Curious City Podcast &mdash; Free Episodes on HEARVO

All Episodes

What was Chicago's first art gallery?

6:49 Mar 25, 2026

Chicago came under martial law after the Great Fire. Did it help?

24:31 Mar 18, 2026

The ‘windmill capital of the world’ used to be down the road from Chicago

11:04 Mar 12, 2026

Why aren’t there wind turbines in Lake Michigan?

4:41 Mar 11, 2026

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

9:23 Feb 26, 2026

How does a mild winter affect Chicago’s economy?

7:00 Feb 25, 2026

What was it like for women working in Hoover’s FBI?

8:33 Feb 19, 2026

Why did the FBI recruit girls from Catholic high schools?

6:55 Feb 18, 2026

How Ella Jenkins’ Chicago childhood shaped her iconic children’s music

21:10 Feb 12, 2026

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

6:29 Feb 11, 2026

Why did Chicago widen Ashland Avenue?

10:53 Feb 5, 2026

Why is Ashland Avenue sometimes Ashland Boulevard?

7:09 Feb 4, 2026

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

22:55 Jan 22, 2026

From ‘The Fugitive’ to ‘The Dark Knight,’ what’s the best movie filmed in Chicago?

6:59 Jan 21, 2026

‘Weather is cool’: Weird Chicago weather, from northern lights to water spouts

12:21 Jan 15, 2026

When is it no longer ‘cooler by the lake’?

6:37 Jan 14, 2026

‘It felt like a secret’: Remembering Chicago’s Berlin nightclub

23:11 Jan 8, 2026

What’s the story behind Berlin nightclub’s huge mural?

7:03 Jan 7, 2026

Krampus is coming: The Christmas demon’s Chicago connection

12:18 Dec 18, 2025

“A Christmas Carol”: An amateur actor’s journey into a Chicago holiday tradition

8:03 Dec 17, 2025

The first Black-owned airport in the U.S. was in Robbins, Illinois

20:03 Dec 11, 2025

A museum, a mayor and a road: How Lake Shore Drive became a runway ... intentionally

6:27 Dec 10, 2025

How one organization is transforming Englewood’s vacant lots

11:34 Dec 4, 2025

Want to buy the vacant lot next door? It might take awhile

6:51 Dec 3, 2025

Does your iguana need x-rays? A local exotic animal hospital can help

12:40 Nov 20, 2025

A monkey on the loose: Odd animal sightings in Chicago

6:29 Nov 19, 2025

Beyond the settlement: Helping Chicago’s many survivors of police torture

13:58 Nov 13, 2025

What impact do big payouts have on survivors of police torture and misconduct?

6:43 Nov 12, 2025

Two-and-a-half minutes: Pilot John Ginley’s dance with disaster

14:54 Nov 6, 2025

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

7:25 Nov 5, 2025

A Curious City Halloween: Scary stories from spooked Chicagoans

29:45 Oct 30, 2025

Gone and nearly forgotten: Lincoln Park’s High Bridge

7:09 Oct 29, 2025

The unsung legacy of Margaret Burroughs: ‘We called her mama’

7:28 Oct 23, 2025

Chicago is a jazz city, but where are the jazz radio stations?

6:36 Oct 22, 2025

How a group of volunteers saved a rare Illinois wildflower

18:02 Oct 15, 2025

What’s that dead zone in the 19th Ward?

13:30 Oct 8, 2025

The tale of the two-flat

12:47 Oct 2, 2025

‘Women adrift’: How single women lived independently in early Chicago

6:52 Oct 1, 2025

‘Friendship set to music’: Curious City goes square dancing on the South Side

19:51 Sep 25, 2025

Square dance clubs used to be bumping on the weekends

7:03 Sep 24, 2025

Is your local mall dying, thriving or evolving?

13:32 Sep 18, 2025

What was Ford City Mall like in its heyday?

6:50 Sep 17, 2025

What happened after a dangerous year inside Cook County Jail

14:29 Sep 11, 2025

What is that supply tent outside of Cook County Jail?

6:45 Sep 10, 2025

Apple slices are a nearly forgotten piece of Chicago pastry history

14:33 Sep 3, 2025

Do pigs need rescuing?

15:14 Aug 28, 2025

What happened to Chicago’s presidential pig?

6:55 Aug 27, 2025

What’s the oldest book in circulation at the Chicago Public Library?

7:03 Aug 20, 2025

School is in session, and we put the CPS butter cookie to the test

12:11 Aug 14, 2025

School lunch used to pass the test

6:50 Aug 13, 2025