PODCAST
Conversations and stories from Chicago's neighborhoods.
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Ike Reilly and Shane Reilly Carve a Bruised, Beautiful Family Anthem on Blind and Surrounded
Jul 4, 2026 · 34:12 · S4E18
There’s always been a voltage running through the songs of Ike Reilly, a current made of busted streetlight poetry, half-healed bruises, and characters who keep moving even when the map gives up. On his tenth studio album, Blind and Surrounded, that …
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Pop’s Italian Beef at 46: The South Side Institution That Built a Chicago Classic
Jun 27, 2026 · 13:38 · S4E17
There are origin stories, and then there are Chicago origin stories—the kind that begin with smoke so thick you can’t see the counter and end with a line out the door that never really stops. At Pop’s Italian Beef, the legend starts exactly that way.…
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Straight Outta Skokie: Al Krockey’s Wild 1968 Journey Through Chicago’s Counterculture, Hustle, and Rock ‘n’ Roll
Jun 20, 2026 · 32:50 · S4E16
Here’s a story you don’t embellish—you just light a cigar, pour a whiskey, and let it ride. In 1968, Al Krockey was 18 years old, coming of age at the exact moment America seemed to crack open—politically, culturally, and musically. It was a year of …
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Paul Natkin: The Chicago Lens That Captured Rock ‘n’ Roll Immortality
Jun 13, 2026 · 01:13:00 · S4E15
he kind that starts under the dim lights of Chicago Stadium—where a kid tagging along with his father realizes the perks of photography aren’t just free parking and great seats… they’re front-row access to history. The kind that ends—if it ever reall…
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Doorways of Chicago: A Photographer’s Intimate Journey Through the City’s Hidden Entrances
Jun 6, 2026 · 17:59 · S4E14
There’s a certain magic to Chicago—a city where history doesn’t just live in museums, but quietly lingers in the details: carved stone archways, weathered brass handles, and hand-painted signage that has outlived generations. For local photographer R…
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How Night of the Living Dead Shaped a Life: Daniel Kraus on Trauma, Horror, and the Art of Survival
May 30, 2026 · 47:07 · S4E13
There are films we admire, films we revisit—and then there are films that rearrange us. For Daniel Kraus, Night of the Living Dead was never just a movie. It was a language, a mirror, and, at times, a lifeline. In his haunting and deeply introspectiv…
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Unlocking the Secrets of Chicago's Architectural Heritage: A Deep Dive into Residential Design
May 23, 2026 · 33:33 · S4E16
In a place famous for its skyline showdowns and architectural swagger, a quieter story unfolds at street level—inside the homes that truly define Chicago. This episode dives into “Chicago Homes,” a richly illustrated guide that unpacks the residentia…
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Chicago’s Next Act: Inside Downstage Arts, Where Access Meets Ambition
May 16, 2026 · 22:17 · S4E15
In Chicago, there’s a conversation happening beneath the spotlight—one that has nothing to do with opening nights or donor galas, and everything to do with who actually gets the chance to step on stage. This episode dives into that reality with Isabe…
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October Café Chicago: A Cozy Fall Escape Families Will Love All Year Long
May 9, 2026 · 09:53 · S4E10
Step inside October Café and you’re instantly wrapped in the feeling of a perfect fall morning—no matter the season. In a city like Chicago, where families are always on the hunt for inviting, all-ages spaces to gather, this charming café delivers so…
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Belmont Tavern Reopens in Avondale: Inside Chicago’s Grittiest Cocktail Comeback
May 2, 2026 · 19:36 · S4E9
On the corner of Belmont and Kimball, where Chicago’s Northwest Side still hums with ghost stories and factory echoes, something long dormant is breathing again. Belmont Tavern is back. Set inside a 135-year-old building in Avondale, the bar returns …
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Justin Townes Earle’s Chicago Legacy Lives On at Old Town School of Folk Music Tribute Night
Apr 25, 2026 · 30:10 · S4E8
There’s something haunting about the way Justin Townes Earle still lingers in the DNA of American roots music—like a half-finished lyric scribbled on a bar napkin in a dimly lit Chicago dive. On April 16, that spirit returns to center stage at the Ol…
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Easy Honey Talks ‘Plaid,’ DIY Chaos, and Indie Rock Alchemy Ahead of Chicago’s Schubas Show
Apr 19, 2026 · 22:17 · S4E7
There’s something gloriously unpolished about Easy Honey—and that’s exactly the point. In a scene oversaturated with algorithm-chasing sameness, the Charleston-bred indie rock band is carving out a lane that feels lived-in, sunburnt, and just a littl…
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Drag Race Experience Chicago - An Immersive RuPaul’s Drag Race Turns Logan Square Into A Runway
Apr 11, 2026 · 11:04 · S4E6
