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 have made Illinois their home. But finding medical care for these animals isn’t as simple as visiting the neighborhood vet.Last episode, we explored some of the out-of-place animals that’ve been found in Chicago, including a peacock, an alligator and a 20-pound vervet monkey. Today, we’re asking, what hap...
Nov 20, 2025•13 min
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.
Nov 19, 2025•6 min
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 episode, monetary reparations alone cannot heal decades of trauma. In this episode, we take a closer look at the limits of monetary settlements and what else survivors need to heal. We also take a look at how Chicago’s reparations ordinance is looking 10 years later with Aislinn Pulley, the executive direct...
Nov 13, 2025•14 min
This year marks a new record, as Chicago city leaders have so far agreed to pay more than $266 million to resolve a wide range of police misconduct lawsuits. After the city washes its hands and the TV news cameras move on, what happens next? Do these payments help bring survivors closure or a sense that justice has been served?
Nov 12, 2025•7 min
While flying over downtown Chicago on July 18, 2018, a World-War-II era single-engine Ercoupe airplane suffered “complete mechanical failure.”“The throttle cable completely broke off of the carburetor,” said pilot John Ginley. “There was no way to control the engine.”Still, Ginley and his co-pilot — his then-girlfriend and now-wife Ally Ginley — managed to land in the southbound lanes of DuSable Lake Shore Drive, successfully avoiding cars, humans, and the 35th Street pedestrian bridge.In our la...
Nov 06, 2025•15 min
A couple of pilots have made forced landings on DuSable Lake Shore Drive. What makes a road or any other non-airport spot the best option in an emergency?
Nov 05, 2025•7 min
Three stories from Chicagoans who endured a terrifying experience that they couldn’t explain, couldn’t get over, or couldn’t escape. Karen Holt tells the story of her haunted childhood home on Chicago’s Southeast Side. Was her house simply saturated with “residual energy”? Or was the ghost of a lost boy wandering the halls? Rachel Shuki tells the story of the haunted, now-closed school she taught at on Chicago’s West Side. A tragic disaster from the past could be the reason behind unexplained oc...
Oct 30, 2025•30 min
A bridge constructed for sightseeing during the turn of the century soon became known as a place for death. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, you can call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Oct 29, 2025•7 min
Margaret Burroughs was a force to be reckoned with. An artist and a poet in Chicago from the 1920s until her death in 2010, she was also a teacher, an organizer, and the founder of the DuSable Black History Museum. Her birthday is November 1. Curious City and the Burroughs Legacy Project at the Invisible Institute tell the story of one of her lesser-known passions: educating people incarcerated in Illinois.
Oct 23, 2025•7 min
The city is home to a vibrant jazz scene and the Chicago Jazz Festival. But WDCB is the only all-jazz radio station in the region. Why isn't there more jazz programming on the local radio dial?
Oct 22, 2025•7 min
The Kankakee mallow is one of the rarest plants on the continent, according to the Smithsonian Garden in Washington D.C. It’s a pink flower that grows on tall stalks and is native to just one small island in the middle of the Kankakee River, about an hour south of Chicago. But when botanist Rachel Goad paddled over to take a look back in 2014 with a group of native plant enthusiasts, instead they found an island overgrown with invasive honeysuckle.Was this special native plant gone for good?Perh...
Oct 15, 2025•18 min
There’s a hole in the map of Chicago. It turns out, it’s a cemetery. But there are many other cemeteries in Chicago that don’t show up as holes on the map, so what’s up with this one? We take you to the 19th Ward and explore the history of this dead zone.
Oct 08, 2025•14 min
You know the building: Two stories, an apartment unit on each floor, usually with bay windows and a facade of brick or greystone. But how did the two-flat become so popular, and who was it originally built to serve? In our last episode, we looked at the types of places Chicago’s single women lived in at the turn of the 20th century. In today’s episode, we explore the Bohemian origins of the humble Chicago two-flat. As it turns out, the advent of the two-flat mirrors the development of the city’s...
Oct 02, 2025•13 min
At the turn of the century in Chicago, single women without a husband or family were considered to be "adrift," but they weren’t drifting at all. They were making choices that took them to different addresses.
