City Dweller (Jared W)

Nick first made a name for himself as a food writer in 2006 when he co-founded the home cooking blog The Paupered Chef. He went on to be the editor of Grub Street Chicago and founding editor of Serious Eats Chicago. His food writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Newsweek, Epicurious, Baltimore Sun, Serious Eats, Grub Street, New York Magazine, and Tasting Table, among others. Nick joined the Chicago Tribune in 2016 as a food and dining reporter. He and fellow food and dining reporter Louisa Chu took over as food critics for the newspaper in 2021.

In this episode, I speak to Chris Nix, Assistant Director at the London Transport Museum and one of the hosts of the Hidden London Hangouts, a weekly YouTube series that explores the secret and mysterious spaces of London’s transport system. In addition to discussing the inspiration behind the hangouts, we discuss Chris' experience of growing up near Manchester, England and now living in London.

Karl Florczak is a proud Manucunian who will gladly tell you why Manchester is a great place to live. He is also a big fan of trains and public transportation. If you’re a regular viewer of Geoff Marshall’s YouTube channel, you will recognize Karl from his appearance in several videos as Geoff’s “Northern Correspondent.”

In this episode, I speak with Caroline MacMillan. Caroline is a tour guide who offers both group tours and private walks around West London. She has also written multiple books about West London that are part of the Wild About series, including books about Hammersmith and Brook Green, Shepherd's Bush and Askew Road, and Fulham.

We talk about why she loves exploring London on foot and giving tours as well as her most memorable experiences as a tour guide.

Lisa Degliantoni lived in a number of cities, including San Franciso and New York, before moving to Evanston. She is the founder and co-director of Evanston Made, a community arts initiative supported by a volunteer corps advocating for visibility and awareness of Evanston artists. Evanston Made designs and builds programming, exhibitions, and professional development to support Evanston artists.

Stephanie Watt is an urban geographer and an advocate for children's rights and play. She served on Montreal's city council from 2017 to 2021, where she championed feminism, parks, play, and child-friendly cities. Stephanie is the cofounder and codirector of Metalude, a firm that partners with municipalities and organizations to develop child and youth engagement, playable public spaces, and child and youth-inclusive municipal policy.

Billy Lombardo is the 2011 Nelson Algren Award winner for Fiction. He is the author of four books of fiction – The Logic of a Rose: Chicago Stories, How to Hold a Woman, The Man with Two Arms, and Meanwhile, Roxy Mourns. His novel, How to Hold a Woman was re-issued as Morning Will Come by Tortoise Books in January 2021. 

A high school English Literature and creative writing teacher for 25 years at The Latin School of Chicago, and for nine years at other Chicago-area high schools, he now runs his own writing and editing business called Writing Pros/e.

Billy is the founder of Polyphony Lit, a global literary platform for high school writers and editors, at the core of which is a literary magazine run by an international staff of more than 200 high school editors around the world who comment on every one of the thousands of submissions that come to them every year.

Molly Fleck lives in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood with her husband and son. She serves on the Sheffield Neighborhood Association’s Board of Directors and Oscar Mayer Magnet School’s Local School Council. You will often find Molly riding her bike around Chicago.

Kristin Fehrman is an artist and writer who has lived a car-free life for the last 10 years. She is passionate about sharing her experience of car-free living with others. After living for several years in San Francisco, New York, and Boston, Kristin moved back to her hometown in northern Michigan before moving to Detroit.

Tonika Johnson is a photographer, social justice artist and life-long resident of Chicago’s South Side neighborhood of Englewood. She is also co-founder of the Englewood Arts Collective and Resident Association of Greater Englewood, which seek to reframe the narrative of South Side communities, and mobilize people and resources for positive change. Tonika’s art often explores urban segregation, documenting the nuance and richness of the black community to counter media depictions of Chicago’s violence. Her Folded Map™ Project visually connects residents who live at corresponding addresses on the North and South Sides of Chicago. She investigates what urban segregation looks like and how it impacts Chicago residents.

