The Curious City podcast satisfies your questions about Chicago, the region and the people who live here. Listen here or subscribe. Find us in iTunes under "Curious City podcast."

Curious City Podcasts

Curious City looked at the Chicago accent: http://wbez.is/18NUthB There, we touched on how it relates to African-American English. Just how similar do African-Americans sound across the country? For one commenter, not as close as we’d suggested. Latest: http://wbez.is/ZM2cME (image used with permission of Ashlee Nichols)

The Chicago Accent and the Chicago 'Blaccent'

This feature piece is one of two produced by WBEZ's Curious City that examine life in WW II POW camps around the Chicago area. (Full story: http://goo.gl/MUNkv7) It includes the story of Rudolf Velte, a German prisoner who was held at Camp Pine in Des Plaines, Illinois. Producer Edie Rubinowitz explains what motivated Velte to return to his former POW camp and the surrounding town nearly 50 years after his release. (Photo courtesy of the Des Plaines History Center)

Life in Chicago's German POW camps 1: Rudolf Velte's return

This feature piece is one of two produced by WBEZ's Curious City that examine life in WW II POW camps around the Chicago area. (Full story: http://goo.gl/MUNkv7) It includes the surprising story of prisoner Reinhold Pabel, who escaped -- in part -- to learn more about the American way of life on his own terms. (Vocal reenactments courtesy of Peter Spies. Photo courtesy of Lucie Marie Pabel)

Life in Chicago's German POW camps 2: Reinhold Pabel's escape to Uptown

Swept from their homes on Chicago’s Near West Side, Latinos laid roots in nearby Pilsen and Little Village. Original artwork by the Illustrated Press artist Erik Rodriguez.

Music Beds:
El Chicano - Viva Tirado, Pt. 1
Sones de Mexico Ensemble - La Rabia

The birth of a Latino community

Several varieties of furry fliers are likely closer than you think. Given the rampant spread of a deadly bat disease, we’re lucky to find the critters here at all. Learn where in Chicago they call home. 
And we also track down the most biodiverse spot in Chicago-proper and learn exactly what lives there. Hint: you might think you're in the Southwest. Illustrations for our bat interactive are by Erik Rodriguez of the Illustrated Press.

Music Beds:
B.Fleischmann - Broken Monitors
The Womb - Low Flying Bats
Arms and Sleepers - Lisbon
Hauschka - Wonder
CFCF - Lamp
Sand - Mountains
Takagi Masakatsu - Guinacridone
Bibio - The Ephemeral Bluebell
Nat Baldwin - Real Fakes
Youth Lagoon - Boatfriend
Takagi Masakatsu - Early Summer
Laszlo - Saintonge
Vulfpeck - Outro
Tomasz Bednarczyk - Shimokita

Chicago's bats and biodiversity

Skip the skyscraper! The most interesting building in Chicago is tied to its neighborhoods and its working class. And behind these buildings are those curious flammable structures built to help residents escape fires. What? Yes.  

Music Beds:
B. Fleischmann - Broken Monitors
Blood Orange - It Is What It Is	
Colleen - Geometria del Universo
Beach Boys - Wouldn't it be Nice
Scott Joplin - Lily Queen
Kishi Bashi - This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
Pickers and Steve Gunn - Old Strange
Yo La Tengo - Center of Gravity
Palmer and Ward - The Band Played On

The tale of two-flats and their flammable fire escapes

When Metra trains strike and kill pedestrians, the agency worries about the victim of the incident, but also thousands of passengers sitting on the train. The agency sells commuters on its speed and efficiency, but when it comes to collision investigations, it says its investigations are thorough. 

Music Beds
B.Fleischmann - Broken Monitors
Julia Kent - Transportation
Julia Kent - Arlanda
Aphex Twin - aisatsana [102]
Goldmund - Threnody


After the accident: Metra and pedestrian fatalities

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed and defined the city for decades. The collective myth is that the blaze brought together Chicago’s rich and poor. We explore how Chicagoans of different classes rebuilt after the disaster. Plus, we invite the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Jen Masengarb on to consider what the city would look like today, had that fateful fire never ignited.  (Image courtesy of the Newberry Library)

Music Beds: 
B.Fleischmann - Broken Monitors
Agnes Obel - The Curse
Agnes Obel - Chord Left
Antonion Salieri - La Secchia Rapita
Agnes Obel - Pass Them By
Richard Reed Parry - Interruptions (Heart And Breath Nonet) - IV Miniature 2 

Chicago after (and maybe without) the Great Fire of 1871

Even if you don’t believe them, you’ll never forget them. 

