In the Loop (Segments)

When you think of the Midwest, do you include South Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma? What about Buffalo and Pittsburgh? It’s an expansive, and hotly contested region that’s not easily defined. Reset checks in with a data reporter who is working to define regions in the U.S. by Airbnb data, and listeners to hear their take on which state’s and cities are in the region. Host: Sasha-Ann Simons Producer: Lynne...

Since the pandemic began, student loan repayment has been put on pause providing relief for more than 40 million Americans in debt. The pause is set to end August 31st. President Biden confirmed that he will decide on wide-scale debt cancellation before the moratorium is over. Black borrowers would be disproportionately impacted by the student moratorium ending. Reset learns more about the proposa...

Staff participated in the ALICE Training in 2019 and retrained in 2022. In the past year and a half, the district has invested two million dollars in safety measures and mental health programming and upgrades. Reset hears more about the goals and plans the district is putting in place from the superintendent. Host: Sasha-Ann Simons Producer: Lynnea Domienik Guest: Michael Lubelfeld

In a new series called “Reset: Lost and Found,” producers track down things in Chicago that a Google search can’t uncover. In this installment, a Reset listener emailed us searching for her deceased friend’s favorite drink, Swedish egg coffee. We assigned one of our producers to learn the history of the beverage and teach us how to make it. Host: Sasha-Ann Simons Producer: Claire Hyman Guest: Clai...

With the Monkeypox vaccine supply unable to meet demand and Omicron-specific COVID boosters on the horizon, vaccines are on the mind. Reset talks to an infectious disease specialist and takes listener calls. Host: Sasha-Ann Simons Producer: Sarah Stark Guest: Dr. Mia Taormina

Officials at the Lake County Board discussed how to curb gun violence Friday and some officials and organizations are asking for an outright ban on some weapons. Reset hears from Mayor Rottering and March Fourth organizers on their ask. Host: Sasha-Ann Simons Producer: Brenda Ruiz Guest: Nancy Rottering, Maureen Westphal

High-profile resignations are causing turmoil in the office of Cook County State’s Attorney’s Kim Foxx. Meanwhile, the Illinois Democratic Party gets a new leader. Plus, retiring South Side Congressman Bobby Rush seeks a pardon from the president. Reset goes behind the headlines with a panel of journalists on the Weekly News Recap. Host: Susie An Producer: Andrea Guthmann Guest: Alex Nitkin, Dave...

Swim Across America, an event that raises money for cancer research, returns for its 29th year in Chicago this weekend. Participants will swim at the Ohio Street Beach. Reset talks with one team captain about why he’s swimming in the event. Host: Susie An Producer: Lynnea Domienik Guest: Steve Schlegel

Music Box Theatre kicked off its monthlong food and film series this week with the 1985 Japanese movie TAMPOPO and Matzo Ball “Scotch Egg” Pastramen from Steingold’s Deli next door. Reset learns more about food and film pairings available in August. Host: Susie An Producer: Brenda Ruiz Guest: Cheo Melendez, Jeremy Marder

Reset checks in with Diane Swonk, Chicago-based chief economist at KPMG. Host: Susie An Producer: Meha Ahmad Guest: Diane Swonk

Devon Price didn’t realize he was autistic until after he finished his PhD in psychology. Now, he’s devoting much of his career to researching and writing about autism—and he thinks autistic people should be weary of seeking a formal diagnosis, particularly if they are trans or gender nonconforming. Reset learns more about the inequities autistic people face and how to find community as an autisti...

Reset explores the two primary buildings that the Jane Collective operated out of during 1972. Host: Susie An Producer: Stephanie Kim Guest: Dennis Rodkin

Host: Susie An Producer: Meha Ahmad Guest: Lee Hasselbacher

WBEZ is focused on putting together a list of fun, free, under-the-sun activities to take advantage of this summer. Reset hears about the latest free events added for August. Host: Susie An Producer: Brenda Ruiz Guest: Cassie Burke, Isabelle DeLeo

After backing out of several previous climate bills, Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia agreed to a compromise. Host: Susie An Producer: Lynnea Domienik Guest: Karen Weigert

A pharmacy desert is defined as an area where at least a third of residents live a mile or more from the nearest pharmacy. According to research by USC professor Dima Qato, who coined the term, the South and West sides of Chicago, areas already plagued by disinvestment have seen an increase in the number of pharmacy deserts since the pandemic began. Reset learns more from the professor behind the...

Steven Thrasher, who built a career reporting on HIV and its criminalization, found himself quarantining with friends in New York City in March 2020. He recognized the maps of the city’s COVID-19 infections and deaths: they were jarringly similar to maps showing where people lived who were HIV positive, harassed or killed by police, and incarcerated. In his new book The Viral Underclass: The Human...

The shooter in the massacre at the Highland Park July 4th Parade faces 21 counts of first-degree murder, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery for his alleged attack one month ago. Reset breaks down the latest on the case. Host: Susie An Producer: Daniel Tucker Guest: Chip Mitchell

In his longtime podcast Song Exploder, Hrishikesh Hirway dives deep on songs with the artists who wrote them. Now, in a spinoff series, New Yorker staff writer Susan Orlean breaks down books with their authors in Book Exploder. Reset turns the page on this new series, which premieres on Song Exploder August 3. Host: Susie An Producer: Sarah Stark Guest: Hrishikesh Hirway, Susan Orlean

The political and social tumult of the late 60s came to a head at Chicago’s 1968 Democratic National Convention. With MIT film and media professor Heather Hendershot, Reset explores how that fateful convention became a watershed moment for American politics and media. Host: Susie An Producer: Claire Hyman Guest: Heather Hendershot

The youngest generation of workers, Generation Z, are making tough decisions when it comes to money. Reset talks with two Gen z workers about their personal experience with getting a job in a pandemic economy. Host: Susie An Producer: Marie Mendoza Guest: Ari Nadler, Alona Kaminynina, Anna Lee Ackermann

Host: Susie An Producer: Lynnea Domienik Guest: Emma Melton, Andy Grimm

Sandie Yi’s goal as an artist is to create disability culture and to make the arts more accessible. Thanks to a $50,000 grant, she’ll be able to dream up different ways to continue that work in Chicago. Yi joins Reset to share what it means to be named a 2022 Disability Futures Fellow, and how the disability community in Chicago helped her embrace her identity. Host: Susie An Producer: Stephanie K...

How often do you find yourself needing to buy a new phone? Irreplaceable batteries could be to blame. Reset hears from a tech columnist on why it damages the environment and how to get the tech industry to design longer-lasting devices. Host: Susie An Producer: Brenda Ruiz Guest: Geoffrey Fowler

WBEZ reporter Kristen Schorsh fills us in on her reporting. Host: Sasha-Ann Simons Producer: Claire Hyman Guest: Kristen Schorsch, Kristen Schultz