For more information about topics discussed in this episode, please check out the following:

Rogers Park - Encyclopedia of Chicago

Evanston Reparations

Natalie Moore is an award-winning journalist based in Chicago, whose reporting tackles race, housing, economic development, food injustice and violence. Her work has helped shift the way Chicagoans today think about segregation in the region.

Natalie’s acclaimed book The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation received the 2016 Chicago Review of Books award for nonfiction and was Buzzfeed’s best nonfiction book of 2016. She is also co-author of The Almighty Black P Stone Nation: The Rise, Fall and Resurgence of an American Gang and Deconstructing Tyrone: A New Look at Black Masculinity in the Hip-Hop Generation. Haymarket Books published her play “The Billboard” in March 2022. The play is part of the 2021 Bridge Program of the National New Play Network. It was performed by 16th Street Theater in June of 2022.

Jasmine and Patrick are the Montreal-based creators of Oh the Urbanity, a YouTube channel about cities and urbanism. They traverse cities by foot, bike, and public transit and aim to make informative and entertaining videos combining streetscapes and demographic data.

Pablo Rodriguez is an aspiring urban planner with a passion for trees and urban green space. He is a certified TreeKeeper. The TreeKeeper Certification Course, offered by Openlands, gives participants an appreciation for trees in the Chicago area through learning about urban forestry in the age of climate change and best practices in tree planting and care to build a more resilient urban forest.

In this episode, I speak with Darley Newman, a media entrepreneur, TV host, writer and multimedia producer. She is the creator, producer and host of Emmy Award-winning "Equitrekking" and "Travels with Darley." We discuss her love of travel and her love of living in New York City.

Justin Kaufmann is a reporter for Axios Chicago and part of the ensemble that created Chicago4Real, a new Twitch channel that features great Chicago content. He's also part of Schadenfreude, a Chicago sketch comedy group.

Justin previously worked in Chicago radio, both at WBEZ and at WGN.

Erik Bootsma has a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture. He is a registered architect in the state of Virginia and has been in private practice since 2014, focusing on ecclesiastical architecture. Erik is interested in the role that architecture and urban design play in urbanism.

Kevin O'Neil is a retired journalist who loves exploring Chicago on foot. In 2020, he moved to McKinley Park on Chicago's Southwest Side. Prior to that, Kevin lived for many years in Rogers Park on Chicago's Far North Side.

In this episode, I speak with Shane O'Mara, a professor of Experimental Brain Research at Trinity College, Dublin - the University of Dublin. He is a psychologist, neuroscientist, and writer whose book In Praise of Walking: A New Scientific Exploration is a fascinating look at the benefits of walking. Shane is an avid walker who loves to explore cities on foot.

Paul is a lifelong Londoner and the head of London Greeters, one of more than 130 greeter organizations around the world that offer visitors free private walks with a local. London Greeters was born out of a desire to build on the legacy of the 2012 Olympics. Their greeters are volunteers who share their love of London with visitors.

Genna Contino is a graduate of the University of South Carolina who reports on local government for the Charlotte Observer. She has also covered gentrification and affordable housing for the Greenville News and growth and development for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. As part of her reporting on public transportation in Charlotte, Genna attempted the challenge of going car-free in Charlotte for a week.

Natalie Dalea is a Creative Writing Fellow who is working on a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Minnesota with a focus on creative nonfiction writing. She also worked as an intern for Curious City, a podcast from Chicago Public Media that answers questions about Chicago, the surrounding region, and its people.

In this episode, I talk with Jenny Vyas, a Chicago-based artist, about her work and her perspective of living in Chicago. Her art is influenced by the beauty in complex emotions and in the human condition. Her art emerged from the darkest period in her life, and it explores vulnerability to bring healing to herself and hopefully to others.

Graham Garfield has worked for the Chicago Transit Authority for almost 25 years. He is currently coordinating the construction of Phase 1 of the Red-Purple Modernization Project. Graham also runs Chicago-L.org, a website that provides extensive information about Chicago's rapid transit system.

