In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

From sea-level rise to plastic pollution and environmental justice, young people around the world are making films that tackle environmental harms and offering calls to action. Out of 400 submissions, 10 films have won awards, and will be screened this weekend at the Gene Siskel Film Center, including two films made by Chicagoans. Reset hears what to expect from the screening this weekend and chat...

The Biden administration announced a program called Keeping Families Together in June that would allow some undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens to stay in the country while they go through the process of changing their immigration status. A judge in Texas issued an order to pause the program until Monday, Sept. 23. Reset checks in with Elvia Malagón, Chicago Sun-Times social justice,...

White Sox fans, look away! The team is on pace to have the most losses in a single season in the history of the MLB. Where did things go wrong? Reset digs into the Sox season, what’s not working and what needs to happen to get this team to win a game.

Today marks one year since the Pretrial Fairness Act went into full effect, making Illinois the first state in the country to end cash bail. Many were opposed and believed ending cash bail would affect crime and jails for the worse. But what is the data actually saying? Reset spoke with a panel of guests to break down the effort that ensued in 2016 and what it took to get there, along with what we...

The zoning committee oversees small scale renovations on people’s homes and also larger development projects. For months the chairmanship has been vacant, after political turmoil ensnared former chair Ald. Carlos Ramirez Rosa. Reset gets the latest on the political jockeying and drama that has surrounded the post, and how Ald. Burnett could steer the committee from WBEZ city government and politic...

Unhoused people who have been living in dozens of tents in Humboldt Park will move into apartments by December, according to city leaders and advocates. The news comes as the city prepares to merge shelter systems for homeless and migrant populations. For more, Reset sits down Carolyn Ross, president and CEO of All Chicago; and Carol Sharp, president and CEO of The Night Ministry. For a full archi...

Between January 2019 and June 2024, Chicago taxpayers have paid $200 million dollars to more than three dozen people who were wrongfully convicted. And dozens more lawsuits are expected. Reset hears why advocates Mark Clements, community organizer at the Chicago Torture Justice Center and Joey Mogul, counsel at People’s Law Office, say these payouts are still necessary in the midst of a budget sho...

The League of Women Voters of Chicago is teaming up with the Gene Siskel Film Center to produce its inaugural “Democracy at Risk” film festival. From historical features to documentaries, the series takes you back in time to political stages full of controversy, conflict and fights for justice. Reset sits down with two people involved to discuss the series and what the films reflect about our poli...

Bring your picnic blankets, dancing shoes and some snacks because summer isn’t over yet! If you’re looking for one last free Chicago summer celebration before fall comes around the corner, take yourself and some friends to the Vocalo Summer Finale at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion on Friday, Sept. 20. The concert will feature performances by Chicago-bred and loved artists like DJ Lady D, KAINA, Pivot G...

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announces a hiring freeze to close a massive budget shortfall. The corruption trial of a former AT&T executive linked to Mike Madigan begins. Chicago’s City Council prepares to issue as much as $15 million in payouts for police misconduct. Plus, a new flag for Illinois? Reset dives into these and other top local stories in our Weekly News Recap with City Cast Chicago...

From hot sauce to chili oil to tomato sauce, the possibilities for recipes using end of summer produce are endless. Reset gets ideas and a few hacks from an award winning food writer and author of A Very Chinese Cookbook, and contributing writer for the New York Times food section Kevin Pang. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

More than 47,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago since August 2022, but numbers have decreased significantly in recent months after President Biden issued an executive order that limited who could cross the border. Nevertheless, many migrants already here still need long-term housing. Reset takes stock of the migrant crisis in our city and how it has evolved over time with WBEZ immigration report...

Former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have very different plans for the economy. From taxes to tariffs and tax credits to immigration, Reset breaks down the two presidential candidates’ stances on the economy with the professor for the department of economics and director of undergraduate studies at Northwestern University Mark Witte. For a full archive of Reset interviews...

Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez was born into a large family from Nicaragua and grew up surrounded by all kinds of women: Her matriarchal abuela, her prima perfecta, her tía called la loca by people around her and more. In her latest book Tías and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us, Mojica Rodríguez explores 20 different female archetypes with the hopes of reclaiming these women f...

The freeze includes the police and fire departments, a sign of how grave a financial predicament the city faces. Reset gets the latest from WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel and Tessa Weinberg. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will go head-to-head for the first, and perhaps only, time Tuesday night. Reset sits down with Jason DeSanto, senior lecturer in the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law Democratic debate strategist, to dig into what each candidate needs to do to succeed. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Stateville Correctional Center must relocate the majority of its population by the end of September due to health and security concerns, and that’s a problem for prison education programs. Reset learns more with the Illinois Coalition for Higher Education in Prison’s Flor Esquivel, Alice Kim of the University of Chicago and Phyllis West from the Social Justice Initiative at Governors State Univers...

As summer winds down, theater season kicks into full swing. From small storefront productions and family dramas to high-intensity wizarding spectacles, there’s something for everyone. Reset hears what Chicago’s theaters have in store as we get into fall from WBEZ’s Mike Davis. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Nnedi Okorafor has been pioneering African Futurism since she began writing, from her award-winning book ‘Who Fears Death’ to the critically-acclaimed Akata Witch series. ‘She Who Knows: Firespitter’ continues to weave science fiction with the African world, exploring what happens when a young girl is chosen for a journey reserved only for boys and men. Reset sat down with Okorafor to learn about...

Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Omar Apollo is on the road for his tour promoting his highly anticipated sophomore album “God Said No.” He says the title means “it is what it is” or “lo que será, será” and that it’s a response to all the songs on the album. Apollo stopped by the WBEZ studios ahead of his August Chicago show at the Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island. Reset sits dow...

Four people were killed in a mass shooting on the Blue Line, a Palestinian coffee shop in Uptown was vandalized and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker spent Labor Day campaigning for Kamala Harris in New Hampshire. Reset breaks down those stories and much more with journalists Block Club investigative reporter Manny Ramos, Fox 32 political correspondent Paris Schutz and Chicago Sun-Times reporter and e...

The Insect Asylum began as a traveling exhibit in 2018, and its brick-and-mortar space opened in 2022. There are over 5,000 taxidermy specimens ranging from beetles and butterflies to a giraffe named Long John as well as over 40 live animals and insects. Reset producers Ari Mejia and Lynnea Domienik visited the Avondale museum and share how it acts as a haven for people with unconventional interes...

How did a spirit that “tastes like bandaids” and has been the butt of many jokes survive generations and go from a lone bottle collecting dust in the back of bars to so closely linked with Chicago that bartenders and enthusiasts alike tattoo it on their bodies? Well, it has to do with a plucky businessman named George Brode and his secretary Pat Gabelick. Reset learns the history as laid out in a...

For the first time in five years, the Chicago Abortion Fund is going to have to limit how much financial aid it provides to people seeking abortions in Illinois. This comes as people from 32 states seek abortion care in Illinois and national funding is drying up, putting more strain on local funding to cover the costs. Reset checks in with Kristen Schorsch, WBEZ public health and politics reporter...

Mary Mitchell, former columnist and director of culture and community engagement retired in 2019 but returned to the Sun-Times a year later. This time around, she says she’s leaving “for real.” Reset sits down with Mitchell to reflect on her career and what she’s learned about herself and Chicago in the process. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.