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Comedy Books of 2026: The Ultimate Guide

By Teme Ring | July 20, 2026

Every comedy book of 2026. Find your next great read here .

From Mic to Memoir: 2025’s Best & Boldest Comedy Books to Read and Gift

By Teme Ring | December 3, 2025

The actual homeowner reveals what it was like to live in this gorgeous Winnetka home during the filming of Home Alone and its aftermath. An archaeological expedition into a fabulously successful life in comedy. A book for the Lucy fan who has everything … and for anyone who loves messy, beautiful, real-life romance. This collection […]

18 surprising things Alec Baldwin told us at Chicago Ideas’ Curiosity Series

By Teme Ring | April 13, 2017

This past Tuesday night, Alec Baldwin revealed who he is “beyond the screen” to a rapt, sold-out audience at Chicago’s Athenaeum Theatre. Chicago Ideas’ CEO Jessica Malkin hosted the evening as part of the Curiosity Series, which offers rare opportunities to interact with innovators from every walk of life. During the hour-long talk which included […]

Best Night Ever’s Sam McHale talks about the show’s third anniversary and how to produce the best night ever

By Teme Ring | April 1, 2017

On Monday, April 3, Best Night Ever celebrates its third anniversary. Not every stand-up showcase reaches that milestone, but Best Night Ever is known for living up to its name. Every Monday night at Gman Tavern, producers Sam Ash McHale, Mike Cronin, Dave Losso and Mike O’Keefe put on a quality line-up of rising and […]

Chicago Ideas hosts Bassem Youssef, the “Egyptian Jon Stewart,” and his best advice is …

By Teme Ring | March 30, 2017

Chicago is known for its magnificent architecture, but right now I’m not thinking of brick and steel. Chicago is also known for its magnificent architecture of the mind. Chicago Ideas is a non-profit that specializes in bringing the world’s most innovative thinkers to Chicago to sync up with their local counterparts, namely you. As Chicago […]

7 years after death, comedy legend Greg Giraldo returns to spotlight in upcoming biography

By Teme Ring | March 15, 2017

Speaking to Matt Balaker I came close to slipping up and calling him “Greg.” Matt, along with Wayne Jones, are the authors of the upcoming definitive and only book about ingenious comedian Greg Giraldo who died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in 2010 at the age of forty-four. Talking with Matt even by phone […]