Curious City

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

  1. 4日前

    Chicago came under martial law after the Great Fire. Did it help?

    The mayor of Chicago declared martial law after the Great Fire in 1871. The military occupation ended days later, after the death of a civilian. We look back at that history and get the help of legal experts to answer these questions: Was Operation Midway Blitz — the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement campaign in Chicago — an example of martial law? What is martial law, anyway?

    25分

  2. 3月12日

    The ‘windmill capital of the world’ used to be down the road from Chicago

    Suburban Batavia, just 30 miles west of Chicago, used to be known as the windmill capital of the world. But eventually, technological advances took the wind out of the industry’s sails. In our last episode, we looked into why there are no wind turbines in the Great Lakes even though conditions are favorable. Legal and political hurdles continue to challenge the offshore wind energy business in the Midwest. Today, we’re going to take an historical look at the wind industry in our region. In modern times, Batavia is known for Fermilab, America’s particle physics and accelerator laboratory. But long before that, Batavia was on the map for hosting six windmill factories. Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke and City Clerk Kate Garrett dive into the town’s history. They take pride in the past, but look forward to the future.

    11分

  3. 3月11日

    Why aren’t there wind turbines in Lake Michigan?

    Strong and consistent winds that sweep across Lake Michigan could provide significant electricity generation. But there are no wind turbines in the lake or any of the Great Lakes. This Curious City story is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.

    5分

  4. 2月26日

    No cars, no road salt: How one Midwestern community avoids salt all winter

    Chicago — like so many other frigid American cities — can’t seem to kick its dependence on road salt. In our last episode, we learned how winter weather on both ends of the thermometer can impact the local economy. Some businesses come out on top during the coldest winters: auto mechanics repairing cars when they hit a pothole, snow plow companies shoveling out small businesses and rock salt providers when the roads get icy. But chloride from salt is harmful to both our natural and built environments. You’d be hard-pressed to find a cold-weather community that avoids road salt altogether, but we found one! In this encore presentation, we visit a place way up north, Mackinac Island, Michigan. Dominick Miller, chief of marketing at the Mackinac State Historic Parks, tells us about how the island deals with snow and ice in the winter without laying down a single grain of salt. And it has a lot to do with the fact that cars have been banned on Mackinac Island for over a century.

    9分

  5. 2月25日

    How does a mild winter affect Chicago’s economy?

    Each Chicago winter’s wintery-ness has big implications for your sanity and your wallet. That led one Curious City listener to ask us if mild winters have a noticeable effect on the local economy.

    7分

  6. 2月19日

    What was it like for women working in Hoover’s FBI?

    For decades, the FBI was a man’s world. Anybody else was just living in it, especially the administrative staff. In the last episode, we learned how the bureau recruited high school girls for clerical work during the 1940s. But for decades women were explicitly prohibited from becoming special agents. Western Springs resident Jane McCarty was hired out of high school in the late 1960s to work as a stenographer for the FBI. She held several positions during her more than four decades at the organization. Today, the former president of the Society of FBI Alumni talks about the ebbs and flows of women’s access to leadership and autonomy within the bureau. She endured a sexist work environment but later witnessed the first women become FBI special agents.

    9分

  7. 2月18日

    Why did the FBI recruit girls from Catholic high schools?

    For a few decades starting in the 1940s, the FBI recruited high school girls for clerical work. A Chicago Catholic school was a go-to spot to make new hires.

    7分

  8. 2月12日

    How Ella Jenkins’ Chicago childhood shaped her iconic children’s music

    From school assemblies to “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood,” Ella Jenkins was a rhythm specialist and children’s music pioneer. Her childhood in Chicago was her launching pad. In our last episode, we learned that the first Chicago public school named after a Black person was DuSable High School, in honor of Chicago’s first nonindigenous settler, Jean Baptiste Point DuSable. It turns out some of the most notable Chicagoans graduated from DuSable, including Mayor Harold Washington, historian Timuel Black and Jenkins. Today, we bring you a conversation about this music icon, who harnessed curiosity, life experience and charisma to create some of the most unique and prolific art of the 20th century. Jenkins forged a path in the music industry during a time when children’s musicians didn’t really exist. She persevered through the civil rights era, took ownership of her music in an industry that often took advantage of women and made the focus about children. Professor of American studies at George Washington University Gayle Wald sat down with Curious City Editor Susie An at the 2025 Evanston Folk Festival to talk about Jenkins’ life. Wald is the author of “This is Rhythm: Ella Jenkins, Children’s Music and the Long Civil Rights Movement.”

    21分
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番組について

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

情報

  • クリエイター
    WBEZ Chicago
  • 配信期間
    12年 - 26年
  • エピソード
    640
  • 制限指定
    不適切な内容を含まない
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2015 Chicago Public Media
  • 番組のWebサイト
    Curious City

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