Curious City

From school assemblies to “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood,” Ella Jenkins was a rhythm specialist and children’s music pioneer. Her childhood in Chicago was her launching pad. Jenkins forged a path in the music industry during a time when children’s musicians didn’t really exist. She persevered through the civil rights era, took ownership of her music in an industry that often took advantage of women and made the focus about children.Today, we bring you a conversation about this music icon, who harnessed curiosity, life experience and charisma to create some of the most unique and prolific art of the 20th century. Professor of American studies at George Washington University Gayle Wald sat down with Curious City Editor Susie An at the 2025 Evanston Folk Festival to talk about Jenkins’ life. Wald is the author of “This is Rhythm: Ella Jenkins, Children’s Music and the Long Civil Rights Movement.” This episode was originally published on Feb. 11, 2026. 

The Frustration Room appeared in a Chicago motel in 1962 and offered visitors the opportunity to smash objects — like a lamp base, a lightbulb or an ashtray — in a space dedicated to relieving frustration. One Curious City listener remembers visiting three times and wanted to know: who thought of this place, why, and what ever happened to it? We look into the Frustration Room’s origins and its next of kin — including a local “rage room” and a “scream club” — to ask if this kind of venting really works.

Thismia americana enjoys near-cult-status among Chicago botanists, ecologists and plant enthusiasts. The tiny, bell-shaped flower hasn't been seen since the early 1900s, but that hasn't stopped believers from trying to find Chicago's most elusive plant once more.A reporter and a team of scientists went hunting for thismia americana to see if, over a hundred years later, it could be re-discovered.

Bynum Island was once a gem in Chicago’s Washington Park, but now it’s abandoned, overgrown and inaccessible to the public. Curious City looks into why, and whether the island will ever reopen.

Former Chicago Public Schools students say school lunch used to be delicious decades ago. That comes as a surprise to current CPS students, who give lunchroom offerings mixed reviews. Also missing from the menu is a once popular butter cookie. What happened to tasty school lunches and this iconic cafeteria cookie?