A Love Letter To The ‘Free And Freaky’ Chicago Reader

In 1971, a group of friends crowded around a dining room table in Chicago’s Kenwood neighborhood. They were putting together the first issue of the Chicago Reader, one of the first free alternative weekly newspapers in the country. With its origins beginning more than 50 years ago it would go on to become a model for alt-weeklies nationwide. Now, an effort is underway to create a coffee-table book showcasing this history. We sat down with Chris Haas, editor and designer of the upcoming book Free Chicago; Amber Nettles, associate publisher for the Chicago Reader; Kerry Reid, theatre editor for the Chicago Reader. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.