Culture

Beginning April 20, Michelle Obama will join PBS KIDS to read a children's book live on Facebook and YouTube in order to encourage reading while children are at home, in Mondays with Michelle Obama.

Poetry magazine has published most major poets of the last century and given many of them early breaks, from T.S. Eliot to Gwendolyn Brooks, Ocean Vuong, and Danez Smith. "Chicago," excerpts from Claudia Rankine's Citizen, and "anyone lived in a pretty how town" were first published in its pages. 

Heather Cherone first appeared on WTTW as a high school senior and editor of her school newspaper. Now the veteran of The Daily Line and DNAinfo Chicago is joining WTTW News as a digital reporter covering City Hall.

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting shutdown can be difficult for parents and scary for children. PBS KIDS has a series of fun videos to teach kids healthy habits, featuring Daniel Tiger, Sid the Science Kid, and more!

New seasons of two fan-favorite mysteries, including the introduction of a new main character; two World War II-era stories; and a documentary about English royal intrigue: they're all coming in April. 

As many parents work from home or on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis, and as kids try their hands at digital learning, there is a lot to process. The gang on Sesame Street has the tools to help.

A second season of Pinkalicious & Peterrific launches March 30, along with new games. Dorothea Gillima, the executive producer of the series as well as of Molly of Denali, discusses what her job entails and how the shows can keep kids occupied and learning while schools are closed.  

PBS's POV offers a wide variety of short documentary films to stream for free, telling the stories of everything from the media frenzy surrounding El Chapo's trial to a unique event featuring more than a million balloons in Cleveland, plus a collaboration with StoryCorps.

While you practice social distancing, you can still do a lot: help researchers at the Newberry Library understand history, follow penguins as they wander the Shedd Aquarium, listen to Studs Terkel's conversations with fascinating people from history, and more. 

Whether you’re working from home and need some entertainment during your lunch break or are a parent with a curious teenager who’s itching for more outside their school day, here are some programs that you can stream any time, any where, for free.

March is Women's History Month, and we're celebrating with all sorts of programming: appreciative looks at some of America's funniest women, profiles of literary landmarks, documentaries looking at the dearth of women in various positions, and even a PBS Kids special. 

Commuters at the 95th Red Line Station pay their fares to an unusual soundtrack: music from a DJ booth. Called AESOP, the booth is a public art installation by Theaster Gates meant to enliven commutes. Two of the booth's DJs share some of their favorite tracks to spin. 

At Chicago's National Cambodian Heritage Museum, which is unique in the United States, exhibits and a memorial help honor victims of the Cambodian genocide and educate younger generations, while cultural classes help those generations connect across a traumatic divide.