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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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Épisodes

674 épisodes

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