Curious City

<p>Don your dancing shoes as we track down the Chicago band members, musicians, and dancers who helped create five iconic moves. <br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/tXZPbfSBCuc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>John Connors says swimming naked in high school gym class was “torture.” <i>Curious City</i> looks at why schools enforced the policy for decades.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/nF69YZbQkXI" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Camp Douglas’ deadly reputation was kept in shadows but now there’s a surprising movement to bring it to light.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/TGydp2ujbWU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p></p><p>Being a paleta vendor may seem like a sweet life, but we learned that selling Mexican popsicles is anything but a walk on the beach. </p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/8ahJA_dS3NY" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>The city deserves cred as an industrial giant, but it was also the first city of flowers, a pickle powerhouse and the heart of American celery. <br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/eerctYTKhjs" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Lake View once had a thriving Japanese community, but it fell victim to a push for assimilation. As one Japanese-American puts it: “You had to basically be unseen.” <br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/J7Q4d77WXTQ" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>A quick tour of places where residents would chill, get clean and — sometimes — get down. <br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/SQ1veLD8DQk" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>On paper, Chicago is more integrated than it was a few decades ago. But the numbers don’t tell the whole story.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/kk18YIIGBLo" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>From 1912 to 1930, the famous poet and writer lived and worked in the Chicago area. Step back in time to experience Sandburg's Chicago.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/CajKKqQuL-M" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>A listener’s nostalgia for catching lightning bugs as a kid lead her to wonder: Are there any left these days? Our experts say they’re around, just really, really fickle.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/S9lsXuU2Dq8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p><br><br><!--StartFragment--><span>Here’s why you shouldn’t take that "sand between your toes" experience for granted!</span><!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/HTpUk_NmTRY" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Chicago's notorious light pollution hides the stars, but here's where you have a fighting chance to peek at the heavens.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/jkKhVwKKVSc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Forty years ago, it would have been nearly impossible to find an otter in Illinois, never mind Chicago. Today, could they be here to stay?<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/tGZX5cpLn4U" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>A multi-generational panel talks about what the neighborhood means to them and where they see its future. <br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/r2aHZu4hh8M" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>We look at<a href="https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/whats-with-that-odd-closet-what-chicagos-architectural-clues-reveal-about-how-we-live/03b20d19-139a-4a9d-9d3b-4d96508f74c1" target=""> eight building features and what each reveals about how society</a> and urban life has changed over the years. <br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/JkTUsrsn8q8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Engineers once compared Chicago’s soggy soil to jelly cake. How did they build a forest of skyscrapers on it?<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/cgKZyJzY0B8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Most aldermen almost always vote with the mayor, but that's starting to change. <br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/srBli4tUsmQ" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p><span></span></p><p>In the past decade the city paid out nearly $3 million drivers whose cars were damaged by poor road conditions. Is asphalt to blame?</p><p><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/Qjmqczrfwx0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Political activism and businesses helped shape the city's gay neighborhood, but <a href="http://interactive.wbez.org/curiouscity/makingboystown/" target="">there's a debate about its future</a>.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/5ZbW1LlmY-A" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>When a flight gets cancelled, it's not only travel plans that get trashed.<!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/vLL6LUsljyE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Was there ever a Nazi neighborhood in Chicago? In this <a href="http://interactive.wbez.org/curiouscity/chicagonazineighborhood/" target="">special Curious City mini-documentary and online presentation (complete with archival photos and video)</a>, we tell the story of how an infamous neo-Nazi group settled in the Marquette Park neighborhood and used it as a home base to gain attention and promote its political agenda. The story of the group’s rise and fall on Chicago’s Southwest Side raises questions about the extent of free speech and how mainstream racism in any neighborhood can encourage hate groups.  <!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/NP6-ffAHp5Y" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Scabby the Rat is now common on picket lines around the world, but the balloon started in Chicago’s historically blue-collar suburbs.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/MOGw_zO9xlw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Officials say the Jane Addams Tollway will soon be faster, safer and smarter. But will it deliver?<br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/sbaDzAEuxOQ" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Medical calls outnumber fire calls 20 to one in Chicago. So why does the city own so many more fire trucks than ambulances?<br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/GrSkjZSTj1U" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Tom Skilling explains why most TV meteorologists don't talk about climate change, but should. <!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/PppW2x93dEw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>There are plenty, but let's just say they're not ready for a nuclear apocalypse.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/6pwh36EcrEw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>A prospective Chicago parent wants to know where he could be within door-knocking distance of other families with kids. So we mapped them.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/EOgRecMxD4U" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Chicago-style hot dogs are a beloved culinary masterpiece: A snappy all-beef wiener, steamed poppy seed bun, yellow mustard, chopped onions, neon-green relish, two slices of tomato, a dill pickle spear, two sport peppers and a final whoosh of celery salt.</p> <p>But how did that unique mix of ingredients come to be? In a special Curious City presentation, Chicago’s premier hot dog expert breaks down the history of each ingredient. It’s a tale of immigration to Chicago’s Maxwell street neighborhood a century ago. <a href="http://interactive.wbez.org/curiouscity/chicagohotdog" target="">Click here for the full story</a>.