What’s New

Peter Friederici has a history in these pages. In 1987, the Chicago native—then a recent Northwestern University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature and no clear path to a career—got hired as a Reader editorial assistant. He spent two years in that job, working under editors Michael Lenehan and Alison True. Now an established environmental author and a professor at Northern Arizona University, he credits those two years with teaching him how to be a journalist.

“Chicago was an endless source of stories, and proofreading every week was a great way to learn to write and edit. You see what everybody’s doing—it’s a little bit like seeing everybody’s dirty laundry—and you see how things can be improved,” Friederici recalls. “It gave me a potential outlet, and the Reader had that wonderful freedom—you could write about something that most people would view as obscure.”

A hefty piece on the demise of prairie chickens and another about a walk through the Volo Bog are representative of numerous stories he contributed to the Reader during those years, and subsequently as a freelancer. Concern for the natural world has been a through line in his writing, some of it done during a seven-year stint as a field biologist; at NAU he teaches rookie scientists how to better communicate about their work. His latest book, Beyond Climate Breakdown: Envisioning New Stories of Radical Hope, published this fall by MIT Press, is a sweeping and often eloquent 143-page essay on our biggest and most neglected problem: this overheating planet, “our own Frankenstein.”  

In brief, the greenhouse gases that industrialization has released into the atmosphere are destroying the stable climate that’s made human existence possible. We’ve known this since at least the 1980s but have failed to do anything significant to halt it. “[W]hat is the matter with a society that would willingly destroy its own future in this way?” is the question Friederici addresses.

His answer is unexpectedly literary and deeply political. We need to change the story around it, he says, starting with the nomenclature (“breakdown” rather than climate “change”) and extending to the highly individualistic Western cultural narrative that shapes the way we think about our country, our government, and ourselves. This is not an issue any one person is going to be able to fix, no matter how dutifully we recycle or how often we bike instead of driving—though we need to keep doing those things too. Climate breakdown is a problem that requires collective action at the federal and international levels, and, Friederici says, that’s going to mean shedding our entrenched myths of heroic individualism.  

Arguing that individualistic narratives are inherently tragic and that tragedy entails foregone conclusions, he says we need to “step out of the yoke of the narratives whose comfortable weight we have allowed to settle on us over centuries,” including the extreme free-market ideals that grew out of the postwar period, and find more open-ended, “regenerative stories” that link us to something even older: the closer connection with nature (and each other) characteristic of many Indigenous cultures.  

“Just providing more facts to people seldom makes much of a difference,” Friederici says by phone from Flagstaff. “Especially when we start talking about challenging topics like climate change—or vaccination. We’ve all seen that play out in recent years. However much good information is out there, it’s really hard to change minds and practices.

“The 2015 Paris Agreement set a limit on warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius [above the base level set in 1880]. Beyond that, things are going to get exponentially worse. We’re already more than two-thirds of the way there, and our greenhouse gas emissions have not slowed down. It doesn’t look promising.” 

He concludes the book with a few reasons for hope, including technological innovation, the pursuit of legal liability for fossil fuel companies (which have profited by degrading the environment while promoting climate-change denial), and “the rapidly growing engagement of today’s youth.”

But, he says, “So much damage has been done already. We can have a climate breakdown future that’s really bad, or we can have a climate breakdown future that’s less bad. Where we have the choice is how bad do we let it get, and how creative do we get about solutions.”  

“We stand on a knife edge of history,” he writes, “still able to choose a path better than that of inertia . . . “

Read More

Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky riffs on the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty, and interviews politicians, activists, journalists and other political know-it-alls. Presented by the Chicago Reader, the show is available by 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays at chicagoreader.com/joravsky—or wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t miss Oh, What a Week!–the Friday feature in which Ben & producer Dennis (aka, Dr. D.) review the week’s top stories. Also, bonus interviews drop on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays. 

Chicago Reader podcasts are recorded on Shure microphones. Learn more at Shure.com.

Chicago Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky discusses the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty on The Ben Joravsky Show.

Read More

Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky riffs on the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty, and interviews politicians, activists, journalists and other political know-it-alls. Presented by the Chicago Reader, the show is available by 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays at chicagoreader.com/joravsky—or wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t miss Oh, What a Week!–the Friday feature in which Ben & producer Dennis (aka, Dr. D.) review the week’s top stories. Also, bonus interviews drop on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays. 

Chicago Reader podcasts are recorded on Shure microphones. Learn more at Shure.com.

Chicago Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky discusses the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty on The Ben Joravsky Show.

Read More

This exhibition is a much needed reminder of our interconnectedness in the face of the toxic individualism touted by much of contemporary American culture. It explores the increasing overlaps between artistic practice, mutual aid, and political activism. The title,“For Each Other,” references the ways the included artists “consider care in their work and in the contexts they create for their work,” writes exhibition curator Lorelei Stewart. Care, a word that has thankfully reentered cultural discourse as of late, takes many forms here: prompts for audience self-reflection, bowls for sharing soup, publications about resource sharing, flyers calling for community volunteers, multiple seated reflection spaces, and so on. Some of the works are straightforwardly interactive, some abstractly encourage rest and reflection. Unsurprisingly, given the communal conceit of the show, several collaborations and collectives are featured.

