Curious City

<p>Living near the CTA means life in a rattling fishbowl, but some Chicagoans adapt.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/_BkXdofqcgw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Unsung urban planning hero Edward Brennan tamed a chaotic 19th-century street-numbering system.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/2nwS52waP6w" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>We start an era-by-era search for the district’s ‘golden age’ and wonder: Could it be right now?</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/Wh0T2zfJu4o" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>The city rode high when ‘His Airness’ played for the Bulls. But what did he leave behind?</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/PZW5JAppb5U" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p><a href="https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/chicagos-forgotten-civil-war-prison-camp/2aea8281-878c-436f-8311-62747b7be31f" target="">Camp Douglas’ deadly reputation was kept in shadows but now there’s a surprising movement to bring it to light</a>.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/FymfNvwIx2I" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p dir="ltr">Engineers once compared Chicago’s soggy soil to jelly cake. How did they build a forest of skyscrapers on it?</p><div> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/WAo1dNTrcAo" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>How Chicago’s Polish community won a Revolutionary War hero a holiday ... in a state he never stepped in.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/yl39WugQ7C8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Sure, the timing’s awful for campaigning and voting, but it wasn’t some trick concocted by the Democratic Machine. In fact, it was meant to empower voters.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/Dgj1PEQqHQ4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>A Chinese developer wants to alter the city skyline and break a dry spell in a field we once dominated.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/kAfuZXow_Sg" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Let our info about the Let our info about the worst hours, days and seasons for road congestion steer you clear from a traffic-induced personal hell. </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/VHO4s4c8mDo" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>The Chicago suburbs of Romeoville and Joliet were once named Romeo and Juliet. We explored why.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/iH4uOE-Qzk4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>What associations do you make with Chicago? Da Bears? Shady politics? Wacky weather? If you feel that list is getting stale, here’s a list of new ones to consider!</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/KxMFBZO_WEg" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>A state task force likes the idea, but one former officer says the proposed job description could be a bit too much.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/rWWlEF62drE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Our case study: The U of C, where a private force polices 65,000 Chicagoans on and off campus.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/Z6ahHnMx1c8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>What makes these notable ghost stories tick? Even if you don’t believe them, you’ll never forget them.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/eDFcaLGKUeo" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p dir="ltr">How a modest congregation at Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist built and maintained an improbably cool concrete oasis in such an improbable location. </p><div> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/0XWzYn60Vlo" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Historians consider our “what-if” scenario about a city that escaped the 1871 blaze. Would the Loop be a livable neighborhood? Would the skyline be so strident? And would there be such a thing as the Chicago spirit?</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/4DHE0Pc5BT8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p dir="ltr">As Chicago's former grand movie palace turns 90, the question remains: What can be done to restore it? </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/lLtjOucds1Q" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Illinois struggles with debt and unpaid bills, while Indiana is sitting pretty with a surplus topping $2 billion. What’s behind the fiscal gap between these two neighbors?</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/ZheS9AymTC8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>The faux speakeasy is popping up everywhere these days, but what made the original Prohibition saloon work?</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/KNL-Hj_zTno" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>It took decades for Chicago's first and only female mayor to land an official honor from City Council. Is there a reason it took so long? </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/cy7x8_sDHXE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p dir="ltr">A concerned citizen poses questions about violence and the state’s new law allowing people to carry concealed guns. We find a surprising lack of consensus among the candidates and researchers, too.</p><div> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/6hoICuKQU_8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p><font><font>Now that our wicked winter’s ending, we look at whether there’s any fallout from flinging so much salt around.</font></font></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/KhUKkJYMO4o" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p dir="ltr">This winter has felt like one for the ages, but is it really one of Chicago’s worst?</p><div> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/rS5ztsHQeRo" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Our animated map shows how Chicago grew from lakeside outpost to booming metropolis over the course of a century.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/vTR0zF5zBZI" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Daring escapes, unexpected romance and more true stories from German prisoners held in our area.