Curious City

Series produced by WBEZ

Series image

Got a question about Chicago, the region or the people who live here? Anything you’ve always wondered about, found peculiar or downright confusing? Ask questions, vote, discover answers. It’s your Curious City.

Waiting for the CTA ... lost in thought while walking downtown ... sometime during lather, rinse, repeat. Those in-between moments when our brains aren’t forced into focus are ripe for pondering the whys, what-ifs and how-comes. WBEZ’s Curious City is the place your brain can release all those fleeting questions. There are two ways your questions can turn into stories.

Beyond wondering about what you wonder about, Curious City is a journalistic experiment to get to the bottom of some hard questions. What happens when WBEZ invites the public to assign us stories? What could more transparency and audience involvement look like, and how are journalists and journalism changed by it? And does anyone actually care to know how the media they consume is made? In the process, we aim to track down and deliver answers to as many of your questions as we can.

Learn more and ask your own question at curiouscity.wbez.org
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Waiting for the CTA ... lost in thought while walking downtown ... sometime during lather, rinse, repeat. Those in-between moments when our brains aren’t forced into focus are ripe for pondering the whys, what-ifs and how-comes. WBEZ’s Curious City is the place your brain can release all those fleeting questions. There are two ways your questions can turn into stories. Beyond wondering about what you wonder about, Curious City is a journalistic experiment to get to the bottom of some hard questions. What happens when WBEZ invites the public to assign us stories? What could more transparency and audience involvement look like, and how are journalists and journalism changed by it? And does anyone actually care to know how the media they consume is made? In the process, we aim to track... Show full description


16 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: Chicago From Above, Credit: Wakedog via Flickr
Curious Citizen Andrew Wambach wanted to know: Is Chicago ready for another supertall skyscraper? If so, when?

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Nov 19, 2013
  • Length: 06:27
  • Purchases: 1
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Chicagoan Leanne Roddy asked WBEZ's Curious City this question: "I've heard there are parrots on the South Side of Chicago, and I was wondering whe...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Nov 14, 2013
  • Length: 07:20
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Dat Donut in Chatham, Credit: Logan Jaffe
An anonymous listener asked Curious City: "Does Chicago have any more privately-owned doughnut shops, and which is the best?"

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Nov 14, 2013
  • Length: 10:01
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Teach a man to read, he still can't catch dinner. , Credit: (WBEZ/Tanveer Ali)
Even in this digital information age, local libraries still manage to be busy slinging books. But what else can you check-out there? Turns out a wh...

Bought by XRAY.fm and PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 31, 2013
  • Length: 06:26
  • Purchases: 2
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Rachel Kimura asked us to gather stories of old diners around Chicago ... and in the process of getting those, we couldn't help but wonder: how did...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 31, 2013
  • Length: 09:32
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: What's that smell?, Credit: Jennifer Brandel/WBEZ
While playing with her kids at the Archer Park playground in Chicago, Juliet Martinez caught the distinct fragrance of silly putty.

Bought by KVSC and PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 09, 2013
  • Length: 21:32
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: A snippet of Chicago’s Deep Tunnel, Credit: Erik Nelson Rodriguez/The Illustrated Press
A Curious Citizen had a hunch there might be tunnels lurking beneath Chicago’s downtown. She had no idea how right she was.

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Sep 24, 2013
  • Length: 09:32
  • Purchases: 1
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A post-industrial neighborhood considers whether to market its history ... or start a Pullman 2.0

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Sep 19, 2013
  • Length: 09:21
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Dunning Memorial Gate, Credit: Shawn Allee
The forgotten history of an asylum and poor house on Chicago's northwest side.

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Sep 10, 2013
  • Length: 09:53
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Aladdin's Castle, Credit: Chuck Wlodarcyk
Investigating a historic Chicago amusement park.

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Sep 04, 2013
  • Length: 10:00
  • Purchases: 1
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Working for change on Chicago’s sidewalks

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Aug 26, 2013
  • Length: 10:18
  • Purchases: 1
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Um, No. But did the Manhattan Project’s Enrico Fermi consider the risk to Chicago?

Bought by XRAY.fm, WAMC Northeast Public Radio, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Aug 19, 2013
  • Length: 10:03
  • Purchases: 3
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How similar are African-American accents? For one commenter, not as close as we’d suggested

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Aug 14, 2013
  • Length: 09:12
  • Purchases: 1
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The area’s so flat that every bunny hill seems a candidate. But, no, really — where is it?

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Aug 12, 2013
  • Length: 06:53
  • Purchases: 1
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Pregnancy tests? Pigeon poo? What Chicago aldermen really do One frustrated Chicagoan wondered what her alderman’s responsible for

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Aug 12, 2013
  • Length: 11:45
  • Purchases: 1
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Chi-town manufacturing hasn’t disappeared, you just have to know where to look for it.

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Aug 12, 2013
  • Length: 06:53
  • Purchases: 1