A fired-up Chicago Bears team takes down the Minnesota Vikings. James "Big Cat" Williams gives us his perspective on yet another fourth quarter comeback. Watch a web extra video.

Mark your calendars for October 17 to witness a painting that is as gruesome as it is great.

Welcome to Artbeat, Chicago Tonight’s blog on arts & culture. It’s a privilege to be the curator and share my enthusiasms, but this is a two-way street: help me out, and I’ll return the favor.

Oktoberfest, model sailboats, and a Day of the Dead exhibit; Chicago Tonight knows what's going on this weekend.

Newer suburban theaters may attract more critical attention, but if slow-and-steady wins the race, The Theatre of Western Springs (TWS), established in 1929, slaughters the competition. This year, they celebrate their 85th season and 500th production with a solid staging of Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut's mordant tale of a World War 2 veteran "unstuck in time."

We get a backstage tour of the newest theater in town – the architecturally significant Theatre School of DePaul University. Read an interview and view a photo gallery.

More than 7 billion people inhabit the earth today, consuming huge amounts of natural resources and altering the face of our planet. When we exceed the current global population, then what? Author Stephen Emmott joins us to discuss his new book, 10 Billion. View graphics of global natural resource consumption.

You might remember her as the devilish Vera on Downton Abbey. But Irish singer, songwriter, and actress Maria Doyle Kennedy also has a heavenly singing voice. We revisit a conversation and performance with Kennedy.

We revisit a story about a Chicago artist who has been painting since the 1940s and is just now getting his due.

It is believed to be the world’s most valuable book but you may never have heard of it. And now it’s up for auction with an estimated sale price of between $15-$30 million. We tell you what the extremely rare and pricey tome is when we get a firsthand look at it in our studio on Tuesday.

We revisit Jay Shefsky's profile of a basketball team you won't forget. Read an article and view a photo gallery.

Former Chicago Bears pro-bowl lineman James “Big Cat” Williams joins Ann Kreiter to kick off another season of Big Cat and the Bears. Watch a web extra video.

A craft fair, classical music, and a half marathon in Jackson Park; Chicago Tonight knows what's going on this weekend.

Five alleged victims have now come forward in a growing hazing scandal at Maine West High School in the northwest suburbs. This latest victim claims he too was sexually assaulted in a hazing ritual led by seniors on the school’s soccer team – a ritual sanctioned by the team’s coaches.

While NASA astronauts were lauded as American heroes, it was up to their wives to present the facade of a perfect family life. In her new book, The Astronaut Wives Club, author Lily Koppel tells the story of the dozens of women who tried to maintain normalcy as the nation scrutinized their every move. We revisit a conversation with Koppel. Read an article and an excerpt.

A festival brings the love to Ludwig van Beethoven. Artists from a dozen countries converge on Chicago for 100 events that celebrate this giant of classical music in surprising ways. Read an interview with the festival's art director and view a slideshow.