Curious City

Kids in India learn about Swami Vivekananda like kids in the U.S. learn about Abraham Lincoln. So how is it that he has his own honorary Chicago street sign? Find out about the monk who introduced Hinduism to the West, his deep ties to the city, and...what exactly happened to that sign.

Chicago-style magic is close up, funny and usually performed at a bar or restaurant. We learn about its history and talk to several magicians who are part of the tradition.

In October 1960, Prince Akihito of Japan visited Chicago for 21 hours. Chicago’s mayor presented the prince with a diplomatic gift: 18 bluegill. What happened next would change the underwater world of Japan forever.

Pit bulls are the number one dog breed in Chicago. We take a trip to the animal shelter to find out why, and we follow one pup as he attempts to find a forever home.

There’s a hole in the map of Chicago. It turns out, it’s a cemetery. But there are many other cemeteries in Chicago that don’t show up as holes on the map, so what’s up with this one? We take you to the 19th Ward and explore the history of this dead zone.

A listener thought she’d noticed a change in Chicago’s crow population. And she was right. More than twenty years ago, the crow population of Illinois was at an all-time high. But just a few years later, half of the birds were dead. The crows were hit by a deadly virus. And it’s one that humans are susceptible to as well. So where was this virus coming from? Reporter Claire Caulfield finds the answer.

What began as a method of desegregation and a way to stem white flight has now become a source of both pride and pain for kids and families around the city. We’ll look at the history and future of Chicago’s selective enrollment high schools.

Apple slices were a favorite Chicago pastry decades ago. Not many bakeries sell them today, but the dessert still has avid fans who hold on to its nostalgic flavor.

Stealing political signs has been a thing since candidates started printing signs. The tactic was widely used by the Chicago political machine, and its origins trace back to the late 1800s when saloons and politicians worked closely together.

The juvenile justice system we know today was created by Cook County women. We take a look back at how the program came to be. Then later, ever notice how so few of Chicago’s monuments are of women? We’ll find out why and talk to the folks working to change that.

Chicago is home to thousands of feral cats. But who’s looking after them? We look at the pros and cons of keeping feral cat colonies.

Around Chicago, there are ribbons of paint on utility boxes that look like little doodles. But there’s much more to these paint splotches. The street artist and graffiti writer behind this and much larger work says painting has been a lifesaver.

This week, hear about historian Carter G. Woodson’s important Chicago ties, and how he came up with the idea for a “Negro History Week,” which later turned into the Black History Month we celebrate today.

Fed up with how Black Americans were portrayed at world’s fairs, Black organizers created the “first real Negro World’s Fair” in Chicago in 1940. As Arionne Nettles reports, this exposition paved the way for Black institutions. Nettles’ debut book, "We Are The Culture: Black Chicago’s Influence on Everything," is out on April 16, 2024.

In 1913 Chicagoan William Foster became the first Black director to make a film with an all Black cast. Yet most people have never heard of him. Join Arionne Nettles as she tells Foster's story, the story of Black filmmaking in Chicago, when our city was the pre-Hollywood movie capital of the world. It's the first of 3 Curious City podcasts in a row celebrating Black History Month 2024!

Storefront churches have been around since the early 1900s when African-Americans migrated up north from the South. Many are in operation in South and West side neighborhoods like Austin. We talk to residents about the impact these churches have on the community.

There’s never a shortage of complaints about Chicago traffic, but experts swear it could be worse. We investigate the science behind lane closures and red lights, and then take a look at the chaos of creating a traffic report.

There’s a lot that goes into keeping the city streets clear of ice and snow. A snowplow driver shows us the ropes. And did you know Chicago used to ship out its plowed snow? We’ll revisit a story one joyful Floridian will never forget.

The weather outside is frightful, but our answers to 5 Chicago winter-related questions are delightful.

The Walnut Room in the Macy’s department store downtown has been a longstanding holiday tradition in Chicago. While it is a source of Christmas nostalgia for many, it brings back painful memories of discrimination for others.

You’ll only see news boxes for free publications around today, but those papers are important for many people.

The Chicago area played a key role in Black aviation in the early 1900s. The founders of the first Black-owned airport learned to fly in Chicago and went on to teach thousands of others.

The CTA Holiday Train started from humble beginnings. Then a holiday celebrity and his helpers turned it into a Chicago tradition.

Indian Boundary Park on the city’s far north side is a symbol of Chicago’s complicated history with Indigenous people. We’ll explore that history, and current efforts to correct past wrongs.

As you prepare to gather around the dinner table, Curious City brings you a couple of delicious food stories. First, we visit some Mexican bakeries around the city. Then, we go hunting for a long lost fried chicken recipe.

Thousands of newly arrived migrants are sleeping in tents or shelters in Chicago. But with winter approaching, some residents are offering space in their homes. Curious City takes a look at the small scale housing alternatives migrants are taking.

