In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

To mark Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Reset learns more of the past, present and future of Illinois’s South Asian community with the executive director of the South Asian American Policy & Research Institute Shobhana Johri Verma, and education consultant, South Asian American Policy & Research Institute Julie Thomas Achettu. For a full archive of Reset interv...

Thursday, May 8, the papal conclave chose Robert Prevost to be the next head of the Roman Catholic Church. He was born and raised in the Chicago area and is the first American pontiff. Reset gets local reaction to the announcement from Bob Herguth, Chicago Sun-Times investigative reporter, Father Michael Trail, St. Thomas the Apostle parish in Hyde Park Mary FioRito, attorney, former top aide to C...

Reset talks with early childhood education advocates about Head Start’s uncertain future. The panel includes Pamela Epley, Vice President of Academic Affairs at the Erikson Institute and Nadia Gronkowski, Program Manager of Advocacy & Policy at Start Early. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Lawndale Christian Legal Center ran a pilot program in 2015 that provided wraparound services including stable housing, a car to get to work and mental health services to men ages 18 to 26 who were on probation. This not only kept them out of prison but helped break the cycle of recidivism. This program has now expanded, and 20 men will have a chance to live in an apartment and participate in a re...

A construction project turned part of Lincoln Square into a temporary car-free zone, leading to a local debate over whether pedestrianized streets should be made permanent. Reset discusses with Rony Islam, organizer of the pedestrian walkway and neighborhood resident Dena Pavlovic, manager of ENJOY Lincoln Square gift shop. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

DePaul University President Robert Manuel will take part in a hearing this week called “Beyond the Ivy League: Stopping the Spread of Antisemitism on American Campuses.” Haverford College and California Polytechnic State University presidents are also called to testify. Reset digs into what’s behind the hearing with WBEZ higher education reporter Lisa Kurian Philip. For a full archive of Reset int...

President Trump signed three executive orders last week cracking down on immigration enforcement. One order demands that federal officials compile a list of “sanctuary cities,” who refuse to cooperate with federal officials’ efforts to arrest immigrants, suspending or terminating federal funds for these jurisdictions where appropriate. Mayor Johnson says Chicago won’t concede. Reset sits down with...

Benny is a loner whose identity revolves around his wife and children. Gil is a free spirit who longs to fulfill his potential. When the two strangers meet, they form an instant, deep bond. But slowly cracks start to form and their fresh bromance begins to crumble. A new Chicago Shakespeare Theater play called “Hymn” is an entertaining journey with some good old school music and elements of Black...

A recent survey asked 3,000 Americans what they think the coolest job is in each state. Pennsylvania’s coolest job was chocolate scientist at Hershey, while California’s was animator at Pixar. And Illinois? The survey found that respondents thought the coolest work you can do in Illinois is be a paleontologist for the Field Museum. But what does a day in the life of a paleontologist look like? And...

Hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden, singer and songwriter Yukimi gifts the world with new music that makes listeners experience heartache, love and power all at once, packaged in her first solo album titled “For You.” Reset sat down with the singer during her stop in Chicago for her North American “For You” Tour to talk about motherhood, the joys and pains of being alive and connecting to one another...

Mayor Johnson visits Springfield, neighbors protest a proposed luxury hotel near the Obama Center, Sen. Duckworth backs Lt. Gov. Stratton for Senate seat. Reset goes behind the headlines of those stories and much more in our Weekly News Recap. This week's panel features Axios Chicago reporter Carrie Shepherd, Chicago Tribune criminal justice reporter Sam Charles and WBEZ statehouse reporter Alex D...

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson sat down with Reset host Sasha-Ann Simons for a wide-ranging conversation that included live questions from listeners. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Tomorrow is May 1st but to workers and community organizers around the world it is better known as May Day, or International Workers' Day. May Day began in Chicago as a labor movement that succeeded in instituting the eight-hour workday. It later became a global symbol of workers' rights and ongoing activism. The movement for workers’ rights today is inspired in spirit and action by this Chicago h...