Rachel Aldred is a Professor of Transport at the University of Westminster and Director of the University's Active Travel Academy. Her research focuses on sustainable mobilities and especially active transport.

In this episode, I speak with Eliza Fournier from the Chicago Botanic Garden's Windy City Harvest department about the ways that they promote urban agriculture in Chicago.

For more information about topics discussed in this episode, please check out the following:

Farm on Ogden

VeggieRx

Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship

Windy City Harvest Collaborations

W. Robert Schultz III has been an activist in Chicago for the past several decades, championing causes including marriage equality, the abolition of the death penalty, and the protection of immigrant rights. Since 2018, he has worked as a campaign organizer for the Active Transportation Alliance, promoting access to walking, biking, and transit. Robert was inducted into Chicago's LGBT Hall of Fame in 2024.

Joanna Moncrieff is a native Londoner who loves to share her knowledge of the city's history as well as its best historic pubs, hidden gardens, unusual museums, quirky shops, and other lesser known treasures. She has been leading guided walks in the City of Westminster, the West End, Clerkenwell, and Islington since 2009. Joanna also leads walks closer to where she lives in Walthamstow and Chingford. A couple of her most popular walks are her Walthamstow walk, ‘From Monoux and Morris to Beer and Bacon Jam’ and her ‘Foodie themed Christmas Lights’ walk in the West End.

Lea Pinsky is the Executive Director of Art Encounter, an organization whose mission is to educate, empower, and connect people of all ages and backgrounds through interactive encounters with visual art. Along with her husband, Dustin Harris, she also founded the Evanston Mural Arts Program which pairs professional artists with community groups to create large-scale public works of art.

Laurence grew up in England and became fascinated with the United States at an early age. Along with his wife, he moved to the US in 2008, and they currently live in Chicago. He is the creator of the YouTube channel Lost in the Pond. The title refers to those things, including word differences and cuisines, that were lost in translation when he moved to the United States.

Nathan grew up in the London Borough of Lewisham. As a child, he developed an interest in public transportation. This led him to start the YouTube channel NetworkNathan. He is currently a student at the University of Leeds where he is pursuing a BA in Geography with Transport Studies.

In this episode, I talk with a panel of three people involved in historic preservation in Columbia, South Carolina. Janie Campbell is a Preservation Consultant at the law firm Rogers Lewis Jackson Mann & Quinn. Meg Syms is the Marketing Director for the architecture firm Garvin Design Group. John Sherrer is the Director of Preservation at Historic Columbia, a non-profit organization that preserves places and shares complex stories from the past that connect us in the present and inspire our future.

Leah and Iman are friends who grew up in the Chicago community of Rogers Park. In 2020, they started an Instagram account called Residents of Rogers Park where they post profiles of Rogers Park residents whom they've interviewed.

Angel Montalvo is the Manager of the city of Chicago SAFE Ambassadors Program. SAFE stands for Streets Are For Everybody. Their mission is to educate and encourage bicyclists and pedestrians in order to make Chicago a safer place for active transportation. Angel has worked for and managed this program for the past 10 years, and he has worked in transportation since he was 16. He is a a proud husband and father of a 2-year-old, and he enjoys taking bike rides with his family.

Anna is an artist who grew up in Russia and is based in New York City. She loves to travel and to explore cities around the world. Anna has worked as a tour guide in New York and has volunteered with Big Apple Greeter.

In this episode, I speak with my brother-in-law Nick Doyle, a librarian who lives in the Columbia, South Carolina area about his love of cities, especially New York and Chicago, and how that informs his lifestyle in the Columbia area.

Ben Adams grew up in the Elmwood Park neighborhood of Columbia, South Carolina. As a child, he couldn't wait to move to a larger city. Ben went to college in Washington, DC and then moved to New York City. During visits back to Columbia, he was impressed by the revitalization happening in Columbia's downtown. Eventually, Ben decided to move back to Columbia to pursue his dream of opening a bookstore. In early 2020, he opened Odd Bird Books in The Arcade Building, a recently restored shopping arcade on Columbia's Main Street that was built in 1912. In 2023, Odd Bird Books will be replaced by All Good Books, a bookstore in Columbia's Five Points neighborhood that Ben will be opening in partnership with Clint and Jenna Wallace.

