Chicago Area Podcasters Association Meeting

Veteran Chicago-area podcasters Lisa and Joe Lynn of the "Cheap Date Show" will explain how to start and maintain a successful podcast at a rare suburban meeting of the Chicago Area Podcasters Association tonight at 7pm at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, 500 N. Dunton Ave. (three blocks from Arlington Heights Metra station.). There will also be a Q&A with technical expert Tom Kim, who will have digital recorders on display. Free. Call 312-593-4036 for more info.

Top Chef, Episode 11: Let's Get the Egg Outta Here

Marda Dunsky @ Women & Children First

Marda Dunsky will be at Women & Children First to talk about her book Pens and Swords: How the American Mainstream Media Report the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Free. 7:30pm. 5233 N. Clark St. Call 773-769-9299 for more information.

Matana Roberts @ Chicago Cultural Center

Matana Roberts, a Chicago native now living in New York, returns to town for a performance of the first chapter of her Coin Coin continuum. The musical series is a platform that Ms. Roberts has created to explore her own complicated heritage, and tonight she performs Chapter 1: Gens de Couleur Libre. Due to the fact that Matana has maintained strong Chicago connections, the show will be stocked by top local jazz talent who will help convey her musical narrative. If the concept intrigues you, and it should, check out her excellent blog, Shadows of a People, where she explores in writing some of the tropes and threads that bind the Coin Coin continuum together. 77 E. Randolph, 7 PM, Claudia Cassidy Theater, Chicago Cultural Center, Free.

International Ride of Silence @ Daley Plaza

Bring your bicycle for this parade-speed ride to honor cyclists killed on roads. Start at 7 p.m. from Daley Plaza. More info.

Simon Winchester @ Barnes & Noble Evanston

Writer Simon Winchester will be at Barnes & Noble in Evanston to talk about his new book The Man Who Loved China. Free. 7pm. 1630 Sherman Avenue in Evanston. Call 847-424-0848 for more information.

Local Author Night @ The Book Cellar

This month's installment of local author night at The Book Cellar includes Jonathan Eig, Natalie Moore, Rachel Cline and Ellen Blum Barish. Join them as they talk about their recent works. Free. 7pm. 4736-8 N. Lincoln Ave. Call 773-293-2665 for more information.

Chicago Beer Society-3rd Wednesday @ Map Room

Join your fellow beer connoisseurs for some libation and conversation at the Map Room, starting at 6 pm on May 21st.

CBS Members can receive $1 off all non-discounted beers (drafts and bottles).

Map Room is located at 1949 N Hoyne Ave (SE corner of Armitage and Hoyne), in Chicago. It’s about a 10-minute walk from either the CTA El stop at Western (Blue Line) or the Metra Union Pacific North and Northwest station at Clybourn Junction. The CTA 73 Armitage bus stops virtually at the door and the 50 Damen bus is one block to the east, but neither runs very late. Cabs are always plentiful on Armitage Avenue.