Music beds: 
B.Fleischmann - Broken Monitors
The Black Heart Procession - The Waiter no. 2
Bloodrock - DOA 1970 Remastered
The Black Heart Procession - Gently Off the Edge
Let Us Swear It By the Pale Moonlight - composed by Ben M. Jerome, performed by Andrew Edwards
The Black Heart Procession - A Light So Dim
Port City Music - Night Terrors
Ghostbusters - Ray Parker, Jr. 

A pair of Chicago ghost stories

Today, just half of Chicago’s white school-aged kids attend the city’s public schools. We unpack why that happens and how it affects the city’s record when it comes to school segregation. Plus, an update our story about truancy officers. Are new recommendations to tackle chronic absenteeism feasible? 

Music beds: 
B.Fleischmann - Broken Monitors
Tonetraeger - Deuter
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Boatfriend
Tonetraeger - Trains
Booker T. & The MG's - Comin' Home Baby
Arms and Sleepers - Lisbon
Evenings	 - Still Young
Ratatat - Breaking Away

Why so few white kids end up in Chicago Public Schools

A kid-friendly explainer about what happens to the Chicago area’s poop beyond the toilet. 

What Happens to "Number 2" in the Second City

A behind-the-scenes look at getting into (and out of) a tough, short-lived entertainment gig. (Photo: Flickr/lindsaybayley)

Drumming for dollars as a Chicago bucket boy

Why tens of thousands of white Southern migrants made the North Side neighborhood home, only to leave a short time later. 

Uptown’s moment as a ‘Hillbilly Heaven’

Unsung urban planning hero Edward Brennan tamed a chaotic 19th-century street-numbering system. 

The guy who made it easy to navigate Chicago

How Chicago became the alley capital of the country and why so much of the rest of the region is conspicuously alley-free

Shadow city: How Chicago became the country’s alley capital

How a Chicago-area family turned cheap plastic souvenirs into a nostalgia empire.

Mold-A-Rama-rama! The secret ingredients of a plastic souvenir empire.

The revolutions and evolutions that made the city a magnet for this seemingly simple device.

The Swinging Times of Chicago's Revolving Doors

How one girl’s dream for a snow day came true during the infamous blizzard of 1967.

That Time Chicago Sent a Trainload of Snow to Florida

A half day from ... what? Why this suburban myth is not even half true, and why the same mistake was made again 600 miles away.

Half Day Road and the Origins of a Semantic Slip-up

If everybody agrees that buildings like the Tribune Tower and Wrigley Buildings are beautiful, why don’t we keep building in that style? 

Why Don’t Chicago’s New Buildings Look Like its Classics?

Just in time for tax deadlines, here’s how the state spends more than it takes in. It’s worse than you thought. Also, very weird. 

Illinois has no budget, so where do state tax dollars go, anyway?

Why Illinois DMVs have literally hundreds of portraits of Secretary of State Jesse White.

Jesse White: A Man of Many Portraits

Yes, tornadoes can hit Chicago. Why do so many people think otherwise? 

Chicago's Tornado-Proof Delusion.

Each migratory season leaves a flurry of birds dead at the feet of skyscrapers. But does that make a dent in the bird population?

Chicago’s Killer View: The Skyline’s Toll On Migratory Birds

Combine gangster-era liquor laws with a twist of modern creativity, add a dash of laid-back spirit, and you’ve got a cocktail that makes Chicago the BYOB capital of the country.

Why Chicago BYOBs Like Nobody’s Business

The city’s pushing pedestrian-friendly design, but it’s left one consideration at the curb. 


Mixed Signals: Do Chicago’s Crosswalk Buttons Actually Work?

The city’s cagey on estimates, but suggests you bring your best walking shoes.

Escape from Chicago: How Long Would It Take to Evacuate?