Robbie Ellis is a presenter and producer for Chicago's classical music station, WFMT. He’s been a teaching artist with The Second City, Chicago Opera Theater, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; and he’s composed and MC’d musical comedy concerts for the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago and Fourth Coast Ensemble. He is a music director for comedy theater, works as an event MC around town, and performs his comedy songs from the piano.

Jaime Cano is one of the Directors of Escuelita del Alma, a Spanish immersion daycare and preschool in Austin, Texas. Escuelita del Alma was founded in 2000, and it's being displaced for the second time as a result of a project to widen Interstate 35 through Austin.

Kevin Klinkenberg has worked as an urban planner since 1993. He blogs about urban planning and design issues and hosts The Messy City Podcast. Kevin is the author of Why I Walk: Taking a Step in the Right Direction, a personal story of the benefits of living in a walkable neighborhood.

Alan Fisher produces the Armchair Urbanist, a YouTube series about urban planning, transportation, and history, primarily focused on North America. He had the unique experience of growing up in a walkable American small town, and this contributed to his interest in cities and urbanism.

Nic Laporte lives in Vancouver and is the creator behind the YouTube channel @nicthedoor where he makes videos about micromobility and urbanism.

Ghian Foreman is the President and CEO of the Emerald South Economic Development Collaborative, a group that works to develop and support South Side communities through a focus on commercial-corridor expansion, sustainable housing, and workforce development. Foreman sits on several boards including serving as President of the Chicago Police Board and member of the Rebuild Foundation. He earned his BS from Florida A&M University, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He lives in Kenwood with his wife Traci and daughter Jade.

Jennifer Lizak is passionate about supporting the cultural community in Chicago, particularly in the areas of music, community radio, literacy, and education. She is also concerned about social justice, especially in the areas of healthcare, civil rights and economic equality. Jennifer is the Coordinator of Special Projects for Cultural and Civic Engagement at the Chicago Public Library where she plays a lead role in cultural and civic programming for adults, including the One Book, One Chicago program. She is a board member for the Chicago Independent Radio Project (CHIRP) where she also hosts a weekly show.

In this episode, I speak with Larry Shure, a Planner for the City of Chicago who specializes in historic preservation, about his experience of working with historic preservation in Chicago. Larry also discusses his Ultra Local Geography blog which looks at common neighborhood building types.

Paul Klein lives on City Island, an island that it part of the Bronx but has a small-town feel. He is the owner of Kaleidoscope Gallery and the President of the City Island Chamber of Commerce.

Mark Richardson is the Chief Technology Officer at Rich Analytics. He is also the Founder and Technical Lead of the HousingNowTO.com affordable-housing tracking and transparency project.

Paige Saunders is a Montreal-based video journalist who focuses on opportunities to improve our government and cities. His work ranges from urban issues like transit and housing to digital government and electoral reform.

Joel Muller is a Psychologist who grew up in Australia before moving to the United States when he was in high school. He lived and worked in New Orleans prior to relocating to Chicago.

Carrie Shepherd is a reporter for Axios Chicago. She was previously a reporter, producer, and editor at WBEZ, Chicago's National Public Radio station and a producer at City Cast Chicago.

Miles Taylor is the creator of Miles in Transit, a YouTube channel where he makes entertaining videos about his adventures on public transportation, both in the United States and abroad. These include taking a cross-country Greyhound trip, taking local public transportation from Washington, DC to Boston, and attempting to visit the least-used Amtrak station in each state.

In this episode, I talk with Laura Hilton Brown, the Program Manager for the London Transport Museum's Hidden London tours which offer the opportunity to explore parts of subterranean London. Laura is also one of four members of the team that deliver the Hidden London Hangouts, a weekly YouTube series that explores secrets spaces of London's transport system.

