Curious City

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Industrial jobs left Detroit, Chicago, and Milwaukee. Why did it hit these cities differently? Sep 30, 2026

Show notes

For over a century, the Midwest had been defined by what we made, including cars, steel, and beer. But during 75 years of deindustrialization, Chicago lost over half a million manufacturing jobs. Milwaukee lost almost 100,000 jobs. And for some in Detroit, it feels like the whole city was lost.

Curious Midwest is a collaboration between Curious City, WUWM’s Bubbler Talk and WDET’s CuriousiD. We’re answering listener questions about the connections between these cities.

This week, WUWM’s Jimmy Gutierrez looks at how de-industrialization hit the Midwest and why recovery wasn’t the same for everyone.

Chicago, Milwaukee or Detroit: Which city has the best encased meats? Sep 23, 2026

Show notes

In Chicago, it’s the Chicago dog. In Milwaukee, the bratwurst. In Detroit, the Coney dog. Each is a little different, but their origin stories are connected.

In a limited series we’re calling “Curious Midwest,” Curious City teamed up with WUWM Milwaukee’s Bubbler Talk and WDET Detroit’s CuriosiD to explore our midwestern links (pun intended).

Today, why are these hyper-specific encased meats associated so strongly with these three cities? And which is the best?

How Ella Jenkins’ Chicago childhood shaped her iconic children’s music Sep 16, 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.

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.

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.

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.”

This episode was originally published on Feb. 11, 2026.

Did Chicago invent the rage room? A look inside “the Frustration Room” Sep 09, 2026

Show notes

The Frustration Room appeared in a Chicago motel in 1962 and offered visitors the opportunity to smash objects — like a lamp base, a lightbulb or an ashtray — in a space dedicated to relieving frustration. One Curious City listener remembers visiting three times and wanted to know: who thought of this place, why, and what ever happened to it? We look into the Frustration Room’s origins and its next of kin — including a local “rage room” and a “scream club” — to ask if this kind of venting really works.

How did a native Chicago plant disappear forever? Sep 02, 2026

Show notes

Thismia americana enjoys near-cult-status among Chicago botanists, ecologists and plant enthusiasts. The tiny, bell-shaped flower hasn't been seen since the early 1900s, but that hasn't stopped believers from trying to find Chicago's most elusive plant once more.

A reporter and a team of scientists went hunting for thismia americana to see if, over a hundred years later, it could be re-discovered.

Why is the island in Washington Park behind a locked gate? Aug 26, 2026

Show notes

Bynum Island was once a gem in Chicago’s Washington Park, but now it’s abandoned, overgrown and inaccessible to the public. Curious City looks into why, and whether the island will ever reopen.

School lunch used to ace the test Aug 19, 2026

Show notes

Former Chicago Public Schools students say school lunch used to be delicious decades ago. That comes as a surprise to current CPS students, who give lunchroom offerings mixed reviews. Also missing from the menu is a once popular butter cookie. What happened to tasty school lunches and this iconic cafeteria cookie?

Shipwrecks, mussels and sponges: Chicago is a scuba diving destination Aug 12, 2026

Show notes

One of the world’s largest scuba organizations was founded in the Chicago suburbs by Portage Park pool swim instructor Ralph Erickson. Decades later and Chicago still has a small but mighty scuba diving scene, driven in part by Lake Michigan’s many well-preserved shipwrecks. So Curious City jumped into Lake Michigan and talked with people in the local diving community who are carrying on the area’s surprisingly-robust scuba legacy.

Chicago has many block club signs. What are block clubs and what do they do? Aug 05, 2026

Show notes

Block club signs are all over the city, usually welcoming you to the neighborhood or telling you what you should or should not do while you’re there. A Curious City listener said they often see these signs on their way to work, and they wondered about the story behind them. What is a block club, what’s their history and who are the people involved? We visited two: the Ada United Block Club of 61st and 62nd and The Westside Block Club Association.

“Like getting paid to party”: The life of cover bands on the Chicago festival circuit Jul 29, 2026

Show notes

Once summer hits, local cover bands are busy working Chicago’s many street festivals. What’s life like for cover band musicians? Curious City spoke with three bands that are regulars on the local festival circuit: The Gingers, Too Much Molly Band, and Dancing Queen: An ABBA Salute.

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