In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

Millions travel for the holiday against the advice of medical experts and local leaders trying to flatten the surge of coronavirus. Meanwhile, Mayor Lightfoot gets her 2021 budget, and Mike Madigan tries to hang on to his speakership in the Illinois House. WTTW’s Heather Cherone and WBEZ’s Becky Vevea take on all the big local and state stories in our Weekly News Roundup. For more  Reset &nbs...

Five successful Chicago musicians who love tight harmonies came together to do what they love best: sing. A few times a year, their schedules would permit them to gather, and those occasional gigs at the Hideout became legend. Fast-forward more than 5 years — work and families and COVID-19 has made scheduling tougher than ever, but The Flat Five have managed to release a second album, Another Worl...

Feelings of isolation can lead to depression, substance abuse, and worse for millions during a normal holiday season. Add in the anxiety and social distancing of a global pandemic, and you have the recipe for more mental health crises. Reset talks to two experts about how to recognize and beat some of those feelings in the age of COVID-19. For more Reset interviews, please subscribe to this podcas...

Although numbers are down, millions will still travel over the Thanksgiving holiday despite pleas from experts and politicians. Reset talks to NPR’s David Schaper about what it’s like inside airports and airplanes. Plus University of Illinois Chancellor Robert Jones updates us on how effective the university’s Covid-19 mitigation measures were during the first semester.

In Illinois counties hardest hit by COVID-19, for-profit nursing homes have nearly double the COVID-19 deaths per bed as nonprofit facilities. WBEZ’s Chip Mitchell joins Reset for more on this issue.

Dr. Mia Taormina, infectious disease specialist at the DuPage Medical Group, explains the latest coronavirus science and the precautions to take to navigate the pandemic. Look for our latest interview with her in your podcast feed every Sunday. For more Reset interviews, please subscribe to this podcast and leave us a rating. That helps other listeners find us. For more about the program, you can...

Mike Madigan on the ropes, Covid-19 surges in Illinois and Mayor Lightfoot's budget. We'll do a deep dive on those stories and more with Crain's Chicago Business' A.D. Quig and WTTW's Paris Schutz on WBEZ's Weekly News Roundup  For more Reset interviews, please subscribe to this podcast. And leave us a rating and a quick review. It really helps other listeners find us. For more about the prog...

An expert on voter demographics tells Reset what the data from Election 2020 reveal about the present and future of American democracy. For more Reset interviews, please subscribe to this podcast and leave us a rating. It really helps other listeners find us. For more about the program, you can head over to the WBEZ website or follow us on Twitter at @WBEZreset .

Just before the holiday season, COVID-19 is tightening its grip on Illinois. Cases are surging, and hospitals are strained. Both are expected to grow exponentially without countermeasures. And starting Friday, those countermeasures take effect as Illinois rolls back to Tier 3 restrictions — which includes the closing of museums, casinos, and movie theaters, and stricter capacities for most busines...

A wide range of experts explain how integrating sustainability measures into every aspect of American life and government will increase our ability to tackle military, economic, social, and environmental problems. For more  Reset  interviews, please subscribe to this podcast and leave us a rating. That helps other listeners find us.  For more about the program, you can head over to...

Reset checks in with Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, about the city’s new stay-at-home advisory and how prepared Chicago is to roll out a vaccine when it becomes available. For more Reset interviews, please subscribe to this podcast and leave us a rating and a review. That helps other listeners find us. For more about the program, you can head over to t...

Dr. Mia Taormina, infectious disease specialist at the DuPage Medical Group, explains the latest coronavirus science and the precautions to take to navigate the pandemic. Look for our latest interview with her in your podcast feed every Sunday. For more Reset interviews, please subscribe to this podcast and leave us a rating. That helps other listeners find us. For more about the program, you can...

After a long and careful count, Lauren Underwood has kept her congressional seat in the 14th district. Meanwhile, Gov. Pritzker is contemplating another statewide lockdown as Covid-19 cases skyrocket across Illinois. WTTW’s Amanda Vinicky and Better Government Association president David Greising take you inside those stories and more on WBEZ’s Weekly News Roundup For more Reset interviews, please...

