Peter J. Vagt, author of Light Through the Trees: Photographs at The Morton Arboretum, answers questions on his biggest influences, discoveries, and reader takeaways from his book. Q: Why did you decide […]
Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) The Bluegill is the Illinois State Fish, and rightly so. If an Illinoisan has only caught one fish in their life, there’s a good chance it was […]
Rainbow Smelt (Osmerus mordax) Netting buckets of Rainbow Smelt once provided Chicagoans and Lakefront suburbanites with an annual rite of near-spring. News that spawning smelt had begun to run sent […]
Starhead Topminnow (Fundulus dispar) At just three inches long, the Starhead Topminnow invites predation. But as they say at the Charles Darwin School of Business, predation spurs innovation. “Starhead Topminnows […]
Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) The Walleye can reach 36 inches in length. As you might guess, a yard-long sport fish offers sport indeed. The range map above, courtesy of the Atlas […]
Chinook or King Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) The largest North American salmon, the Chinook or King Salmon grows to 58 inches and can weigh over 30 lbs. The Chinook, like the […]
Northern Pike (Esox lucius) In middle school, I knew a kid with one of those dads who spent every spare moment fishing. This man went straight from work to the […]
Northern Brook Lamprey (Ichthyomyzon fossor) A poll on Favorite Fish of Illinois would presumably return zero votes for any lamprey. Granted, most of us do not consider the lamprey a […]
Matthew C. Ehrlich, author of Dangerous Ideas on Campus: Sex, Conspiracy, and Academic Freedom in the Age of JFK, answers questions on his scholarly influences, discoveries, and reader takeaways from […]
We recently talked to co-authors Jonathan Wright and Dawson Barrett about their new book, Punks in Peoria: Making a Scene in the American Heartland. Q: Why did you decide to […]
Author, Charles Titus, of Exploring the Land of Lincoln: The Essential Guide to Illinois Historic Sites answers questions about his influences for and discoveries he’s made while creating a comprehensive […]
Author, Ann Flesor Beck of Sweet Greeks: First-Generation Immigrant Confectioners in the Heartland, answers questions about her family influences, purpose for writing and myths she hopes to dispel about first-generation […]