City Dweller

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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 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.