let's do fun thingsdrinks · chicago
drinks events in chicago
tastings, mixology classes, and social hours where the host actually introduces you to the room. find a drinks event in chicago this week.
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arguing with strangers nyc
Rodney's Comedy Club
1118 1st Ave, New York, NY 10065, USA
our sold out arguing with strangers event is coming to nyc arguing with strangers is half debate club, half open mic, and 100% getting real. we start things easy. get paired with a stranger, get handed a side, and argue something ridiculous. like is a hot dog a sandwich? defend it with everything you've got and practice disagreeing with a laugh. then the best matchups go up front. the crowd picks a winner on who's more fun to watch, not who's right. once everyone's loose, the topics get real and you argue what you actually believe. the stuff you don't usually say out loud to a stranger. what you'd never compromise on. maybe what you've even changed your mind about. things may get serious, but they stay civil. And at the end of the night, you walk away knowing you can completely disagree with someone and still walk out respecting a new friend. we forgot how to do that. this is practice.
arguing with strangers
The Scout Waterhouse + Kitchen
1419 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60610, USA
our sold out arguing with strangers event returns for a rematch, Tuesday, august 4. arguing with strangers is half debate club, half open mic, and 100% real talk. we start things easy. get paired with a stranger, get handed a side, and argue something ridiculous. like is a hot dog a sandwich? defend it with everything you've got and practice disagreeing with a laugh. then the best matchups go up front. the crowd picks a winner on who's more fun to watch, not who's right. once everyone's loose, the topics get real and you argue what you actually believe. the stuff you don't usually say out loud to a stranger. what you'd never compromise on. maybe what you've even changed your mind about. things may get serious, but they stay civil. And at the end of the night, you walk away knowing you can completely disagree with someone and still walk out respecting a new friend. we forgot how to do that. this is practice.
last call lectures: the milky way is basically chicago: galactic archaeology of a messy metropolis
Chicago
Chicago, IL, USA
last call lectures presents, the milky way is basically chicago: galactic archaeology of a messy metropolis imagine reconstructing chicago’s centuries-long history while trapped in one neighborhood, with records for only one percent of its residents and access to just a single frozen moment. this is the challenge of galactic archaeology. join astrophysicist hillary diane andales to discover how astronomers reconstruct the milky way’s past from the movements and chemical fingerprints of its stars. using chicago traffic, the cta map, the 606, and the city’s changing neighborhoods, hillary will reveal the collisions, migrations, and lost chapters that shaped our home galaxy. this one blends cosmic drama, historical tea, and a few deeply suspicious stars. come curious, leave seeing the milky way not as a perfect spiral, but as a city shaped by everything—and everyone—that helped build it. about hillary hillary diane andales is a filipina galactic archaeologist and phd student in astronomy & astrophysics at the university of chicago. she studies ancient stars to understand how the milky way formed and where the elements that make up our bodies—including the iron in our blood—came from. she co-discovered the most chemically pristine star ever found and has received research recognition from mit and the american astronomical society. using gaia data and giant telescopes in chile, she uncovers the histories preserved in ancient starlight—and shares what they reveal about humanity’s cosmic past.
cultured. spanish edition
Whispers at Oak Street Beach
1001 N Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
cultured is a language-exchange mixer built around curiosity, culture, and conversation, we're teaming up with chicago travel club and one thousand chicagoans to put it on this is going to be at whispers at oak street beach, you'll be sat at tables with groups and order amazing food and drinks if you've never played lotteria, it is a super popular and fun, deeply traditional mexican game we're going to have other games, structured practice, and shuffle groups so you get the opportunity to chat with different people. this isn’t a class and it’s not about being fluent. say it wrong, that’s the point. the goal is to start conversations, learn through connection and games, and meet people who are genuinely curious about the world and each other. come curious. leave cultured.
last call lectures: wherefore art thou hockey boyfriend: a shakespearean take on heated rivalry and off campus
The Scout Waterhouse + Kitchen
1419 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60610, USA
wherefore art thou hockey boyfriend: a shakespearean take on heated rivalry and off campus four hundred years after shakespeare’s time, sarah-gray lesley, phd in english language and literature, is taking us on a journey through how shakespeare's influence is still finding a place in the modern era... and especially in the hockey romance scene. despite its staggering popularity, 21st-century romance novels, movies, and television shows are often dismissed as silly, shallow, or just plain “smut.” meanwhile, shakespeare’s romantic plays–the clear source for so many enduring tropes and narrative beats–are revered as thought-provoking, serious, and unsexy. in this lecture, we’re going to dissolve these common (mis)conceptions. the gap between that play we hated reading in high school English class and our current steamy obsession might be narrower than we think! here is how the night runs: dr. lesley opens with a 45 minute lecture, followed by 15 minutes of live q&a. then we break into small groups for 45 minutes of guided discussion with fellow readers, closing with a 15 minute debrief to bring it all back together. stick around after for mingling and recruiting for your next hockey watch party. so will you come to our lecture? don't go to russia. come to our lecture. we'll have so much fun.
arguing with strangers: trigger warning
AMBAR Restaurant, Chicago
700 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60654, USA
arguing with strangers: trigger warning thirty people. one question. endless entrees included. everyone leaves understanding it better than they walked in. has religion had a net positive or net negative impact on the world throughout history? we're at ambar, and your ticket includes endless entrees for the night. eat while you argue. it's harder to be hostile to someone you're sharing a table with. this one comes with homework. do the reading before you come. bring the examples, the history, the parts that complicate your own answer. the format is built to make you see it from more than one place. you'll argue a side you may not hold, which means you have to build the strongest honest version of it. then you move to the side you actually want to talk through, and you work it out with people who got there differently than you did. it's a genuinely hard question. religion has built hospitals, universities, and civil rights movements, and it has justified wars, conquest, and exclusion. most of us have only ever really examined one half of that ledger. the point of the night is to look at both, out loud, with people who see it differently. capped at 30 so everyone gets the floor. structured so nobody dominates. hosted so it stays curious instead of combative. you don't have to change your mind. you just have to be able to explain the other side well enough that someone who holds it would recognize themselves in it. no debate experience needed. just do the reading and come hungry.
