Notes from Chicago

We just hit a milestone!!! 40 episodes and almost a year of Notes from Chicago. To celebrate, we're kicking off a summer series of mini-episodes built around themes from the archive, and this first one is about accidental beginnings. None of these five people planned for their project to become what it became. Our 40th episode kicks off a short summer hiatus. We'll be back with new full-length interviews this fall, but keep an eye out for more mini-episodes in the meantime. In this episode, As

Dyanna Knight Lewis is the publisher of the Chicago Defender and regional VP of Real Times Media. Her connection to the paper started long before her career did. In this episode, Dyanna joins Notes from Chicago to talk about stewarding one of the most storied Black institutions in American media, 121 years old and counting. Follow the Chicago Defender: * Website: https://chicagodefender.com * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chicagodefender Follow Notes from Chicago: * Spotify: https://ope

Before it was a 40,000-person festival, it was a Fourth of July picnic outside the Museum of Science and Industry. This week, Tony Hatchett of the Chosen Few DJs joins Notes from Chicago to trace house music's roots from The Warehouse and disco-era South Side parties to becoming a founding member of the crew behind the world's longest-running house music festival. Follow Chosen Few DJs: * Website: https://chosenfewdjs.com/ * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djtonyhatchett | https://www.inst

In this episode of Notes from Chicago, host Ashley Phillips talks with Isis Ferguson (Senior Director of Engagement & Partnerships) and Alyssa Gregory (Marketing Manager) of Arts + Public Life, a University of Chicago initiative rooted in Washington Park that connects, supports, and amplifies South Side artists and culture. Isis and Alyssa break down the four venues that make up Arts + Public Life and the layered history of jazz clubs, theaters, and creative life that once lived on that same bl

Have you ever walked past a door and wondered what story it's holding? This week on Notes from Chicago, we sit down with Ronnie Frey, interior designer turned photographer, and the creator behind the wildly popular Instagram account Doorways of Chicago. What started as a pandemic-era pastime has grown into walking tours, a stunning new coffee table book (already the #1 seller at his publisher and a #1 Amazon Hot New Release in Travel Photography), and a studio inside Chicago's iconic Fine Arts

This week on Notes From Chicago, host Ashley Phillips sits down with Johnny Jones, documentary filmmaker, founder and CEO of The Lingo Chicago, and proud North Lawndale native. Johnny opens up about growing up in Rockwell Gardens housing projects on the west side, losing his mother at a young age, and how those formative experiences became the foundation for everything he creates today. Johnny shares the story behind Lawndale Stories, his three-part short film series developed through a residen