Curious City

Latest Episodes:

Why aren’t there wind turbines in Lake Michigan? Mar 11, 2026

Show notes

Strong and consistent winds that sweep across Lake Michigan could provide significant electricity generation. But there are no wind turbines in the lake or any of the Great Lakes. This Curious City story is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.

No cars, no road salt: How one Midwestern community avoids salt all winter Feb 26, 2026

Show notes

Chicago — like so many other frigid American cities — can’t seem to kick its dependence on road salt.In our last episode, we learned how winter weather on both ends of the thermometer can impact the local economy. Some businesses come out on top during the coldest winters: auto mechanics repairing cars when they hit a pothole, snow plow companies shoveling out small businesses and rock salt providers when the roads get icy.But chloride from salt is harmful to both our natural and built environments. You’d be hard-pressed to find a cold-weather community that avoids road salt altogether, but we found one! In this encore presentation, we visit a place way up north, Mackinac Island, Michigan. Dominick Miller, chief of marketing at the Mackinac State Historic Parks, tells us about how the island deals with snow and ice in the winter without laying down a single grain of salt. And it has a lot to do with the fact that cars have been banned on Mackinac Island for over a century.

How does a mild winter affect Chicago’s economy? Feb 25, 2026

Show notes

Each Chicago winter’s wintery-ness has big implications for your sanity and your wallet. That led one Curious City listener to ask us if mild winters have a noticeable effect on the local economy.

What was it like for women working in Hoover’s FBI? Feb 19, 2026

Show notes

For decades, the FBI was a man’s world. Anybody else was just living in it, especially the administrative staff. In the last episode, we learned how the bureau recruited high school girls for clerical work during the 1940s. But for decades women were explicitly prohibited from becoming special agents. Western Springs resident Jane McCarty was hired out of high school in the late 1960s to work as a stenographer for the FBI. She held several positions during her more than four decades at the organization. Today, the former president of the Society of FBI Alumni talks about the ebbs and flows of women’s access to leadership and autonomy within the bureau. She endured a sexist work environment but later witnessed the first women become FBI special agents.

Why did the FBI recruit girls from Catholic high schools? Feb 18, 2026

Show notes

For a few decades starting in the 1940s, the FBI recruited high school girls for clerical work. A Chicago Catholic school was a go-to spot to make new hires.

How Ella Jenkins’ Chicago childhood shaped her iconic children’s music Feb 12, 2026

Show notes

From school assemblies to “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood,” Ella Jenkins was a rhythm specialist and children’s music pioneer. Her childhood in Chicago was her launching pad. In our last episode, we learned that the first Chicago public school named after a Black person was DuSable High School, in honor of Chicago’s first nonindigenous settler, Jean Baptiste Point DuSable. It turns out some of the most notable Chicagoans graduated from DuSable, including Mayor Harold Washington, historian Timuel Black and Jenkins. Today, we bring you a conversation about this music icon, who harnessed curiosity, life experience and charisma to create some of the most unique and prolific art of the 20th century. Jenkins forged a path in the music industry during a time when children’s musicians didn’t really exist. She persevered through the civil rights era, took ownership of her music in an industry that often took advantage of women and made the focus about children.Professor of American studies at George Washington University Gayle Wald sat down with Curious City Editor Susie An at the 2025 Evanston Folk Festival to talk about Jenkins’ life. Wald is the author of “This is Rhythm: Ella Jenkins, Children’s Music and the Long Civil Rights Movement.”

What's the first Chicago public school named in honor of a Black person? Feb 11, 2026

Show notes

Many of Chicago’s oldest schools are named after white men. The first named after a Black person goes back to the 1930s, and it came with some controversy.

Why did Chicago widen Ashland Avenue? Feb 05, 2026

Show notes

If you pay attention to street signs in Chicago, you’ll notice imperfections and many quirks. Paul Durica of the Chicago History Museum said a coworker informed him that North Avenue becomes North Boulevard when you’re east of Clark Street.“And I was like, what?” Durica recalled. “And it does! And it's because here we are, now in the park.”One of Chicago’s major arteries, Ashland Avenue, has a rich history of its own. In our last episode, we looked at why streets like Ashland are occasionally labelled boulevards (like North Boulevard, sometimes the answer is because the street is adjacent to a park). Today, we’re looking closer at the history of Ashland Avenue, including how it became a major thoroughfare and why the city widened it at great expense 100 years ago. (The short answer? To accommodate car traffic.) Contributing are Durica and Northwestern Professor Bill Savage, author of a forthcoming book on the anomalies and politics behind Chicago’s grid system.

Why is Ashland Avenue sometimes Ashland Boulevard? Feb 04, 2026

Show notes

Ashland Avenue is one of the longest and oldest streets in Chicago, but sometimes it’s a boulevard. Is this a misprint? Or is this part of the city’s history to promote park land?

We can’t name ‘em all, but here are some of Chicago’s greatest films Jan 22, 2026

Show notes

From high-speed chases to preposterous parades, Chicago dazzles on the silver screen. Last episode, we attempted to uncover the best movie ever filmed in Chicago. What we found was that it was impossible to name a definitive best, let alone name every movie that deserves recognition.

Today, we dive deeper into movies that resonate with Chicagoans with two film critics: Marya E. Gates, author of Cinema Her Way: Visionary Female Directors in Their Own Words and Robert Daniels, associate editor of RogerEbert.com. They argue that the city doesn’t just look good on screen, it also helps tell stories that are reflective of its residents. Gates and Daniels talk about Chicago movies that highlight crime and political tropes (like “The Untouchables,” “Medium Cool,” and “Call Northside 777”), movies that bend space and time to navigate through Chicago’s geography (like “The Fugitive” and “Blues Brothers”), and movies that follow teenagers as they romp around the city (like “Cooley High” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”). Plus, they’ve got recommendations for Chicago movies that may have flown under your radar.

Music in this episode:

“Do You Know Where You're Going To” from the film “Mahogany” by Dianna Ross
"Somewhere in My Memory" from the film “Home Alone” by John Williams
Main Theme from “The Dark Knight” by Hans Zimmer
“Hopeless” from the film “Love Jones” by Dionne Farris
“She Caught the Katy (And Left Me a Mule to Ride)” from the film “The Blues Brothers” by The Blues Brothers
“Rawhide” from the film “The Blues Brothers” by The Blues Brothers
“Boom Boom” from the film “The Blues Brothers” by John Lee Hooker
“Stairway Chase” from the film “The Fugitive” by James Newton Howard
“Twist and Shout” from the film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” by The Beatles
“Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want (Instrumental)” from the film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” by The Dream Academy
“Baby Love” from the film “Cooley High” by The Supremes
“Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” from the film “Cooley High” by The Four Tops
“We Slept In” from the film “Home Alone” by John Williams
“Run Rudolph Run” from the film “Home Alone” by Chuck Berry
Original music from the film “A League of Their Own” by Hans Zimmer
Original music from the film “Compensation” by Reginald R. Robinson
Original music from the film “We Grown Now” by Jay Wadley and Attacca Quartet
“The Float” from the film “Hoop Dreams” by Ben Sidran
“Oh Yeah” from the film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” by Yello
“Doing It Again” by Lincoln Grounds and Thomm Jutz

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected