In the Loop (Segments)

In our final conversation for “Re-imagine Chicago” on public safety, Reset checks in with an auditor within the Chicago Police Department and the city’s deputy inspector general for public safety.

Violin soloist Hilary Hahn made her Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut in 2007 and has been a frequent guest of the orchestra ever since. Now, she’s joining the orchestra as its first artist-in-residence for the next two years. Reset talks to the three-time Grammy Award winner about the newly created position and her journey as an artist and solo violinist.

Reset takes a look at homebuilding efforts to revitalize the long-neglected West Woodlawn neighborhood and increase Black homeownership.

When Mary Schmich started writing columns for the Chicago Tribune, she made a vow: five years and move on. Today, she leaves the paper after 29 years as a columnist. Reset talks to the Pulitzer Prize winner about her time with the paper and lessons she learned from four decades in the industry.

A vote to rename parts of Lake Shore Drive after Chicago’s first non-indigenous settler, John Baptiste DuSable, was once again delayed after an angry confrontation between the mayor and Ald. Jeanette Taylor. Meanwhile, in the western suburbs, neighborhoods continue to clean up following a fierce tornado. Reset goes behind the week’s headlines with local journalists.

Lake Michigan is a cheap and easy getaway for Chicagoans to cool off in the summer, but swimming in the lake can be dangerous. Drowning is the leading cause of death for children aged one to four, according to the Centers for Disease, Control and Prevention. Reset brings on a swimming expert for tips on how to stay safe while visiting the lakeshore.

Barbecue in Chicago is as convoluted and divided as the city itself. Granted, Chicago’s barbecue identity isn’t as deeply rooted as the deep South. But the Windy City makes up for that in quality and its own trademark spin on the American culinary staple. Reset gets a history lesson and barbecue cooking tips from a local pitmaster. And host Sasha-Ann Simons tastes Chicago barbecue for the first ti...

Reset checks in with a criminal defense lawyer ahead of Derek Chauvin’s sentencing hearing on Friday. The former Minneapolis Police officer was convicted in April of murdering George Floyd last year, sparking a wave of protests against systemic racism and police brutality.

Since 2015, more than 400,000 people have been treated in emergency rooms after a violent encounter with police or security guards, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reset learns more about a new investigation from NBC News and The Marshall Project about why that is and what can be done to create more accountability.

Whether you’re preparing for the family road trip or just relaxing in the backyard or beach, kid-friendly podcasts are a great way to entertain the little ones in your life. A local journalist shares her kid-friendly favs, and tells us why she decided to create her own podcast for kids. Reset hears from journalist Arionne Nettles about her new podcast, “Is that True?”.

Sleepaway camp is a right of passage for some kids and a significant milestone. While it’s exciting, it can also be worrisome. As families prepare to send their kids off to overnight camp, actress Jamie Lee Curtis and Audible are releasing season two of her kids podcast, Letters from Camp.

As the debate over the name change continues, Reset brings on two transportation writers to discuss how Lake Shore Drive could be improved. The iconic highway has been a staple to the Windy City’s development, second maybe only to the skyline. But what if we could repurpose it and find a way to squeeze in more green space?

Rainbow flags have long been a staple for Pride Month parades in Chicago. But there is more to Pride than just one single parade, and activists and organizers are doing their best to diversify who gets heard when we talk about LGBTQ+ issues and stories. Reset brings on LGTBQ+ activists to break down the protests and celebrations related to Pride in the month of June.

The history of comics in Chicago is so expansive that there needed to be two separate exhibitions dedicated to it: one at the Chicago Cultural Center and another at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Reset learns more about how comics came to life in Chicago and what makes the city a special place for cartoonists and other artists.

After a year of online life and learning, parents are struggling with how to unplug their kids from the technology that kept them connected during the pandemic. Reset talks tech with Heather Kelley of the Washington Post and gets tips on how to keep the battle over screen time from turning into a screaming match.

After more than a decade in the education world, Imran Khan is convinced experiences are the starting point for better outcomes in the classroom and beyond. He turned this core belief into the driving mission behind his organization Embarc, which has expanded to serve more than 2,000 students across 20 Chicago Public Schools. Reset learns more about Embarc and what it means to bring true innovatio...

Wednesday’s Chicago City Council meeting abruptly ended without a vote on the renaming of Lake Shore Drive in honor of Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, the first non-Native resident in Chicago. WBEZ’s Becky Vevea joins Reset to break down what happened during the meeting.

Reset checks in with three anti-violence groups who are working together to bring resources to some of Chicago’s most violent neighborhoods.

Reset talks with sportscaster Len Kasper about changing teams after 16 seasons with the Chicago Cubs, broadcasting during COVID, and a new baseball podcast. Plus, on the heels of their latest album release, Kasper discusses his band, Sonic 45.

You might think of SCIENCE and ART as separate domains, but a yearlong project is bringing them together to explore the impact climate change is having on the Chicago region. The exhibition “Third Coast Disrupted: Scientists and Artists on Climate” is on display at the Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods, an arts and cultural center in suburban Riverwoods.

The last day of classes at Chicago Public Schools comes at a time of change. The district named a new interim CEO, announced a round of layoffs and is waiting for Gov. JB Pritzker to sign a bill that would create an elected school board. Reset gets the latest education news in our region and opens the phones to listeners to reflect on this pandemic school year.

When two teenage Harwood Heights sisters uploaded a ten second video of a pretty park near their home, they were just having fun during a pandemic. They didn’t expect that three quarters of a million people would end up seeing it on Tik Tok. Reset finds out what they love about Chicago and Tik Tok.

Investigators in Benton Harbor, Mich. are reopening the 30-year-old cold case of Black teen Eric McGinnis’s death, following the emergence of a new eye witness. Chicago author Alex Kotlowitz detailed the case in the 1998 book The Other Side Of The River. He joins Reset for the latest on the case and why it continues to resonate today. GUEST: Alex Kotlowitz, author of the 1998 book The Other Side O...

The suburbs are in recovery mode after a tornado ripped through parts of Naperville, Woodridge and nearby towns late Sunday. At least eight people were injured and more than 100 homes were damaged in the storm. According to the National Weather Service, it was the first significant tornado to hit the Chicago metropolitan area since 2015.

We check in with a Chicago writer who used the pandemic as a chance to bike across the country and interview Americans about how they've been coping with the last year.