Chicago History Podcast
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chicagohistorypod.bsky.social
Chicago History Podcast
@chicagohistorypod.bsky.social
Stories about the Greatest City in the World. Listen wherever you enjoy podcasts.
"Rob Miller paints a glorious, detailed landscape of how it feels to be transformed and elevated by music." - Neko Case

Ep. 817 - Chicago's Bloodshot Records with author Rob Miller
Listen here - bit.ly/4ruVuL0 or wherever you enjoy podcasts.

@illinoispress.bsky.social
November 26, 2025 at 10:15 PM
I'm pretty sure for the rest of my days when I hear the Stevie Nicks song "Edge of Seventeen" I'll think of Joan Cusack in "School of Rock."
November 26, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Reposted by Chicago History Podcast
A spirited Mavis Staples cover of Tom Waits‘s “Chicago” gives @robertloerzel.bsky.social reason to muse on music, migration, and our city.
Maybe Things Will Be Better in Chicago
A spirited Mavis Staples cover of Tom Waits‘s “Chicago” gives us reason to muse on music, migration, and our city.
buff.ly
November 24, 2025 at 8:39 PM
In 1995, The Old 97's signed with Bloodshot Records, which released their album Wreck Your Life. This partnership helped launch the band into the burgeoning alt-country scene.

Ep. 817 - Chicago's Bloodshot Records with author Rob Miller

@millerscave.bsky.social
@officialold97s.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 8:52 PM
I still say "record store" but even WXRT's Johnny Mars just called it a "vinyl shop." Now I feel out of touch with the hip lingo.
November 23, 2025 at 5:15 PM
"That Robbie Fulks is not in the top tier of the pantheon of great American songwriters is a crime." - Rob Miller, co-founder of Bloodshot Records.

Ep. 817 - Chicago's Bloodshot Records with author Rob Miller

Clipping - Chicago Tribune July 17, 1998

@millerscave.bsky.social
November 23, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Author Rob Miller and I discuss his new book "The Hours Are Long, But the Pay Is Low: A Curious Life in Independent Music" on the latest episode.

Listen here - bit.ly/4ruVuL0 or wherever you enjoy podcasts.

@millerscave.bsky.social
@illinoispress.bsky.social
November 22, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Who is this friendly looking chap and what does he have to do with tomorrow's new Chicago History Podcast episode?
November 21, 2025 at 3:51 PM
The Devil Said Jump is a queer independent band based in Logan Square that plays folksy songs with a splash of country. Brighten your day by checking out their latest single:

open.spotify.com/album/5ASHFS...
Make Me Buy A Gun
open.spotify.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:55 PM
I've gotten numerous stock market notices about companies hitting their 52-week low today. Thanks, Biden.
November 17, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Some pix from today's Brick of Chicago tour of Old Town. Brick Guy Will (unsurprisingly) shared a ton of area history about which I knew little.
November 15, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Love this.
November 15, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Then-Deputy Chief of Patrol Thomas J. Lyons pondered how to discourage muggers.

"We finally got a simple idea. Make the criminal fear that the lamb he's tackling can turn out to be a tiger.”

FROM THE ARCHIVES - Chicago's Mass Transit Decoy Squad of the 1970s plus EXTRAS
bit.ly/4nMysft
November 13, 2025 at 5:44 PM
With Ron Grossman retiring from the @chicagotribune.com, it seems fitting that I came across this book he published in 1981. His work has been instrumental in my research.
November 12, 2025 at 7:12 PM
The Mass Transit Decoy Squad, circa 1973.

FROM THE ARCHIVES - Chicago's Mass Transit Decoy Squad of the 1970s plus EXTRAS
bit.ly/4nMysft
November 12, 2025 at 5:09 PM
While officer Arthur Novit often disguised himself as a country bumpkin or a vagrant to attract robbers, it was when he donned a Superman costume that Novit earned the nickname "Superman of the Subway."

FROM THE ARCHIVES - Chicago's Mass Transit Decoy Squad of the 1970s plus EXTRAS
bit.ly/4nMysft
November 11, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Local reporters, including WLS-TV's John Drury, covered the efforts of the Decoy Squad.

FROM THE ARCHIVES - Chicago's Mass Transit Decoy Squad of the 1970s plus EXTRAS
bit.ly/4nMysft
November 10, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Wait, what?
November 10, 2025 at 3:32 AM
One man was robbed more than 190 times, knocked unconscious at least four times, and had an eardrum burst aboard the CTA, each time with Chicago cops nearby watching, all in the name of public transportation safety.

FROM THE ARCHIVES - Chicago's Mass Transit Decoy Squad of the 1970s
bit.ly/4nMysft
November 8, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Reposted by Chicago History Podcast
None of this had to happen.
ICE Has Created a ‘Ghost Town’ in the Heart of Chicago
Local communities are stepping up to save neighborhood restaurants and stores.
www.thebulwark.com
November 8, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Paul Robeson performed in Grant Park in Chicago in 1940 in front of an estimated 165,000 people. Can't wait to see this.

deadline.com/2025/11/paul...
Emmy Winners Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson To Direct Documentary On Paul Robeson, Giant Of 20th Century Arts, Entertainment, Politics
A documentary on actor-singer-activist Paul Robeson is coming from Emmy-winning directors Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson.
deadline.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:24 PM