Culture

Maria Tallchief, a half-Osage dancer considered one of the epitomes of American ballet in the twentieth century, was recently honored in a Google Doodle that featured footage from WTTW's archive, in honor of Native American Heritage Month.

The documentary Chicago at the Crossroad shows how the failure of public housing has contributed to gun violence in the city today. "Your housing will dictate every other aspect of your life, from school to food to violence exposure to your percentage of the possibility of actually committing a crime,” says the producer.

A new special from Geoffrey Baer offering a unique vantage point on Chicago and an examination of gun violence in the city, plus new dramas from Masterpiece, which turns 50 this year.

The documentary Represent follows three women candidates in the Midwest as they run for local office, including a Korean American Republican running on Chicago's North Shore. "A woman called me a white nationalist," she says. "And I thought, 'Me?' "

A new look at the Great Chicago Fire from WTTW, two very different but equally worthwhile new dramas as well as a comedy, a documentary on the enormous power of the Latino vote this election, and more.

Discover WTTW's programming celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 through October 15. 

“What we’ve been trying to do since moving to digital space is to immediately connect the theme to the current moment in as many different ways as we could,” says the artistic director of the Chicago Humanities Festival, which just launched its fall programming. 

An extension of Chicago Tonight into the weekend, focusing on Chicago's Black and Latino communities; a new mystery set in Amsterdam; a documentary investigating the abuses underlying Texas's construction boom; and more. 

"There has never been a better time for political biography," says the veteran Frontline producer Michael Kirk. "You want to look closely at the character of the two men who are asking to be President of the United States at this perilous time."

You can now watch your favorite WTTW and PBS shows from your computer, tablet, or smartphone in real time with our new 24/7 live stream.

The new Chicago Tonight: Voices programs spotlight issues pertinent to Chicago's Black and Latino communities, which each make up a third of the city. "I'm hoping that any community, of any racial ethnicity, can watch the show and have a feel for what the Black experience in Chicago is like," says Black Voices host Brandis Friedman.

Anna Pavlova, Irving Berlin, Serge Diaghilev, George Balanchine, Rudolf Nureyev: the choreographer and dancer Ruth Page worked with them all, plus brought Americana into ballet, built artistic institutions in her home base of Chicago, and choreographed over 100 ballets.

2020 may be an unprecedented year, but one constant is PBS programming, featuring such stalwarts as Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Masterpiece dramas, and new kids shows. Here's a preview of some of what's coming in the fall and summer.

August brings a new season of a long-running, cerebral mystery, extensive coverage and analysis of the Democratic and Republican Conventions from WTTW News and PBS NewsHour, and another overlooked story of the pandemic from Frontline.