Sisters seek details about their grandfather’s Chicago baseball team, and his killing by a white police officer in 1925.

Why a Black Man Lost His Life for Baseball in the Age of the Negro Leagues

The quest to recreate a favorite fried chicken dish, plus tips and tricks from Chicago’s top recipe sleuths.

How To Track Down an Elusive Chicago Recipe

What will happen to Chicago's Willis Tower in 150 years? The answer has to do with the fate of Chicago in 2166.

The Willis Tower In 150 Years: Adapted, Demolished or Abandoned?

Turns out the current owner of the Arcada Theater in St. Charles, where Al Capone tunnels are rumored to be, was on vacation for a few weeks. This happens often in the course of reporting - our sources just cannot be reached. But our intrepid reporter, Alex Keefe was able to get a hold of him and has this STUNNING update on the story. 

See the story as it unfolds here: http://www.wbez.org/series/curious-city/did-al-capone-leave-behind-secret-tunnels-99867

Alex Keefe updates us on alleged Al Capone tunnels in St. Charles, IL

Martin Green of Lakeview remembered hearing something about salt being mined under Lake Michigan and Chicago from a TV program. He asked Curious City if it was true, and we tapped Reporter Dan Weissmann to find out. 

For a look inside the iconic Morton Salt building in Chicago, check out the full story and slideshow by Logan Jaffe here: http://www.wbez.org/series/curious-city/question-answered-there-salt-mined-under-chicago-101539

Is there salt mined underneath Chicago and Lake Michigan?

Leavon (right), of Englewood, wants to know if white people like chicken as much as black people--in Chicago. 

Leavon: Do white people like chicken as much as black people?

In this episode we deconstruct neighborhood boundaries and take a new look at old Chinatown. 
Kathy Herwig inspired the first investigation with her question: Who decides when new neighborhoods form and how does it happen? 
And Monica Glicken prompted us to look into Chinatown with her question about its origins and whether or not it's still predominantly Chinese. 

To see the stories and INTERACTIVE comic associated with this week's podcast, head here: 
Neighborhoods: http://www.wbez.org/series/curious-city/question-answered-how-are-chicago-neighborhoods-formed-103831
Chinatown: http://www.wbez.org/series/curious-city/question-answered-when-did-chicago%E2%80%99s-chinatown-develop-neighborhood-104125

How neighborhoods form

The Chicago accent may be easy to recognize thanks to the Saturday Night Live Superfans, but it's harder to pinpoint just what makes it distinct. Sarahlynn Pablo asked Curious City where the Chicago accent came from and independent reporter Annie Minoff got her the answers. 
You can read that full story here: http://bit.ly/Rh0u1c
We then asked folks to submit their accents so we can analyze what the accent really sounds like. Read that story here and play with the fun visualization: http://bit.ly/TYauLb
This episode goes into analysis of the accent and gives further insight into how this series was created.   

The Chicago accent

Ross Brodt recently moved to Roscoe Village with his girlfriend Danielle Seagraves. They stumbled across some Riverview paraphernalia at a local antique store, and it piqued their curiosity. So Ross wrote in and asked about the history. 

WBEZ's Shannon Heffernan took the question on in a major way - collecting stories of the park from lots of folks. You can experience the full story by clicking here and launching the interactive map: http://www.wbez.org/series/curious-city/laugh-your-troubles-away-105619


What was Riverview Amusement Park?

Freshly graduated University of Chicago alum Teddy Kent asked us: How does all of Chicago’s produce come into the city? What’s the history of Chicago’s wholesale produce markets?

Well Teddy answered the question himself ... along with a group of his former classmates (Dexter N. O’Connell, Ann Wood and Elena Hadjimichael) as part of a special collaboration with his class. 

For the story, we visited the Chicago International Produce Market. Here's a slice of life from that busiest of produce warehouses in the Midwest. We visited the fine folks at the Dietz & Kolodenko Co. 


The Chicago International Produce Market: an audio postcard

What do you wonder about Chicago, the region and its people? Pose your question to Curious City and we’ll get investigate together, with answers online, in a weekly podcast, and on WBEZ 91.5 FM. Our website: http://wbez.org/curiouscity

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