Stories by Daniel Hautzinger

The midwives try to cope with a loss but can't get too wrapped up in their grief as another maternity clinic has closed and referred all its patients. One young mother is challenged to accept an unconventional living situation with her widowed father, and Monica Joan celebrates a birthday.

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.

On the international news, drama, and mystery channel MHz Worldview, now presented by WTTW, you can find a wealth of European noir and crime shows, from an HBO production set in Poland to an Italian adaptation of classic mysteries to a continent-spanning series based on Europol.

On May 1, 1969, 49 years ago today, Fred Rogers managed to convince the cynical politicians of Washington to prevent funding cuts to public media through his direct, deeply convincing testimony. Watch it here.

When a suitcase containing a body is found in a river, Cassie and Sunny begin to investigate who the corpse belongs to, and who might have murdered them. With the help of a wristwatch and a pager, they discover the identity and begin to find people connected to the victim.

Barbara is put into isolation as the hospital tries to address her dire illness. Lucille wrestles with whether to try to fit in with the English or join a West Indian church that reminds her of home. Dr. Turner helps a young man in prison who reminds him of his own son.

Every April 30 for the past six years, some of the world's finest jazz musicians have gathered from around the globe to make music together in celebration of International Jazz Day. Meet some of the performers from last year's concert in Havana, which will be broadcast April 27.

In Rwanda: The Royal Tour, the president of the small but biodiverse African country visits some of the land's natural wonders, from one of the last habitats of mountain gorillas to one of Africa's oldest rainforests to a a savannah and wetland chockfull of large animals.

NOVA usually focuses on questions scientists know the answers to, but the new miniseries NOVA Wonders asks the questions we don’t fully understand: what is dark matter? Is there extraterrestrial life? Can build a truly intelligent artifical intelligence?

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?

Another cold case sheds light on the murder of Jimmy Sullivan as everyone involved in the last days of his life begins to deal with the ramifications of their secrets and past. Cassie and Sunny struggle to decide who to trust as they finally solve the case.

The newly arrived Davidson family quickly goes from a bright future to a difficult one as disasters pile on. Sister Monica Joan makes an unlikely friend while undergoing surgery. And Valerie faces down a mother who decries her sexual health classes as filth. 

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. 

Here's hoping you don't have to get close enough to smell anyone's breath today – it might be stinky, because it's National Garlic Day!

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.