Ben Austen

Chicago

Writer and Editor at Freelance

left-handed writer... of books CORRECTION & HIGH-RISERS…for NYT Magazine and lots more. Co-host of SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS ARE podcast

Articles

How Much Sanctuary Can Chicago Really Offer?

1 month ago | chicagomag.com | Ben Austen

On a February Saturday in Little Village, several hundred people gathered in the numbing cold to protest the Trump administration’s targeting of Chicago and its immigrant communities. Incidents of federal agents in unmarked cars pulling up to take undocumented residents away and a Justice Department lawsuit trying to force the city and state to cooperate in such raids were generating growing terror in Latino neighborhoods.
How Much Sanctuary Can Chicago Really Offer?

1 month ago | l8r.it | Ben Austen

On a February Saturday in Little Village, several hundred people gathered in the numbing cold to protest the Trump administration’s targeting of Chicago and its immigrant communities. Incidents of federal agents in unmarked cars pulling up to take undocumented residents away and a Justice Department lawsuit trying to force the city and state to cooperate in such raids were generating growing terror in Latino neighborhoods.
2024

Dec 11, 2024 | audible.com | Sun Tzu |Bill Bryson |Ben Austen |G. L. Lambert

* Why did pollsters and pundits get the 2024 election forecasts so badly wrong? * Why was the mainstream media narrative so one-sided? * Why did the 'char sau paar' drumbeat for the Modi-led BJP not work on the ground? * How did a Rahul Gandhi-led Congress stage a comeback? * What changed so dramatically in the last five years? * How does Team Modi-Shah operate? * Was it really a free and fair election? * What role did the enforcement agencies play? * How did the battle for the states turn?
Matt DeMateo | Chicagoans of the Year 2024

Dec 3, 2024 | chicagomag.com | Ben Austen

First there were 10. Venezuelan migrants sent from Texas, they appeared one day in front of the nonprofit New Life Centers in Little Village. It was the winter of 2022, and the men, in flip-flops and T-shirts, were in search of help. “We believe in responding to crisis with love and healing,” Matt DeMateo, the CEO of New Life, says. So the faith-based community organization bought air mattresses and housed the men in the basement of its church.
The Last American Road Trip

Nov 26, 2024 | origin-www.audible.com | Sun Tzu |Ben Austen |G. L. Lambert |Thomas Campbell

The New York Times bestselling author of They Knew, Hiding in Plain Sight, and The View from Flyover Country navigates a changing America as she and her family embark on a series of road trips, in a book that is part memoir, part history, and wholly unique. It is one thing to study the fall of democracy, another to have it hit your homeland–and yet another to raise children as it happens.
The Takin a Walk Icons

Nov 24, 2024 | audible.com | Niall Breslin |Trevor Noah |Michael Lewis |Ben Austen

The Takin A Walk podcast, hosted by Buzz Knight, has released its first audiobook titled The Takin A Walk Icons. This exciting new project will feature captivating stories and insights from renowned musicians and artists, offering listeners an intimate glimpse into their journeys and the music that shaped their lives. About the author: Host Buzz Knight is a media executive, consultant, and an enthusiastic music lover.
The Hollow Crown

Nov 19, 2024 | audible.com | Sun Tzu |Ben Austen |G. L. Lambert |Michael Pollan

What Shakespeare's plays can teach us about modern-day politics William Shakespeare understood power: what it is, how it works, how it is gained, and how it is lost. In The Hollow Crown, Eliot A. Cohen reveals how the battling princes of Henry IV and scheming senators of Julius Caesar can teach us to better understand power and politics today. The White House, after all, is a court—with intrigue and conflict rivaling those on the Globe's stage—as is an army, a business, or a university.
Abortion

Oct 1, 2024 | audible.com | Jessica Valenti |Sun Tzu |Ben Austen |G. L. Lambert

In a stirring and succinct examination of post-Roe America, “one of the most successful and visible feminists of her generation” (Washington Post) takes on what’s become the country’s most resonant political issue. In her most urgent book yet, New York Times bestselling author Jessica Valenti shines a light on the conservative assault on women’s freedom, cutting through the misinformation and overwhelm to inform, engage, and enrage.
The Parole Room

Sep 26, 2024 | audible.com | Ben Austen |Sun Tzu |G. L. Lambert |Scott Lewis

Will Johnnie Veal—convicted of the murder of two police officers in 1970—be granted parole after 50 years in prison? How can he convince the parole board he’s reformed when he insists he’s innocent? What is prison time even supposed to accomplish? These are the questions that propel The Parole Room forward as it builds toward Johnnie’s 20th parole hearing—after 19 rejections.
A collection of Chicago writers on the city they love - The Washington Post

Aug 19, 2024 | washingtonpost.com | Rebecca Makkai |Ben Austen |Bill Letz

As the Democratic convention begins, three writers reflect on the city they live in and love. Sorry, a summary is not available for this article at this time. Please try again later. By Rebecca Makkai, Bill Letz and Ben AustenAugust 19, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. EDTDemocrats are holding their convention this week in Chicago, which evokes memories of their chaotic, violent gathering in 1968. Meanwhile, Republicans cast the Windy City as a war zone and a failure of progressive leadership.