and more

This reading–running book club creates routes inspired by books about Chicago, ending at a restaurant or spot where runners can rest and discuss.

📘 “Crying in the Bathroom” Sept. 24

Not comfortable meeting up IRL or prefer the convenience of Zoom? Join this club online every fourth Sunday of the month.

📘 Anything you want Sept. 24 or Sept. 28

The two Chicago chapters invite readers out to silently read together at Dorothy in Ukrainian Village and Nighthawk in Albany Park.

📘 ”Forty Million Dollar Slaves” Sept. 28

Founded by Chicago lawyer Alex Breland during the early days of the pandemic, members vote on books every month.

Women & Children First Banned Books Group

The Andersonville store’s book club reads books that have long been challenged and books currently being targeted.

📘 “The Candid Life of Meena Dave” Oct. 2

Around for almost 20 years, the Chicago chapter has gone completely virtual.

📘 ”The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival” Oct. 5

Make friends, grab a beer, and discuss books at the monthly book club.

The Bronzeville-born rapper’s book club has chapters across the country.

Like hearing smart friends talk about books’ plots and themes? The WBEZ podcast puts out a book club episode once a month. Listeners can read ahead of time and leave voicemails with their thoughts.

The group has read books like “Mexican Gothic” and “The Haunting of Alejandra” as well as facilitated author meetups. At capacity now, the next book will be announced later this fall.

One Book, One Chicago encourages residents to read the same book. Branches also offer all types of book clubs about cookbooks, graphic novels, literature, and more. Some libraries offer bilingual book clubs.

The new Roscoe Village romance bookstore is asking Chicagoans want they want out of a book club — 

Who else is curling up with a book now that the days are getting cloudy and cool? 

Best Book Clubs For Every Chicago Bibliophile

, we decided to round up shows we’re most excited to see this season.

📍 Northwestern University’s Abbott Hall in Streeterville

This Congo Square Theatre dark comedy imagines a dinner party between one couple who has long lived in the southwest suburb and another couple who moved from the Cabrini-Green housing complex.

After running a three-plus-year run in the city, the popular Lin-Manuel Miranda musical is back and so is the $10 digital lottery!

Based on interviews, the play explores the underground collective of Chicago women who provided safe abortions before Roe v. Wade.

The annual fest showcases Latinx theater and companies from Chicago and across the world. Productions will be in Pilsen, Chicago Lawn, Wicker Park, Oak Park, and more.

Before the new film comes out, see the musical based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.

Get into the spooky spirit with this tale of serial killer H. H. Holmes, who murdered more than 20 people during the World’s Fair of 1893.

📍 Black Ensemble Theater in Ravenswood

Celebrate the genre’s evolution from its gospel roots to today’s pop hits. Songs are from Barry White, Gladys Knight, Peaches & Herb, and more.

The one-hour musical invites kids to help Pinocchio become a real boy.

‘POTUS, or Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive’

Seven women in the West Wing try to keep a White House PR nightmare from spinning out of control in a play that explores politics, power, and sex.

What Plays, Musicals to See in Chicago This Fall

The fall theater season is upon us! Here are some ways to see shows without breaking the bank.

Buy $20 tickets in advance to upcoming shows, such as “A Chorus Line,” “Nunsense,” “Shrek the Musical,” and much more. This deal ends Sept. 3, or while supplies last.

Enter a lottery to see “MJ, The Musical." If you’re selected as a winner, you have 60 minutes to pay for your tickets, so be sure to check your email often. Sounds too good to be true? Your fave newsletter editor Sidney Madden nabbed tickets to Hamilton, so you know it’s for real!

Check out this site for last-minute theater tickets, such as half-off tickets to “Collected Stories” at the Oil Lamp Theater, or $15 tickets to “Baby” at the Citadel Theatre. You can also enter for a chance to win 

lottery tickets to sold-out shows through the app

Check for remaining mezzanine seats at the downtown theater at 10 a.m. each performance day. You can also check for these half-price tickets at the box office at noon.

If you’re under 35, you can watch productions of Shakespeare at Navy Pier for just $20. Thousands of these discounted tickets are allocated throughout the season — nab yours by signing up for their free membership.

🎭 Which show are you excited to watch?

The Best Chicago Theater Deals

 this weekend at the Salt Shed in Goose Island or always shopping for a good slice, we’ve rounded up some spots that make our mouths water and stomachs grumble.

Bring cash to the 100-year-old family-owned pizzeria known for its iconic thin crust. Wash it down with an Old Style.

Chef Nella Grassano’s South Side pizzeria is on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list. She was trained at the beloved North Side spot.

Try the pie that won Paulie Gee’s the U.S. Pizza Cup: a pizza with three types of cheese, cupping pepperoni, bacon jam, and hot honey.

Grab a big floppy slice of cheese, sausage, or pepperoni for under $5.

Grab plant-based pizzas made with soy or cashew cheeses from the South Side spot, or head north for vegan margherita and BBQ pies.

