In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

From sipping wine while shopping to more self-checkout, the customer experience at grocery stores has been changing in recent years. Reset learns about those changes with Steve Caine, expert in Bain & Company’s Retail and Customer Strategy and Marketing practices.

The U.S. population of adults over 65 is rapidly growing. So how do we meet the challenge of caring for an aging population? Reset learns about creating a long-term care plan and finding resources for caregivers.

Ethan Schwabe, Reset’s engineer and occasional music correspondent, shares interviews with attendees and artists at Chicago’s iconic Pitchfork Music Festival.

Northwestern University faces a new lawsuit from a former female volleyball player amidst its hazing scandal. Meanwhile, another Chicago Park District lifeguard is fired after allegations of misconduct surfaced two years ago. Plus, City Council alders complain of criminal activity outside neighborhood migrant shelters. Reset breaks down these stories and much more with Angela Rozas O'Toole, WBEZ s...

Two lawsuits filed against two large Cook County landlords allege that blanket policies of rejecting rental applicants with prior eviction filings discriminate against Black applicants. Reset learns more about the lawsuits and what housing advocates hope to accomplish with Dennericka Brooks, director of the Housing Practice Group at Legal Aid Chicago, and Emily Werth, senior staff attorney at the...

Chicago has changed a lot in the last century. And every day, it can feel like another local longtime bar or shop is forced to shutter. But there are some things you can still rely on, like the mom-and-pop shop that’s been around the corner forever. Reset meets a few of the Chicagoans at the helm of longtime family shops for advice.

Housing prices are hitting an all-time high in Chicago, and it’s making the city the hottest market in the nation. Reset find out why with Dennis Rodkin, residential real estate reporter at Crain’s Chicago Business.

Every summer, Chicago officials release recommendations on how to stay cool in extreme heat. But the suggestions can be challenging to follow for people experiencing homelessness. Reset talks through available options for unhoused people and what else can be done to support them with Andy Robledo, a Chicagoan providing tents to homeless encampments and Colleen Ryan, nurse practitioner with Heartla...

Organizers and officials recently held a summit to discuss how the city responds to mental health crises, with Mayor Brandon Johnson saying he would invest in more social services. Reset discusses how it could affect Chicagoans with Northwestern University’s Dr. Eric Reinhart, anthropologist of policing, prisons, and public health, and Emily Piff, member of Jewish Council on Urban Affairs.

Millions of borrowers will have to start paying back their student loans starting this fall, after three years of payment pauses. Reset digs into what borrowers need to know and do to prepare themselves for October. Our guests are Lisa Philip, WBEZ higher education reporter, and Jack Wallace, the head of government affairs and industry relations at Yrefy.

Chicago’s $3.8 billion Deep Tunnel flood-control project was seemingly ready to go before the torrential downpours in early July. But as the rain came down, runoff overflowed onto streets and into residents’ homes in what would become a record-setting storm. So why didn't the Deep Tunnel system reduce floods like it’s supposed to? Reset gets the latest from Chicago Tribune environment and public h...

July is Disability Pride Month — a time to celebrate those with a range of physical and mental abilities. But one of the key issues the disabled community still faces is accessibility in the workplace. Reset discusses what’s being done to help with a panel of Chicago disability advocates: Daisy Feidt, vice president of Access Living; Jamie Sandberg, assistant director of Duman Opportunity Center a...

July is Disability Pride Month — a time to celebrate those with a range of physical and mental abilities. But one of the key issues the disabled community still faces is accessibility in the workplace. Reset discusses what’s being done to help with a panel of Chicago disability advocates: Daisy Feidt, vice president of Access Living; Jamie Sandberg, assistant director of Duman Opportunity Center a...

The recent case of a Little Village mother and daughter fatally shot in their home highlights the need for greater protections for survivors of domestic abuse. Reset talks with folks who work with survivors about how society can step up to better assist and protect them. Our guests are Stephanie Love-Patterson, executive director of Connections for Abused Women and their Children (CAWC), and Maral...

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie may be perfect opposites on the vibe spectrum, but that’s not stopping crowds of moviegoers from pairing them together for a five-hour double feature. Reset hears from Chicagoans gearing up for the experience, which folks are calling OppenBarbie, Barbenheimer or Boppenheimer. Our panel is Ross W Berman IV, wrestling journalist; Brianna Well...

Illinois becomes the first state to eliminate cash bail. Kim Foxx publishes names on State’s Attorney’s “Do Not Call” list of officers they will not call to testify in court. Jesse Jackson passes the torch at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Reset goes behind the headlines of these stories and more in the Weekly News Recap. Our panel this week: Amy Guth, host of Crain’s Chicago Business podcast “The Da...

A proposal in Chicago’s City Council would end lower minimum wage for tipped workers like waitstaff and bartenders. But the proposal faces opposition from the hospitality industry. We turn to Ald. Jessie Fuentes of the 26th Ward, one of the council members behind the proposal, for more.

We check in with Maureen Ryan, author of the new book Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood, about what led to the current double strike in Hollywood and what needs to change to get the industry back on track.

At this time, Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability does not have “sufficient evidence” to recommend disciplinary actions be taken against officers. Reset discusses the ongoing investigation with Andrea Kersten, chief administrator, COPA

Voguing is a dance style created by Black and Latino queer communities that went mainstream in the ‘90s, when big acts like Madonna started incorporating the style into their work. WBEZ podcast host Erin Allen reached out to Reset because she was struggling to find a place in Chicago that taught the dance style. For our “Lost & Found” series, Reset got in touch with TEXTUREDance in Buena Park to l...

A team of WBEZ reporters spent a day embedded on the West Side where migrants are in a holding pattern, staying in the 12th District police station, a tent city or a nearby shelter. The result is a look into a slice of the migrant experience, and the network of Chicagoans who have stepped up to help them. Reset talks to WBEZ reporters Kristen Schorsch, Mariah Woelfel, and Claudia Morell. We also c...

Artificial intelligence can do a lot, but can it write a poem as lovely as a tree? The explosion of AI technology has placed a vulnerability on the creative world. Writers of novels, poetry, and scripts all face the possibility of being replaced by software coded to mimic their own human experiences (see: the current Hollywood crisis and strikes). But many artists have remained confident in the id...

It’s been a couple weeks since the SCOTUS decision, so how will the country’s selective schools continue to promote diversity? Reset discusses what’s next with Oiyan Poon, associate professor affiliate of higher education leadership at Colorado State University and Anthony Chen, associate professor of sociology at Northwestern University.

The civil rights organization Rainbow PUSH has welcomed a new leader after its longtime president and founder, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, formally announced his exit Saturday. To learn more about Jackson’s legacy and the future of the organization, Reset sits down with Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, U.S. Senator from Illinois (1993-99), and Delmarie Cobb, political strategist who worked for Rev. Jac...

Thursday evening the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability announced the three finalists seeking the title of Chicago’s top cop: Chicago Police Department veterans Angel Novalez and Larry Snelling, and Shon Barnes, the police chief in Madison, Wisconsin. This leaves Mayor Brandon Johnson with about 30 days to make a decision. Reset gets the latest updates on the search and hear...