In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

Suburban school districts in Illinois are putting plans into motion to switch students from all-remote classes to in-person or hybrid learning. And that leaves parents, teachers and students with more questions than answers. Reset checks in with WBEZ education reporter Susie An, and hears from teachers and parents on this issue.

Wynton Marsalis has created a new extended piece-part music and part spoken word-that critiques the tribalism encouraged by some world leaders to keep the masses suspicious of each other, while they take all the money and power. Reset learns more about Marsalis’ new extended work, The Ever Fonky Lowdown .

Reset checks in with Doug Cassel of the University of Notre Dame to discuss the law school’s legacy and legal philosophy. We also hear from WBEZ’s Patrick Smith for more on Judge Barrett’s background . 

Amid nationwide calls for racial justice and alternatives to policing, more cities are looking to shift non-emergency calls to crisis intervention teams . Reset takes a look at one community-based public safety system that’s seen success in Eugene, Ore., and how other cities are exploring the model.

NASA has released the details of their Artemis lunar exploration program, which plans to send the first woman and the next man to the surface of Earth’s moon by 2024. Reset brings on the first-ever woman to lead NASA’s human spaceflight programs to learn more about the agency’s plans, and what this mission might mean for women interested in space.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson says that the inconvenient truth of race and racism has exploded the myth that there are no castes in America since Day 1. And she describes the artificial hierarchy that determines everything from respect to resources, who gets the benefit of the doubt and who is considered beautiful in her new book “Caste: The Origins Of Our Discontents”.

Contract negotiations continue between the Chicago Police union and members of the Lightfoot administration. Governor JB Pritzker warns of statewide budget cuts if Congress fails to act on coronavirus relief. Plus, a former state senator pleads guilty to federal tax evasion. We break down the biggest news of the week in our Weekly News Roundup, this week with host Becky Vevea of WBEZ.

The newest season of WBEZ’s Motive podcast explores how America's white supremacist movement recruits young people, and how the playbook started in Chicago’s punk music scene. We’ll hear from the podcast’s host and one of its lead subjects for a preview of season three.

A new report commissioned by the mayor says that Chicago is falling short of its promises to create affordable housing. We’ll talk to Housing Commissioner Maria Novara about the report, how far we’ve come, and how much more we need to do.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot just announced a new contact tracing program to help stop the spread of coronavirus. We check in with the city’s top public health official to hear more about that, and all the latest on the local response to COVID-19 in our region.

Pre-recorded calls are reaching Illinois residents, warning them of the false consequences of mail-in voting. Reset learns more about robocalls spreading misinformation in an attempt to suppress the vote ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Nearly two dozen groups sue Illinois over its cannabis license lottery. Chicago Public Schools start the school year remotely. Plus, aldermen vote to protect affordable housing around the planned Obama Presidential Center. We break down the biggest news of the week in our Weekly News Roundup with guest host Kimberly Egonmwan.

Nearly two dozen groups are suing Illinois to keep new cannabis retail licenses from going to “politically connected” companies. Only 21 out of 700 groups qualified for the state’s lottery system to determine who will be allowed to open pot shops. We’ll take a closer look at the state’s cannabis lottery system and why lawmakers say Black and brown business owners are being left behind.

Hulu is rolling out a new series called “ Woke ”, featuring a Black cast, writers, and producers. Chicago-based actor and comedian T. Murph co-stars, and we talk to him abut the roll, what this show means at this moment in time, and his background in Chicago’s comedy scene.

Nearly 16,000 in the CPS system don’t have a permanent home. That makes school difficult in the best of circumstances. In the middle of an unprecedented pandemic, where children need computers and internet access, it’s a real problem. We talk with a number of folks who are working to make remote learning available to these students.

Presidential candidates visiting Kenosha, the rise of Covid-19 in Illinois, and Chicago’s looming budget deficit. We take you deep inside those stories and more on WBEZ’s Weekly News Roundup

The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to make this Labor Day weekend far less travel-packed than usual as people opt to stay at home. But famed travel writer Rick Steves urges you to keep a traveler’s mindset during the pandemic, and talks about ways of exploring the world and your neighborhood during while stuck at home.

Police officers have one of the most stressful jobs in America, and a recent survey found that the suicide rate in the CPD is 60% higher than the country’s average. We talk to 2 experts in police mental health, and unpack Mayor Lightfoot’s new initiatives and resources to help cops be the best they can be for themselves, their colleagues, and most important, the communities they're sworn to protec...

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers practically begged President Trump not to come to Kenosha. But that’s exactly what he did today. Reset talks to an investigative reporter, a state lawmaker, and an activist about the visit, the realities on the ground in Kenosha, and their plans to heal the rifts and move the city forward.

With a nearly all-Black cast, featuring a story about strong, intelligent Black people who governed themselves, that took place in a sophisticated world they created that blends the modern and the traditional, Black Panther became more than just another superhero movie. It’s a “if you can see it, you can be it” moment that filled audiences with pride and perspective. Which is why the death of lead...

Police charge an Antioch teen with killing two people after a protest in Kenosha, Wis. The Republican National Convention wraps up in North Carolina. Plus, Mayor Lighftoot makes moves toward building a Chicago casino. Reset breaks down the biggest stories of the week in our Weekly News Roundup with host Justin Kaufmann.

It’s become bigger than a mere sports story. When the Milwaukee Bucks decided not to take the court last night, they were sending a statement on the police shooting of Jacob Blake in nearby Kenosha, Wis., and the Black Lives Matter movement as a whole. Other teams quickly followed suit, and NBA, MLB, WNBA and MLS games were postponed in solidarity. Sports legal analyst Exavier Pope weighs in, alon...

25 community groups, including the Cook County Public Defender, signed a letter to Mayor Lori Lightfoot, condemning her use of police force against protesters during the unrest in Chicago in recent months. The letter asks the mayor to “make good” on campaign promises around public safety. Reset checks in with one of the signatories to the letter on what they think the mayor has gotten wrong, but c...

The recent police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., is calling attention to the state’s track record on inequality and policing in Black communities.  Reset talks with an urban studies expert who published new research on national Black outcomes, and a business leader whose recent op-ed highlights the impacts of segregation in Milwaukee.

There was unrest on the streets of Kenosha last night after a policeman shot an unarmed black man 7 times in the back. The Wisconsin governor has called in the national guard to keep the peace, but if Portland is a test case, it shows that militarization can actually escalate the situation.