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Emmy Award-winning JBTV founder and producer Jerry Bryant launched the nation’s longest-running music television show in 1984. We caught up with him to talk about the origins of his annual holiday show and some of the artists whose careers he's helped launch over the years.

In August 2001, a WTTW11 crew met guitarist Rick Nielsen in advance of a Cheap Trick show at Navy Pier. We had a backstage pass and front-row tickets. This interview and performance haven’t been seen in 14 years.

Gift wrap, feasts and relaxation are probably on tap this weekend. But what to do after holiday festivities? Check out our picks to continue the party.

A young, Harvard-educated, first-time candidate tells us why he believes he can defeat the state’s most powerful incumbent, House Speaker Michael Madigan. Paris Schutz brings us the report.

The University of Chicago answers activists' calls with a new trauma center in Hyde Park. One of the hospital's top surgeons joins us to discuss the details.

They are an unlikely group of lunch mates: a handful of Chicago police officers and 12 people working to rebuild their lives after serving time in prison. Brandis Friedman has the story.

The award-winning pastry chef and owner of Mindy’s Hot Chocolate in Bucktown shares her favorite holiday recipes from her first cookbook, “Cookie Love,” and talks about her latest baking business–a line of cannabis-infused desserts that will be sold to medical marijuana patients in Illinois.

Photographer Richard Nickel lived–and died–to save Chicago's architectural treasures. A new book takes us inside the mind of this legendary rebel by sharing his letters, drawings, notes and breathtaking images. Joining us to discuss the book and the man at the center of it are the authors, Richard Cahan and Michael Williams.

There's a new cat on the PBS block. We meet big-name local talent behind "Nature Cat."

The scroll, which bears the seal of one of China's most famous painters, makes few appearances outside of its vault at the Field. 

Wheaton College's decision to place a tenured professor on paid leave after she declared she was wearing a Muslim headscarf to express her solidarity with Muslims facing hostility has created national and international headlines. Larycia Hawkins joins us to discuss her position.

Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was the only Republican that President Obama appointed to his cabinet upon taking office in 2009. His new memoir "Seeking Bipartisanship" chronicles his political life in Illinois and on the national stage. LaHood joins us to discuss his book and career.