September 28, 2026
Linda Blaser
WTTW’s “Chicago Stories” featuring Rebecca Graff airs Oct. 2
A WTTW-Chicago film crew interviews Associate Professor of Anthropology Rebecca Graff on campus in June 2025.
Lake Forest College Associate Professor of Anthropology Rebecca Graff will bring her expertise on the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition to television when WTTW’s Chicago Stories episode on the World’s Fair airs Friday, Oct. 2, at 8 p.m.
Graff was interviewed by a WTTW film crew on the College’s campus in June 2025 for the Chicago Stories episode, “The World’s Fair of 1893.” An historical archaeologist, Graff has spent years researching the fair and its legacy, including the archaeology of the fairgrounds and the rise of consumer culture.
During the interview, Graff explored how the Columbian Exposition celebrated American progress while also reflecting divisions around race, labor, and class. She discussed the spectacle of the “White City,” the fair’s influence on modern consumer culture, and how its remnants beneath Jackson Park continue to shape Chicago’s public memory.
Graff is the author of Disposing of Modernity: The Archaeology of Garbage and Consumerism During Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair, based on archaeological and archival research into the fair and its aftermath.
“I have used Chicago Stories documentaries in many of my courses here at Lake Forest College, so it’s a special thrill to be able to discuss my research with WTTW in service of this great series,” Graff said when she was interviewed.
The episode will air at 8 p.m. on WTTW and will stream on the PBS app and WTTW’s Chicago Stories website. It is the first of four episodes in the series’ fall season.