The Far North Side spot's 24-inch thin crust pie could easily feed a whole party — or you for a few days.

The 7-inch personal pan is great for single diners, especially that $7.95 lunch special.

📥 Add to our list

We’ve rounded up some spots that make our mouths water and stomachs grumble.

Pizzas Every Chicagoan Should Try

With CPS’ first day of school Monday, we’re rounding up a few spots where Chicago families can celebrate the new school year and where to stock up on supplies.

Go to the district-sponsored bashes in Little Village today, on the Near West Side Wednesday, Englewood Thursday, and in Roseland Friday.

The local Goldfish Swim School is offering ice cream, crafts, raffles, and an open swim Friday. Donate to the school supply drive.

Teens can head to the Thurgood Marshall Library for games and prizes Wednesday. Families can read books and play with sidewalk chalk at the Lincoln Belmont Library Friday. Grab fresh produce and school supplies at Legler Regional Library Saturday.

Bring your kids to play games and get a free book bag Saturday.

The Rink is celebrating with a family skate session Saturday.

Kids can get free haircuts and school supplies Sunday.

🎒 Even more back-to-school bashes

With CPS’ first day of school Monday, we’ve got spots where Chicago families can celebrate the new school year and stock up on supplies.

Where to Celebrate Back to School in Chicago

Looking for more ways to beat the heat this summer? Dive bars are notoriously dark, often windowless, and filled with ice cold beer and cocktails.

 helped us curate a list. (The individual asked to remain anonymous to make sure all focus is on the bars.)

“It’s a Polish dive, with a few Polish beers on tap and in bottles. It’s slightly dilapidated … and it has several odd figurines, but that just adds to the charm!”

“When I first came here, they had a bunch of fabric office chairs to sit in around the unique curved bar … The current owner, Warren, has run the place for over 40 years.”

“This is one of a very short list of downtown dives! It's only open Monday through Friday, and not open very late, so the whole purpose is for lunch break or post-work beers.”

“‘Trebol’ means ‘clover’ in Spanish, and they have a few taped onto what is maybe the oldest working cooler in town. … This bar is in the way back of the liquor store.”

“Probably wins the strength-of-drink-poured versus cost ratio. Some dives are quiet, but this one is always a party.”

“Don’t be intimidated that you have to be ‘buzzed in.’ It’s 

a good friendly crowd, and the owner, an actual Uncle Bobby, will probably buy you a round or two if you get to chatting.”

“Named for the owner, Maxine, her family still runs the bar. It’s always a tough no-nonsense lady serving your beers at this joint."

“The décor is great, with a tin ceiling and a beautiful wood backbar. It also has an old CD jukebox.”

“This tavern is a historic relic of the stockyard days. It’s only open Monday through Friday, and the main draw is it serves an excellent different home-cooked meal every day.”

“The owner is an older Polish woman who insists on just being called Mama. And if you are lucky, she sometimes cooks food for the bar in the small kitchen!”

“Its bottled beer is stored in old wooden cabinet coolers. Beer just tastes better out of those things.”

🍺 Check out more dive bars 

Beat the Heat at These Chicago Dive Bars

Not sure where to cheer on the U.S. Women’s National Team as they go for their fifth World Cup title? Consider joining Chicago fans at some of our fav bars and watch parties across the city over the next month.

Top off Korean BBQ and maple bacon wings with shots from around the world.

The local chapter of Barra 76 — a group that welcomes Spanish-speaking fans cheering for the U.S. — is hosting a watch party Wednesday.

See other countries’ matches at the bar morning, noon, and night.

Celebrate or recover post match at Cleo’s until 4 or 5 a.m.

Enter giveaways, brush up on soccer skills, and cheer for Chicago goalie Alyssa Naeher with other Red Stars fans.

Not sure where to cheer on the U.S. Women’s National Team as they go for their fifth World Cup title? Here are some options.

Where to Watch the World Cup in Chicago

What tunes should you bump at your block party? 

 shares the songs that get people moving at block parties and fests.

Everyone knows this song, but Brian said to look for remixes that can capture the kids’ ears, too.

Can’t make it to this weekend's concert? Play Bey at a block party.

Get the party started and people dancing with these classics.

Because it's instructional — “to the right; to the left” — anyone can do it.

Everyone and their mom knows this one ... even if some of us would rather it be skipped. 

It’s def repetitive, but Brian said people couldn't get enough of the 30-year-old song at the Taste of Randolph a couple weeks ago.

People like MC Hammer’s songs because they're nostalgic and campy.

The chorus gets people singing and it goes off musically.

What else to keep in mind? People love campy, corny songs. Watch the decimal levels of the music. Stop playing at a respectable time.

🎶 Check out our Spotify playlist

From the "Cupid Shuffle" to Beyoncé's "Break My Soul," we've got a curated playlist of the tunes you should bump at your next block party, courtesy of Chicago DJ Brian Vaxter.