Jim Slusher
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The role of ‘Homes & Garden’ in a seasonal artistryJun 05, 2025 1:27 pm - Columnist Jim Slusher: As spring arrives, suburban gardens burst into color, transforming neighborhoods into art galleries, thanks to dedicated amateur gardeners inspired by sources like the Sunday Homes & Garden section.
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The unique lessons hiding within a familiar type of pictureMay 22, 2025 4:00 am - Columnist Jim Slusher: Graduation photos may seem repetitive, but each one captures a unique moment in time for an individual. The images reflect community value, the transition to adulthood and much more.
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Keeping the degrees of separation close to the new popeMay 15, 2025 4:00 am - Some statisticians claim that each of us is no more than six degrees of separation from any other person on the planet. With that as a rough measure, Chicagoans were che...
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The complicated, unproductive search for ‘the narrative’May 08, 2025 4:00 am - Columnist Jim Slusher: When I taught high school journalism back in the 1970s, it wasn’t hard to lean on famous quotes that attempt to summarize some formula for deciding what deserves to be reported and how. But the truth today - as in the past really - is that news judgment cannot be compacted into a single clever phrase.
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New rules on investigating reporters present a risky testMay 01, 2025 4:00 am - It remains to be seen whether a new U.S. Justice Department policy on journalists’ privacy rights will be a simple impediment to reporting sensitive stories about the gov...
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Taking our traffic conversations beyond simple complainingApr 24, 2025 4:00 am - Columnist Jim Slusher: Sick of traffic jams? Meet the woman who knows all the insider tricks to help you get around Chicagoland faster.
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On paying attention — to the news and in classApr 10, 2025 4:00 am - Columnist Jim Slusher: With Trump's tariffs, suddenly dusty history lessons seem relevant; we're rushing to study economics too. But beware confirmation bias. Read widely, stay open-minded.
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A light meditation on a seasonal public spectacleApr 03, 2025 3:23 pm - Columnist Jim Slusher: The spring spectacle of NCAA tournament basketball may be madness, but it is surely an exhilarating madness to watch play out on our television screens, to share on social media and to analyze in the newspaper.
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The governing begins Wednesday, but first … ‘the silly season’Mar 27, 2025 4:00 am - Columnist Jim Slusher: Some lingering thoughts as Election Day approaches.
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Worried about ‘our democracy’? Your best chance to uphold it is comingFeb 27, 2025 4:00 am - There’s a lot of talk these days about the precariousness of what we like to call “our democracy.” And, the topic certainly merits the attention, regardless of who you th...