We mark 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term. From sweeping immigration crackdowns, to steep tariff hikes and major federal funding cuts, how is Chicago and Illinois weathering the storm? Reset finds out how our area has been impacted by the Trump administration with Chicago Sun-Times chief political reporter Tina Sfondeles and Chicago Sun-Times reporter covering government and politic...

As a part of the Harris Policy Innovation Challenge, UChicago graduate students were tasked with answering the question, “What can Chicago do over the next three years to create a thriving downtown for the next 20 years?” The winning team came up with a proposal to revitalize a stretch of Michigan Avenue – from the Chicago River to Roosevelt Road – into a pedestrian-focused cultural corridor. In o...

The Chicago Mayor’s office held its first meeting on “teen trends” — large gatherings of teenagers — alongside the city’s police, fire, and health departments, council members, and violence-prevention community organizations. Some want tighter curfews for teens, and to give more power to police to crack down on teen gatherings. But others say that sends the wrong message to teens – that they’re no...

Faced with a multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall between now and 2027, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is bringing as many stakeholders to the table as possible to try to solve the problem. What options are on the table for them to explore? Reset dives in with University of Chicago research professor Justin Marlowe. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Thanks to Bob Irving, millions have seen Chicago’s skyline from the best seat in the house — the river. He created the Chicago Architecture Center’s boat tours, which are now a staple of the city’s tourism industry. Irving died earlier this month at the age of 93. Reset reflects on his life and legacy with Geoffrey Baer, WTTW host and architecture boat cruise docent; Laurie Petersen, editor of the...

With a momentous decision to return more than 1,500 acres of land 71 miles west of Chicago to the Pottawatomi, Illinois is righting a wrong committed more than 17 decades ago. When Gov. JB Pritzker in late March signed legislation that will give Shabbona Lake State Park to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, this wasn’t just acknowledging Native people once lived on the land. Reset explores what t...

Dave Odd has been supplying Chicago restaurants with foraged produce for years, and now he’s focusing on helping members of the public learn about the edible plants that are all around us. He hosts tours of different Chicagoland neighborhoods to help people identify plants that “could be the difference between life or death.” Reset chats with Dave to learn more about his approach. For a full archi...

80 year-old Senator Dick Durbin announces retirement, while 80 year-old Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky reportedly will also soon be stepping down. Chicago Catholics mourn the death of Pope Francis and DePaul University president called to testify before Congress. Reset breaks down those stories and more in the Weekly News Recap. This week’s roundtable includes WBEZ senior editor of government and po...

This weekend, Chicago-area bookstore owners and readers alike will be celebrating Independent Bookstore Day with an all-day bookstore crawl. Reset learns about the city’s indie bookstore scene with Courtney Bledsoe, owner of Call and Response Books in Hyde Park; Jamie Ericson, co-owner of Dandelion Bookshop in Oak Park; and Rebecca George, co-owner of Volumes Bookcafe in Wicker Park and an organiz...

You know her as the streetwise Melissa Schemmenti from South Philly on the ABC sitcom “Abbott Elementary.” But actress Lisa Ann Walter has more alternate personas in her back pocket – like stand-up comic, memoir writer, and even Jeopardy! Champion. Ahead of her stand-up shows this weekend at Zanie’s in Rosement, Reset sat down with Lisa Ann Walter to ask her: If Melissa Schemmenti had a five-minut...

Chicagoans can bike and walk along beaches and parks spanning nearly 30 miles because of planning, fighting and a belief that the lake is a resource that should be publicly accessible. The local conservation group Openlands is now calling for a new vision to strengthen the municipal laws that currently protect the lakefront. Reset gets more info from Emily Reusswig and Michael Davidson of Openland...

Ronald Reagan was president when Dick Durbin first became a lawmaker representing Illinois in Washington. Now, during the second Trump administration more than four decades later, Durbin, 80, says he will not run again when his term is up in January 2027. The announcement opens up a path for a new U.S. Senator from Illinois. Reset learns more about Durbin’s decision with WBEZ state politics report...