Chicago was once a "meat and potatoes" town. Now it's home to some of the world's finest restaurants. We talk with the authors of a new book celebrating Chicago's classic restaurants.

A tiny, fingernail-sized organism that some are calling the scourge of the Great Lakes is fundamentally altering marine life. Ash-har Quraishi reports on a devastating invasive species that is causing ripples all the way up the food chain.

Nearly 75 years later, the legacy of Chicago favorite -- Maurice Lenell cookies -- lives on. Ash-har Quraishi reports.

What does a gothic chapel in downtown Chicago have to do with Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park?

Arguably one of the greatest engineering feats in history took place in Chicago. Over 100 years ago, the flow of the Chicago River was reversed. We talk with two authors who collected 22,000 photographs documenting the event.

We take a look at a small press in Champaign, Illinois that publishes everyone from Herman Melville to Aldous Huxley, and brings modern European fiction to the USA in Arts Across Illinois.

Chicago's Union Stockyards closed 40 years ago after handling more than a billion animals. We have some never-before-seen footage and interviews with workers on the last day.

Check Please! Host and Master Sommelier Alpana Singh joins us to talk about low-calorie holiday drinks, cost-effective champagne and hard ciders in Ask Alpana.

A song-and-dance number on how miserable it is to be a Cubs fan? Sounds like the work of The Second City! We find out about its latest show, The Second City's History of Chicago, and its brand new comedy club.

We take a look at the new National Hellenic Museum in Greektown, which features a full-sized Trojan Horse, and a look at the role immigrants played in building Chicago on Arts Across Illinois.

It turns out that rats might not be such "rats" after all. Our science guy, Neil Shubin, talks about rat empathy and other stories on Scientific Chicago.

Radio station WFMT is celebrating its 60th anniversary of broadcasting classical music in Chicago. We talk to program director Peter Whorf about Tuesday's 10-hour "Day of Music" live broadcast celebration at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Chicago is home to the third largest public school district in the country. And it's a system that's plagued by a high dropout rate. Now a new study takes a closer look at the individual and societal costs of dropping out. Tonight, we look at the study as part of our "American Graduate: Let's Make it Happen" initiative.