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Curious City

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

Having ‘The Talk’: Expert Guidance On Preparing Kids For Police Interactions

8 mins; August 24, 2019

Rats! The Science And Stories Behind Chicago’s Most Unwanted Pests

8 mins; August 17, 2019

Why Chicago’s Depression-Era School Murals Sparked Debates About Art And Politics For 80 Years

9 mins; August 10, 2019

Nicky’s And The Big Baby Mystery Part II: We Found Nicky V.!

8 mins; August 03, 2019

Chicago’s Race Riots Of 1919 Contributed To The Segregation We See Today

12 mins; July 27, 2019

Why Chicago Had Race Riots During The ‘Red Summer’ Of 1919

12 mins; July 20, 2019

The Heart Of The City: Finding Chicago’s Geographic Center

8 mins; July 13, 2019

Did A WWII Nuclear Experiment Make The U Of C Radioactive?

8 mins; July 06, 2019

The Scoop On Poop At Chicago’s Beaches

9 mins; June 29, 2019

Nicky’s And The Big Baby: A South Side Burger Mystery

10 mins; June 22, 2019

Did City Officials Know About The Manhattan Project’s Work In Chicago?

8 mins; June 15, 2019

Here's Harold! (The Robot Edition)

9 mins; June 08, 2019

How Is Chicago Doing On Its Ambitious 2020 Climate Goals?

12 mins; June 01, 2019

Caps On Or Off? Pizza Boxes OK? Answers To 10 Common Chicago Recycling Questions

9 mins; May 25, 2019

From Vienna Beef To PBR: Five Food And Drink Legacies Of The 1893 World's Fair

8 mins; May 18, 2019

How Chicago Women Created The World’s First Juvenile Justice System

12 mins; May 11, 2019

Chicago’s Tornado-Proof Delusion

13 mins; May 04, 2019

How My Grandparents Helped Shape Chicago’s Blues Industry

9 mins; April 27, 2019

It’s Complicated: The University Of Chicago’s Relationship With Its Neighbors

13 mins; April 20, 2019

Stories Behind CTA ‘L’ Lines’ Strange Curves, Dips and Twists

8 mins; April 13, 2019

A Tavern On (Almost) Every Corner: Why Did So Many Chicago Bars Disappear?

8 mins; April 06, 2019

BAM! A Pothole Damaged Your Car! Now What?

4 mins; March 30, 2019

These Four Design Ideas Turned ‘The Hancock Center’ Into An Iconic Skyscraper

13 mins; March 23, 2019

Your Guide To Chicago Music History’s Greatest Hits: Part II

13 mins; March 16, 2019

Your Guide To Chicago Music History’s Greatest Hits

13 mins; March 09, 2019

How Do You Find Out If Your Neighborhood Is Contaminated With Lead Pollution?

12 mins; March 02, 2019

What Are Chicago’s Oldest Laws?

9 mins; February 23, 2019

From Mickey Mouse To Oprah: What Chicagoans Write In On Election Day

5 mins; February 16, 2019

To Chicago, With Love: What Do Transplants Love About The City?

10 mins; February 09, 2019

Chicago’s Dill Pickle Club: Where Anarchists Mixed With Doctors And Poets

9 mins; February 02, 2019

The Gold Star Sardine Bar: The Rise And Fall Of A Chicago Jazz Club

14 mins; January 26, 2019

Buying Black Then And Now: What’s The History Of Black-Owned Business Signs In Chicago?

9 mins; January 19, 2019

What Was It Like To Dance At The Warehouse Club In Chicago?

9 mins; January 12, 2019

Unlocking The Closet: Coming Out Later In Life

43 mins; January 05, 2019

VPR’s ‘But Why’: Why Do We Poop And Fart?

25 mins; December 29, 2018

Tips For Hunting Chicago’s Long-lost Recipes

8 mins; December 22, 2018

A Butcher, A Developer And His Wife: Where Six Chicago Streets Got Their Names (And Pronunciations!)

5 mins; December 15, 2018

Chicago Candidates Need Loads of Petition Signatures To Land On The Ballot, But Is That Fair?

9 mins; December 08, 2018

Pregnancy Tests? Pigeon Poo? What Chicago Aldermen Really Do

9 mins; December 01, 2018

DEH-vin Or Deh-VOHN? Why The CTA Pronounces Chicago Street Names A Certain Way

6 mins; November 24, 2018

Displaced: When The Eisenhower Expressway Moved In, Who Was Forced Out?

13 mins; November 17, 2018

Steak And Lemonade: What Are The Origins Of This Chicago Food Combo?

8 mins; November 10, 2018

Did All Chicagoans Support The Civil War?

13 mins; November 03, 2018

From Stockyards To Speakeasies: A Chicago Historian Tackles 5 Questions About The City’s History

13 mins; October 27, 2018

How Vacant Chicago Storefronts Rise From The Dead As Halloween Costume Stores

4 mins; October 20, 2018

Why Doesn’t Chicago Have More Co-Op Grocery Stores?

9 mins; October 13, 2018

Gone Fishin’: What Happened To Chicago’s Booming Commercial Fishing Industry?

9 mins; October 06, 2018

Who Is Billy Sunday In The Popular Sinatra Song, ‘Chicago?’

