Curious City podcast

#Society #Curious #City #Chicago #Public #Current Affairs #WBEZ Chicago #Arts #Podcasting Education #Investigative

22:08

Host Francesca Amiker sits down with directors Joe and Anthony Russo, producer Angela Russo-Otstot, stars Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt, and more to uncover how family was the key to building the emotional core of The Electric State . From the Russos’ own experiences growing up in a large Italian family to the film’s central relationship between Michelle and her robot brother Kid Cosmo, family relationships both on and off of the set were the key to bringing The Electric State to life. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts . State Secrets: Inside the Making of The Electric State is produced by Netflix and Treefort Media.…

Curious City

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Ask questions, vote and discover answers about Chicago, the region and its people. From WBEZ.

562 episodes

Curious City

12,688 subscribers

updated 3 days ago

Series home•Feed

Ask questions, vote and discover answers about Chicago, the region and its people. From WBEZ.

562 episodes

#Society #Curious #City #Chicago #Public #Current Affairs #WBEZ Chicago #Arts #Podcasting Education #Investigative

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Curious City

1
The Life and Legacy of Alice Hamilton 4:10

3 days ago4:10

4:10

Scientist Alice Hamilton’s investigations into toxins in Chicago’s factories led to some of the first workplace safety laws in the country. She was known for her “shoe leather” epidemiology, wearing out the soles of her shoes from all the trips she made to Chicago homes, factories and even saloons to figure out what was making people sick.…

Curious City

1
How does honoring the dead impact the environment? 15:18

9 days ago15:18

15:18

How should we decide what happens to our bodies when we die? And what implications does that decision have for the living? It’s common to think a burial at a cemetery is the final resting place for a loved one. But as we heard in our last episode , sometimes the need to progress as a society is in direct conflict with the desire to honor the dead. Today, we talk to one of the leaders of the Green Burial Council , funeral director Samuel Perry. His organization advocates and sets standards for “natural” burials, which he calls “the full body burial of the person directly in the ground with only biodegradable materials.” We talk about the practicality of natural burial in Chicago and the very personal and spiritual decisions that add complexity to this corner of the death care industry.…

Curious City

1
Why is there a cemetery at O’Hare Airport? 7:14

10 days ago7:14

7:14

The suburban village of Bensenville has a long history of getting eaten up by development. Resthaven Cemetery is a symbol of what remains.

Curious City

1
How one Midwestern community avoids road salt all winter 10:15

16 days ago10:15

10:15

Chicago — like so many other frigid American cities — can’t seem to kick its dependence on road salt. Last episode , we talked about why chloride from salt is harmful to both our natural and built environments. So we spent some time looking around for a cold-weather community that avoids using it altogether. And we found one! A little community way up north: Have you ever taken a ferry — or a plane — to Mackinac Island? Today, we hear from Dominick Miller, chief of marketing at the Mackinac State Historic Parks, 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.…

Curious City

1
Could Chicago ever ditch the road salt? 6:08

17 days ago6:08

6:08

Road salt helps us get around safely during snowy, Chicago winters. But salt is corrosive and harmful for the environment. Could the city ever go without road salt?

Curious City

1
The First Black-Owned And Operated Airport Was In Robbins 20:04

24 days ago20:04

20:04

The Chicago area played a key role in Black aviation in the early 1900s. The founders of the first Black-owned airport learned to fly in Chicago and went on to teach thousands of others.

