Curious City

In the past decade the city paid out nearly $3 million drivers whose cars were damaged by poor road conditions. Is asphalt to blame?

Political activism and businesses helped shape the city's gay neighborhood, but there's a debate about its future .

When a flight gets cancelled, it's not only travel plans that get trashed.

Was there ever a Nazi neighborhood in Chicago? In this special Curious City mini-documentary and online presentation (complete with archival photos and video) , we tell the story of how an infamous neo-Nazi group settled in the Marquette Park neighborhood and used it as a home base to gain attention and promote its political agenda. The story of the group’s rise and fall on Chicago’s Southwest Sid...

Scabby the Rat is now common on picket lines around the world, but the balloon started in Chicago’s historically blue-collar suburbs.

Officials say the Jane Addams Tollway will soon be faster, safer and smarter. But will it deliver?

Medical calls outnumber fire calls 20 to one in Chicago. So why does the city own so many more fire trucks than ambulances?

Tom Skilling explains why most TV meteorologists don't talk about climate change, but should.

There are plenty, but let's just say they're not ready for a nuclear apocalypse.

A prospective Chicago parent wants to know where he could be within door-knocking distance of other families with kids. So we mapped them.

Chicago-style hot dogs are a beloved culinary masterpiece: A snappy all-beef wiener, steamed poppy seed bun, yellow mustard, chopped onions, neon-green relish, two slices of tomato, a dill pickle spear, two sport peppers and a final whoosh of celery salt. But how did that unique mix of ingredients come to be? In a special Curious City presentation, Chicago’s premier hot dog expert breaks down the...

Coffee shops, hospital waiting rooms and train cars are a few of the places Chicago’s homeless go to escape the cold.

After her neighbor adopted five goats, Jeanne Cuff wondered about Chicago's livestock laws.

We explore a phenomenon called “cuffing” and the (short) lengths Chicagoans will go for love.

Sidewalk grates make people feel uneasy. An anxiety expert said this uneasiness is rooted in something much deeper.

Two Albany Park chefs fused Chinese and Korean flavors, giving birth to the chicken lollipop.

We uncover the history and bask in the glow of a ubiquitous Chicago bar sign.

Complete with video and archival images, we track down the offensive phrase’s roots and consider whether it’s time to retire it.

How bubblers, boats and brawn keep the city safe each winter.  

In this special podcast episode, Curious City presents three Chicago disaster stories as told at the Old Town School of Folk Music on March 30, 2016. Inspired by questions posed from Chicago-area residents, the tales range from the practically comical Loop flood of 1992, to a terrifying tornado that struck the region, to the city’s infamous Iroquois Theater fire.  If you didn’t get your fill...

The area’s premier airport sports Terminals 1, 2, 3 and ... 5. What gives?

What will happen to the Willis Tower in 150 years? In this special Curious City presentation, producer Jesse Dukes and the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Jen Masengarb envision three future scenarios for the iconic skyscraper, and for the Chicago of 2166.   Click here for the full story .  

Pop-up tree lots sprout up on every Chicago corner during the holiday season, only to disappear. Who are the people who make these happen and what's the business like? As one operator says it, "It’s fast, it’s furious and it’s over in about three and a half weeks."

Aurora leads council meetings with prayer, and it sometimes raises eyebrows. But would a judge ever smack it down?

Murals beautify some viaducts, while others are left bare and dirty. Why the disparity?