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Curious City podcast

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Curious City

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·

  WBEZ Chicago  

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

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

 

All

Progress

Duration

Release Date

#621

The first Black-owned airport in the U.S. was in Robbins, Illinois

The Robbins Airport, just southwest of Chicago, was the first Black-owned and -operated ai... more

11 Dec 2025

20 MINS

20:03

11 Dec 2025

#620

A museum, a mayor and a road: How Lake Shore Drive became a runway ... intentionally

Lake Shore Drive has served as a makeshift runway for emergency landings. But it’s also be... more

10 Dec 2025

06 MINS

06:27

10 Dec 2025

#619

How one organization is transforming Englewood’s vacant lots

The city of Chicago owns thousands of vacant lots, and more than 80 percent of those parce... more

04 Dec 2025

11 MINS

11:34

04 Dec 2025

#618

Want to buy the vacant lot next door? It might take awhile

Buying a city-owned lot seems like a simple process, but buying one might take longer than... more

03 Dec 2025

06 MINS

06:51

03 Dec 2025

#617

Does your iguana need x-rays? A local exotic animal hospital can help

Stop us if you’ve heard this one: A hedgehog, a river otter and an iguana walk into a loca... more

20 Nov 2025

12 MINS

12:40

20 Nov 2025

#616

A monkey on the loose: Odd animal sightings in Chicago

Animal control is used to dealing with stray cats and dogs. But what happens when there’s ... more

19 Nov 2025

06 MINS

06:29

19 Nov 2025

#615

Beyond the settlement: Helping Chicago’s many survivors of police torture

Chicago passed a reparations ordinance 10 years ago for the survivors of police torture co... more

13 Nov 2025

13 MINS

13:58

13 Nov 2025

#614

What impact do big payouts have on survivors of police torture and misconduct?

This year marks a new record, as Chicago city leaders have so far agreed to pay more than ... more

12 Nov 2025

06 MINS

06:43

12 Nov 2025

#613

Two-and-a-half minutes: Pilot John Ginley’s dance with disaster

While flying over downtown Chicago on July 18, 2018, a World-War-II era single-engine Erco... more

06 Nov 2025

14 MINS

14:54

06 Nov 2025

#612

‘Mayday, mayday, mayday’: How many planes have landed on Lake Shore Drive?

A couple of pilots have made forced landings on DuSable Lake Shore Drive. What makes a roa... more

05 Nov 2025

07 MINS

07:25

05 Nov 2025

#611

A Curious City Halloween: Scary stories from spooked Chicagoans

Three stories from Chicagoans who endured a terrifying experience that they couldn’t expla... more

30 Oct 2025

29 MINS

29:45

30 Oct 2025

#610

Gone and nearly forgotten: Lincoln Park’s High Bridge

A bridge constructed for sightseeing during the turn of the century soon became known as a... more

29 Oct 2025

07 MINS

07:09

29 Oct 2025

#609

The unsung legacy of Margaret Burroughs: ‘We called her mama’

Margaret Burroughs was a force to be reckoned with. An artist and a poet in Chicago from t... more

23 Oct 2025

07 MINS

07:28

23 Oct 2025

#608

Chicago is a jazz city, but where are the jazz radio stations?

The city is home to a vibrant jazz scene and the Chicago Jazz Festival. But WDCB is the on... more

22 Oct 2025

06 MINS

06:36

22 Oct 2025

#607

How a group of volunteers saved a rare Illinois wildflower

The Kankakee mallow is one of the rarest plants on the continent, according to the Smithso... more

15 Oct 2025

18 MINS

18:02

15 Oct 2025

#606

What’s that dead zone in the 19th Ward?

There’s a hole in the map of Chicago. It turns out, it’s a cemetery. But there are many ot... more

08 Oct 2025

13 MINS

13:30

08 Oct 2025

#605

The tale of the two-flat

You know the building: Two stories, an apartment unit on each floor, usually with bay wind... more

02 Oct 2025

12 MINS

12:47

02 Oct 2025

#604

‘Women adrift’: How single women lived independently in early Chicago

At the turn of the century in Chicago, single women without a husband or family were consi... more

01 Oct 2025

06 MINS

06:52

01 Oct 2025

#603

‘Friendship set to music’: Curious City goes square dancing on the South Side

It’s a Thursday night and a group of folks in Washington Heights do-si-do to the bassline ... more

25 Sep 2025

19 MINS

19:51

25 Sep 2025

#602

Square dance clubs used to be bumping on the weekends

Square dancing was once so popular that a center opened in the suburbs dedicated to the ho... more

24 Sep 2025

07 MINS

07:03

24 Sep 2025

#601

Is your local mall dying, thriving or evolving?

Malls hold a special spot in the hearts of many Americans of a certain age. One may have b... more

18 Sep 2025

13 MINS

13:32

18 Sep 2025