Stories by Daniel Hautzinger

Chicago is well-known for music: electric blues, gospel, jazz, house. For a couple decades, it was also home to one of the United States' most popular country music radio shows, a program that launched the careers of stars and may have inspired the Grand Ole Opry.

Angel Idowu is a Chicago native who is excited to return home after farflung journalistic assignments. “When I wasn’t living in Chicago, every time I heard someone say Chicago or saw an Illinois license plate I would get excited," she says.

Cathy contrives a plan with Mrs. C to do something about the predatory Anthony, a situation that has made Geordie angry all the time and leads him to overstep in an investigation of the death of one of his daughter's classmates, in the season finale.

Chicago isn't the only place in the Midwest with exceptional architecture. Geoffrey Baer spotlights road trip-worthy destinations within driving distance of Chicago, from well-known marvels to hidden gems in unexpected places. 

When a difficult incident brings Will home to his family, he asks Geordie to join him as he tries to confront his family. Will's unexpected background is revealed—and a sudden death leads to a murder investigation, while Leonard stews back in Grantchester. 

Learn a bit about WTTW's new Head of Programming and Pledge, Lisa Tipton, and what she loves most about scheduling WTTW's shows. Plus, get her must-watch recommendations for August. 

Wrigley Field is beloved; Guaranteed Rate Field was essentially outdated within a year of construction. The Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic Paul Goldberger, who wrote a book on American ballparks, discusses the two parks and how they reflect larger trends in American urbanism. 

PBS has announced a local livestreaming service in partnership with YouTube, as well as some exciting new shows coming in 2020, from WTTW's Prehistoric Road Trip to the five-part Asian Americans and a pair of new documentaries, about Rita Moreno and George W. Bush. 

PBS officially announced today a new, national series exploring 2.5 billion years of Earth's history produced by WTTW and hosted by Emily Graslie, Chief Curiosity Correspondent at the Field Museum and creator of the YouTube series "The Brain Scoop."

When a silent boy holding a bible appears at the police station in a bloodstained shirt, Geordie enlists the reluctant Will's help and they become embroiled in a Mennonite family's conflicts. Leonard fears what his falling out with Mrs. C will lead to. 

“1919 represents a moment in time that is not that distant in the past in which you can see the violence of white supremacy enacted all across the country,” says a historian. And its effects still resonate today, in housing and the relationship between police and black communities.

With Sidney gone, Geordie enlists Leonard to help him solve a case involving a brilliant researcher working with computers – and Leonard might have some special knowledge regarding the case. A replacement for Sidney is named as vicar of Grantchester. 

The Nature Cat Explorer Patch encourages Girl Scouts to explore nature, learn about animals, adopt environmentally friendly practices, and more, all through fun activities inspired by the PBS Kids show.

Fifty years after the first lunar landing, there's a new wave of interest in returning to the moon and utilizing its resources, as China, India, and Japan amp up their space programs and NASA starts turning towards private companies to achieve its own ambitious goals. 

Millennium Park, which opened fifteen years ago today, was supposed to be just another pleasant, dull park that would cover up railroad tracks. But the commissioning of internationally known artists and architects transformed it into an ever-popular, unique cultural destination.