Culture

May brings a lot to celebrate: mothers, spring, a royal wedding. Watch two classic American portrayals of mother-daughter relationships, enjoy some spring-themed cooking, and indulge your craving for all things royal with documentaries that go behind the scenes of kings and queens.

Studs Terkel talked to everyone, from people down on their luck to people at the top of their career. Now many of his insightful conversations are available through the Studs Terkel Radio Archive – discover five exceptional conversations with remarkable people here.

Louisa May Alcott may be best-known for her classic Little Women, but she also wrote racy potboilers in which women transgress societal norms under a pseudonym that wasn't traced to her until decades after death, as well as children's fables and moralisti young adult books.

She's not just a Chicago Tonight correspondent – Brandis Friedman has also been a beauty and lifestyle writer, considered becoming a professional dancer, and loves eating out. Go behind the scenes with her while she shoots a story and learn why she became a journalist.

PBS loves books. From Masterpiece adaptations of classic novels to documentaries about authors, literature plays a big role in our programming. As we celebrate reading with The Great American Read, discover which of America's favorite novels, plus some other worthy books, can be seen on TV.

PBS's The Great American Read has created a list of America's 100 most-loved novels, ranging from classics to sci-fi to romance to humor. See how many you've read, before the series premieres and voting on America's favorite book opens on May 22.

This month, travel through Southeast Asia with a familiar host, celebrate reading with an adaptation of a classic novel and a book-centric special, learn about a shameful chapter of American history, honor Memorial Day, and meet a Chicagoan who has changed his many students' lives.

When the rest of the world thinks of Chicago, it's often in terms borrowed from literature: "Hog Butcher for the World," a city of slaughterhouses, a gritty, working-class town. What are some of the most iconic literary depictions of the city?

The Great American Read's list of America's 100 most-loved books has been revealed, and it includes Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 The Color Purple. Revisit a 2013 interview with Walker on Chicago Tonight. "I go where my heart says I need to be," she says. 

Carl Kasell, the beloved NPR newscaster and judge and scorekeeper of the news quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! died yesterday at age 84. Remember the radio icon with WTTW archival videos: an extended interview, and a behind the scenes look at Wait Wait.

The new nine-part series Civilizations surveys the global history of art through a multiplicity of voices. “There is this common bond in humanity, which is the urge to create," says the executive producer. "Art, in a way, is what defines us as humans."

In honor of Earth Day on April 22, learn about the imperiled natural world through Nature, NOVA, and other specials about endangered species, climate change, and alternative energy. Plus, watch a monumental new series on the history of art at your own pace.

This month, enjoy a mouth-watering new cooking show from WTTW featuring some of Chicago's top chefs; an expansive survey of humanity's astounding artistic achievements; profiles of titans of politics and science; and discover what makes cities tick.

"You cannot show with the architecture that you are poor and you cannot show that you are rich." That is what architects Marc and Nada Breitman believe. Explore their socially minded works in photos and video with Geoffrey Baer.