The Beatles cut their teeth playing residencies in Hamburg. But why then? Why that city? And how did it shape the band?

Plus: the families in Chicago preparing to be separated; and drinks with a recently imprisoned environmentalist.

Celebrating 30 years, the East Bay International Jewish Film Festival is back with more than 20 films in theaters.

John Lennon quipped that Epstein’s biography ought to be called “Queer Jew,” according to a biographer who traveled with the ...