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,...
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Episode 24 – Bonus: Working on the Railroad
October is Railroad history month in Chicago. Although we already released Episode 24 - The Railroads in honor of railroads history month there was too much good stuff to stop there.
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Episode 24 – The Railroads
For 150 years, Chicago has remained the country’s busiest rail hub at the center of the nation’s rail network. In all, 40 railroads provide services from Illinois to every part of the United States and all seven of the major North American freight railways converge in Chicago to make it the largest US rail gateway....
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Episode 23 – Reversing the Chicago River
Native Americans held great respect for natural systems while also managing the landscape to support their people and way of life. As “civilization” came to this area Chicago became a military outpost, village, city and metropolis and its residents were confronted with the elemental and reoccurring issue of controlling water — both fresh and waste...
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Episode 22 – Eyewitness to History: From the Pullman Strike to H.H. Holmes
Looking back on historical events, whether it is the Civil War or the Chicago Fire, they are usually presented in isolation, a individual events separated by subject, pinned to a specific date or period of time. Yet, history is not nearly so neat and tidy, and to someone who lived through those times, it becomes...
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:54 — 51.2MB)