Sammy Schneider is an architect, and Steven Vance is an urban planner. They both live in Chicago and are members of Urban Environmentalists, an organization that advocates for cities and towns with abundant housing, work and play only a short bike or transit ride away; safe and independent mobility for all; lively and green public spaces; clean air and water; and affordability for all who wish to live there. The opinions that they express in this interview are their own and not those of Urban Environmentalists.

Tom Babin is the creator of the YouTube channel Shifter and the author of Frostbike: The Joy, Pain and Numbness of Winter Cycling, an exploration of getting around on two wheels throughout the year. His work is committed to furthering the conversation about the ways bicycles can make our lives better, for smart and thoughtful people who care about urban transportation and the future of city life.

In this episode, I speak with Leigh DeForth, a Comprehensive Planner for the City of Columbia, South Carolina, my home from 2009 to 2017, about Walk Bike Columbia, a comprehensive public planning process that provides a long-term vision for walking, bicycling, and transit as well as a plan to guide Columbia in realizing this vision.

David Leroy Thomas is a cinematographer who grew up in a small town in the Midwestern United States. His interest in cities led him to move to a series of increasingly larger cities, culminating in a move to London in 2019.

Audrey Wennick leads the transportation policy efforts at the Metropolitan Planning Council, a Chicago-based organization that generates community-informed ideas about issues including housing, sustainability, and transportation. She is focused on improving the sustainability and equity of the transportation system, pursuing sustainable funding for transportation in Illinois, integration of performance-based planning methods into transportation practice, and advancing equitable transit-oriented development.

In this episode, I speak with Robert Loerzel. Robert is a freelance journalist and photographer in Chicago. He was born in Anchorage, Alaska, where he lived until he was 9; later in his childhood, he lived in Onarga, a small town in central Illinois. He received a bachelor’s degree in news-editorial journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and he has lived in the Chicago area since graduating in 1988. He is the author of two books, Alchemy of Bones: Chicago’s Luetgert Murder Case of 1897 and Walking Chicago: 35 Tours of the Windy City's Dynamic Neighborhoods and Famous Lakeshore.

In this episode, I speak with Cyril, a native New Yorker and a second generation Chinese-American, who grew up in Brooklyn and lives in Queens about his perspective of New York City.

Alderwoman Maria Hadden is the first Black, queer woman elected to the Chicago City Council. She represents the 49th Ward, sometimes called "Little Chicago," because of the racial, ethnic, and economic demographics that most reflect Chicago's diversity. Maria has a background in community organizing and participatory democracy.

Rishab Mehan is the Director of Development Planning at the Chicago Housing Authority. His main priorities are working with and for communities in Cabrini-Green and along South State Street to plan and implement redevelopments on underutilized public land. Rishab previously worked as a housing policy planner in Toronto.

Emily Talen is an urban planner who directs the Urbanism Lab at the University of Chicago. The Urbanism Lab studies the built environment and its meaning and impact. Its research focuses on social, cultural, and political movements aimed at improving the quality of the built environment. Of particular interest is the notion of sustainable urbanism and the ability of cities to be places of vibrancy, social diversity, and neighborhood identity.

Kat is originally from Perth, Western Australia. She grew up all over the state, from small towns, to farms, to the city. She spent a lot of time exploring the area with her parents and took countless road trips. In 2005, her dad took her on her first overseas trip, to Egypt, and she was hooked with the travel bug.

She moved to the United Kingdom in 2013 on a UK Ancestry Visa. Once the excitement of landing in the UK died down, she faced the challenges of finding a job and a place to live, making friends, and learning how to live in a new country. Her blog Kat's Gone Global offers tips for those visiting or moving to the UK.

Eric Rogers is the Manager of Events and Communications at the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy. He joined the Conservancy staff in early 2020 after six years at the Chicago Architecture Center, where he worked on and ultimately managed the major annual event Open House Chicago.

Eric is passionate about exploring cities by bike, transit, and foot, and photographing the built environment, particularly historic and architecturally-significant places. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in the Social Sciences from the University of Chicago, and has called the South Side of Chicago home since 2006.