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/u4jcXUu-F6k" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Here’s the evolution of the Lincoln Avenue motels, from sensible to seedy to retro spectacle.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/AzqU-sFDwjw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p dir="ltr">The Chicago International Film Festival’s logo has intrigued movie buffs for decades. But is that Charlie Chaplin? Liza Minelli? Here’s the backstory.</p><div> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/W9GOYaqT4Nw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>The Progressive Era activist was many things: a Nobel Peace Prize winner, a social reformer, a feminist. But what about ... a lesbian? And, just why should we know in the first place?</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/ZISM0294VQU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Curious City finds the city’s best doughnut spot, while Dunkin’s former CEO spills the secret to the chain’s growth here.</p><p> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/5t1EEF6SzM8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p dir="ltr">The area’s so flat that every bunny hill seems a candidate. But it’s sweet (literally) to find the real deal.</p><div> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/VFoW8LX2Jkk" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Sure, they pass laws and vote on city budgets. But there’s so much more. Think: Pregnancy tests and pigeon poo.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/AMnb1OcW3sA" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Curious City tracks down the average wages of panhandlers and street performers in Chicago.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/-DbEs6FsgoA" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>A listener who hustles to make ends meet wants us to think about people who hustle for even less.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/FRTq9qtYC0c" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Sure, we have fewer industrial giants in our area these days, but if you know where to look you can find the beating heart of industry.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/ly0Rsrhcvg0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>You’d think food blogger Louisa Chu would be stuffed after this assignment. Nope. Pass her the syrup, she says. She wants to stay and hear more stories.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/mLq5Q4aLReI" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>In both life and death, the people who ended up at the notorious asylum and poor farm were some of Chicago’s least fortunate residents.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/FGgBieau5ZY" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Our Geiger counter couldn’t detect any radiation footprint from the site of the first sustained nuclear chain reaction. (Whew!) But, was safety first and foremost when scientists ran their WWII nuclear experiment in Chicago?</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/MXun9xJ50GA" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>A Curious Citizen’s question becomes<a href="https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/laugh-your-troubles-away/211aafad-21eb-49c0-abcd-3eb130a69e0a" target=""> your ticket to our multimedia playground</a>, where you can relive the sometimes joyful, sometimes disturbing, and often unnerving stories of a Chicago amusement park.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/B50XemT85Ww" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>A Chicago transplant asked what — if anything — is unique to Chicago. Answers were slippery, but our songster grabbed the best and wrote a song.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/aeA7Qf3QLAU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Cold War Chicago was once peppered with nuclear missiles ready to thwart a Soviet attack.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/3Ttfgm_1wBE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Curious Citizen Linda Rudy wondered when ground is broken for building or repairs, is anyone there to look for treasure? We catch up with local archaeologists who’ve scoured everything from construction sites, to the White City, to ... grandpa’s outhouse.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/1cxEMhGw3oQ" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Rogers Park resident Lowell Wyse noticed how diverse his neighborhood is, and wonders whether the city helps place international refugees there. If City Hall’s not, who is?</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/e13yMc_NOIA" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>The bulk of its objects are out of sight, but not necessarily out of mind. Start with our behind-the-scenes view, and stick around for a surprising international <a href="http://www.wbez.org/series/curious-city/questions-answered-museum-collections-where-bulls-live-and-chicago%E2%80%99s-first-non">backstory</a>.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/04RSLo2Qe8M" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>History suggests a Victorian-era prejudice against commercial traffic in Chicago parkways lurks behind a ban against pickup trucks on Lake Shore Drive. Should truck owners worry? And, where can they park, anyway?</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/70ca_IXf9cU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>Curious citizen Miriam Reuter wondered how Chicago's coastline has changed over the decades. We learn that from nature to industry and back again (sorta), the lakefront’s changed so much that city founders wouldn’t recognize it.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/-pNA43ToCbU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>The city's home to more wildlife than the usual suspects. (We're talking 'bout you, Mr. Squirrel.) Lace up your boots, folks. To find lizards, osprey and cactus, we’ll be heading far off the Mag Mile.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/fGShyrywvNw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

<p>What is a Chicago accent and what do Chicagoans really sound like? Sound off with your phone and become part of the linguistic record.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CuriousCityPodcast/~4/QTpULOPcx7I" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>