Curious City

1
“It’s too complicated”: The state of cannabis record expungement in Illinois 11:55

30 days ago11:55

11:55

When Illinois legalized recreational use of marijuana five years ago, it came with a goal to right the wrongs of the war on drugs. “We’re addressing the past harms of discriminatory prosecution of drug laws,” Governor J.B. Pritzker said at the time. Many low level cannabis charges would automatically be expunged and legal aid would be made available. Last episode , we looked at two areas where the state spent the largest share of its $500 million in marijuana sales tax revenue: the state budget and R3 funding, a program to invest in communities that have been harmed by violence, excessive incarceration and economic disinvestment. Some of that sales tax revenue also goes toward social programs, like legal aid for cannabis record expungement. Today, we’re looking at how well Illinois’ expungement program is working. Advocates and people getting their records expunged tell us that “automatic” doesn’t apply to everything and the process itself is “too complicated.”…

Curious City

1
Illinois has made a lot of money from recreational pot. How’s that money used? 6:28

4 weeks ago6:28

6:28

The state has made about $500 million in marijuana tax revenue since the state legalized recreational use. Social programs have benefited from those funds, but experts say it won’t last forever.

Curious City

1
There’s a delicate alchemy to overturning a wrongful conviction 17:34

5 weeks ago17:34

17:34

What does it take to get a wrongful conviction overturned? Quite a lot, according to investigative reporter Alison Flowers, who says proving innocence is much more difficult than proving guilt. She has investigated the cases of many wrongfully convicted individuals, including that of Chicagoan Robert Johnson. In our last episode , Invisible Institute reporter Erisa Apantaku explained how Johnson has spent nearly 30 years in prison for a murder almost everyone knows he did not commit. What’s clear is that a lot must go right to overturn a wrongful conviction (and even more so before the exonerated can try to earn compensation from the state). Flowers explains what a wrongfully convicted person needs — “the three-legged stool of wrongful convictions” — an advocate on the outside, an attorney in your corner and media attention.…

Curious City

1
Why does it take so long to free an innocent person from prison? 7:08

5 weeks ago7:08

7:08

We follow the case of Robert Johnson. Now, three decades after his arrest, a judge will decide whether to release him later this month.

Curious City

1
How Filipino food entrepreneurs’ “sense of community” help them thrive 13:31

6 weeks ago13:31

13:31

Chicago is a city of food as much as it is a city of neighborhoods and cultural communities. Last episode , we talked about how Chicago may not have a concentrated Filipino enclave, in the way neighborhoods like Chinatown and Humboldt Park are cultural hubs. But the community comes together and supports each other nonetheless. And Filipino food in Chicago is definitely a part of that. This cultural cuisine has been on the scene for a long time, but only in the past few years has it really started to get its flowers. It’s even grabbed the attention of the Michelin Guide and James Beard Awards. Today, we taste some creations by serial entrepreneur, Francis Almeda as well as chef and owner of A Taste of the Philippines , Kathy Vega Hardy. And we talk about why Vega Hardy says “a sense of community” goes a long way for Filipino food entrepreneurs in the city.…

Curious City

1
Is there a Filipino neighborhood in Chicago? 7:01

6 weeks ago7:01

7:01

While a concentrated community area might not be as easy to spot as a neighborhood like Chinatown or Little Village, the Filipino community has a long history in Chicago that stretches back to the early 1900s.

Curious City

1
Drama, scandal or scores: What takes a sports team down? 15:51

7 weeks ago15:51

15:51

It’s no secret that last year was the worst year in Chicago sports. Last episode we got into what that means for future fans. But 2024 wasn’t the absolute worst for every individual Chicago team. Sometimes a bad season isn’t defined by a long losing streak or a record number of losses. Sometimes it’s the internal turmoil and drama on the team. Today, we take a look at the individual worst years for our beloved Chicago teams with legendary sports journalist Cheryl Raye-Stout and Chicago sports superfan and host of Quita Loves Sports , Quita. We get into how some of these teams redeemed themselves … only to end up back here.…

Curious City

1
What happens when your team keeps losing? 6:50

7 weeks ago6:50

6:50

Collectively, 2024 was the worst year for Chicago sports teams. Chicago fans are used to remaining faithful to some loveable losers. But the younger generation of sports fans aren’t as forgiving.

Curious City

1
What does it take to put together a traffic report? 5:00

8 weeks ago5:00