Stories by Paul Caine

Rosemarie Truglio, the development specialist behind the curriculum of “Sesame Street” is out with a new book for parents to help their children learn.

The Reserve Roastery will span five floors and 35,000 square feet on Michigan Avenue, taking up residence in what was for decades Crate & Barrel’s flagship store. We get a preview.

As Chicago’s top cop prepares to retire at the end of the year, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s pick to replace him on an interim basis is already drawing fire. But what about finding Johnson’s long-term replacement? That task falls to the Chicago Police Board.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she’ll announce her plan to find an interim successor to police Superintendent Eddie Johnson in the coming days. We discuss Johnson’s legacy and the challenges that await the city’s next top cop.

Is the mayor’s plan for a real estate transfer tax hike dead on arrival or could a new so-called win-win compromise supported by some Democratic lawmakers create a path forward?

As the legalization of recreational marijuana approaches, police have no reliable test for whether a person is driving under its influence. What science tells us about marijuana use and safe driving.

In a world in which scientific literacy is often lacking, the online platform Zooniverse.org is doing what it can to encourage “people-powered research.”

On the South Side of Chicago is a relatively small but academically renowned museum whose founder James Henry Breasted helped rewrite the history of human civilization. We go for a look.

The tech giant says its computer took a problem that a normal supercomputer would take 10,000 years to solve and figured it out in just over three minutes. What might this the brave new world of quantum technology deliver?

Two Chicago Public Schools principals talk about the strike from their perspective – and what it will take to pick up the pieces when it eventually ends.

Should social media companies be responsible for fact-checking content? The debate over free speech on Facebook.

A former Time editor and State Department official on fighting for truth in the age of disinformation. Richard Stengel tells us about his new book “Information Wars.”

The hulking Old Post Office building that lay empty for the best part of two decades – and that many feared might never be redeveloped – will soon reopen. Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin weighs in on the landmark.

With winter right around the corner, home gardeners should harvest whatever fruit and vegetables that remain in their garden as soon as possible. Organic gardener Jeanne Nolan shares tips to get your garden ready for the cold season. 

Colleen and Keith Begg founded an organization that helps maintain the wildlife in the Niassa National Reserve in Mozambique, one of the last remaining strongholds for lions in Africa. 

How did researchers reconstruct the face of an ancient human ancestor using a fossilized bone? This story and more from the world of science with Neil Shubin.

President Donald Trump’s decision to immediately withdraw all U.S. troops from northern Syria has prompted criticism from politicians, military leaders and others. 

Earlier this year, for the first time ever a small team of scientists was able to forecast a severe tornado outbreak almost one month in advance. We speak with Victor Gensini, a key member of that team.

She was a driving force behind Illinois’ new marijuana law. Meet the state’s new cannabis regulation oversight officer.

The SpaceX founder aims to create a fleet of reusable rockets that will make space travel dramatically cheaper and more accessible. But can he turn what has long been science fiction into science fact?

The public has new insight on how President Trump interacts with world leaders behind closed doors. But do his actions amount to an impeachable offense? And how do allies and adversaries overseas view his dealings with Ukraine?

How is a formal impeachment inquiry likely to play to voters? We ask Tom Bowen of New Chicago Consulting and Jennifer Nevins, a self-described pro-Trump conservative activist.

It’s Banned Books Week, an annual event organized by the Chicago-based American Library Association to highlight the threat of censorship. Find out which books were challenged most in 2018.

Sidney Blumenthal, the Chicago native who formerly served as the senior adviser to President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, discusses his political history of Abraham Lincoln, “All the Powers of Earth.”

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK. But the FCC wants to make that number a whole lot easier to remember – and dial.

Talk of a possible city congestion tax is heating up. On Monday, the CEO of Uber said he supported the idea to help ease Chicago traffic and raise revenue. But how would it work, and could it drive away business?