Curious City

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Want to buy the vacant lot next door? It might take awhile Dec 03, 2025

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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.

Does your iguana need x-rays? A local exotic animal hospital can help Nov 20, 2025

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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 happens when they get sick? Take a trip with us to the Chicago Exotics Animal Hospital in Skokie to meet Gomez Addams the tegu lizard and a few of his friends. Plus, hear some wild stories from the people who care for them.

A monkey on the loose: Odd animal sightings in Chicago Nov 19, 2025

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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.

Beyond the settlement: Helping Chicago’s many survivors of police torture Nov 13, 2025

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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 director of the Chicago Torture Justice Center, which was established as part of the reparations ordinance.

What impact do big payouts have on survivors of police torture and misconduct? Nov 12, 2025

Show notes

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?

Two-and-a-half minutes: Pilot John Ginley’s dance with disaster Nov 06, 2025

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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 last episode, we heard about the history of forced plane landings on Chicago’s scenic, multilane expressway. Today, we hear Ginley’s story of escaping imminent disaster from the pilot himself.

‘Mayday, mayday, mayday’: How many planes have landed on Lake Shore Drive? Nov 05, 2025

Show notes

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?

A Curious City Halloween: Scary stories from spooked Chicagoans Oct 30, 2025

Show notes

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 occurrences in the building. Ben Astrachan and Jackson Zinn-Rowthorn tell the story of their Northwest Side apartment complex, the ritual site they found in the basement, and the friend that messed with it. Have they disturbed a spiritual realm they aren’t equipped to handle? Get cozy, dim the lights and press play.

Gone and nearly forgotten: Lincoln Park’s High Bridge Oct 29, 2025

Show notes

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.

The unsung legacy of Margaret Burroughs: ‘We called her mama’ Oct 23, 2025

Show notes

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.

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