Chicago’s fall lineup just got a whole lot louder, prouder, and unapologetically extra. The Emmy-winning World of Wonder is bringing its first-ever immersive fan activation, Drag Race: The Experience , to the city—transforming a stretch of Logan Squa…
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Free Pizza in Chicago With March Madness Giveaway at Tortorice’s | Pizza Boy Billy Goes Big
Apr 4, 2026 · 11:17 · S4E5
There’s a certain kind of confidence you need to remix a Chicago staple. Not arrogance—something closer to instinct. The kind that tells you a pastrami-topped pizza might actually work, especially if you grew up eating both sides of that equation. Bi…
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How Night of the Living Dead Shaped a Life: Daniel Kraus on Trauma, Horror, and the Art of Survival
Mar 28, 2026 · 47:07 · S4E4
There are films we admire, films we revisit—and then there are films that rearrange us. For Daniel Kraus, Night of the Living Dead was never just a movie. It was a language, a mirror, and, at times, a lifeline. In his haunting and deeply introspectiv…
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David Davis: The Power Broker Who Helped Make Abraham Lincoln President
Mar 21, 2026 · 29:32 · S4E4
History tends to spotlight giants. But every so often, you find the figure just outside the frame—the one making things happen. That’s David Davis. In conversation with Chicago writer Tom Barnas, author Raymond J. McKoski brings Davis into focus in h…
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Manny’s Deli Chicago Serves Up St. Patrick’s Day Corned Beef and Passover Traditions — A Taste of Two Celebrations
Mar 14, 2026 · 06:07 · S4E2
In Chicago, few food institutions carry the weight of tradition quite like Manny’s Cafeteria & Delicatessen . Since 1942, the West Loop deli has served as both a neighborhood gathering place and a culinary landmark — where towering sandwiches, steami…
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Inside Chicago’s Strangest Little Variety Shop: Journey Through Ecclection’s Cabinet of Curiosities
Feb 28, 2026 · 17:09 · S4E1
A Hidden Cabinet of Curiosities in Portage ParkTucked along West Irving Park Road in Chicago’s Portage Park neighborhood, Ecclection feels less like a store and more like a carefully staged fever dream of found objects. The small storefront at 6059 W…
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Behind-the-Scenes Tour, Free Illinois Resident Days, and Winter’s Most Immersive Family Experience
Feb 21, 2026 · 14:15 · S3E30
Chicago winters can feel endless. Gray skies. Frozen sidewalks. Lake Michigan whispering in ice. But inside the glowing walls of the Shedd Aquarium , entire ecosystems pulse with color, motion, and life. This season, the aquarium is giving Illinois r…
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Hotel Chocolat Turns National Hot Chocolate Day Into a Tasting Flight Worth Lingering Over
Feb 14, 2026 · 07:10 · S3E29
National Hot Chocolate Day gets a decidedly elevated upgrade this year at Hotel Chocolat’s Southport location, where the beloved chocolate brand is transforming a childhood comfort into a curated tasting experience worth slowing down for. From Januar…
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Rock ’n’ Roll Revival, Million Dollar Quartet, and Turning a YouTube Moment Into a Vegas Stage
Feb 7, 2026 · 53:11 · S3E28
In this intimate, wide-ranging conversation, Jacob Tolliver sits down with Tom Barnas to trace a career that feels less like a straight line and more like a series of fortunate collisions, each one louder and more electric than the last. Tolliver ref…
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Chicago, Off the Rails: How Train Lines Lead to Forests, Dunes, and the City’s Best-Kept Natural Secrets
Jan 31, 2026 · 31:34 · S3E27
Chicago has always sold itself in steel and glass. The skyline rises, the river bends, the trains rattle on. But just beyond the clatter of the L and the low hum of Metra platforms, something softer begins to take shape: dunes that roll like quiet pu…
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Still on the Air: Nick Digilio, Radio’s Last True Movie Believer
Jan 24, 2026 · 42:52 · S3E26
Radio legends have become an endangered species, their voices fading beneath algorithms and playlists. But every so often, if you know where to listen, you still hear one. In Chicago, that voice belongs to Nick Digilio. For more than four decades, Di…
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Audrey Wilson and The Ever End: How a Chicago Writer Is Redefining Psychological Horror
Jan 17, 2026 · 23:32 · S3E25
Audrey Wilson didn’t abandon screenwriting when she turned to novels. She simply widened the frame. A Chicago-based writer with deep roots in both film and fiction, Wilson has built a career exploring what unsettles people long after the lights come …
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Chicago's First All-Women's Sports Bar
Jan 10, 2026 · 17:40 · S3E24
Babe’s Sports Bar is calling, and it’s answering with volume, visibility, and victory laps for women’s sports. Tucked into Logan Square at 3017 W. Armitage Ave., Babe’s is Chicago’s newest love letter to women athletes and the fans who show up for th…
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