Weird, Wild and Wonderful Illinois

To celebrate America’s 250th, the Illinois State Historical Society brings you a new podcast series, “Weird, Wild, Wonderful Illinois”! This series will look...

Episodes

May 4, 2026

59 min

Episode 11 takes a look at all the weird, wild and wonderful aspects of Illinois during the Civl War!Join Adam J. Krall, a Civil War reenactor, site interpreter at the State Historic Sites in Illinois through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and host of the podcast The Civil Weird, as we talk about the little known, weird, crazy and wonderful people and places that made up Illinois' contributions to the Civil War. (Definitely more that just Abraham Lincoln and General U.S. Grant!)We hope you enjoy this insight into the experience of Illinois in the Civil War!

Mar 30, 2026

38 min

Episode 10 takes us to Jo Daviess County! Join Tracy Roberts as we discuss Galena, Ulysses S. Grant, lean mining and all things Jo Daviess.Make sure to visit the Galena and US Grant Museum next time you are in the area!

Ottawa Historical

Mar 16, 2026

Mar 16, 2026

31 min

Episode 9 takes us to Ottawa, IL! We are joined by Mollie Perrot, executive director of the Ottawa Historical and Scouting Museum as we talk all things Ottawa!

Mar 2, 2026

39 min

Episode 8 of the Weird, Wild and Wonderful Illinois podcast takes us to Mclean County!!! Join Candace Summers from the Mclean County History Museum as we talk about Bloomington, Norman, Towanda and all things Mclean County!

Feb 23, 2026

41 min

On Episode 7, we head to New Philadelphia! Join us as we talk with Kaye Iftner, president of the New Philadelphia Association, as we learn about this area of Pike County and the vast history of the settlement.

Feb 16, 2026

27 min

Episode 6 takes us to Woodford County, just east of Peoria! We talk with Project XV Museum historian and Woodford County Historical Society member Barb Lancaster about the voting rights museum in El Paso and all things Woodford County!

Feb 9, 2026

38 min

Episode 5 - The Sangamon Valley CollectionWeek 5 takes us to the Sangamon Valley Collection, housed at the Lincoln (Public) Library in Springfield. The collection houses thousands of items pertaining to Sangamon County and other surrounding counties, making it a vital resource for research into the area that is NOT Abraham Lincoln.We are joined by Stephanie Martin of the Sangamon Valley Collection to talk all things history in the Sangamon Valley.

Feb 2, 2026

46 min

Episode 4 takes us to the Bronzeville Historical Society! Join Sherry Williams, executive director of the Bronzeville Historical Society, as we learn about this unique community in the Southside of Chicago.

Jan 26, 2026

45 min

Mark Motsinger joins the podcast today! He is the chair of the newly formed Southeastern Illinois Joint Historical Society, which is a coalition between Gallatin, Pope, Saline, White, Hamilton, Hardin, Johnson and Massac counties.

Morgan County

Jan 19, 2026

Jan 19, 2026

29 min

Our second episode takes us to Morgan County! Join Greg Olson of the Morgan County Historical Society as we talk about crazy stories from Jacksonville and surrounding towns.

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