PODCAST · society
Curious City
by WBEZ Chicago
Ask questions, vote and discover answers about Chicago, the region and its people. From WBEZ.
Episodes
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Why You Should Skip Delivery Apps And Other Ways To Support Local Businesses
A listener wanted to know some practical things he could do to support struggling businesses. Monica Eng shares tips from industry experts on how to support small businesses like bookstores and music venues. She also talks with chef Beverly Kim about how female restaurateurs in Chicago have been...
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Why Are There So Many Thai Restaurants In Chicago?
This week we hear why Chicago has so many Thai restaurants and a renowned Thai chef offers up some tips for how to get the full experience of Thai cuisine. Hint: no chopsticks.
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Did All Chicagoans Support The Civil War?
In this week’s episode we revisit a question we first answered in 2018. What was Chicago’s response to the Civil War? Chicagoans support for the war was actually quite varied and changed as the war progressed. To answer the question we focus on the experience of Irish Americans and...
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Here Are The Winners Of The 2020 Haiku Contest
It’s the last day of 2020, which means we’re revealing the winners of our 2020 Haiku Contest. Plus, hear an interview from our friends at Reset, WBEZ’s daily talk show. In a multimedia project titled “The River Speaks,” a student at the University of Illinois at Chicago gives a unique personality...
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A Different Perspective On Our Story About The Walnut Room
In a response to our recent episode about the Walnut Room, listener Joyce Miller Bean shares her family’s experience of racism and discrimination when visiting Marshall Field’s in the ‘50s and ‘60s.
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What’s Up With All The Geese In Chicago?
Maybe you find them annoying or maybe not, but one thing is certain: Chicago’s got a lot of geese. So this week we’re taking on your geese questions, from why they’re here to techniques for controlling their population.
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How A Department Store Became Part Of Chicago’s Christmas Traditions
From the Walnut Room restaurant to its window displays, Marshall Field’s figured out how to draw in the crowds during the holiday.
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A Most Unusual School Year: Part II
In Part II of our special series on education during COVID-19, reporters Susie An and Kate McGee share stories of two high school juniors going through the college application process during remote learning and several college freshmen experiencing a strange first semester. Some of those college...
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A Most Unusual School Year: Part I
We’ve spent the last couple of months reimagining the Curious City podcast and trying out some new ways to answer your questions. And now, the wait is over. We’re ready to let you hear what we’ve been up to. We’re still going to be answering your questions, but in this episode, we’re…
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Where Does Your Poop Go?
In 2015, Satchel Lang was a curious five-year-old Chicagoan who didn’t want poop’s destiny to remain such a mystery. Now 11-years-old, we catch back up with Satchel and revisit the answer to Satchel’s question that reveals how poop and pee in the Chicago area get processed by an agency called the...
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What My Family’s Great Migration Story Reveals About Chicago Blues
In the 20th century, millions of Black Americans who lived in southern states packed up and moved to northern cities — drawn by the promise of greater freedom and better jobs. Many headed to Chicago, and they brought a musical genre with deep African roots that reflected the realities of Black...
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What Chicago’s Architectural Clues Reveal About How We Lived
If you’ve lived in or visited an older home or apartment building in Chicago, like question asker Biz Knapp, chances are it has an odd door or some other quirky feature that seems out of place today. But the evolution of apartment layouts signifies more than just a change in style or materials —...
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Chicago Residents Say Rats Are A Problem, So What Is The Solution?
We’re back on the rat beat! Through WBEZ’s Citizens’ Agenda project, Chicagoans expressed concerns about the large number of rats in their neighborhoods. So we walk you through what you, your neighbor and your elected officials can do to tackle Chicago’s rat problem. Later in the episode, hear…
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What Was It Like To Dance At The Warehouse Club In Chicago?
House music got its start in the early 1980s — and it originated right here in Chicago. Many people say The Warehouse, a prominent house music club, is where the music genre got its name. Curious City talked with house heads (superfans) who danced at The Warehouse as teenagers to learn more about...
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Carl Sandburg’s Chicago
The famous poet and writer Carl Sandburg spent more than two decades in Chicago, from 1912 to 1930. In this archival episode from 2017, we explore how the city’s people and places helped shape his work — and gives us a personal window into Chicago’s past. Plus, the City of Chicago created…
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Here’s How Climate Change Is Impacting Lake Michigan
Recent wildfires on the West Coast and Mayor Lightfoot’s plan to replace lead service lines in Chicago have brought the environment to the top of our minds. And as reporter Monica Eng found last year, Lake Michigan is already being affected by climate change. For a look at what we can expect…
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How Accountable Is The Mayor For Police Misconduct?
