On this encore edition of The 21st: We learned about what's driving the teacher shortage in the U.S. and talked with former Illinois teachers about the challenges they faced in the classroom. Plus, we talked with the Highland Park natives behind the PBS animated series "Nature Cat."

Gwen Ifill, one of the most prominent African-American journalists in the country, has died, multiple sources tell NPR. She was 61. When she took the helm of Washington Week in Review in 1999, Ifill became the first African-American woman to host a major political TV talk show.

When my infant daughter had her first serious cold, I used my intuition, the experiences of friends who were parents long before me and help from our trusted pediatrician. As my daughter develops, I’ll also turn to the trsut PBSparents website for help.