Becca and James are an English couple who've lived in a number of countries. They are currently living in Philadelphia. I met them when I gave them a personalized tour of Chicago during their visit in 2023.

Lauren Viera is a professional writer and communications consultant with over 25 years of experience. She loves Chicago so much that she wrote a book called The 500 Hidden Secrets of Chicago.

Jeremy Glover's interest in cities began while he was a college student in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and his passion for cities blossomed while living in New York City. This led Jeremy to pursue a career as a transportation planner. His focus is on rebalancing streets to provide more opportunities for active transportation while promoting density in areas that are well-served by public transportation.

Josh Val Martin is a tour guide, and he writes for theater and television. Josh runs Free Manchester Walking Tours, and he and his other tour guides provide a daily free walking tour of Manchester.

Joe Schwarten grew up in the Cleveland area and moved back to Cleveland after living in the Bay Area. He lives a car-free lifestyle and is the chair of Clevelanders for Public Transit, an organization that advocates for improvements to public transportation in the Cleveland area.

Joe Schwieterman is a Professor at DePaul University in the School for Public Service, Department of Public Policy, and Sustainable Urban Development​ program and Director of DePaul’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development, which promotes effective urban planning. He is an expert in the fields of public policy, transportation and urban planning, and is the author of numerous books and peer-reviewed articles on the development of cities and transportation.

Ron Swinson is the President of Peach Properties, a real estate development firm located in Columbia, South Carolina. His firm was responsible for restoring the Equitable Arcade, a shopping arcade built in 1912 by a group of businessmen in Columbia including Edwin Wales Robertson, a prominent banker and developer.

Deborah Maris Lader is the founder and director of the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative. She exhibits her prints, drawings, photography, and mixed media artwork internationally. Deborah set up the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative to foster dialogue, collaboration, and community among Chicago’s printmakers, as well as to educate and share the beauty of the medium with the broader public, both locally and internationally.

Gail Morse is the Director of Volunteers for Big Apple Greeter, the world's first free “Welcome Visitor” program. Big Apple Greeter was founded in 1992 and has nearly 300 volunteers who accompany about 5,000 visitors a year to over 100 neighborhoods in all five of New York City's boroughs. Today, there are free Greeter programs in over 120 cities across more than 30 countries.

Wendy Bright grew up in the Milwaukee area. She has lived in both Milwaukee and Chicago, and she was a tour guide in both cities. Her podcast, Cream City-Windy City explores the connections between Milwaukee and Chicago. Wendy currently lives in Lexington, Kentucky where she works as the Marketing and Communications Manager at Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate, a museum that promotes the legacy of statesman Henry Clay. 

Amanda and Christina are two friends, who along with their friend Sarah, love to explore Chicago and other cities that they visit. Along the way, they admire the architecture while also stopping to enjoy local coffee shops, restaurants, and bars. You can find photos of their adventures on Instagram at Quaint Cuties.

Nicole Rodriguez is the President of the board of Urban Phoenix Project, an organization that is working to create a more livable city where people can comfortably walk, bike, take transit, and enjoy quality urban spaces. She has a varied background in urban planning, urban forestry and sustainability.

Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth is the alderwoman of Chicago's 48th ward, which includes parts of Andersonville, Edgewater, and Uptown. She was elected in May 2023. Prior to taking office, Leni was a longtime local small-business owner and community organizer in the ward, where she has lived for over 20 years.

Brian Lee is the founder of Roamli, a platform that helps organizations create experiences, including scavenger hunts, walking tours, and interactive maps, that introduce both locals and visitors to the sights and sounds in their community.

Michael Moritz is an organizer with Stop TxDOT I-45, an organization that is fighting to stop the expansion of Interstate 45 through the city of Houston, Texas. The expansion project is expected to displace over 1000 homes.

In this episode, I speak with Ryan Tova Katz. Ryan is a Chicago-based artist and muralist. In 2009, she started her first custom art and mural company. She has painted murals in hotels, private homes, schools, restaurants, galleries, orphanages, and on buildings in 9 countries.

