Stories by Meredith Francis

Kiara Jones thinks food is a love language, and she has built up a following on social media with her cooking videos. She's one of several students going through a West Side job readiness program called Impact Culinary Training. 

It's time for the finals of our Most Beautiful Bracket Challenge, with BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Bartlett facing off against Unity Temple in Oak Park. Vote for your favorite!

The semifinals for the Most Beautiful Bracket Challenge have arrived! In this round, we've got Ping Tom Park vs. Unity Temple, and Tribune Tower vs. BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir. Vote now! 

What do you think is the most beautiful place in Chicago? Vote in round one of our bracket challenge! Round one features eight locations included in The Most Beautiful Places in Chicago with Geoffrey Baer.

Did you keep up with the news in and around Chicago in February? Test your knowledge of local headlines with our February news quiz.

Celebrate Women's History Month with WTTW in March with the stories of women who were leaders in their fields. 

Amanda Christine Harth and Felton Kizer love Mondays. They want their coffee company to be about high-quality beans, the experience of coffee, and making a safe space for others. 

None of the 57 Super Bowls has taken place in Chicago, but Soldier Field did once host a "Super Bowl of Rock" featuring Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Foghat, the J. Geils Band, and more.

Black History Month brings a myriad of engaging programs that tell the stories of Black history, arts, culture, and more.

Plenty of news came out of Springfield and Chicago’s City Hall in January. Did you keep up with the headlines? Take our January news quiz.

A new documentary follows the reparations debate in Evanston, which became the first town in the country to pass an official government reparations program for Black residents. The filmmakers share the challenges in making the film, as well as its optimistic message about making change happen on a local level.

Hoppy beers and a love for all things Chicago history and food have inspired the owners of Hop Butcher for the World. The brewery recently opened a new brewery, taproom, and store in Lincoln Square.

Katherine Duncan of Logan Square's Katherine Anne Confections has started to think about chocolate in the same way that people think about wine. She shares her tips for making a decadent hot chocolate in your own kitchen.

The most-read stories of the year on Playlist cover food, drama, and history with a dash of nostalgia mixed in. Revisit those stories.

Take a look back at Chicago’s headlines with our year-end news quiz.