Curious City Podcast
1) Chicago’s Tornado-Proof Delusion
Yes, tornadoes can hit Chicago. Why do so many people think otherwise?
2) Krampus is coming: The Christmas demon’s Chicago connection
On the morning of St. Nicholas Day, good kids rush downstairs to see what kind of gifts might be in their shoes. The bad kids? Unfortunately they might get a visit from Krampus, an ancient monster tha...Show More
3) “A Christmas Carol”: An amateur actor’s journey into a Chicago holiday tradition
The Christkindlmarket, the CTA holiday train and “A Christmas Carol” at the Goodman Theatre. Chicago is full of holiday traditions. In this episode, we get an intimate look at the annual theater produ...Show More
4) 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 airport in the country. Its founders were pivotal to Black aviation.
5) 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 been an *intentional* runway for planned arrivals. We go back to 1983 to get the story of how a Chicago institut...Show More
6) 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 parcels are in communities where the population is at least 80 percent Black. That’s according to a report from the...Show More
7) 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 expected. The city puts a limited number of parcels up for sale each year.
8) 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 local exotic animal hospital … Whether intentional or otherwise, exotic pets like sharks, macaws and pythons ha...Show More
9) 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 a peacock strutting down the alley? Curious City explores strange animal sightings in Chicago.
10) 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 committed under the direction of disgraced Chicago police commander Jon Burge. As we learned in our last epis...Show More