 “For Each Other”Through 12/17: Tue-Fri 10 AM-5 PM, Sat 12-5 PM, Gallery 400, 400 S. Peoria, gallery400.uic.edu

A striking installation by Kennedy Healy and Marley Molkentin titled Care is the standout. The series depicts their relationship as personal care assistant and receiver of care services and grapples with, as Molkentin tells me in a joint interview, “how broken our state care system truly is.” Both artists are invested in social justice, disability justice, and media production, and are driven to make work that calls attention to what they call “violence framed as care.” (Healy runs a disability media company, Crip Crap, that creates work about disability by and for disabled people.) This refers to, says Healy, “state in-home care and many other institutions like psychiatric wards, group homes, work programs, nursing homes, etc. that claim to offer care but often strip people of their rights, autonomy, and dignity in exchange.”

This room-sized installation of several distinct works thoughtfully documents the logistics of the daily interactions between the two artists but goes beyond simply archiving them. Materials used include the logistical accoutrements of medical care: time sheets that document Molkentin’s hours worked, continuous positive airway pressure gear, and catheters. Stunning portraits of the two of them throughout their daily routine, printed large, are hung salon-style across a single wall. These include a nude portrait of Healy in a pink-tiled shower; her pose is a supported contrapposto, reminiscent of Botticelli’s Venus. There is also an image of Molkentin guiding Healy in a Hoyer lift sling (an assistive device used to transport patients with mobility issues) adjacent to a suspended life-sized figure sculpture—made of medical bills—also seated in a Hoyer lift sling .Though there is tenderness in the interactions between the two, the works bluntly recount the reality of living with a disability in the state of Illinois and make clear the need for social reform and increased community support. 

Latham Zearfoss’s video installation Grant Us Serenity explores infrastructures of care while emphasizing the healing power of pleasure. Zearfoss invites the viewer into a relaxation cave with a sumptuous padded rug and tree stumps to sit on. The lights are dim, and both the walls and floor are a soothing blue. Projected on the wall is a cerulean sky occasionally interrupted by a passing cloud or bird—which fades to lavender at the end of a five-minute loop. (This was shot at the experimental residency Poor Farm.) The soundtrack is a gentle, ambient compilation of field recordings taken near the artist’s home, including a wind chime and a freight train. The room encourages both emotional and physical presence and reminds the viewer that rest can function as both self-care and resistance, especially if you are queer, BIPOC, or part of an otherwise marginalized or vulnerable population.

Latham Zearfoss, still from Grant Us Serenity, 2022, looping video, stereo sound, sections of a dead maple tree, hand-dyed deadstock velvet, recycled carpet padding, 5:00 mins.

Zearfoss offers the viewer an intermission from the exhaustion of being sentient in the world today. In addition to creating a quiet, meditative moment in the midst of—as the artist describes—a “very text-heavy and thematically heavy” exhibition, this work also brings up the relational politics of space and power: who gets it, who doesn’t, who needs to cede more in public discourse (usually the person in the room with the most privilege). Zearfoss writes, “I thought of this as a supportive gesture to the viewer but also to my fellow artists, who are doing such important work. Sometimes fading into the background is the most powerful thing we can do.”

Zearfoss’s positing a world in which all public spaces include zone-out rooms echoes the cheeky installation by Real Fake Artists, Inc., a collective of six recent University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) grads (Gallery 400 is housed at UIC). The Stuff Is Fake but the Need Is Real consists of playful cardboard renderings of a proposed student lounge, to be hypothetically housed in the same building as the gallery. Public spaces can be forms of care, amenities for students at a public institution can be forms of care, and—as frequently espoused in the transformative and restorative justice movements—constructive criticism can also be forms of care (for more on this, see adrienne maree brown’s writings on the topic). Institutional critique is alive and well; long live institutional critique!

Kathleen Hinkel, The Love Shack Love Fridge at 2751 W. 21st Street near Little Village, 2021, color photograph, courtesy The Love Fridge Chicago and the photographer

There is more than one art world in Chicago, and it was great to see some nontraditional works and spaces outside the constellation of usual suspects. I am talking mostly about The Love Fridge, an incredible food-access and neighborhood beautification initiative launched at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic—now boasting 24 locations. The refrigerators, and often accompanying pantry shelves, are painted to reflect the neighborhood in which they are located. The organization’s rallying cry, “solidarity is not charity,” makes the argument that providing food to a neighbor in need is not an extraordinarily philanthropic act but a basic gesture of community support. Their mission reads: “Feeding oneself is not a privilege but a right.” Especially during times of collective tragedy, we really aren’t meant to go it alone. 

This show was generous with both public programming and ephemera, and I left with a tote full of treasures (of course following The Love Fridge ethos “take what you need/leave what you can”). My favorite was the zine Take Me With You: Waiting Room Edition by the UIC Disability Cultural Center Community Care Cohort. It reads, “Have an upcoming doctor’s appointment? Take this zine with you!”—the compiled poems, coloring pages, games, tips, and other enrichments are designed to “alleviate the wait and anxiety of waiting rooms.”

This exhibition’s series of gentle gestures in both intimate and public places act as a handbook for how we can keep each other well-cared for. I left with zines, recipes, resources, and a renewed curiosity in what the future of mutual aid and community care looks like in Chicago—where we keep us safe.

Gallery 400 offers accessibility measures that should be standard in public cultural spaces. Here are some best practices courtesy of Stewart: -Engage with folks in the disability art and activism communities. Healy offers consulting services on creating disability friendly media through Crip Crap. -Put captions on all videos.-Provide verbal descriptions of every artwork and all exhibition texts available both in audio recordings and on a dedicated screen readable webpage.-Present virtual tours of the exhibition. Partner with disability community leaders, artists and/or activists when doing so. Always provide ASL interpretation and CART captioning.