For the last couple of months, we’ve been bringing you stories from our archive as we experiment with some new formats. Now, we wanted to share one of the stories we’ve been working on. As protests continue over police brutality and systemic racism in the justice system, WBEZ Criminal Justice...
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What We Do — And Don’t — Know About Chicago’s Lead Water Problem
The Mayor announced a plan to replace the city’s extensive network of lead service lines. So what does that mean for Chicago residents and the water they drink?
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What A Murder In My Family Reveals About Chicago’s Chinese Gangs
The inaugural citywide Curious City Scavenger Hunt: Chicago Eats Edition is coming to an end, so we’re capping off the past month of unlocking clues by revisiting a family mystery. In this episode from 2018, reporter Monica Eng digs into her family’s past to answer a listener’s question about the...
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Why Did So Many Chicago Bars Disappear?
While our recent episodes have been taking you to different neighborhoods throughout the city, this week we’re visiting a Chicago neighborhood institution: the tavern. Recently, there have been a lot of debates surrounding whether to keep bars open during the COVID-19 pandemic and how to do so...
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Chicago’s Historic Japanese Neighborhood — And Why It Disappeared
While the Curious City Scavenger Hunt: Chicago Eats Edition continues to take you all across the city, we’re pulling stories from our archive that dive into the history of Chicago’s neighborhoods. This week, a story from 2017 takes us to Lake View, which once had a thriving Japanese community —…
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The Chicago-Invented Delicacies That Help Define The City’s Food Scene
With the “Curious City Scavenger Hunt: Chicago Eats Edition” now underway, we’re revisiting a story about foods created right here in Chicago.
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Was There A Burial Mound In Chicago Shaped Like A Lizard?
A listener noticed an odd detail on an old map. Curious City investigated whether it was the site of an ancient burial mound.
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Sculpting History: Who Decides What Historical Markers Go Up In Chicago?
As statues are removed in cities across the United States, we revisit a story about what it takes to get one put up in the first place.
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The Story Behind “Go Cubs Go” And The Man Who Wrote It
Folk singer Steve Goodman grew up going to Cubs games, and this diehard fan had a lifelong goal—to write a hit song about baseball.
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How Often Should I Wash My Mask? And More Of Your Questions About Face Masks
From office use to wearing them outdoors, we clear up some of your lingering confusions about face masks.
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Protest Art Has Covered Boarded Up Businesses — Will It Be Preserved?
Plywood boards on storefronts became canvases during the protests over the killing of George Floyd. One Chicagoan wonders what will happen to the art now.
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Why Are There So Many Music Venues In Uptown?
A rising population, developing landscape and evolving entertainment all helped form a need for the Chicago music venues we know today.
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As Chicago Reopens, Is It Time To Let My Parents Meet Their Grandchildren?
As new parents to twins, Ricardo and Marcela Serment wonder if it could finally be time to invite some helping hands into their home.
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Performers Speak Out About Racism In Chicago’s Improv And Comedy Scene
In this episode we speak with comedians Ashley Ray, Josie Benedetti and artistic performer Angela Oliver about how systemic racism has impacted Chicago’s improv and comedy scene, what they’ve experienced onstage and off and what it will take to change things.
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Reflections On A Week Of Protests And Unrest
As Chicagoans respond to the death of George Floyd, WBEZ’s Natalie Moore, Monica Eng, Chip Mitchell and Sarah Karp take us through the moments that defined this historic week.
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What To Expect From Farmers Markets This Season
Since the pandemic began, people have been concerned about food—how safe it is, how to get it, whether it would be available. We answered many of those questions a couple of months ago. But now, with new state and local regulations coming out for how to reopen, things are slowly beginning to...
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Farmers Like Me Are Seeing Crop Prices Drop — But We're Resilient
As the state and the city take new steps to reopen life during COVID-19, we're releasing our last episode of Life Interrupted, a weekly series about daily life in Chicago during the pandemic. On this last episode, we meet Kate Huffman, a sixth generation farmer. Despite the economic uncertainty...
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I Survived Tuberculosis In The 1950s, So I’m No Stranger To Quarantine
At the beginning of the 20th Century, a global public health crisis hit Chicago—a widespread outbreak of tuberculosis. The highly contagious respiratory disease spread easily from person to person and attacked the lungs. Without a vaccine or a cure, doctors attempted to treat positive cases with...
