Episode 32 – Muddy Ground, Revisited
The Windy City Historians so enjoyed talking with John William Nelson Ph.D. Associate Professor of History at Texas State University about his book Muddy Ground; Native Peoples, Chicago’s Portage, and the Transformation of a Continent we revisit this discussion. With so much ground of the Chicago landscape traversed by both European and Native peoples to cover, muddy or not, we...
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 57:22 — 78.9MB)
Episode 31 – Muddy Ground
In the Twentieth Century, Chicago’s Midway Airport had a sign that read “Crossroads of the World,” and during its heyday Midway literally was the aviation center of the world. From a historical perspective the same has been true for Chicago reaching back a century earlier as a critical hub of the railroads, during the Industrial Age...
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:05 — 54.2MB)
Special Episode – Champlain’s Dream
In this special episode of the Windy City Historians we revisit our discussion of Jean Nicolet in late historian John Swenson's last interview.
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Special Episode – Buzzing Through Time
In this Special Episode we take a view of Chicago History — Cicada style. For in the world of entomology, 2024 was a big year. As two cicada broods The Great Southern Brood, which emerge every 13-years and is the largest of all periodical cicada broods and The Northern Illinois Brood which emerges every 17-years,...
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 50:22 — 46.2MB)
Episode 30 – The Front Page
Chicago's newspaper heyday boosted stories about murderers, high-society scandals, gangsters and more. Join us for this extended episode.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:28:23 — 81.0MB)
Episode 29 – The 1919 Race Riots
All too often history repeats itself — with tragic results. During the last 100-years, the killing of one person becomes symbolic and spawns a larger tragedy. Irregularly bubbling to the surface these crises rise from elemental rents and systemic failures in the fabric of society. We call to mind the deaths of George Floyd in...
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00:07 — 55.1MB)
Episode 28 – WWI & Chicago Transformed
Hear from author Joe Gustaitis as we discuss how World War I transformed Chicago from a strongly German city into a modern metropolis.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:24:45 — 77.7MB)
Episode 27 – The Great Migration
In American history, we were taught that pioneers and homesteaders moved from east to west settling the continent in the greater pursuit of “Manifest Destiny” — killing and obfuscating the First Nations peoples’ way of life. However, another American pattern often overlooked is the migration from south to the north. Starting less than a century...
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 58:10 — 53.3MB)
Episode 26 – 1909
In 1909 Chicago changed dramatically both physically and intellectually. Having grown through fits and starts via annexation and experiencing the most rapid population growth of any city in history, to that point, the Chicago City Council approved a new street and address system in 1908. The new address system took effect in 1909 and employed...
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:29:00 — 81.5MB)
Episode 25 – A Book and A Beer: George Ade and the Old-Time Saloon
The path to riches is not often associated with journalism, but in the case of George Ade, writing for Chicago newspapers was his road to wealth and fame. Ade, (1866-1944) who was born and raised in Kentland, Indiana, attended Purdue University and then came to Chicago to work as a reporter in the heydays of...
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:07 — 51.4MB)
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