President Trump’s foreign policy was based around the idea of “winners and losers,” and the theory that he alone could solve problems by sitting down one-on-one with other foreign leaders. Ivo Daalder of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs tells Reset how the Biden administration’s approach is likely to be different, and what Biden’s past as a U.S. senator and vice president tell us about how he...

WBEZ’s Dave McKinney looks at how the Illinois state legislature can handle the big items on its agenda if they haven’t met since May, and have put off the six-day fall veto session due to a COVID-19 spike in the state. And Civic Federation president Laurence Msall has ideas to generate revenue now that the graduated income tax failed with the voters on election day. For more Reset interviews, ple...

As COVID-19 cases spiral to unseen levels in the United States, the Trump administration and its allies continue attempts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, which provides health care to more than 20 million Americans. What will the Supreme Court say to their arguments this time? Plus, infectious disease expert Dr. Mia Taormina answers listener questions about the coronavirus. For more  Re...

Pulitzer Prize-winner David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post and Aaron Del Mar, Palatine Township Republican Chairman and former Cook County Republican Party Chairman, provide astute analysis on the Trump campaign’s strategy going forward, and what this election tells us about the electorate in Illinois. For more  Reset  interviews, please subscribe to this podcast and leave us a ratin...

Dr. Mia Taormina, infectious disease specialist at the DuPage Medical Group, explains the latest coronavirus science and the precautions to take to navigate the pandemic. Look for our latest interview with her in your podcast feed every Sunday. For more Reset interviews, please subscribe to this podcast and leave us a rating. That helps other listeners find us. For more about the program, you can...

President-elect Joseph R. Biden addressed the nation Saturday night in Wilmington, Delaware, hours after a win in Pennsylvania earned him the electoral votes necessary to secure the U.S. presidency. This is his full victory speech. For more Reset interviews, please subscribe to this podcast and leave us a rating. It really helps other listeners find us. For more about the program, you can head ove...

The multitalented musician and native Chicagoan Andrew Bird gifts us with new projects this Fall, including an acting role in the FX television drama Fargo and the release of a new holiday album  entitled "Hark!". For more  Reset  interviews, please subscribe to this podcast and leave us a rating. That helps other listeners find us. For more about the program, you can head over...

Governor JB Pritzker’s graduated income tax amendment was sunk. Freshman Democrat Sean Casten holds on in the 6th District. Perennial candidate Jim Oberweis holds a slim lead in the 10th with ballots still to be counted. There was a lot more to this election than Biden vs. Trump. WTTW’s Heather Cherone and WBEZ’s Dave McKinney join Justin Kaufmann to break it all down on WBEZ’s Weekly News Roundup...

Many communities-particularly those of color-feel like they’ve been specifically targeted by this administration’s policies over the last four years. And they see this tight race as a slap in the face, regardless of who ultimately wins. Reset hears from a professor, an activist, and listeners about how they feel about the results and where they think the country is headed. For more Reset interview...

Tech companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter have ramped up efforts to combat misinformation surrounding the election. Is it too little, too late? Reset checks in with two experts. For more  Reset  interviews, please subscribe to this podcast and leave us a rating. That helps other listeners find us.  For more about the program, you can head over to the  WBEZ website  ...

Even as cases of COVID-19 rise in Illinois, the state’s contact tracing program isn’t fully operational, and hospitals who got some reprieve over the summer are bracing for the possibility of a flood of new patients. Reset talks with WBEZ’s Kristen Schorsch as well as two doctors from area hospitals who lay out what the situation is on the ground and what they’re doing to prepare for the coming wa...

Dr. Mia Taormina, infectious disease specialist at the DuPage Medical Group, explains the latest coronavirus science and the precautions to take to navigate the pandemic. Look for our latest interview with her in your podcast feed every Sunday. For more Reset interviews, please subscribe to this podcast and leave us a rating. That helps other listeners find us. For more about the program, you can...