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I Thought Ramadan Would Be Depressing This Year — But It's Been A Blessing
In today's episode of Life Interrupted: Deanna Othman looks forward to sharing meals with friends and family during Ramadan. Now, she’s relying on faith to get her through isolation.
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Why Is Chicago Still Seeing So Many New Cases Of COVID-19?
The Illinois stay-at-home order was supposed to slow the spread of COVID-19. So one Curious Citizen wonders how so many people are still getting sick.
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I'm Bringing A Baby Into The World In the Middle Of A Pandemic
In today's episode of Life Interrupted: A first pregancy is normally filled with a lot of excitment but also a lot of anxiety. So what's it like to bring a baby into the world during a global pandemic?
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Has The Stay-At-Home Order Improved Chicago’s Air Quality?
With less traffic on the roads and some businesses shut, one Curious Citizen wonders if the air we’re breathing is any cleaner.
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Our Daughter Is A Nurse On The Front Lines Of The Coronavirus Pandemic
Life Interrupted is a new weekly series from Curious City about daily life in Chicago during the pandemic. In today's episode, as their daughter treats COVID-19 patients in intensive care, Suzie and Bob Pschirrer wonder if military families feel the same mix of pride and fear.
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Who Created The Cook County Forest Preserves?
Around the turn of the century, the great American wilderness was disappearing. That’s when an architect named Dwight Perkins devised an ambitious plan to save Chicagoland’s natural treasures — by creating the state’s first forest preserves. . Over the next 15 years, Perkins would weather legal...
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I Started Sewing Clothes For My Barbies — Now I’m Sewing Face Masks
Life Interrupted is a new weekly series from Curious City about daily life in Chicago during the pandemic. In today's episode, Lucy Keating first learned to sew on her grandmother’s Singer sewing machine. Today, she’s reviving her skills to make masks for COVID-19.
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Looking For Quarantine Recipes? Try This Chicago-Invented Dish
Two Albany Park chefs turned a Chinese-Korean chicken dish into a signature Chicago food. Listen to the history, then go to wbez.org/curiouscity for recipes to make at home.
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Your Stories Of Love And Dating During COVID-19
Whether you’re single or in a decades-long relationship, it’s likely coronavirus has had an impact on your love life. With Illinois’ “stay-at-home” order and new social distancing rules in place, the pandemic has fundamentally changed how we’re supposed to interact with one another, and that can...
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This Synagogue's Story Mirrors The History Of Jewish Migration Across Chicago
As many Chicagoans celebrate Passover, we’re sharing a story about the history of Chicago’s Jewish community through one congregation.
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Pets And COVID-19: What You Need To Know
Chicagoans have become familiar with how COVID-19 is spread from person to person and what types of safety measures they should be taking during this time. But WBEZ has gotten several questions from pet owners who are wondering about the risks to their furry friends, things like--are cats and…
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How To Safely Enjoy The Outdoors During COVID-19
Governor Pritzker’s “stay-at-home” order has left lots of Chicagoans wondering how they can safely enjoy the outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the city’s lakefront, adjacent parks, the 606 and Riverwalk have been closed because people were congregating in large groups, many natural...
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How To Eat Safely During The Coronavirus Crisis: Tips, Resources, FAQs
WBEZ is answering lots of your other frequently asked questions about the COVID-19 outbreak in Illinois here. Life in Chicago has changed dramatically this past week, from schools and restaurants closing to evolving policies around social distancing and public events. As Chicagoans — and most...
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Chicago’s Got 1 Thai Restaurant For About Every 33 Thai People: How Come?
Fourteen-year-old Evan Robinson is a Chicago foodie — you might have even seen him on Master Chef Junior. Over the years, when he’s gone to see his orthodontist on 55th Street in Hyde Park, he’s noticed a tasty mystery. “We always see all these different Thai restaurants,” he says, referring to...
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'South Side Stories': The Legend Of Harold’s
This curated episode from WBEZ and Comedy Central’s South Side Stories explores why every Harold’s chicken tastes different.
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Chicago’s ‘Dibs’ Tradition Can Get Dirty, And Even Dangerous
Police records show that dibs disputes have led to everything from broken mirrors to life-threatening acts of retaliation.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Curious City have?
Curious City currently has 331 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Curious City about?
Ask questions, vote and discover answers about Chicago, the region and its people. From WBEZ.
How often does Curious City release new episodes?
Curious City publishes regularly with 331 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Curious City?
You can listen to Curious City on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Curious City?
Curious City is created and hosted by WBEZ Chicago.
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