Read More

This exhibition is a much needed reminder of our interconnectedness in the face of the toxic individualism touted by much of contemporary American culture. It explores the increasing overlaps between artistic practice, mutual aid, and political activism. The title,“For Each Other,” references the ways the included artists “consider care in their work and in the contexts they create for their work,” writes exhibition curator Lorelei Stewart. Care, a word that has thankfully reentered cultural discourse as of late, takes many forms here: prompts for audience self-reflection, bowls for sharing soup, publications about resource sharing, flyers calling for community volunteers, multiple seated reflection spaces, and so on. Some of the works are straightforwardly interactive, some abstractly encourage rest and reflection. Unsurprisingly, given the communal conceit of the show, several collaborations and collectives are featured.

 “For Each Other”Through 12/17: Tue-Fri 10 AM-5 PM, Sat 12-5 PM, Gallery 400, 400 S. Peoria, gallery400.uic.edu

A striking installation by Kennedy Healy and Marley Molkentin titled Care is the standout. The series depicts their relationship as personal care assistant and receiver of care services and grapples with, as Molkentin tells me in a joint interview, “how broken our state care system truly is.” Both artists are invested in social justice, disability justice, and media production, and are driven to make work that calls attention to what they call “violence framed as care.” (Healy runs a disability media company, Crip Crap, that creates work about disability by and for disabled people.) This refers to, says Healy, “state in-home care and many other institutions like psychiatric wards, group homes, work programs, nursing homes, etc. that claim to offer care but often strip people of their rights, autonomy, and dignity in exchange.”

This room-sized installation of several distinct works thoughtfully documents the logistics of the daily interactions between the two artists but goes beyond simply archiving them. Materials used include the logistical accoutrements of medical care: time sheets that document Molkentin’s hours worked, continuous positive airway pressure gear, and catheters. Stunning portraits of the two of them throughout their daily routine, printed large, are hung salon-style across a single wall. These include a nude portrait of Healy in a pink-tiled shower; her pose is a supported contrapposto, reminiscent of Botticelli’s Venus. There is also an image of Molkentin guiding Healy in a Hoyer lift sling (an assistive device used to transport patients with mobility issues) adjacent to a suspended life-sized figure sculpture—made of medical bills—also seated in a Hoyer lift sling .Though there is tenderness in the interactions between the two, the works bluntly recount the reality of living with a disability in the state of Illinois and make clear the need for social reform and increased community support. 

Latham Zearfoss’s video installation Grant Us Serenity explores infrastructures of care while emphasizing the healing power of pleasure. Zearfoss invites the viewer into a relaxation cave with a sumptuous padded rug and tree stumps to sit on. The lights are dim, and both the walls and floor are a soothing blue. Projected on the wall is a cerulean sky occasionally interrupted by a passing cloud or bird—which fades to lavender at the end of a five-minute loop. (This was shot at the experimental residency Poor Farm.) The soundtrack is a gentle, ambient compilation of field recordings taken near the artist’s home, including a wind chime and a freight train. The room encourages both emotional and physical presence and reminds the viewer that rest can function as both self-care and resistance, especially if you are queer, BIPOC, or part of an otherwise marginalized or vulnerable population.

Latham Zearfoss, still from Grant Us Serenity, 2022, looping video, stereo sound, sections of a dead maple tree, hand-dyed deadstock velvet, recycled carpet padding, 5:00 mins.

Zearfoss offers the viewer an intermission from the exhaustion of being sentient in the world today. In addition to creating a quiet, meditative moment in the midst of—as the artist describes—a “very text-heavy and thematically heavy” exhibition, this work also brings up the relational politics of space and power: who gets it, who doesn’t, who needs to cede more in public discourse (usually the person in the room with the most privilege). Zearfoss writes, “I thought of this as a supportive gesture to the viewer but also to my fellow artists, who are doing such important work. Sometimes fading into the background is the most powerful thing we can do.”

Zearfoss’s positing a world in which all public spaces include zone-out rooms echoes the cheeky installation by Real Fake Artists, Inc., a collective of six recent University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) grads (Gallery 400 is housed at UIC). The Stuff Is Fake but the Need Is Real consists of playful cardboard renderings of a proposed student lounge, to be hypothetically housed in the same building as the gallery. Public spaces can be forms of care, amenities for students at a public institution can be forms of care, and—as frequently espoused in the transformative and restorative justice movements—constructive criticism can also be forms of care (for more on this, see adrienne maree brown’s writings on the topic). Institutional critique is alive and well; long live institutional critique!

Kathleen Hinkel, The Love Shack Love Fridge at 2751 W. 21st Street near Little Village, 2021, color photograph, courtesy The Love Fridge Chicago and the photographer

There is more than one art world in Chicago, and it was great to see some nontraditional works and spaces outside the constellation of usual suspects. I am talking mostly about The Love Fridge, an incredible food-access and neighborhood beautification initiative launched at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic—now boasting 24 locations. The refrigerators, and often accompanying pantry shelves, are painted to reflect the neighborhood in which they are located. The organization’s rallying cry, “solidarity is not charity,” makes the argument that providing food to a neighbor in need is not an extraordinarily philanthropic act but a basic gesture of community support. Their mission reads: “Feeding oneself is not a privilege but a right.” Especially during times of collective tragedy, we really aren’t meant to go it alone. 

