Castuner

Curious City

WBEZ Chicago

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

Sito del podcast

Ascoltalo nella tua app

Episodi

673 episodi

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