Oct 01, 2025•7 min
It’s a Thursday night and a group of folks in Washington Heights do-si-do to the bassline from “Shake Your Groove Thing” by Peaches & Herb. Square dancing has a reputation as more of a hobby for white people set to country music. But social clubs like the Southside Squares are turning that image on its head. Last episode, we heard how square dancing was once a booming hobby. Today, we hear from one social club that’s working to keep it alive in the 21st century. But square dancing’s African ...
Sep 25, 2025•20 min
Square dancing was once so popular that a center opened in the suburbs dedicated to the hobby. Today, veteran dancers are trying to recruit new fans.
Sep 24, 2025•7 min
Malls hold a special spot in the hearts of many Americans of a certain age. One may have been the setting for your first date, the place you caught a now-classic summer blockbuster, or even a daycare of sorts after mom dropped you off with a few friends (and maybe a few bucks).In our last episode, we looked back at the history of Chicago’s Ford City Mall and the heyday of mall culture in America: the 1980s and 1990s.In this episode, we look at how malls are doing today with Stephanie Cegielski, ...
Sep 18, 2025•14 min
Vacant shops and faded signs, Ford City Mall is in the process of being sold. But this shell of a shopping center was once a bustling hub, especially for young people.
Sep 17, 2025•7 min
The year 2023 was a deadly one at the Cook County Jail. Eighteen people died in custody, “for many reasons,” said reporter Carlos Ballesteros, who reported on the record year for Injustice Watch. His reporting cited drug overdoses, lapses from jail staff and failed oversight.In our last episode, we learned about a group of volunteers who set up outside Cook County Jail to hand out free supplies to people after they get released. Today, we’ll hear about a few people who never were released, the c...
Sep 11, 2025•14 min
Almost every night, a group of volunteers sets up a table of supplies. Their goal is to assist everyone who is being released; from bottled water to a ride home. But sometimes, it’s a challenge when people are released well after midnight.
Sep 10, 2025•7 min
Apple slices were a favorite Chicago pastry decades ago. Not many bakeries sell them today, but the dessert still has avid fans who hold on to its nostalgic flavor.
Sep 03, 2025•15 min
The story of Pigasus, who unknowingly accepted the Youth International Party (Yippie) nomination for president in Daley Plaza in 1968, shows that sometimes pigs need rescuing. “My heart hurt for the pig,” said April Noga, executive director of Chicagoland Pig Rescue, of Pigasus’s run for president. “Because I put myself in the pig’s shoes of being pulled around a rally and then detained and not knowing what's going on. And used as, not entertainment but used as a prop. Because the pig is a senti...
Aug 28, 2025•15 min
During the demonstrations at the Democratic National Convention in 1968, activists trotted out a pig named Pigasus for president. Her campaign was cut short after she and protesters were arrested by the Chicago Police. Rumors swirled that Pigasus was barbecued, but what really happened to her?
Aug 27, 2025•7 min
Curious City went out to find the oldest book in circulation at the Chicago Public Library. Turns out, the title is over 200 years old, and you can still check it out.
Aug 20, 2025•7 min
Summer is coming to an end, and it’s time to go back to school. Today, the number of Chicago Public School students complaining about school lunch might only be matched by the complaints over homework assignments. So it may come as a surprise that decades ago CPS students actually looked forward to eating cafeteria lunch. In our last episode, WBEZ’s Sarah Karp found that privatization of food services and revamped health guidelines shifted the menu for CPS students. During Karp’s reporting, many...
Aug 14, 2025•12 min
Some Chicago Public School alumni say school lunch used to be delicious, which might shock current students. How did school lunch go from delicious to disappointing?
Aug 13, 2025•7 min
Chicago is known for crime bosses like Al Capone, but the city is also home to two Chinese gangs that were once fierce rivals. This story first aired in 2018.
Aug 07, 2025•10 min
A courageous Chicagoan once helped foil a robbery by men in butcher smocks — a little-known gang from a bygone era of crime in the city.
Aug 06, 2025•8 min
Community organizations are helping Chinatown residents preserve what long-standing family associations helped build.
Jul 31, 2025•12 min
Family associations were once the backbone of social and economic organization for Chicago’s Chinatown. Their evolution over the decades tells the history of the community.
Jul 30, 2025•7 min
