Chicago's public radio station, WBEZ, produces the reknowned series This American Life.

Tucked away on the general WBEZ site is a great collection of on-line interviews and audio diaries by Chicago bloggers, ziners and alternative artists featured on the Chicago-focused show, Eight Forty-Eight.

RIGHT: The late Hip Hop artist Biggie Smalls as painted by James "Casper" Jankowiak. This artist was born in the neighborhood of Back of the Yards on Chicago's south side and his work has been displayed around the world. HEAR CASPER'S STORY

Featured Links

Punk Planet. Widely considered the foremost authority on punk music, culture, and politics, the bimonthly zine Punk Planet is celebrating its tenth anniversary. www.punkplanet.com

The2ndHand. Drawing his inspiration from rock 'n' roll, Chicago writer Todd Dills started The2ndHand, a zine featuring short stories and experimental pieces. Host Steve Edwards sits down with Dills and The2ndHand Web editor Jeb Gleason-Allured. www.the2ndhand.com

Zulkey.com. Named Best Local Blog in Newcity Chicago's Best of 2004 issue, Zulkey.com is the brainchild of Chicago writer Claire Zulkey. www.zulkey.com

Lumino Magazine. The October 2004 edition of Lumino is devoted to famous nerds, including interviews with the cast of Revenge of the Nerds. And as publisher Nick Powills tells us, the online magazine attempts to marry pop culture with local happenings.www.luminomagazine.com

sixosix magazine. The Chicago-based magazine sixosix attempts to capture the stories and feel of the city. www.606mag.com

TENbyTEN. The Chicago-based magazine TENbyTEN has covered the city's flourishing visual arts scene since 1999. Founder and editor Annette Ferrara says the idea emerged from the dearth of publication outlets for visual artists. www.tenbyten.net

This is Grand. The online literary journal This is Grand collects stories about the CTA. Founder Jonathan Messinger says he was inspired by his belief in shared space and by Chicago writer Stuart Dybek's short story, "Pet Milk." www.thisisgrand.org