Since one of our prompts today is "Tell us about a podcast you enjoy," I thought I’d talk about one that a friend of mine does. "Friend" might be pushing it, since I’ve never met him in person, only through his blog, YouTube channels, and Facebook pages, but the thing that brought us together was our memories of places and businesses in Chicago that are no longer around.
Vanished Chicagoland Stories: The Podcast is the creation of Pete Kastanes, who grew up in Chicago. He has a number of pages on Facebook, the chief one being Vanished Chicagoland, where he shares advertisements and photos of packages and other ephemera from businesses that no longer exist.
Admittedly, if you didn’t grow up in Chicago, not much of it makes sense. The members of the VC group, on the other hand, share memories of their experiences with the businesses and products. A picture of a Christmas box from Marshall Field’s will result in people telling stories of things they got in similar boxes; a picture of a business like Robert Hall will lead to a discussion about having gone to that store, people who worked there or at one of the other locations, and so on.
The podcast grew out of memories like that. He’s recorded 220 episodes, which can be found on YouTube and pretty much wherever you get your podcasts from (I get it on Spotify). He chooses a topic and chats about it, and will play commercials where they’re relevant. Occasionally, he talks a little about himself: he’s a proud Greek and a prostate cancer survivor.
He has a second podcast called TV Oblivion, where he talks about TV shows that have been forgotten, in case you’re interested….
The Sound of One Hand Typing 
Wow, talk about a podcast that is so exactly up your alley. Match made in heaven!
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It is… he rambles a little, but so do all my friends at this point…
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I visited Chicago a long while ago, for a hair show, have to say it was enjoyable. Some outstanding restaurants and places to enjoy a “frosty beverage”…exciting town. At least twenty years ago.
I will definitely check out the podcast.
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When we left there in ’87, it was a great place, and I made a lot of trips back. I’m not sure I could say the same now…
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I was hesitant to type what I really wanted, John.
Chicago, San Francisco…two cities I will never visit again. Living here in New York isn’t a great deal better and the misguided politics bring little hope for needed change.
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I know just what you mean.
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I’d been to Chicago a couple of times for work several years ago. I recall it was “friendlier” than I expected. Nice to find such a podcast, I bet.
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It was nice to find it, and it’s always nice to remember the place fondly and the things that made it good.
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Apparently, my grandfather ran a saloon in Chicago in the 1890s. One day I’d love to find out if this is true
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Interesting… Do you know his name or where the saloon was?
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thanks for sharing, I was born there, but don’t remember much, but I love visiting the city
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I was born and raised there, and whenever I hear about what’s happening there it hurts…
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