This show was generous with both public programming and ephemera, and I left with a tote full of treasures (of course following The Love Fridge ethos “take what you need/leave what you can”). My favorite was the zine Take Me With You: Waiting Room Edition by the UIC Disability Cultural Center Community Care Cohort. It reads, “Have an upcoming doctor’s appointment? Take this zine with you!”—the compiled poems, coloring pages, games, tips, and other enrichments are designed to “alleviate the wait and anxiety of waiting rooms.”

This exhibition’s series of gentle gestures in both intimate and public places act as a handbook for how we can keep each other well-cared for. I left with zines, recipes, resources, and a renewed curiosity in what the future of mutual aid and community care looks like in Chicago—where we keep us safe.

Gallery 400 offers accessibility measures that should be standard in public cultural spaces. Here are some best practices courtesy of Stewart: -Engage with folks in the disability art and activism communities. Healy offers consulting services on creating disability friendly media through Crip Crap. -Put captions on all videos.-Provide verbal descriptions of every artwork and all exhibition texts available both in audio recordings and on a dedicated screen readable webpage.-Present virtual tours of the exhibition. Partner with disability community leaders, artists and/or activists when doing so. Always provide ASL interpretation and CART captioning.

Read More

This exhibition is a much needed reminder of our interconnectedness in the face of the toxic individualism touted by much of contemporary American culture. It explores the increasing overlaps between artistic practice, mutual aid, and political activism. The title,“For Each Other,” references the ways the included artists “consider care in their work and in the contexts they create for their work,” writes exhibition curator Lorelei Stewart. Care, a word that has thankfully reentered cultural discourse as of late, takes many forms here: prompts for audience self-reflection, bowls for sharing soup, publications about resource sharing, flyers calling for community volunteers, multiple seated reflection spaces, and so on. Some of the works are straightforwardly interactive, some abstractly encourage rest and reflection. Unsurprisingly, given the communal conceit of the show, several collaborations and collectives are featured.

 “For Each Other”Through 12/17: Tue-Fri 10 AM-5 PM, Sat 12-5 PM, Gallery 400, 400 S. Peoria, gallery400.uic.edu

A striking installation by Kennedy Healy and Marley Molkentin titled Care is the standout. The series depicts their relationship as personal care assistant and receiver of care services and grapples with, as Molkentin tells me in a joint interview, “how broken our state care system truly is.” Both artists are invested in social justice, disability justice, and media production, and are driven to make work that calls attention to what they call “violence framed as care.” (Healy runs a disability media company, Crip Crap, that creates work about disability by and for disabled people.) This refers to, says Healy, “state in-home care and many other institutions like psychiatric wards, group homes, work programs, nursing homes, etc. that claim to offer care but often strip people of their rights, autonomy, and dignity in exchange.”

This room-sized installation of several distinct works thoughtfully documents the logistics of the daily interactions between the two artists but goes beyond simply archiving them. Materials used include the logistical accoutrements of medical care: time sheets that document Molkentin’s hours worked, continuous positive airway pressure gear, and catheters. Stunning portraits of the two of them throughout their daily routine, printed large, are hung salon-style across a single wall. These include a nude portrait of Healy in a pink-tiled shower; her pose is a supported contrapposto, reminiscent of Botticelli’s Venus. There is also an image of Molkentin guiding Healy in a Hoyer lift sling (an assistive device used to transport patients with mobility issues) adjacent to a suspended life-sized figure sculpture—made of medical bills—also seated in a Hoyer lift sling .Though there is tenderness in the interactions between the two, the works bluntly recount the reality of living with a disability in the state of Illinois and make clear the need for social reform and increased community support. 

Latham Zearfoss’s video installation Grant Us Serenity explores infrastructures of care while emphasizing the healing power of pleasure. Zearfoss invites the viewer into a relaxation cave with a sumptuous padded rug and tree stumps to sit on. The lights are dim, and both the walls and floor are a soothing blue. Projected on the wall is a cerulean sky occasionally interrupted by a passing cloud or bird—which fades to lavender at the end of a five-minute loop. (This was shot at the experimental residency Poor Farm.) The soundtrack is a gentle, ambient compilation of field recordings taken near the artist’s home, including a wind chime and a freight train. The room encourages both emotional and physical presence and reminds the viewer that rest can function as both self-care and resistance, especially if you are queer, BIPOC, or part of an otherwise marginalized or vulnerable population.

Latham Zearfoss, still from Grant Us Serenity, 2022, looping video, stereo sound, sections of a dead maple tree, hand-dyed deadstock velvet, recycled carpet padding, 5:00 mins.

Zearfoss offers the viewer an intermission from the exhaustion of being sentient in the world today. In addition to creating a quiet, meditative moment in the midst of—as the artist describes—a “very text-heavy and thematically heavy” exhibition, this work also brings up the relational politics of space and power: who gets it, who doesn’t, who needs to cede more in public discourse (usually the person in the room with the most privilege). Zearfoss writes, “I thought of this as a supportive gesture to the viewer but also to my fellow artists, who are doing such important work. Sometimes fading into the background is the most powerful thing we can do.”

