Curious City

Nov 20 2024 527 ep. 14 mins 1.9k
Curious City Podcast artwork

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

  Arts  Education  Society & Culture
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Without Native Americans, Would We Have Chicago As We Know It?

Nov 20 2024 12 mins  
Chicago histories usually start in 1830, but Native Americans were already settled in the region long before that. Curious City fills you in on what some history books are missing.

Bodegas, ‘The Bear’ and why family business is the ‘backbone of the economy’

Nov 14 2024 20 mins  
When you think of a family business, one of two images probably comes to mind: either the mom and pop shop around the corner or the dysfunctional family from “Succession.” But actually, “it could be anything,” says Jennifer M. Pendergast, family enterprise consultant and professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Last episode, we looked into

What’s The Oldest Family Business in Chicago?

Nov 13 2024 7 mins  
Tracking down the oldest family business in the city is not as easy as it seems. The city’s business records only go back to 2002. Time for a fishing expedition.

‘So many connections:’ Chicago indicator species are trying to tell us something

Nov 07 2024 16 mins  
A Curious City listener wanted to know about the decline of frogs in our area. We looked into what’s been happening with these species over the last couple decades in Chicago. It turns out, frogs are some of the animals we call “indicator species.” How well or poorly they’re doing in their habitat can tell us about the health of our own. And they’re not the only ones;

“It’s Not Easy Being Green”: The Decline Of Frogs In Chicago

Nov 06 2024 7 mins  
Frogs have been on the decline in the Chicago area. The health of the frog population tells us a lot about the health of our environment.

“Spooky and salacious:” Do we need to rethink prison tourism?

Oct 31 2024 19 mins  
It’s spooky season, a time when we often visit haunted houses and think about the paranormal. And if you live in the Chicago area, you’ve probably seen billboards and ads for the Old Joliet Haunted Prison. But at one point, it was an actual prison. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, questions about the paranormal can serve as an entry into the historical context of a place.

Who Or What Haunts The Old Joliet Prison?

Oct 30 2024 6 mins  
The Old Joliet Prison has been around since the 1800s. Some visitors swear they’ve experienced the paranormal there. But do ghost stories detract from the specter of a truly dark history?

What Does "Chicagoland" Mean, And Where Did It Come From?

Oct 24 2024 15 mins  
The origins of "Chicagoland" can be traced back to nearly 100 years ago. Back then, it encompassed an area that went beyond the suburbs.

This Episode Is Garbage

Oct 17 2024 11 mins  
Chicago collects thousands of tons of garbage each year. We answer some questions about garbage, and follow an all-women collection crew on the job.

The Legacy Of Margaret Burroughs

Oct 03 2024 7 mins  
Margaret Burroughs is well known as the founder of the DuSable Museum. Perhaps lesser known is her decades long work teaching art to incarcerated men. In collaboration with the Burroughs Legacy Project at the Invisible Institute, we hear reflections from Burroughs' former students.