In this edition of the Monthly: At Project Onward, a local Chicago studio, neurodiverse creators create art and community.

Further reads: Monthly Editor Janea Wilson reflects on the importance of optimism, as well as the unraveling of Season 25 of The Bachelor. Digital Managing Editor Haley Fuller profiles Coffee Lab and the community that’s been built at the Evanston coffee shop. Bienen senior Arsen Tujian chats with senior staffer Rayna Song about founding a production company during the pandemic. The Monthly staff shares their thoughts on the Oscars Best Picture nominees, while reporter Yonjoo Seo writes about Demi Lovato’s “Dancing with the Devil…The Art of Starting Over.” 

Read more from the April edition of The Monthly here.