last call lectures: from dowries to algorithms: a singles lecture on the evolution of modern love
The Scout Waterhouse + Kitchen
1419 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60610, USA
part lecture, part singles mixer, you’re not going to miss this one! historically, romance grew out of a small circle of family-vetted matches and dowries. now, love arrives through a curated bio, a quick swipe, and competing for attention against eleven other matches in your inbox. somewhere between arranged marriages and infinite matches, the rules of connection have fundamentally shifted. as a result, we are operating off instincts built for a world that does not exist anymore. in this lecture, we are digging into how we got here. do soul mates really exist? why does having more dating options make it harder to choose, not easier? and how much of our modern heartbreak comes down to standards nobody can actually meet? leading the night is dr. johanna strokoff, a licensed clinical psychologist who has spent over a decade leading talks on love, relationships, and the psychology behind why we want what we want. here is how the night runs: dr. strokoff opens with a 45 minute lecture, followed by 15 minutes of live q&a. then we break into small, intentionally mixed groups for 45 minutes of guided discussion with fellow singles, closing with a 15 minute debrief to bring it all back together. and stick around after for mingling with your fellow curious (and single 😉) minds!
last call lectures
Chicago
Chicago, IL, USA
last call lectures is our recurring series where we bring in someone who knows a lot about something interesting (a professor, a researcher, a practitioner, an obsessive) and let them give the talk they've always wanted to give. the kind of lecture you'd actually want to stay awake for. each night follows the same rhythm: arrive, grab a drink, settle in. one expert takes the floor for about 45 minutes on a topic worth your evening. then 4 discussion questions, each being given 15 minutes, with a final q and a with the professor at the end. it's part lecture, part bar night, part "wait, i didn't know i cared about this." you leave smarter than you came, with a few new people in your phone. speaker and location coming soon
last call lectures
Chicago
Chicago, IL, USA
last call lectures is our recurring series where we bring in someone who knows a lot about something interesting (a professor, a researcher, a practitioner, an obsessive) and let them give the talk they've always wanted to give. the kind of lecture you'd actually want to stay awake for. each night follows the same rhythm: arrive, grab a drink, settle in. one expert takes the floor for about 45 minutes on a topic worth your evening. then 4 discussion questions, each being given 15 minutes, with a final q and a with the professor at the end. it's part lecture, part bar night, part "wait, i didn't know i cared about this." you leave smarter than you came, with a few new people in your phone. speaker and location coming soon
last call lectures
Chicago
Chicago, IL, USA
last call lectures is our recurring series where we bring in someone who knows a lot about something interesting (a professor, a researcher, a practitioner, an obsessive) and let them give the talk they've always wanted to give. the kind of lecture you'd actually want to stay awake for. each night follows the same rhythm: arrive, grab a drink, settle in. one expert takes the floor for about 45 minutes on a topic worth your evening. then 4 discussion questions, each being given 15 minutes, with a final q and a with the professor at the end. it's part lecture, part bar night, part "wait, i didn't know i cared about this." you leave smarter than you came, with a few new people in your phone. speaker and location coming soon
last call lectures
Chicago
Chicago, IL, USA
last call lectures is our recurring series where we bring in someone who knows a lot about something interesting (a professor, a researcher, a practitioner, an obsessive) and let them give the talk they've always wanted to give. the kind of lecture you'd actually want to stay awake for. each night follows the same rhythm: arrive, grab a drink, settle in. one expert takes the floor for about 45 minutes on a topic worth your evening. then 4 discussion questions, each being given 15 minutes, with a final q and a with the professor at the end. it's part lecture, part bar night, part "wait, i didn't know i cared about this." you leave smarter than you came, with a few new people in your phone. speaker and location coming soon
last call lectures
Chicago
Chicago, IL, USA
last call lectures is our recurring series where we bring in someone who knows a lot about something interesting (a professor, a researcher, a practitioner, an obsessive) and let them give the talk they've always wanted to give. the kind of lecture you'd actually want to stay awake for. each night follows the same rhythm: arrive, grab a drink, settle in. one expert takes the floor for about 45 minutes on a topic worth your evening. then 4 discussion questions, each being given 15 minutes, with a final q and a with the professor at the end. it's part lecture, part bar night, part "wait, i didn't know i cared about this." you leave smarter than you came, with a few new people in your phone. speaker and location coming soon
last call lectures
Chicago
Chicago, IL, USA
last call lectures is our recurring series where we bring in someone who knows a lot about something interesting (a professor, a researcher, a practitioner, an obsessive) and let them give the talk they've always wanted to give. the kind of lecture you'd actually want to stay awake for. each night follows the same rhythm: arrive, grab a drink, settle in. one expert takes the floor for about 45 minutes on a topic worth your evening. then 4 discussion questions, each being given 15 minutes, with a final q and a with the professor at the end. it's part lecture, part bar night, part "wait, i didn't know i cared about this." you leave smarter than you came, with a few new people in your phone. speaker and location coming soon
common questions
- are these just bar nights?
- no. every event on this list has a host, an arc, or a structure that makes it easy to actually meet the room — not just stand at a bar.
- is there a non-alcoholic option?
- most events offer na options. check the event description for specifics.