Mark Caro

Mark Caro is a freelance writer for the Chicago Tribune.

Miles Davis with his trumpet during a studio recording session in October 1959. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

To celebrate Miles Davis at 100, Columbia rereleases Chicago ‘Plugged Nickel’ recordings

March 23, 2026 at 5:30 a.m.

This new release ties into the larger Miles Davis 100 campaign marking the centennial of the trumpeter’s birth on May 26.

The cast of “The Man Trail,” produced by Chicago's Essanay Studios in 1915, gathers for a photo at what is now Illinois Beach State Park in Zion. The buildings in the background were blown up and burned for the film, injuring several people. (Chicago Herald and Examiner)

Vintage Tribune: Chicago movie company Essanay was the Disney of its day

March 15, 2026 at 1:12 p.m.

Chicago-based Essanay Studios made about 2,000 films during its 10-year run, with about 215 thought to have survived.

Robert Downey Jr. in a scene from "Oppenheimer." (Universal Pictures)

Mark Caro: Try our 2024 ‘Os-Caro’ quiz in honor of Sunday’s Academy Awards show

March 8, 2024 at 9:24 a.m.

Test your Academy Awards savvy and torment your cinematic soul with this Oscars quiz.

It’s Liz Phair. What did you expect? ‘Horror Stories’ is her own journey.

October 8, 2019 at 11:37 p.m.

Pity to those who approach a Liz Phair project with their own expectations. Ever since her stunning, out-of-nowhere 1993 debut album, "Exile in Guyville," fans have been clamoring for her...

Think you know your Oscars? Test your mettle on the Tribune’s quiz

February 20, 2019 at 5:00 p.m.

breaker breaker breaker breaker breaker breaker breaker breaker breaker breaker breaker The Oscar quiz is here to rock you. Will you be the champion? Or bite the dust? You're under...

An Oscar statue appears at the 91st Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon in Beverly Hills, Calif. Feb. 4, 2019

Heavens to Mercury! It’s Oscar quiz time, and the show must go on

February 20, 2019 at 3:39 p.m.

The Oscar quiz is here to rock you. Will you be the champion? Or bite the dust? You’re under pressure. So play the game. (Note: Years mentioned refer to when...

Review of Prince’s halftime performance from Super Bowl XLI

August 18, 2019 at 8:44 p.m.

This article originally appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Feb. 5, 2007 from Super Bowl XLI when the Chicago Bears played the Indianapolis Colts. Prince has long touted his relationship...

Dalton High School student Kirsten Swafford, 18, center, works on her certification as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at Georgia Northwestern Technical College, based in Rome, Ga. She's training with fellow students Sarah Ramirez, left, and Christian Herald on Nov. 6, 2015.

Chicago’s future hinges on retooling schools for digital age

May 22, 2019 at 6:19 p.m.

Mario Arzate embodies the type of workforce transformation needed in Chicago and other American cities. Less than a year ago, the 19-year-old son of Mexican immigrants was wiping counters, frying...

Izidorius Laurinaitis, 19, of Palatine, works on checking the levels inside of a machine at Felsomat USA in Schaumburg on Monday, Dec. 7, 2015. Laurinaitis is a Palatine High School graduate and current Harper College student enrolled in a manufacturing apprentice program which hopes to offer students more hands-on and specialized experience in the manufacturing area. Laurinaitis hopes to be an engineer one day.

Career-oriented educational programs sprout in Chicago area but scale small

May 22, 2019 at 6:19 p.m.

When education expert Timothy Knowles moved to Chicago about 12 years ago, he wondered why the city's public school system let about half of its students drop out. "I think...

Chicago's 1871 hosts a variety of workers in August at the Merchandise Mart. The business incubator launched in 2012 and recently announced its second major expansion, to almost 120,000 square feet.

Chicago’s tech talent often grows away

May 22, 2019 at 6:19 p.m.

Tired of a Chicago tech networking scene skewed more toward big companies and recruiters than people launching startups, Pek Pongpaet gathered about a dozen like-minded entrepreneurs in a Streeterville building...

All Stories