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Curious City

WBEZ Chicago

Ask questions, vote and discover answers about Chicago, the region and its people. From WBEZ.

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Episodes

672 episodes

  1. Tales from the Curious Crypt 29:39
  2. Data centers are stressing the electric grid. What does that mean for Illinois consumers? 17:49
  3. What’s that dead zone in the 19th Ward? 13:29
  4. ‘Rivalry is our last name:’ Chicago and Detroit battle on the dancefloor 25:37
  5. Industrial jobs left Detroit, Chicago, and Milwaukee. Why did it hit these cities differently? 21:34
  6. Chicago, Milwaukee or Detroit: Which city has the best encased meats? 19:31
  7. How Ella Jenkins’ Chicago childhood shaped her iconic children’s music 22:38
  8. Did Chicago invent the rage room? A look inside “the Frustration Room” 21:03
  9. How did a native Chicago plant disappear forever? 18:15
  10. Why is the island in Washington Park behind a locked gate? 15:52
  11. School lunch used to ace the test 18:52
  12. Shipwrecks, mussels and sponges: Chicago is a scuba diving destination 22:01
  13. Chicago has many block club signs. What are block clubs and what do they do? 17:43
  14. “Like getting paid to party”: The life of cover bands on the Chicago festival circuit 20:31
  15. Is that a lobster in the Chicago River? 14:44
  16. ‘Give while you live’: Who is Museum of Science and Industry founder Julius Rosenwald? 16:54
  17. A good lake, not a Great Lake 21:12
  18. Why does Chicago have so little love for the ‘Watchdog’ of the lakefront? 25:39
  19. Is This Your Card? A Brief History Of Chicago-style Magic 22:29
  20. Where did the term 'Chicagoland' come from? 15:40
  21. How did Hollywood Beach become Chicago’s ‘gay beach’? 19:34
  22. Why does Chicago use Comic Sans on some elevator inspection certificates? 15:53
  23. Does Chicago have a Filipino neighborhood? 22:10
  24. Why are there helicopters flying over my neighborhood every night? 19:00
  25. Why does Chicago have a monument named for fascist leader Italo Balbo? 30:35
  26. Standing on history: Who built Chicago’s WPA sidewalks? 17:04
  27. ‘This is how I speak’: The influence of the Black Chicago accent 18:50
  28. How has the Black Chicago accent retained its Southern roots? 6:47
  29. The story of the Lady Elgin, the deadliest shipwreck in Great Lakes history 15:35
  30. What are Chicago area lighthouses used for? 6:54
  31. How early Black Chicagoans used photography to redefine their image 15:27
  32. What was Chicago's first art gallery? 6:48
  33. Chicago came under martial law after the Great Fire. Did it help? 24:30
  34. The ‘windmill capital of the world’ used to be down the road from Chicago 11:04
  35. Why aren’t there wind turbines in Lake Michigan? 4:40
  36. No cars, no road salt: How one Midwestern community avoids salt all winter 9:23
  37. How does a mild winter affect Chicago’s economy? 6:59
  38. What was it like for women working in Hoover’s FBI? 8:32
  39. Why did the FBI recruit girls from Catholic high schools? 6:54
  40. How Ella Jenkins’ Chicago childhood shaped her iconic children’s music 21:10
  41. What's the first Chicago public school named in honor of a Black person? 6:28
  42. Why did Chicago widen Ashland Avenue? 10:52
  43. Why is Ashland Avenue sometimes Ashland Boulevard? 7:09
  44. We can’t name ‘em all, but here are some of Chicago’s greatest films 22:54
  45. From ‘The Fugitive’ to ‘The Dark Knight,’ what’s the best movie filmed in Chicago? 6:59
  46. ‘Weather is cool’: Weird Chicago weather, from northern lights to water spouts 12:21
  47. When is it no longer ‘cooler by the lake’? 6:37
  48. ‘It felt like a secret’: Remembering Chicago’s Berlin nightclub 23:10
  49. What’s the story behind Berlin nightclub’s huge mural? 7:03
  50. Krampus is coming: The Christmas demon’s Chicago connection 12:18