Mavis Staples

Real kids. Real coaches. Real Sport. Kids with lower limb disabilities, some from gunshots. 

Got a racehorse going to Dublin or Dubai? Des McInerney is your man.

The Museum of Science and Industry needed someone to run their gigantic and legendary model train set. William Davidson is the model train lover who got the job.

Classic men’s hats. Classic craftsmanship.  And Optimo’s Graham Thompson learned from the best: legendary Chicago hatter Johnny Tyus.

Got a beehive in the walls of your home? Dan Parizek will help both you and the bees. 

While many public schools cut back on physical education and recess to allow more time for academics, Chicago’s Namaste magnet school adds exercise, yoga, and healthy eating.  They say this improves academic performance.

Two of Mexico's finest copper artisans visited Chicago from Santa Clara del Cobre for a series of shows and workshops with grade school students.

Project Exploration was founded by world-renowned paleontologist Paul Soreno and his wife Gabrielle Lyon, a Chciago educator. When a student becomes a Junior Paleontologist in the program, it’s more than just a fun summer. It’s the beginning of a mentorship program that lasts throughout high school, one which can have a lasting effect on a teenager’s future.

What could be more fun for a blind kid than throwing her Judo teacher to the mat?

At high schools around the city, students give speeches on topics from child abuse to gay rights to teen unemployment. They are hoping to make the final round of Project Soapbox, a public speaking competition sponsored by the non-partisan Mikva Challenge, which works to develop teen political involvement and civic awareness. We meet the competitors from Brooks College Prep High School on the South Side.

Would you be willing to give up control of your family's finances and live on less? We'll visit the Reba Place Fellowship, a Christian community in Rogers Park and Evanston where all financial decisions — and income — are shared.

Many of us already separate cans and bottles from our trash, but what about food scraps? Collective Resource is a company that will pick up food scraps from restaurants and now from your home -- and turn them into compost. We’ll also visit an urban farm that uses that compost to grow vegetables -- and jobs.

In the 1950s, breastfeeding rates were at an all-time low. That's when a group of Chicago-area housewives took on the medical establishment by teaching other women to breastfeed. They had no idea they would launch an international movement and change the way women feed their babies.

Lots of guys like to fish. A few have tried taxidermy. Add lifelike wooden fish-carvings and you have the remarkable Don Dubin.

Meet the women of Chicago’s Windy City Rollers. They are part of a resurgence of the sport that was made popular in the 1970’s. But if you are expecting something that's choreographed, like Professional Wrestling, you are in for a surprise.