9 mins; September 29, 2018

How Political Clout And Union Power Created Chicago’s Lead Water Problem

8 mins; September 15, 2018

Daley vs. Little Italy: Did The Mayor Drop UIC On The Neighborhood Out Of Spite?

11 mins; September 08, 2018

Hidden in Plain Sight: Inside Downtown Chicago's Windowless, Doorless Buildings

13 mins; September 01, 2018

This Synagogue’s Story Mirrors The History Of Jewish Migration Across Chicago

13 mins; August 25, 2018

What Happened To The East Chicago Residents Forced Out By Pollution?

12 mins; August 18, 2018

What Are The Costs Of Chicago’s Air And Water Show?

4 mins; August 11, 2018

Skyscraper Central: Why Are So Many of Chicago's Tallest Buildings Located Downtown?

10 mins; August 04, 2018

An Extended Interview With Actor And Improviser T.J. Jagodowski

18 mins; July 28, 2018

What Officials Are(n't) Doing About Chicago’s Lead Pipes

13 mins; July 21, 2018

How The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition Played Into Chicago’s Rivalry With New York

13 mins; July 14, 2018

Why Do Chicago Beaches Ban Flotation Devices?

5 mins; July 07, 2018

How Does Chicago Track Its Coyotes?

14 mins; June 30, 2018

Doors Closing! Life As A CTA Rail Operator

13 mins; June 23, 2018

How Pollution Seeped Into The Lives Of East Chicago Residents

14 mins; June 16, 2018

WPLN’s 'The Promise': A Beautiful Day In The Projects

27 mins; June 09, 2018

Nerdette: Comedian John Hodgman Really Loves Malört

30 mins; June 02, 2018

Special Training For School Police: How Do Young People Feel About It?

12 mins; May 26, 2018

Seeing Blue: Will Chicago's New LED Streetlights Do More Harm Than Good?

12 mins; May 19, 2018

Sweet Success: How Chicago's Mexican Bakeries Stay Competitive

8 mins; May 12, 2018

What A Murder In My Family Reveals About Chicago’s Chinese Gangs

10 mins; May 05, 2018

What Are Chicago’s Oldest Laws?

8 mins; April 28, 2018

Which Historical Monuments Have Sparked Controversy In Chicago?

8 mins; April 21, 2018

Map Quest: Searching for Chicago’s ‘Lizard Mound’

14 mins; April 14, 2018

Mold-A-Rama-Rama! The Secrets Behind Chicago's Plastic Souvenir Empire

8 mins; April 07, 2018

Seeing Red: What’s Up With That Stoplight On North Lake Shore Drive?

5 mins; March 31, 2018

Picture This: Did The Art Institute of Chicago Ever Rent Out Paintings?

8 mins; March 24, 2018

From Blizzards To Heat Waves: Is It Actually Harder To Predict Weather In Chicago?

10 mins; March 17, 2018

9 Chicago Pizza Mysteries Solved

14 mins; March 07, 2018

Bed Rest And Sputum Tests: Inside Chicago's Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium

12 mins; February 28, 2018

How 1920s Chicago Public School Design Reflects Changes In Education

8 mins; February 21, 2018

Not In Your Front Yard: Why ‘For Sale’ Signs Are Banned In Oak Park

8 mins; February 17, 2018

How Often Do People Defend Themselves With A Gun?

12 mins; February 10, 2018

What's It Like To Live In Chicago's Loop?

12 mins; February 03, 2018

What Makes Chicago A Destination For Improv?

12 mins; January 27, 2018

What Happens To The Lincoln Park Zoo Animals In The Winter?

4 mins; January 20, 2018

Why Aren't There More Statues Of Women In Chicago?

8 mins; January 13, 2018

What’s With That Demolition Dust? The Rules And Risks Of Residential Teardowns In Chicago

12 mins; January 05, 2018

Curious City: The Mystery Collection

52 mins; December 30, 2017

Blacksmiths: The 'Plastic Surgeons' On Chicago's Payroll

8 mins; December 23, 2017

Are Taxpayers Footing The Bill For Patriotic Tributes At College Games?

8 mins; December 16, 2017

What Would You Do With A Million Dollars? Whether Participatory Budgeting Is Worth The Effort

12 mins; December 09, 2017

So, Why Did It Take So Long For It To Be Mayor Jane Byrne's Turn?

13 mins; December 02, 2017

Where Does Your Poop Go?

8 mins; November 26, 2017

Little Fingers And Screechy Sounds: Why Do So Many Kids Learn To Play The Recorder?

7 mins; November 19, 2017

Without Native Americans, Would We Have Chicago As We Know It?

12 mins; November 12, 2017

Don't Believe The Height! Why Chicago Suburb Names Flat Out Lie About Their Elevation

11 mins; November 05, 2017

Why Chicago's Chinatown Is Practically Invisible On Apartment Rental Sites

7 mins; October 29, 2017

Cycling In Cemeteries? Why Some Chicago Graveyards Are Changing Their Rules About Bicycles

9 mins; October 22, 2017

Which Natural Disasters Are Most Likely To Hit Chicago?

12 mins; October 15, 2017

Do Chicago’s Arab And African-American Muslims Share Mosques? If Not, Why Not?

17 mins; October 08, 2017

Forest Foresight: Who Created The Cook County Forest Preserves?

8 mins; October 01, 2017

Who Came Up With The Iconic Chicago White Sox Look?

8 mins; September 24, 2017

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