Videos

Send us Fan Mail (https://www.buzzsprout.com/1022374/fan_mail/new) Genealogist Nicka Sewell-Smith joins me to discuss her connections to Chicago and "The Women Who Built Chicago" bus tour, launched for Women's History Month in partnership with Ancestry, which highlights overlooked women's contributions. Tickets for the bus tour: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dilla-and-ancestry-present-the-women-who-built-chicago-bus-tour-tickets-1983596857598 Want to help support the show?…

Send a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) Jun Fujita was a pioneering Japanese-born photographer who made his way to Chicago to become widely regarded as the first Japanese American photojournalist. Hear more about Fujita's life in Chicago from Graham Harrison Lee, Fujita's great-nephew and author of the book Jun Fujita: Behind the Camera.…

Send a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) An unbearable loss pushes one man past the breaking point, ending in murder. Listener discretion is advised. Want to help support the show? Buy me a coffee! Buy more than one and get a personalized video thank you. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Leave me a voice message - just…

Send a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) Here's a FROM THE ARCHIVES episode originally released on Feb 18, 2023. Many towns in the Chicago area were established to be all-white, keeping out Blacks, Asians, Jews, Native Americans, and others, allowing minorities to work in those towns but not live there. Those individuals also…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) Chicago’s cold weather can be brutal, and it has been for more than 150 years since it started being tracked. Here are ten of Chicago's coldest days. Show your love of this podcast for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Need music for YOUR projects?…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) In the late 1940s and well into the 1950s, Chicago was plagued by fires that had one key thing in common – they took place at often unsafe, threadbare hotels, injuring and even killing those who were already down on their luck. This is the…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) On a cold and snowy day in December 1972, United Airlines flight 553 crashed into a neighborhood near Midway Airport, resulting in 45 deaths. The tragedy was soon followed by conspiracies. Was the plane brought down to silence those who might jeopardize powerful people in…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) Author Rob Miller (one of the founders of Chicago's Bloodshot Records) joins me to discuss his new book, “The Hours Are Long But The Pay Is Low: A Curious Life in Independent Music.” www.robmillerwriting.com (https://www.robmillerwriting.com) Get Rob's book here: https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p088964 Save 30% with the following…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) Please enjoy this FROM THE ARCHIVES + EXTRAS episode from the summer of 2022. One man was robbed more than 190 times, knocked unconscious at least four times, and had an eardrum burst aboard Chicago’s L, each time with Chicago cops nearby watching, all in…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) The Spyglass Murder of Margaret Gallagher, the killing and dismemberment of Judith Mae Andersen, the execution-style murder of Chicago Alderman Ben Lewis, and the roadside disappearance of Tammy Jo Zywicki are all part of this episode on Chicago's unsolved murders. Want to help support the…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) Halloween is coming! Enjoy this episode about Chicago's ghoulish past, including tales of forgotten cemeteries, grave robbers, mob graveyards, and more. Expanded and re-recorded from the original, released Oct. 2020.. Pamela Bannos / Hidden Truths: https://hiddentruths.northwestern.edu/ Want to help support the podcast? Buy me a…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) Chicago has had its share of bizarre incidents resulting in death, including the Pain Fireworks Company Explosion of 1914. Show your support of the show for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) Here's one originally released in August 2021 that you may not have heard. Enjoy. He was the son of one of the wealthiest men in Chicago, and on one fateful night he was shot under mysterious circumstances. Was Marshall Field Jr.'s death an accident or…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) If you're planning on walking through Lincoln Park anytime soon, you may be curious about all the statues you'll find. With the help of contributor Connie Fairbanks, we discuss the story behind many of the creations you'll see, and tell you about the ones that…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) In August of 1925, an opulent cinema opened on Broadway just north of Lawrence Avenue. Joining me today to discuss the history of that theater is Robert Loerzel, one of the authors of the recently released book The Uptown: Chicago's Endangered Movie Palace. https://www.robertloerzel.com/blog/ Show…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) The return of One on Every Corner, where we discuss a neighborhood drinking establishment, the neighborhood around it, and more. Joining me for this episode is writer Leigh Giangreco and Four Moon Tavern owners Matt Kozlowski and Robbie Lane. @leighgiangreco.bsky.social‬ Four Moon Tavern - @fourmoontavern…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) There is more to Chicago than the Bean, The Loop, and Navy Pier. Joining me in this episode to discuss his photography, what he loves most about Chicago, and the recently-released book "Chicago: The Loop & Beyond" is Nenad Spasojevic. Nenad Spasojevic - https://www.nenadspasojevic.com/ Insta:…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) In what was then primarily farmlands 39 miles outside of Chicago, a gun battle erupted between federal law enforcement agents and an outlaw on the run, resulting in chaos and death. This is the story of Baby Face Nelson and The Battle of Barrington. Show…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) The 103th anniversary of the most violent labor battle in the U.S. is June 21-22, 2025. This is the story of the Herrin Coal Massacre of 1922. *Originally released as episode 508 in June 2022. Show some love for the podcast for the cost of…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) 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 Keir…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) 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…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) 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…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) 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 podcast for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Further reading (purchasing these items through these…

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1022374/open_sms) ORIGINALLY RELEASED IN OCTOBER 2020. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Lincoln Park had a “High Bridge” which rose 75 feet over the south lagoon's water. As welcoming to sightseers as the big beautiful bridge was, it also had a dark appeal, quickly earning…