Zearfoss’s positing a world in which all public spaces include zone-out rooms echoes the cheeky installation by Real Fake Artists, Inc., a collective of six recent University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) grads (Gallery 400 is housed at UIC). The Stuff Is Fake but the Need Is Real consists of playful cardboard renderings of a proposed student lounge, to be hypothetically housed in the same building as the gallery. Public spaces can be forms of care, amenities for students at a public institution can be forms of care, and—as frequently espoused in the transformative and restorative justice movements—constructive criticism can also be forms of care (for more on this, see adrienne maree brown’s writings on the topic). Institutional critique is alive and well; long live institutional critique!

Kathleen Hinkel, The Love Shack Love Fridge at 2751 W. 21st Street near Little Village, 2021, color photograph, courtesy The Love Fridge Chicago and the photographer

There is more than one art world in Chicago, and it was great to see some nontraditional works and spaces outside the constellation of usual suspects. I am talking mostly about The Love Fridge, an incredible food-access and neighborhood beautification initiative launched at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic—now boasting 24 locations. The refrigerators, and often accompanying pantry shelves, are painted to reflect the neighborhood in which they are located. The organization’s rallying cry, “solidarity is not charity,” makes the argument that providing food to a neighbor in need is not an extraordinarily philanthropic act but a basic gesture of community support. Their mission reads: “Feeding oneself is not a privilege but a right.” Especially during times of collective tragedy, we really aren’t meant to go it alone. 

This show was generous with both public programming and ephemera, and I left with a tote full of treasures (of course following The Love Fridge ethos “take what you need/leave what you can”). My favorite was the zine Take Me With You: Waiting Room Edition by the UIC Disability Cultural Center Community Care Cohort. It reads, “Have an upcoming doctor’s appointment? Take this zine with you!”—the compiled poems, coloring pages, games, tips, and other enrichments are designed to “alleviate the wait and anxiety of waiting rooms.”

This exhibition’s series of gentle gestures in both intimate and public places act as a handbook for how we can keep each other well-cared for. I left with zines, recipes, resources, and a renewed curiosity in what the future of mutual aid and community care looks like in Chicago—where we keep us safe.

Gallery 400 offers accessibility measures that should be standard in public cultural spaces. Here are some best practices courtesy of Stewart: -Engage with folks in the disability art and activism communities. Healy offers consulting services on creating disability friendly media through Crip Crap. -Put captions on all videos.-Provide verbal descriptions of every artwork and all exhibition texts available both in audio recordings and on a dedicated screen readable webpage.-Present virtual tours of the exhibition. Partner with disability community leaders, artists and/or activists when doing so. Always provide ASL interpretation and CART captioning.

Read More

In the span of a week, Anthony Davis somewhat changed the outlook of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ season. What was once an underperforming collection of aging stars is now a hot team capable of beating the NBA elite, anchored by one of the league’s best big men in Davis. But the Lakers also got a taste of what life without Davis would be like in their 116-102 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The other veteran team that underperformed to start the season, the Brooklyn Nets, started to build some momentum thanks to Kevin Durant. Durant led the Nets to a win streak against the teams on their schedule they should beat, but didn’t do enough to pull off a win against the red-hot Boston Celtics in their most recent game.

Then again, very few are beating the Celtics right now. Boston still owns the best record in the NBA at 20-5, and aside from a few upsets to other contenders in the East, it looks like the Celtics are the better team on the floor most nights.

As Boston dominates the Eastern Conference, the West seems to get a new potential frontrunner every week. Now the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies are gaining ground on the Phoenix Suns for the top seed in the conference.

Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (Kendra Andrews, Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball now and which teams are looking most like title contenders.

Previous rankings: Week 1 Week 7

ESPN

1. Boston Celtics2022-23 record: 20-5Previous ranking: 1

After sweeping a road back-to-back against the Nets and Raptors to begin a six-game trip, the league’s best team thus far will head West for the first time this season beginning Wednesday in Phoenix, before going on to Golden State Saturday and then wrapping up with a home-and-home in Los Angeles to start next week. — Bontemps

2. Milwaukee Bucks2022-23 record: 17-6Previous ranking: 2

Giannis Antetokounmpo, who turned 28 Tuesday, has scored at least 30 points in seven straight games, the longest streak of his career. He’s averaging 36.0 points, 10.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists during that span and is now tied for second in the NBA (31.9 points) in scoring with Joel Embiid, behind Luka Doncic. — Collier

3. Phoenix Suns2022-23 record: 16-8Previous ranking: 3

Wednesday

Hawks-Knicks, 7:30 p.m.Celtics-Suns, 10 p.m.

Friday

Lakers-76ers, 7:30 p.m.Bucks-Mavericks, 10 p.m.

*All times Eastern

After opening their season with a revenge win over the Mavericks, the Dallas demons reappeared for the Suns with a 130-111 loss in Dallas on Monday. Phoenix fell behind by 18 heading into the second quarter and never made a game of it, bringing to mind that brutal blowout loss to Dallas in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals in the spring. — McMenamin

4. New Orleans Pelicans2022-23 record: 15-8Previous ranking: 7

The Pelicans are on a four-game winning streak, and Zion Williamson‘s play on both sides of the floor has been a big part of that. In the last four games, Williamson is averaging 27 points, 9.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists, two steals and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 64.1% from the field. He has at least one steal and one block in four consecutive games for the first time in his career. — Lopez

