Curious City

WBEZ Chicago

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

قبل ٣ أيام

Why does Chicago have so little love for the ‘Watchdog’ of the lakefront?

The name Aaron Montgomery Ward might sound familiar, either from the chain of now-defunct department stores that once bore his name or as the catalog guy who revolutionized mail-order shopping over 150 years ago. His lesser-known legacy, perhaps, is his drawn out fight over Grant Park. Ward spent 22 years and upwards of $1 million in today’s dollars fighting to keep Chicago’s premier downtown park “forever open, clear and free” from buildings. But why did he do it? And why isn’t he celebrated more for his crusade?

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Is This Your Card? A Brief History Of Chicago-style Magic

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. This episode was originally published in 2024.

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Where did the term 'Chicagoland' come from?

There’s no New York-land or Boston-land, so why does the Chicago metropolitan area have its own unique name? It turns out this has been a question on the minds of many Curious City listeners. To learn more, we looked at the origins of this term, how its meaning has changed over time and the media mogul — or Colonel — behind it all. This episode originally aired in 2023.

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How did Hollywood Beach become Chicago’s ‘gay beach’?

The stretch of beach that starts where DuSable Lake Shore Drive ends wasn’t always as vibrant or as ‘gay’ as it is today. Its transition was spearheaded by Jerry Marcoccia, who was searching for a sense of belonging in the 1990s. "You can't talk about this beach being gay without including me,” he said.

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Why does Chicago use Comic Sans on some elevator inspection certificates?

Comic Sans often signals levity or sarcasm. The font is occasionally used for a key phrase in some official city elevator inspection certificates. That’s caused concern for some Chicagoans, including at least two Curious City listeners.

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Does Chicago have a Filipino neighborhood?

A concentrated Filipino community area is not as easy to spot as neighborhoods like Chinatown or Little Village. In this episode, we’ll look at the long history Filipinos have had in Chicago stretching back to the early 1900s. We’ll also look at how Filipino restaurants have made a mark across the city in recent years, from Jefferson Park to Pilsen. Originally published in February 2025.

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Why are there helicopters flying over my neighborhood every night?

Curious City listeners wondered if helicopters they heard buzzing around their Chicago neighborhoods at night were part of the federal government’s immigration enforcement. There is some truth to that, but it turns out odd helicopter flights have been a curiosity long before Midway Blitz.

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Why does Chicago have a monument named for fascist leader Italo Balbo?

There’s an ancient Roman column in Chicago hidden in plain sight near Soldier Field. It was a gift given by Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini during the 1933-1934 Chicago World’s Fair, commemorating a daring transatlantic flight to the fair by Italian Air Marshal Italo Balbo. In a time when controversial monuments get removed, why does this one still stand?

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Interesting Episodes

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BCguy94

I love how these short episodes delve into an aspect of Chicago history/culture!
What about now?

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Bedpost#4

The city is currently having its citizens kidnapped en mass. ANY Chicago-centric show should be featuring this!
Can do better

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Klauski57

Show has interesting topics but averaging 7 minutes a show, 2 and a half of which are ads or plugs for other shows, not really worth my time.
Curiously Void of Information

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Bluefinkillie

Overall, it’s been enjoyable listening to the various aspects of this wonderful city, however the show lacks so much detail now! The shorter episodes, and in particular this last one on traffic are a complete waste of time. Never did the episode go into the history of Chicago traffic or highway systems, touched on the backstory of the application and its development, or really explained how it works. It fell short in so many ways- there was a depth of info that could have been useful and quirky. Nope, they inserted nearly a minute of music as fluff at the end because the journalist did a horrible job on this story. Ai could do better.