Following the Cuban Revolution, many Cubans ended up settling in Chicago neighborhoods like Edgewater and Logan Square. Today, the community isn’t as visible as it is in places like Miami and New York City. We’ll look at what drew Cubans to Illinois and what sets Chicago’s Cuban community apart from others in the U.S.

In October, Curious City teamed up with the Chicago Brewseum to talk about important bar scenes in film and television. The Brewseum’s Liz Garibay and writer Mark Caro join Curious City’s Jason Marck for some of the highlights of the evening that revolved around Chicago bars.

Curious City asked listeners for their paranormal experiences, and it turns out Chicago is pretty spooky. We explore the supernatural in one family’s home in Pilsen. Is that the sound of a house settling, or could it be spirits?

Basements fill with stormwater and sewage when a big storm hits. Why is this happening, and what can be done to prevent it?

It takes a lot to drive a Chicago Transit Authority train. Since the pandemic, the job itself hasn’t changed, but challenges remain.

Each year tens of thousands of people take part in 5ks, 10ks, marathons, half-marathons and more in Chicago. But how does one get permission? And what’s it like to navigate the process and work with the various city departments to put on an event like this? As we get ready for the 46th annual Chicago Marathon this weekend, Curious City talked to one race director who organizes ultramarathons to find out. And of course, as you might imagine, there’s just a little bit of bureaucracy involved.

Before it was a place to gamble or shop, the Medinah Temple was the longtime home to the Medinah Shriners, an organization shrouded in secrecy.

It can be a tense situation when a dog bites another dog at the park. Who’s making sure it’s handled properly?
 
 No matter what kind of dog you have, there are a number of rules to follow at the dog park. But, who’s keeping it all in check?

In the ‘90s, an old bowling alley hosted a few punk shows. For a little over a decade, it became the all-ages heart of Chicago’s punk and indie scene.

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.

Devon Avenue in the West Ridge neighborhood has been the region’s top destination for South Asian restaurants, grocery stores, clothing, jewelry and more. But with more South Asian families settling in the suburbs, what does the future hold for the area known as “Little India”?

The history of traveling queer parties in Chicago is rooted in exclusion and racism. This week, we spoke with Pat McCombs and Vera Washington — longtime organizers of Executive Sweet, a traveling party focused on Black lesbians that got its start in the 1980s. We also talked with Tori and Jae Rice of smallWORLD Collective, a group that organizes events today — and learned how queer Black organizers have been at the forefront of traveling parties in Chicago.

For more than 3 decades, Soul Train brought the coolest music and dancers to TV sets across the country. It also featured the coolest host, Don Cornelius, who started the program in Chicago in a studio the size of a small living room at WCIU Channel 26. On the 53rd anniversary of Soul Train going national, we take you back to its earliest days, and see how it still looms large over local culture.

It’s an invasive species that doesn’t seem harmful at first glance. But if they go unchecked, these little things can disrupt local ecologies.

Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood has had a large, vibrant Jewish population since the late 1940’s. But at some point, the people living there became more and more religiously observant. We’ll find out when and why that change took place, and hear about the practices that make the community unique.

The origins of “Chicagoland” can be traced back to nearly 100 years ago. Back then, it encompassed an area that went beyond the suburbs.

The beef sandwich and slushy drink combo are sold together all across the South and West sides of Chicago. Reporter Monica Eng tracks down the guy who put the two together. Then, she answers a question about what those mysterious structures out on Lake Michigan actually do.

It's summertime in Chicago, and once again massive teen gatherings are making headlines. We find out who is organizing these large meetups and why they're happening.

The bitter liquor has been around for about a century, but Malört’s rise to Chicago icon status is a more recent story.

We waltz with the musicians and dancers who popularized dances in Chicago, and we feel the beat with the people who keep La Danza Ateca alive in Pilsen.

When someone dies in Cook County and there’s no one to identify or claim the body, a small army of people from the public and private sectors work to find out who the person is, if they have any relatives or friends, and ultimately give them a dignified burial.

A New York transplant loves everything about Chicago, but misses the easy access to a big slice of pizza on a paper plate. Our city’s tavern style and deep dish don’t lend themselves to the “slice to go” concept, but slice shops have gained traction over the last few years. We go on a hunt for the city’s best slice, and even get initiated into an underground pizza club.

The huge, gleaming Baháʼí House of Worship for North America definitely stands out from its suburban lakefront surroundings. It’s the oldest Baháʼí temple in the world, and it’s also known as the holiest. But why is it in Wilmette, Illinois? That answer involves a trip to the temple, a celebrity run-in, and some good old-fashioned research.

In the 1960s, Chicago was becoming known as a center for Karate teaching and international tournaments, and the main person behind this movement was John Keehan. In the last of this two part series, we delve into Keehan’s devolution into a persona he created, Count Dante. He was at the center of Chicago’s “Dojo Wars,” which would end up taking a dark turn.