Interview

The celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich came to America as a child and found a new home and life. In a new special, she visits, cooks, and eats with immigrants, especially those who have settled in less urban parts of America, as a way of thanking her adopted home country. 

New Yorker writer Jane Kramer discusses the myth of the American West, the rise of big agribusiness and its effect on both traditional ranching and cows, and what bringing her daughter along on her reporting could do, in this 1978 interview from the WTTW archives. 

“Country music is a different way to look at who we are as people and what our shared history is," says Dayton Duncan, the writer and producer of Ken Burns's upcoming eight-part Country Music documentary series. "It is uniquely American in its origin."

When Rick and Deann Bayless opened their regional Mexican restaurant, they shared a wall with a bar called the Rendezvous -- for a reason -- and a ceiling with rent-by-the-hour flophouses. 30 years later, it's a staple of Chicago's culinary scene.

Tonight at 8:00 pm, "Meet the Spies" in the finale of Spy in the Wild. We talked to series producer Philip Dalton about how the cameras can capture animals' most intimate behavior.

Bridget Lancaster and Julia Collin Davison, the new co-hosts of America's Test Kitchen, have been with the show since day one. They give a behind-the-scenes look at how recipes are developed, and crack each other up in the process.

Maya Angelou was beyond prolific, and her life touched on many of the most significant people and events of the twentieth century. The creators of a film about the great woman discuss the difficulty of capturing her multi-faceted life on film, why they admire her, and what she was like.

Actor Gary Cole began his career in the small experimental theaters of Chicago, became famous for roles like the bureaucratic monster Bill Lumbergh, and now plays the patriarch of the Green family on Mercy Street.

The author of Heroines of Mercy Street discusses the determination and accomplishments of female Civil War nurses, the importance of writing about women in history, and her broad historical interests.

The lead singer of the country band, who can be seen on Soundstage Thursday, February 9 at 9:00 pm, talks about the band's upcoming album and the story behind the delightful title of their debut.

Lisa Q. Wolfinger, Co-Creator and Executive Producer of  Mercy Street, talks about the stories behind the series, the importance of history, and the difficulties of creating an elaborate period drama.

Cookbook author, TV chef, and restaurant owner Lidia Bastianich just won a James Beard Award for her TV special "Holiday for Heroes." She told us she made the special to "say my thank you to the veterans for maintaining this freedom that we have."

Robert Falls, artistic director of the Goodman Theatre, and actor David Duchovny join Mark Bazer on The Interview Show. Find out Mark's aspirations for the show and what guests he's most excited about this season.