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© 2025 Chicago History Podcast
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Stories from history of the Greatest City in the World - Chicago. The places, events, and the people behind it all.
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Send us a text 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 the government? 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 click on t...
Send us a text 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 Get Rob's book here: https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p088964 Save 30% with the following code: F25UIP Get your Brick of Chicago 2026 Calendar! Purchasing items through the links below helps support our efforts at no additional cost to you: The Hours Are Long ...
Send us a text 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 show? Buy me a coffee! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right corner here: https://www.chicagohistorypod.com ...
Send us a text 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 coffee! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Anything purchased through the links below may generate a small commission for this podcast at no...
Send us a text 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 lower right corner here: https://www.chicagohistorypod.com Want better sleep? Try the most delicious alternative to melatonin and sleeping pills that helps you fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake...
Send us a text 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 were once there but are no longer. You can purchase Chicago's West Loop: Then and Now by Connie Fairbanks from the author at: https://www.conniefairbanks.com/ or through this Amazon link: https://amzn.to/3BzEPxt Want to...
Send us a text 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 your love of this podcast for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Uptown, The: Chicago's Endangered Movie Palace by Robert Loerzel & James Pierce ht...
Send us a text 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 on Insta Show your love of this podcast for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Want better sleep? Try the most delicious alternative to melaton...
Send us a text 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: nenad.spasojevic Show your love of this podcast for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Items Related to This Episode (purchasing these items through thes...
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 Keir Graff https://amzn.to/4kNSjud Order a SIGNED COPY from Exile in Bookville (based in the Fine Arts Building). Show your love of this podcast for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com...
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 podcast for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Items related to this episode (purchasing anything through these links helps support our efforts at no additional cost...
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 1959 visit to the city. Edward H. Bennett Digital Collection: http://edwardbennett.lakeforest.edu/exhibits/show/edward--h--bennett-collection-/chicago/grant-park Chicago History Podcast Clothing, Mu...
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 podcast for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Further reading (purchasing these items through these links helps support our efforts at no additional cost to you): Don't Go; Stories of Segregation and How To Disrupt It by Tonika Lewis Joh...
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 Black librarian, Union activist Rev. Addie L. Wyatt, and Elisabeth A. Martini, Chicago's first woman architect. Show your love of this podcast for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Further reading (purchasing these items through these links ...
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 video games, three boys just out of their teens became robbers and worse in Chicago with brazen acts of thievery and wanton killings. Today we’re discussing the Automatic Trio and the Car Barn Murders. Want to help support the show? Buy me a coffee! https://www.buymeacoffe...
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. Network to Freedom Listings: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/undergroundrailroad/ntf-listings.htm Graceland Cemetery (Chicago) Underground Railroad Activists https://www.gracelandcemetery.org/underground-railroad-activists/ Show your love of this podcast for the cost of a coffee:...
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 about the Jackson Five. Show your love of this podcast for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Further reading (purchasing these items through these links helps support our efforts at no additional cost to you): Michael Jackson: The Magic, The M...
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 and is viewed as one of the most corrupt politicians this great city has ever seen. Robert Loerzel's piece on Eugene Williams in the August 2019 Chicago Magazine: https://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/August-2019/Searching-for-Eugene-Williams/ Show your love of this podca...
Send us a text An area once called Dunkley’s Grove was considered for a new stadium for the Chicago White Sox, not in old-timey days – in 1986! Was Edison Park named for Thomas Edison? Dunton, Sagone, Hartford… and where was Cleaverville? Show your love of this podcast for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Send me an email with whatever is on your mind: chicagohistorypod AT gmail.com Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right c...
Send us a text Show your love of this podcast for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Send me an email with whatever is on your mind: chicagohistorypod AT gmail.com Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right corner here: https://www.chicagohistorypod.com Up your cocktail or Sodastream game with Portland craft syrups! https://portlandsyrups.com/collections/all?sca_ref=1270971.MO4APpJH1k Affiliate Links (anything you buy through t...
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