Stories by Daniel Hautzinger

Illinois just became the 37th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which sought to prohibit discrimination of women, more than 40 years after Congress approved it. Watch a 1977 interview with the woman who led the successful opposition.

Only eighteen years after the Wright brothers' first flight, Bessie Coleman overcame both racism and sexism to become the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license, with the help of the Chicago Defender. But her high-flying career was cut tragically short. 

As you down Guinness and green-dyed beer this weekend in celebration of St. Patrick's Day on Saturday, you'll want a little something in your stomach to soak up all that liquid. Try Martha Stewart's recipe for traditional Irish Soda Bread.

Celebrate Women's History Month with stories of women forgotten or restricted by history like the six wives of Henry VIII, a trailblazing television pioneer, and a popular, binge-worthy discontinued series about women on the home front.

Finalists for the James Beard Awards, often called the Oscars of the food world, have been announced, and Chicago has ten nominees up for prizes. Watch interviews and Check, Please! reviews, get recipes, and learn a bit about them here.

Pi Day may be about the mathematical constant, but it's also the perfect excuse to enjoy some pie. Not that you need an excuse when you can whip up a key lime pie as easy and delicious as this one from the legendary Morton's of Chicago.

In 1977, Toni Morrison spoke to WTTW's John Callaway about empathy, the importance of storytelling, and her deep love of writing in an extraordinary interview. Watch the Nobel Prize-winning novelist speak honestly early in her career.

It may be inching towards spring, but there's a still enough of a chill in the air to make you crave a warm, hearty dish like scalloped potatoes.

Without the Chicago blues of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Willie Dixon, promulgated through Chess Records, the Rolling Stones might not exist. 

"You've made this day a special day, by just your being you. There's no person in the whole world like you. And I like you just the way you are."

In 1989, Keith Haring painted hundreds of his iconic figures on a 488-foot stretch of wall in Grant Park. Hundreds of students then filled them in however they liked. Watch a WTTW documentary about this unique project, now partially on display at the Cultural Center.

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood made its national debut 50 years ago - how much do you know about the beloved show and its extraordinary host?

Watch James Baldwin share his ever-incisive observations late in his life on Chicago Tonight in 1985. "When Americans say progress, they really mean how quickly, and to what extent, and how profoundly, a black person becomes white," Baldwin says.

It's the season finale of Victoria, and Christmas is coming! Albert, of all people, is obsessed with making the holiday magical, but family drama makes it difficult. Victoria sympathizes with a young visitor to the palace, and various romances reach their peak.

How many times did people try to assassinate Queen Victoria? Did she actually travel to Scotland? What caused the Great Famine in Ireland? Did Robert Peel's secretary save him from a murderer? And more questions from Victoria.