5. Cleveland Cavaliers2022-23 record: 16-9Previous ranking: 5

Jarrett Allen returned from a five-game absence because of lower-back pain and wreaked havoc on the Lakers on Tuesday. Allen scored a career-best 22 points in the first half (finishing with 24 points, 11 rebounds and 3 steals) and Donovan Mitchell did his damage late, scoring 17 of his 43 points in the fourth quarter, to lead The Land to victory. — McMenamin

6. Memphis Grizzlies2022-23 record: 15-9Previous ranking: 6

Dillon Brooks is shooting a career-low 39.4% from the floor, but his impact on winning has been evident. The Grizzlies have outscored opponents by 100 points with Brooks on the floor, a plus-minus that ranks behind only Ja Morant and Steven Adams on the team. Memphis allows only 106.3 points per 100 possessions with Brooks on the floor, almost eight points lower than without him. — MacMahon

7. Denver Nuggets2022-23 record: 14-10Previous ranking: 4

Longtime Denver coach Doug Moe once devised a system of subtracting home losses from road victories to determine a team’s quality. Even after Tuesday’s last-second defeat to Dallas, this year’s Nuggets squad ranks second to Boston in that metric, with eight road wins and just three home losses so far — a byproduct, in part, of playing 15 road games already, tied with Houston for the NBA lead. — Bontemps

8. LA Clippers2022-23 record: 14-11Previous ranking: 9

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are finally back and just in time. The Clippers and Ty Lue were blown out by Sacramento at home, 123-96, last Saturday without Leonard, George, Luke Kennard and Norman Powell. Leonard and George showed just how much they mean to the team, combining at the end to beat the Hornets with Leonard scoring the final four points for the Clippers, including the game-winner on Monday. Next up are games at Orlando and Miami before John Wall returns to DC for the first time with fans in the building. — Youngmisuk

9. Sacramento Kings2022-23 record: 13-9Previous ranking: 14

Get access to exclusive original series, premium articles from our NBA insiders, the full 30 for 30 library and more. Sign up now to unlock everything ESPN+ has to offer.

The Kings just keep on rolling. What may have felt like an early-season fluke with their success has proven to be legitimate. Just imagine if Mike Brown can insert the defensive prowess he built at Golden State into this Sacramento team. They could stay dangerous and sustain it. — Andrews

10. Golden State Warriors2022-23 record: 13-12Previous ranking: 10

Each time it feels like the Warriors are finally exiting their early-season funk, they suffer a setback. Most recently it was a loss to the Indiana Pacers without Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner, in which Stephen Curry had his worst game of the season. And when he was a no-show, no one else was capable of stepping up for him. — Andrews

11. Dallas Mavericks2022-23 record: 13-11Previous ranking: 16

Moving into the starting lineup seems to have jump-started Tim Hardaway Jr. He got off to a slow start, chipping off rust while returning from foot surgery that sidelined him most of last season, but Hardaway has averaged 24.4 points on 51.9% shooting (54.5% from 3-point range) in the last five games. — MacMahon

12. Portland Trail Blazers2022-23 record: 13-11Previous ranking: 13

After losing 8-of-10 games, the Blazers steadied themselves a bit with two big wins over the Jazz and Pacers. Anfernee Simons continues to develop into a budding star with 45 points, including 15-of-25 shooting and seven made 3’s, against the Jazz. Jerami Grant keeps shining as well. Damian Lillard returned and had 21 points in the win over the Pacers. — Youngmisuk

13. Brooklyn Nets2022-23 record: 13-12Previous ranking: 17

Brooklyn has gotten back on track thanks to the brilliance of Kevin Durant. The former MVP averaged 33 points, 7 rebounds and 5.5 assists over the last week, earning Eastern Conference player of the week honors. The issue for the Nets is that Durant is averaging 36.9 minutes a game — a huge workload this early in the season. — Friedell

14. Philadelphia 76ers2022-23 record: 12-12Previous ranking: 8

A weeks ago, Philadelphia was three games over .500, had won seven of nine games and James Harden‘s return was on the horizon. But after three losses on that road trip — including Monday’s loss in Houston — Philadelphia has now dropped back down to .500 on the season as they begin a two-week homestand Friday against the Lakers. — Bontemps

15. Atlanta Hawks2022-23 record: 13-11Previous ranking: 18

2 Related

Bogdan Bogdanovic made his regular season debut on Friday night as he recovered from offseason knee surgery. Hawks fans gave him a rousing ovation when he subbed in, but there was still some rust that needed to be knocked off. In Monday’s game against Oklahoma City, Bogdanovic looked more like his old self with 17 points and five 3-pointers. — Lopez

16. Indiana Pacers2022-23 record: 13-11Previous ranking: 11

Bennedict Mathurin has gotten most of the attention, but fellow rookie Andrew Nembhard, who was drafted in the second round this year, is also helping the Pacers win games. Nembhard scored 31 points with 13 assists and made five threes on 62% shooting in a win against the Warriors on Monday, the first rookie to do so since Steph Curry in 2010. — Collier

17. Utah Jazz2022-23 record: 14-12Previous ranking: 20

Rookie center Walker Kessler is making a case for extended minutes, especially considering that the Jazz rank 25th in defensive efficiency and 29th in defensive rebounding rate. Kessler — the No. 22 overall pick acquired in the Rudy Gobert trade — is tied for seventh in the league with 1.7 blocks per game despite averaging only 15.8 minutes. The Jazz allow only 106.6 points per 100 possessions with Kessler on the floor, which is stingier than the league’s best defense. — MacMahon

