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 of stars like Tina Fey, Steve Carell, and Amy Poehler.

Jen takes us inside the creative process behind improv and sketch comedy, how ideas evolve from spontaneous moments into iconic performances, and why collaboration, not ego, is the secret to great comedy.

Follow Jen Ellison, The Second City:

* Website: https://www.secondcity.com

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenjen1138

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* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0qkYwUroGt4hMZQlhTg32z

* Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/notes-from-chicago/id1838675173

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotesfromChicago

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@notesfromchi

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notesfromchicago

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 dwelling units (ADUs) to bus rapid transit. She explains why change might be closer than we think.

We discuss:

• Why affordable housing is still out of reach
• How simple policy shifts could transform neighborhoods
• What everyday Chicagoans can do to push change forward

Follow Nina Idemudia:

• Website: https://www.cnt.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplannerwithapurpose

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• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0qkYwUroGt4hMZQlhTg32z
• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/notes-from-chicago/id1838675173
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotesfromChicago
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@notesfromchi
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notesfromchicago

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 national television. She also opens up about why she said no to Amazon and the NFL, the nine-foot Chairman Fred Hampton memorial she stitched on blue velvet, and the community map of Chicago she's building with the Chicago Public Library.

Follow the StitchGawd, Emma McKee:

* Website: https://www.stitchgawd.com

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestitchgawd

Follow Notes from Chicago:

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0qkYwUroGt4hMZQlhTg32z

* Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/notes-from-chicago/id1838675173

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotesfromChicago

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@notesfromchi

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notesfromchicago

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 unexpected moments of people riding through the city.

With nearly 100 interviews, Viktor has documented a wide range of experiences—from families biking with their kids to teens discovering confidence and calm, to everyday riders finding freedom in how they move through Chicago.

Follow Viktor Köves at Chicagoans Who Bike:

* Website: https://chiwho.bike/

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chiwhobike

Follow Notes from Chicago:

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0qkYwUroGt4hMZQlhTg32z

* Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/notes-from-chicago/id1838675173

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotesfromChicago

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@notesfromchi

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notesfromchicago

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 unexpected grassroots movement, now spanning nine neighborhoods.

In this episode of Notes from Chicago, Penny talks about how a neighborhood cleanup became the "gateway drug" to community participation, why she walked away from a marketing career to do work that actually aligns with her values, and how she's tackling loneliness and waste at the same time.

Follow Penny Gibbons:

Website:

• https://www.trashpeople.org
• https://www.thevolunteerfair.org

Instagram:

• https://www.instagram.com/trashpeopleofchicago
• https://www.instagram.com/thevolunteerfair
• https://www.instagram.com/theparlorchicago

Follow Notes from Chicago:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0qkYwUroGt4hMZQlhTg32z
• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/notes-from-chicago/id1838675173
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotesfromChicago
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@notesfromchi
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notesfromchicago

In this episode of Notes from Chicago, host Ashley Phillips sits down with founding Artistic Director and CEO of Red Clay Dance Company, Vershawn Sanders-Ward, to talk about how a 3-month trip to a fishing village in Senegal sparked the vision for one of Chicago's most dynamic dance companies. From building community on the South Side to co-creating work with urban farmers and young people in the juvenile detention system, Vershawn shares how Red Clay is much more than a dance company.

Follow Vershawn Sanders-Ward:

• Website: https://www.redclaydance.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redclaydancehttps://www.instagram.com/vershawnsandersward

Follow Notes from Chicago:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0qkYwUroGt4hMZQlhTg32z
• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/notes-from-chicago/id1838675173
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotesfromChicago
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@notesfromchi
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notesfromchicago

Documentary photographer Sandra Steinbrecher joins Ashley for a conversation about her two-year journey documenting the transformation of the iconic Morton Salt complex into the Salt Shed, one of Chicago's most beloved music and event venues. We dig into her ongoing work documenting the Osaka Garden in Jackson Park and what preservation really means.

Follow Sandra Steinbrecher:

• Website: https://www.sandrasteinbrecher.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandysteinbrecherphotography

Follow Notes from Chicago:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0qkYwUroGt4hMZQlhTg32z
• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/notes-from-chicago/id1838675173
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotesfromChicago
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@notesfromchi
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notesfromchicago

In this episode of Notes from Chicago, we sit down with muralist and artist Andy Belomo to explore how large-scale public art becomes a powerful vehicle for queer community, activism, and belonging in Chicago.

Follow Andy Bellomo:

• Website: https://www.andybellomo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andybmix

Follow Notes from Chicago:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0qkYwUroGt4hMZQlhTg32z
• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/notes-from-chicago/id1838675173
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotesfromChicago
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@notesfromchi
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notesfromchicago