Culture

Frank Lloyd Wright's Little-Explored Welsh Roots and His Green Architecture

The Welsh architect Jonathan Adams believes that the proud Welsh heritage of Frank Lloyd Wright's maternal family influenced his philosophy and architecture, a claim Adams explores in a documentary and book. Plus, he discusses Wright's ahead-of-its-time attention to nature.

Chicago skyline looking South from Lincoln Park

Take a Look Back at Chicago’s Headlines With Our Year-End News Quiz

Take a look back at Chicago’s headlines with our year-end news quiz.

Saul Bellow in his portrait from his book 'Herzog'

From the Archive: Chicago Author and Nobel Laureate Saul Bellow

"I am an American, Chicago born," Saul Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March famously begins. Watch Bellow discuss winning the Nobel Prize and the sudden overwhelming media attention it brought in a segment from a 1977 WTTW show.

Deana Martin, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra

Some Holiday Specials to Stream This December

The nights are long, the air is crisp, holiday lights are up: it's time to snuggle into your home with a mug of cocoa, a cookie, and some joyful holiday specials. We've collected some favorites that are available to stream by WTTW Passport members, from concerts to holiday episodes of our dramas and mysteries.

Elisabeth Greer holding a sign reading Black Students Matter

‘We’re Not Just a School. We’re a Community’: New Documentary Highlights Battle to Save Chicago Elementary School

A new POV documentary Let the Little Light Shine shows the battle to save the National Teachers Academy from being transitioned into a new high school as the South Loop neighborhood grows and changes. Kevin Shaw, the film's director and producer, discusses how issues like race, class, and gentrification emerge from the story in which average citizens become activists in their community.

It Was a Busy Month for Illinois Politics. Take Our November News Quiz.

Lucille, Trixie, and Nancy in the 2022 Call the Midwife holiday special

Celebrate the Holidays with WTTW's Programming in 2022

We've got everything from concerts to food specials to a new Call the Midwife special, so we suggest you take a look at our schedule and fit in some cozy viewings amidst all your shopping, gatherings, and other activities.

A tunnel of stars at Lightscape at the Chicago Botanic Garden

’Tis the Season for the 2022 Chicago Holiday Events Guide

The holidays have arrived in Chicago. We break down a handful of Chicago holiday events by light shows, activities, and Christmas markets.

What to Watch in December

December is holiday season, and we've got a Mary Berry-palooza of festive specials to help you celebrate, along with a slate of Chicago-related documentaries on a Nobel Prize winner, education and gentrification, and an architect, plus more.

William and Eliza in Miss Scarlet and the Duke season 2

'Miss Scarlet and the Duke' Recap: Season 2 Episode 6

Eliza and William confront an imminent major change in their relationship while Eliza tries to find out who tried to kill her rival detective, Patrick Nash, and ends up in danger herself.

Meet the New Co-Anchors of 'PBS NewsHour' Replacing Judy Woodruff

Judy Woodruff is stepping down as anchor of PBS NewsHour on December 30, 2022, and she will be replaced by chief correspondent Amna Nawaz and PBS News Weekend anchor Geoff Bennett on January 2, 2023.

A memorial commemorating 12 fallen Vietnam soldiers sits across the street from Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in South Chicago. Image: Miguel Zuno, Zuno Photography / WTTW

Things to Watch and Read on Veterans Day

November 11 is Veterans Day. WTTW and PBS have covered veterans, their lives, issues, and the wars they fought in extensively, but we have pulled together a small selection of those stories for you to watch and read today.

The exterior of Orchestra Hall in 1920 and its stage in 1966 during a recording session with Benny Goodman and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Photos: Chicago History Museum, ICHi-032364; Kaufmann & Fabry Company, photographer (L); ST-19070395-0015, Chicago Sun-Times collection, Chicago History Museum (R)

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Home and the Prominent Chicago Architects Who Shaped It

Take a look at Orchestra Hall's more than 100-year history and the prominent Chicago architects who have shaped and renovated the home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, at a time when the New York Philharmonic's newly redesigned hall is receiving all the attention.

Native American Heritage Month 2022 on WTTW

Among WTTW's Native American Heritage Month programming is a new documentary of the Indigenous musician, artist, and activist Buffy Sainte-Marie, plus films that explore the varied experience, present, and past of Native Americans.