Jonah Nink, author at Chicago Reader

A bearded Black man stands onstage wearing a tan plaid vest and trousers with a light dress shirt. He is speaking into a handheld microphone. Behind him is a video monitor with an image of a bride and groom walking down an aisle.

Theater Preview

How to make a talk show

by Jonah Nink December 16, 2025December 16, 2025

a collage with a person in the middle and black-and-white digital elements overlayed

MP4 cinema is proletarian filmmaking at its scrappiest

by Jonah Nink September 11, 2025September 11, 2025

A close up of the large red Flamingo sculpture which sits outdoors in an open plaza in downtown Chicago. The skyline can be seen behind it.

Will DOGE set its sights on Chicago’s public art?

by Jonah Nink April 30, 2025

a white For Rent sign on a glass door or window

Food & Drink Feature

The ghosts of Chicago restaurants past

by Jonah Nink January 29, 2025January 29, 2025

a film still of an old white woman with makeup on pressing a cocktail glass to her face

Get your local laurels at Windy City Shorts

by Jonah Nink January 15, 2025January 15, 2025

an illustrated slice of pumpkin bread on a plate, surrounded by decorative pumpkin plant leaves

Pumpkin bread at the Common Cup

by Jonah Nink October 2, 2024October 2, 2024

Five people are gathered on the edge of a stage. Two young men, one in a baseball cap, are clustered on the left. Next is a bearded man with a microphone wearing a long striped shirt, a woman in a yellow top, and another yount man.

Mona’s kids

by Jonah Nink September 25, 2024September 25, 2024

a repeated illustration of a bottle of Malort with wormwood leaves

Food & Drink Feature

The revered, the reviled, and the taste of rubber bands

by Jonah Nink September 18, 2024September 18, 2024

Film

The revolution on film

by Jonah Nink September 5, 2024September 5, 2024

Review: Bad Press

by Jonah Nink August 28, 2024August 28, 2024

a young man in a blue button-down and leather jacket smiles while talking to others on a Chicago street

Review: The Premiere

by Jonah Nink August 14, 2024August 20, 2024

a black-and-white photo of moviegoers in theater seats

Find film fests at ChicagoScreens.org

by Jonah Nink July 17, 2024July 24, 2024

Adam Burke is show onstage, bending over slightly at the waist and holding a microphone.

Talking comedy between sets with Adam Burke

by Jonah Nink June 26, 2024July 1, 2024

News & Politics

Outfucked

by Jonah Nink May 29, 2024September 5, 2024

an old TV monitor over a Black woman's face, with bright pink and green digital graphics along the bottom

Film

A spring full of film in Chicago

by Andrea Thompson, Arieon Whittsey, Donald Liebenson, Kyle Logan, Daniella Mazzio, S. Nicole Lane, Maxwell Rabb, Jonah Nink, Nora Paul, Noah Berlatsky and Kylie Bolter March 20, 2024March 22, 2024

a line of Black people walks single file through a desert

Film

Review: Io Capitano

by Jonah Nink February 22, 2024February 22, 2024

Best of Chicago

Best place to put down your fucking phone

by Jonah Nink February 22, 2024February 22, 2024

SoloSam holds a plate of food. He wears a black t shirt, tan jacket and yellow hat.

The People Issue

SoloSam

by Jonah Nink December 26, 2023November 26, 2024

a white man and woman shake hands in a room decorated for Christmas

Film

Review: Reporting for Christmas

by Jonah Nink November 14, 2023November 14, 2023

two people cook in an Chicago kitchen

Punks love waffles

by Jonah Nink August 8, 2023August 8, 2023

a black-and-white image of a man working on a doll-size house on the film set

Film

‘That’s movie magic to me’

by Jonah Nink May 18, 2023May 18, 2023

the facade of the Harper Theater, a brick building with a horizontal marquee

Film

The Harper Theater is putting up a fight

by Jonah Nink March 23, 2023March 23, 2023

Film

Review: Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

by Jonah Nink March 17, 2023March 20, 2023

an illustration of a rabbit holding a microphone and doing stand up comedy

Getting sober and drawing rabbits

by Jonah Nink January 23, 2023January 23, 2023

an animated old man and wooden boy

Film

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

by Jonah Nink November 22, 2022November 28, 2022

actors and film crew in what looks like a Chicago alley

Film

Indie rock, immortalized

by Jonah Nink October 15, 2022October 18, 2022