18. Toronto Raptors2022-23 record: 12-12Previous ranking: 12

The Raptors remain at .500 as they head into Wednesday night’s game against the Lakers, but Pascal Siakam continues to play at the highest level of his career. Across 14 games this season, he is averaging 24.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and 7.1 assists. There is only one other player in the league averaging 24-8-8 this season: Luka Doncic. — Bontemps

19. Miami Heat2022-23 record: 11-14Previous ranking: 19

Jimmy Butler is finally back after dealing with a lingering knee injury, and he immediately delivered in Friday’s overtime win over the Celtics with 25 points, 15 rebounds and big plays down the stretch. Butler should be able to push the Heat back on track given that five of their next six games are against teams under .500. — Friedell

20. Minnesota Timberwolves2022-23 record: 11-12Previous ranking: 22

The Timberwolves’ depth is being tested right now, and it’s not exactly acing the test. In their win over the Grizzlies, Minnesota showed how they could be successful without Karl-Anthony Towns, who they will be without for about a month. But it’s not sustainable. They leveraged all of their depth and pretty much all of their future to get Rudy Gobert, but they still aren’t meshing as a unit. — Andrews

21. Washington Wizards2022-23 record: 11-13Previous ranking: 15

The Wizards enter a treacherous portion of their schedule in a rut. They’ve lost six of their last seven games and now play 12 of their next 16 games on the road. Their four home games during that stretch are against the Clippers, Nets, Sixers and Suns. — Youngmisuk

22. Los Angeles Lakers2022-23 record: 10-13Previous ranking: 25

Anthony Davis’ hot streak came to a screeching halt Tuesday in Cleveland. The Lakers star big man was limited to just eight minutes because of flu-like symptoms, and the Cavs swept the season series against LeBron James‘ team, 2-0, for the first time of his career. — McMenamin

23. New York Knicks2022-23 record: 11-13Previous ranking: 21

New York managed to snap a five-game home losing streak with a win over Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers Sunday, but RJ Barrett remains in a season-long slump, hitting just 28.2 percent of his attempts from 3-point range on over five attempts per game. It is the worst percentage of any of the 53 players who have taken at least 125 3-point attempts this season. — Bontemps

24. Oklahoma City Thunder2022-23 record: 11-13Previous ranking: 24

All eyes are on 7-foot-4 French prospect Victor Wembanyama, the 2023 projected top pick. We’ll have complete coverage leading up to the June 22 draft on ESPN.

o Teams contending for Wembanyama o Givony’s mock draft: Victor still on topo Stock watch: Wemby’s developmento Can Wemby end Team USA’s dynasty?

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is showing no signs of slowing down as the NBA season enters December. In a 121-114 win against the Hawks on Monday, Gilgeous-Alexander had 35 points and was 15-of-15 from the line. It was his seventh consecutive 30-point game, the most by a Thunder player since Russell Westbrook had eight in a row in 2016. The only player in franchise history with more consecutive 30-point games is Kevin Durant, who had 12 in a row in 2014 and nine in a row in 2010 (spanning the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons).— Lopez

25. Chicago Bulls2022-23 record: 9-14Previous ranking: 23

The Bulls have dropped three in a row and seven of their last 10 games. When DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic are on the floor together, Chicago is -6.3 points per 100 possessions in 399 minutes this season. — Collier

26. Charlotte Hornets2022-23 record: 7-17Previous ranking: 26

Things continue to look bleak in Charlotte. LaMelo Ball‘s ankle is giving him problems again, and the defense continues to struggle. At least Kelly Oubre Jr. continues to pace the Hornets offensively. He’s averaging 23.3 points and 5.3 rebounds a game over the first three games of December. — Friedell

27. Houston Rockets2022-23 record: 7-17Previous ranking: 28

No. 3 overall pick Jabari Smith Jr., whose rookie season got off to a slow start, has been an impact player during the Rockets’ stretch of four wins in seven games. The 19-year-old Smith has averaged 13.9 points and 7.3 rebounds during that span while shooting 47.6% from the floor. His 16-point, 11-rebound performance in Monday’s win over the 76ers was his fourth double-double, matching Orlando’s Paolo Banchero for the most in the rookie class.–MacMahon

28. Detroit Pistons2022-23 record: 7-19Previous ranking: 30

With Cade Cunningham sidelined, the Pistons have run their offense through Jaden Ivey, giving the young guard a chance to shine and fail during this recent stretch. Ivey is second in minutes (31.8), third in scoring (15.9) and first in assists (4.3) among rookies. — Collier

29. San Antonio Spurs2022-23 record: 6-18Previous ranking: 29

San Antonio has lost 11 straight games, the second-longest streak in franchise history (they lost 13 straight in 1989). One bright spot for the Spurs off the bench this season has been the play of backup big Charles Bassey. The 22-year-old Bassey is averaging 5.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game this season, trailing only Jakob Poeltl for the team lead. Among players who have played at least 200 minutes this season, Bassey would be fourth in the league in rebounds per 36 minutes (14.2) trailing only Andre Drummond, Clint Capela and Steven Adams. — Lopez

30. Orlando Magic2022-23 record: 5-20Previous ranking: 27

Orlando has lost nine straight. It’s ugly. The good news is that Markelle Fultz is finally back after being out since April with a knee injury and Jonathan Isaac is starting a rehab assignment in the G-League after missing more than two years with an ACL injury. — Friedell

