Notes from Chicago is a love letter to the greatest city on the planet. Every week join host and longtime Chicago resident Ashley Phillips as she talks with artists, entrepreneurs, scientists, tastemakers and more about their relationship with the city on the make.
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Contact path
Verified email
Booking probability
32%
Guest openness
Selective
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Signup to Generate a PitchNotes from Chicago is a love letter to the greatest city on the planet. Every week join host and longtime Chicago resident Ashley Phillips as she talks with artists, entrepreneurs, scientists, tastemakers and more about their relationship with the city on the make.
Recent episodes include "Third Spaces, Food-Shaped Candles & Clouds: Chicago Artist and Shop Owner Jean Cate" (20 October 2026, 37 minutes), "Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann on Founding Mishkan Chicago and Building a Radically Inclusive Jewish Community" (13 October 2026, 42 minutes), and "220,000 Visitors and Counting: Inside Chicago's West Side Conservatory" (29 September 2026, 36 minutes).
Notes from Chicago publishes roughly every two weeks, with episodes averaging 30 minutes.
Booking probability for Notes from Chicago is 32%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Notes from Chicago requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Notes from Chicago's contact route on record: verified email.
Notes from Chicago is a society show.
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Episode #48
Jean Cate is a Chicago artist and the owner of Martha Mae: Art Supplies & Beautiful Things and The Center of Order and Experimentation, a coffee and gift shop on Grand Avenue in West Town. In this episode of Notes from...
Episode #47
At 29, Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann was living in Los Angeles when the idea of building the synagogue she actually wanted to go to pulled her back to Chicago. Host Ashley talks with Rabbi Lizzi, Senior Rabbi and Founder of...
Episode #45
This week on Notes from Chicago, we're at the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance with President & CEO Jennifer Van Valkenburg. Jen breaks down what it actually means to run one of the three largest conservatories in...
Episode #44
Mark Payne has spent his career developing Chicago's next generation of civic leaders, and he learned to do it the same way he learned to love the city: from his family. His father, Jimmy Payne, was a celebrated...
Episode #43
Chicago is a city of two truths: deep love and real weight, often in the same breath. In this final mini-episode from our summer archive series, we're revisiting five conversations that capture both sides of the story...
Episode #42
What brought you to Chicago, and what has it given you in return? In this mini-episode from our summer archive series, host Ashley Phillips shares her own origin story before revisiting three unforgettable conversations...
Episode #41
This summer, we're revisiting some of our favorite conversations. In this episode, we talk about the weight artists and organizers carry, and why they keep carrying it anyway. Photographer Kenn Cook Jr. reflects on...
Episode #40
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...
Episode #38
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...
Episode #36
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...
Episode #34
David Manilow is a Chicago institution. As the creator of the beloved PBS series Check, Please!, which ran for nearly 20 years in Chicago and expanded to over 10 cities, including San Francisco, Miami, and even Vienna...
Episode #33
For decades, The Hideout has been one of Chicago’s most beloved music venues, a place where musicians, comedians, artists, and neighbors come together in a way that feels uniquely Chicago. In this episode of Notes From...
Episode #32
Steph Krim, founder of Good Things Vending, joins Notes From Chicago to share how she transformed old snack vending machines into one of Chicago’s most innovative community art platforms. From sourcing vintage machines...
Episode #31
What if one of Chicago’s most beloved family destinations was also quietly helping save endangered species around the world? In this episode of Notes from Chicago, Ashley Phillips sits down with Lisa Faust, Senior...
Episode #30
Spring in Chicago means one thing: unpredictable weather, cautious optimism, and finally finding ways to enjoy the city after a long winter. This week on Notes from Chicago, Ashley Phillips welcomes returning guest and...
Episode #29
What does it take to create world-class comedy? In this episode of Notes from Chicago, we sit down with Jen Ellison, Vice President of Creative at Second City, the legendary comedy institution that launched the careers...
Episode #28
What would it actually take to fix Chicago’s biggest challenges? In this episode of Notes from Chicago, the CEO of Center for Neighborhood Technology, Nina Idemudia breaks down real, actionable solutions, from accessory...
Episode #27
In this episode of Notes from Chicago, Emma McKee, the artist known as the StitchGawd, shares how she accidentally built a career in cross-stitching and what it felt like to watch WNBA legends try on her work on live...
Episode #26
What can biking tell you about a city like Chicago? In this episode of Notes from Chicago, we sit down with Viktor Köves, the creator behind Chicagoans Who Bike, a storytelling project capturing the lives, routines, and...
Episode #25
Penny Gibbons started Trash People in 2022 with eight people, a plastic bag, and a reply to a stranger on the Logan Square community Facebook page. What began as a personal search for community has grown into an...
Recent guests on Notes from Chicago. Study who booked and why before you pitch.
U.S. Representative for the 4th District of New Jersey, Asheville Buncombe Regional Sports Commission
founder, My Block, My Hood, My City
Founder and Publisher of HistoryCentral.com, HistoryCentral.com
social justice artist, MacArthur Genius Fellow
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