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Season 8

June 6, 2025

Episode 809 - Chicago's Fine Arts Building with author Keir Graff

Send us a text It is a Chicago Landmark called an “exemplification of the cultural, economic, social, and historical heritage of the City of Chicago.” With the help of author Keir Graff, today we’re discussing Chicago’s Fine Arts Building. Chicago's Fine Arts Building: Music, Magic, and Murder by K…
May 23, 2025

Episode 808 - The Rise and Fall of Chicago’s Brickyards

Send us a text Chicago is known for industry – stockyards, steel mills, and more, but this city had another that thrived for nearly 150 years. Today we’re discussing the Rise and Fall of Chicago’s Brickyards. Get out and see the city with Will Quam on a Brick of Chicago tour! Show your love of this…
May 9, 2025

Episode 807 - Chicago's Buckingham Fountain and Queen Elizabeth II's 1959 Visit

Send us a text Chicago's Buckingham Fountain is being turned on for the season on Saturday, May 10, 2025, so this seems like the perfect time to discuss the history of how the fountain came to be in this enhanced and re-recorded version, with an all-new section about Queen Elizabeth II's historic 1…
May 2, 2025

Episode 806 - Don't Go with authors Tonika Lewis Johnson and Maria Krysan

Send us a text Discussing their book "Don't Go: Stories of Segregation and How To Disrupt It" are authors Tonika Lewis Johnson and Maria Krysan. Folded Map Project: https://www.foldedmapproject.com/ Show your love of this pod...
March 28, 2025

Episode 805 - Five Pioneering Women of Chicago

Send us a text It is Women's History Month! Here's a look at five pioneering women in Chicago's history: Chicago founder Kitihawa du Sable, women's suffrage activist Grace Wilbur Trout, Vivian Gordon Harsh, Chicago's first Bl...
March 1, 2025

Episode 804 - Chicago Crime: The Automatic Trio and the Car Barn Murders

Send us a text Originally released in September of 2021, this episode has been enhanced with additional music and sound effects. Sixteen years before Al Capone came to Chicago and long before anyone could blame violence on vi...
Feb. 22, 2025

Episode 803 - Illinois' Underground Railroad

Send us a text For Black Americans seeking to escape enslavement in the first half of the 1800s, Chicago was often an important stop on their path to freedom. Today we’re discussing the Underground Railroad in Illinois. Netwo...
Feb. 15, 2025

Episode 802 - Chicago Connections: The Jackson Five

Send us a text While not from here, their connection to this city is undeniable and Chicago’s influence most certainly contributed to their rise as one of the most successful musical acts of all time. Today we’re talking abou...
Feb. 8, 2025

Episode 801 - Unchecked Graft: Chicago Mayor William "Big Bill" Thompson

Send us a text This is a revised, expanded, and re-recorded version of an episode that was originally released in 2020. William "Big Bill" Thompson was a larger-than-life character who served as Chicago mayor for three terms ...