Read More

When Chicago multimedia artist Gregory Bae died suddenly in 2021, he left behind a shattered artistic community. Among the grieving was his friend Kikù Hibino, a sound artist whose work has been heard in venues such as the Chicago Cultural Center, Lincoln Park Conservatory, Elastic Arts, Hairpin Arts Center, Hyde Park Art Center, and Experimental Sound Studio. So when the Museum of Contemporary Art unveiled a retrospective of Bae’s work, on display through March 12, 2023, Hibino was invited to perform at the exhibit’s opening. To honor Bae’s unquenchable compulsion to connect artists to one another, Hibino looped in drummer Steven Hess (Locrian, Cleared, Rlyr) and singer-bassist Haruhi Kobayashi (a multimedia artist who goes by Haruhi) to perform a new piece inspired by Bae’s Ex Radios(2019), a ten-inch-by-six-foot collage of discarded instruction manuals and radio antennae. Hibino interpreted the artwork as though it were a graphic score, using it as a blueprint for a long-form ambient composition for synthesizers, drums, bass, and voice. “Instead of focusing on a chord progression,” Hibino says, “we focused on showing multiple chord harmon[ies] all at once and created a rhythmic layout by cutting them up.”

Last month the MCA posted a video of the trio’s debut performance of Ex Radios on its website, though Hibino considers that version a work in progress. At this Empty Bottle show, the trio of Hibino, Hess, and Haruhi will refine their vision to incorporate more vocals and rhythms; during their performance, photographer Liina Raud and visual artist Galina Shevchenko will project an original VJ set. Ex Radios continues to inspire new art years after its creation—much as Bae himself is still catalyzing collaboration after his death.

Kikú Hibino, Steven Hess, and Haruhi performing Ex Radios at the MCA

Kikù Hibino with Steven Hess and Haruhi John Daniel & Norman W. Long and Veronica Anne Salinas open. Tue 12/13, 8:30 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, $10, 21+

Read More

The Chicago Cubs are in a position where they are trying to build their team up. They are spending some money this off-season which is nice but they are going to lose one of the faces of their franchise at the same time.

One of the big rumors surrounding Contreras isn’t one that will make Cubs fans very happy. In fact, it would probably be something that infuriates most Cubs fans. That is the rumor that the St. Louis Cardinals are the favorite to land him in free agency.

Seeing him go to the biggest rival that the Cubs have to replace their former All-Star catcher who finally retired would be tough.

From a baseball point of view, he would be the perfect fit for them but that isn’t what the Cubs want to see for the Cardinals. The Cubs might not have what it takes to beat the top teams in the NL but the Cardinals are the team standing in their way of a division title.

The Chicago Cubs are likely going to lose Willson Contreras in free agency.

Well, a new team has come up as a potential favorite alongside the Cardinals when it comes to Contreras. That team is the defending World Series champion Houston Astros.

Houston has a great defensive catcher in Martin Maldonado but they would like to add one that can hit much better than he can which is not a bad idea at all. Contreras can also be a designated hitter from time to time as well.

There were rumors last trade deadline that the Cubs and Astros were talking about Contreras but they ended up going with Christian Vasquez from the Boston Red Sox instead. Well, Vasquez is unlikely to return there so they are looking for more help.

Although it would be hard for the Cubs to see him play for a different MLB team, it would be better for them to see him in an Astros jersey than a Cardinals jersey.

It is obvious that the Cubs handled the whole Contreras situation so wrong and now they are going to see him leave for nothing. Leaving the National League Central would make it a much easier thing to accept when it does finally happen.

Read More

When Chicago multimedia artist Gregory Bae died suddenly in 2021, he left behind a shattered artistic community. Among the grieving was his friend Kikù Hibino, a sound artist whose work has been heard in venues such as the Chicago Cultural Center, Lincoln Park Conservatory, Elastic Arts, Hairpin Arts Center, Hyde Park Art Center, and Experimental Sound Studio. So when the Museum of Contemporary Art unveiled a retrospective of Bae’s work, on display through March 12, 2023, Hibino was invited to perform at the exhibit’s opening. To honor Bae’s unquenchable compulsion to connect artists to one another, Hibino looped in drummer Steven Hess (Locrian, Cleared, Rlyr) and singer-bassist Haruhi Kobayashi (a multimedia artist who goes by Haruhi) to perform a new piece inspired by Bae’s Ex Radios(2019), a ten-inch-by-six-foot collage of discarded instruction manuals and radio antennae. Hibino interpreted the artwork as though it were a graphic score, using it as a blueprint for a long-form ambient composition for synthesizers, drums, bass, and voice. “Instead of focusing on a chord progression,” Hibino says, “we focused on showing multiple chord harmon[ies] all at once and created a rhythmic layout by cutting them up.”

Last month the MCA posted a video of the trio’s debut performance of Ex Radios on its website, though Hibino considers that version a work in progress. At this Empty Bottle show, the trio of Hibino, Hess, and Haruhi will refine their vision to incorporate more vocals and rhythms; during their performance, photographer Liina Raud and visual artist Galina Shevchenko will project an original VJ set. Ex Radios continues to inspire new art years after its creation—much as Bae himself is still catalyzing collaboration after his death.

Kikú Hibino, Steven Hess, and Haruhi performing Ex Radios at the MCA

Kikù Hibino with Steven Hess and Haruhi John Daniel & Norman W. Long and Veronica Anne Salinas open. Tue 12/13, 8:30 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, $10, 21+

Read More