</p> <p><i>Monica Eng is a WBEZ food and health reporter. Follow her at<a href="https://twitter.com/monicaeng"><span><span> </span></span><span>@monicaeng</span></a> </i></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/hnq2AdGTMqg" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Coffee shops, hospital waiting rooms and train cars are a few of the places Chicago’s homeless go to escape the cold. <!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/U_oTPEEdnQE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>After her neighbor adopted five goats, Jeanne Cuff wondered about Chicago's livestock laws.<!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/g_O0k0TObBQ" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>We explore a phenomenon called “cuffing” and the (short) lengths Chicagoans will go for love.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/kkRgwj2LK_s" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Sidewalk grates make people feel uneasy. An anxiety expert said this uneasiness is rooted in something much deeper.<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/j7YUBEfG31o" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Two Albany Park chefs fused Chinese and Korean flavors, giving birth to the chicken lollipop.<!--EndFragment--><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/unZp6fmrkXY" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>We uncover the history and bask in the glow of a ubiquitous Chicago bar sign.<!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/1X1_MU0sxWc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Complete with video and archival images,<a href="https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/whos-your-chinaman-the-origins-of-an-offensive-piece-of-chicago-political-slang/af7199cc-f87c-4e3b-9b57-7e7f515cc1de" target=""> we track down the offensive phrase’s roots and consider whether it’s time to retire it.</a><!--EndFragment--><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/YMmyCic3wAY" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p><a href="https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/icebreakers-of-the-chicago-river-how-bubblers-boats-and-brawn-keep-the-city-safe-each-winter/55b934b6-0c6c-46f8-8b6a-30894174df7c">How bubblers, boats and brawn keep the city safe each winter.</a><span> </span><!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/VSi3L39L8dQ" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p></p><p>In this special podcast episode, Curious City presents three Chicago disaster stories as told at the Old Town School of Folk Music on March 30, 2016. Inspired by questions posed from Chicago-area residents, the tales range from the practically comical Loop flood of 1992, to a terrifying tornado that struck the region, to the city’s infamous Iroquois Theater fire. <span style="font-family: inherit;">If you didn’t get your fill of disaster stories, <a href="https://www.wbez.org/series/what-a-disaster/7d7603fa-f8c8-405e-9e34-18528e660b89" target="">Curious City’s collected even more</a>!</span></p><p><br></p><p></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/LeyNzUuH4Fc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>The area’s premier airport sports Terminals 1, 2, 3 and ... 5. What gives?<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/uJhSLCAzCRk" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p><span>What will happen to the Willis Tower in 150 years? In this special Curious City presentation, producer Jesse Dukes and the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Jen Masengarb envision three future scenarios for the iconic skyscraper, and for the Chicago of 2166.<span> </span></span><a href="http://interactive.wbez.org/curiouscity/willistower/">Click here for the full story</a><span>.<span> </span></span><!--EndFragment--><br><br><!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/48u87x1MTTE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p><span>Pop-up tree lots sprout up on every Chicago corner during the holiday season, only to disappear. Who are the people who make these happen and what's the business like? As one operator says it, "It’s fast, it’s furious and it’s over in about three and a half weeks."</span><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/qYblDY5iCPU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Aurora leads council meetings with prayer, and it sometimes raises eyebrows. <a href="https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/when-church-meets-state-picking-apart-prayer-in-auroras-city-council/ce619932-d796-469b-b0e5-602cbcb0b6f4" target="">But would a judge ever smack it down? </a><!--EndFragment--><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/Pf_nHCIpVaM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Murals beautify some viaducts, while others are left bare and dirty. Why the disparity? <br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/Lw7iyU0WEXw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>The city's top recipe sleuths <a href="https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/tips-for-hunting-chicagos-longlost-recipes/7344debf-7b0c-434b-9fac-56b7d7ed5d05" target="">share their secrets as we recreate a divine, but elusive, fried chicken dish</a>.<!--EndFragment--><br><br><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/G1JqN47B_C4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Tempted to ignore the revolving door? Here are the revolutions that made the city a magnet for this seemingly simple device.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/Z9IaUtKbHBc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Schools are really crimped for cash. Hold up, wasn’t the lottery supposed to help with that?<br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/XUw_o4QIriA" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>There was a time Chicago gave New York a run for its money. <a href="https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/chicago-vs-new-york-the-origins-of-a-oneway-rivalry/d13d563d-78e7-452a-a19c-249603f93602" target="">How did we end up the Second City?</a><br><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/f9zI80ZDMz0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Minneapolis and San Fran do it. Even Oak Park’s got a program. What gives? <a href="https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/fighting-for-scraps-what-it-would-take-for-chicago-to-get-citywide-composting/4ba820d4-fcc6-4a7a-97c5-fc5f3f1095fa" target="">Photos of how municipal composting works in Oak park, interviews and the prospects for change in Chicago.</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/t6m_Bdhra4A" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p></p><p><span>That sorry-looking bike on the curb could end up in the hands of a local kid or even a family overseas. Full story with additional interviews and photos: http://wbez.is/2dgqDAf </span></p><p></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/dXXImTVnB7s" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p><span>Why did Richard J. Daley push for the UIC campus to rise from the heart of a long-standing ethnic neighborhood? In this special Curious City presentation, reporter Monica Eng examines the pervasive suspicion that the mayor’s choice rose from a political spat or — even worse — from disdain for the Italian-American community. </span><a href="http://interactive.wbez.org/curiouscity/littleitaly" target="" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: inherit;">Click here for the full story.</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/aEGbZw0IKP0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>As The 606 stokes fears of economic displacement, the city wants to repurpose more rail lines. What's the state of research on this?<br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/E-mmV0Sov1M" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>