Jay Foreman is an English comedian, YouTuber, cartography and urban planning enthusiast, educator, and singer-songwriter. He grew up in north London, and continues to live in London.

Monica Eng is reporter for Axios Chicago with a specialty on food, health and the environment.

Monica came to Axios from WBEZ where she was a reporter for 8 years. Before that she spent 25 years editing and reporting at the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. Monica has won multiple writing awards and been nominated for the James Beard Award five times.

The daughter of Chinese and Puerto Rican parents, Monica is a fourth generation Chicagoan whose children are fourth generation Chicago Public School graduates.

Chris Denham has been a railway enthusiast since childhood. He is the Senior Media Relations Manager forNetwork Rail, the public body that owns and operates Great Britain's railway infrastructure.

Rachel Hyman moved to Chicago to attend the University of Chicago and has continued to live in Chicago after graduation. She is the founder of Anthology of Chicago, a project that has collected poetry, fiction and nonfiction about Chicago neighborhoods. Rachel has also hosted a reading series called Welcome to the Neighborhood in collaboration with Paul Dailing, the creator of 1,001 Chicago Afternoons. Her latest venture is Bitza Press, the publisher of a series of zines, currently focused on people's experiences using social media.

Jon Stone is a London-based journalist. He's passionate about cities and urbanism, and he shares this passion through his YouTube channel, London Cycle Routes, where he posts videos showing people how to cycle between a variety of places in London.

Maddy Novich is a New Yorker who uses a cargo bike to get around the city. You can find her on Instagram at cargobikemomma where she shares her experience of riding a cargo bike, answers questions, and posts advice for people who are new to riding a cargo bike.

Matt, the Editor-at-Large of Londonist, is probably the most London-obsessed person in the world, reaching parts of the capital others can’t reach. In the cause of exploring London, he has waded along the buried River Fleet, spent the night in a haunted plague pit, caught a lung infection by climbing Soho’s tallest steeple, and walked along the tracks beneath Leicester Square at 2am. Matt has lived in Blackheath, Borough, Greenwich, Weybridge, West Hampstead, Fortune Green and Chalk Farm. Thanks to the capital’s obscene property prices, he’s since gone into exile in what he optimistically refers to as “The Future London Borough of Elstree and Borehamwood.”

Matt is the author of 12 books, including London Night and Day (2015), Everything You Know About London Is Wrong (2016), and the bestselling/award-winning Atlas of Imagined Places (2021).

Rick Harnish co-founded the High Speed Rail Alliance in 1993 and has been its Executive Director since 2001. The Alliance builds the political will for systemic change by advocating for integrated rail and transit networks connected by 200+ mph high-speed lines. By connecting cities, towns and airports, the high-speed trains will dramatically expand economic opportunities and slash carbon emissions.  Harnish’s work is informed by his strong commitment to researching and learning from global best practices

In this episode, I speak with Lee Bey, a writer, photographer, consultant and lecturer, whose work deals with the documentation and interpretation of the built environment—and the often complex political, social and racial forces that shape spaces and places. We discuss his experiences as a South Sider and a Black architecture writer. We also discuss the complex political, social and racial forces that have contributed to shaping Chicago.

His book, Southern Exposure: The Overlooked Architecture of Chicago’s South Side, showcases his architectural and social commentary and his architectural photography. Bey is member of the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board and an adjunct professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture.

In this episode, I speak with Katie Law, the creator and manager of Chicago Greeter, a free visitor service for the City of Chicago that taps locals to highlight what they love about their city and share it with visitors. Katie shares her experience of moving from the West Coast to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and why she decided to remain in Chicago. She also discusses her experience of creating and managing Chicago Greeter.

In this episode, I speak with Luis Gusto, the Chicago-based creator of the Luis Gusto YouTube channel that features travel-related content about Chicago and other cities around the world. We talk about Luis' love for Chicago that led him to move here and to start his YouTube channel.