Dear listeners: In the near future, Curious City will no longer be a podcast. But you’ll still find us on the radio and at the WBEZ website.

We’re collecting your favorite memories of the podcast. See slides for more details 💙

LOCAL JOURNOS: Want to report on one of the biggest money, health & govt accountability stories of our time? Join me for a webinar and Q&A this Thursday, April 11 for tips on covering opioid settlement funds in your community. kff-org.zoom.us/meeting/regist…

JUST IN: Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough, who was recently hospitalized for a serious medical condition, has died. She was 73. trib.al/1DCj68s

Fallout reporting from Dave McKinney : Chicago Public Media faced public pushback and criticism from a city council member after ending the Vocalo broadcast and the podcast unit. wbez.org/stories/chicag…

Our lame-duck CEO Matt Moog has said the vote to kill podcasts and decimate Vocalo was unanimous. It seems Dave McKinney went to fact check that and found a troubling pattern of closed, private meetings at our public news organization.

Smooth and straight — and now sick? Thousands of Black women are suing the makers of hair relaxers in federal court in Chicago. Great read & listen 📻via Natalie Y Moore Andy Grimm: tinyurl.com/ynn92r4r

Vocalo Radio gave some of Chicago’s biggest stars their start. It will shut down next month.

“We built relationships and championed artists,” a former director of the station said. “It’s a loss for Chicago culture.” buff.ly/3TPJ9B1

There's been little appetite among Chicago suburbs to support migrants. Only Oak Park has applied for Cook County's $20 million in grants for suburbs to support migrants. But that might change. Evanston is mulling opening a shelter. Details: tinyurl.com/2k2syp2t WBEZ

Sun-Times Guild leadership is disturbed by the layoffs of nine of our We Make WBEZ + Vocalo siblings and five non-union colleagues at the Sun-Times and WBEZ.

We are demanding financial transparency from the Chicago Public Media board and management about the future of the organization.

We are losing many incredible colleagues at WBEZ & our sister station Vocalo. H/t to Patrick Smith for starting a GoFundMe to help. Please contribute if you can, and spread the word: tinyurl.com/58xbmaaw

'Chicago Public Media’s most recent tax filings showed Moog making $633,310 – a nearly 19% increase from a year earlier.

..Moog also said that neither he nor other members of his executive team contemplated pay cuts before announcing Wednesday’s layoffs.' wbez.org/stories/chicag…

.WBEZ leadership just announced the elimination of our podcast unit, the end of the Vocalo radio broadcast and the layoffs of 14 people. It's only been two years since we were big enough and financially healthy enough to acquire the Sun-Times.

Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough, a political fixture in Illinois, is in the hospital with a serious medical condition: tinyurl.com/55w5mbwe WBEZ

A must read. Chicago renters are COLD. Where's the heat? Over the last 5 years, most of the buildings where residents have reported dozens of complaints with the city haven’t been fined at all, via Violet Miller Amy Qin Jessica Alvarado Gamez: tinyurl.com/5unykkwh

Paige had a high-risk pregnancy and wanted an abortion in Illinois, a state hailed as a haven for reproductive rights. But because she was in jail, she couldn't get one. In response to her request, she said jail staff wrote an emoticon: :(

Full story: themarshallproject.org/2024/03/26/jai…

A beautiful read about the push-and-pull of IVF on the doorsteps of Illinois, via AngieLeventisLourgos: tinyurl.com/2uj2n34w

‘Stupid.’ ‘Goofy.’

When the Illinois House Speaker Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch tells lawmakers to remain silent to a reporter about … politics. That’s part of the job. Keep digging Jeremy Gorner: tinyurl.com/486f9ht7

Here's our look at the Bring Chicago Home results (as of now) by the numbers. Among the findings: many voters who buoyed Johnson to the mayor’s office last year didn’t back the measure this year. w/ Alden Loury wbez.org/stories/bring-…

A beautiful read about lifelong friendships, via stefano esposito: tinyurl.com/rexb55h9

There's another important election in April. It's for local school councils, a force for parent empowerment. Natalie Y Moore writes about the power of LSCs and reminds us to get out and VOTE April 10 & 11. chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/202…