In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E are becoming more and more impressive and accessible to anyone with a computer, including students. Some educators expressed concerns about cheating, while others are embracing AI as a teaching tool. Reset speaks with a WBEZ reporter Char Daston and CPS teacher Brady Dunnink about how ChatGPT is impacting city classrooms. Then they talk with Leigh Ann De...

Instances of LGBTQ hate crimes are increasing across the country, and Chicago isn’t immune. This week, a hammer-wielding man yelled slurs and attacked a queer-owned business in Rogers Park. Reset talks with journalist Jake Wittich, and Slo’mo producer Kristen Kaza about the impact of these attacks and what can be done to preserve safety in queer spaces.

In our series Lost and Found, producers track down things in Chicago that a Google search can’t uncover. Elizabeth emailed the show asking where she can find her friend’s favorite drink: Swedish egg coffee. Reset brings on producer Claire Hyman and Tre Kronor owner Patty Rasmussen to learn about the history of the beverage and how to make it.

An Asian American student was stabbed multiple times in the head while waiting to get off a bus at Indiana University. The attack has yet to be called a hate crime, though the attacker reportedly targeted the victim because she was “Chinese.” It’s clear that anti-Asian violence continues even past the surge the U.S. saw in 2020. But what more needs to be done? Reset discusses with a panel of Asian...

University of Illinois Chicago United Faculty union takes to the picket line after failing to reach an agreement with UIC administration. Reset hears from WBEZ reporter Lisa Philip and UIC faculty member Kate Floros.

In our series “Lost And Found,” Reset digital engagement producer Claire Hyman helps listeners locate things in the Chicago area they’re struggling to find. In this installment, she helps a woman find a beloved painting that had once hung in her office downtown before it up and vanished. As part of search, we hear from the painter himself George C. Clarke.

WBEZ surveyed CTA riders about their experiences and got thousands for responses. Reset hears from WBEZ’s Cassie Walker Burke and Courtney Kueppers about what riders had to say.

Sankofa Wellness Village will receive $10 million from the Pritzker Traubert Foundation. Reset revisits its conversation with prizewinners Theodore Joseph, Ayesha Jaco and Kemena Brooks about their plans to improve West Garfield Park.

Reset sits down with a financial expert and author Christine Benz to answer listeners’ burning personal finance questions about spending, saving and investing.

Chicago’s Black cultural hub receives a national landmark recognition that will help it preserve its historical sites. Reset chats with Bernard Turner, executive director of the Black Metropolis National Heritage Area Commission and with WBEZ editor Alden Loury about the designation and what it could mean for the neighborhood.

TikTok has a reputation for its seemingly bottomless well of dance trends and lip sync videos, but there are as many sides of TikTok as there are users. It has quickly become a forum for cultural conversation, and many Gen Z users even get their news from the app. Reset hears from TikTokkers journalists, Chris Vazquez and Jack Corbett, about building an audience, keeping people from scrolling away...

Maybe you binged an entire season of a show in a weekend or watched an epic like Titanic, but compared to the films in the new series at the Gene Siskel Film Center, those seem like a TikTok video. In its ‘Settle In’ series, viewers watch what can only be described as marathon films that test their endurance. Reset learns about the series and the history of these films with programming director Re...

Reset dives into the biggests stories and behind the headlines from local stories with Brandon Pope, reporter and anchor at CW 26, Dan Petrella, Chicago Tribune state government reporter and Alex Nitkin, Better Government Association reporter.

Global action and a commitment by nation’s leaders to stop producing a harmful chemical used in aerosols and refrigerators has shifted the course of this looming problem. Reset learns more about how the world changed course with climate scientist Kristina Dahl and ozone layer expert Stephen Montzka.

In another episode of What’s that Building, Reset gets a glimpse of Chicago's rise and fall as a behemoth in the newspaper industry. Reset talks to journalist Dennis Rodin about the Tribune Freedom Center and what will soon take its place along the Chicago River.

Chicago beat L.A, Houston and other traffic-clogged cities to be named the city with the worst congestion and traffic for the second year in a row, according to a report from the mobility analytics firm, Inrix. Reset speaks with transit expert Joseph Schwieterman about why and how this affects people's lives.

Another city official is making it a priority to protect against the health risks of e-cigarettes and liquid nicotine products. Reset hears from Ald. Napolitano about his new ordinance and from Dr. Maria Rahmander of Lurie Children’s Hospital about the health risks associated with teen e-cig use.

A bill granting Chicago principals and assistant principals collective bargaining rights was approved by the Illinois Senate late last week. It now heads to Governor JB Pritzker’s desk for final approval. Reset learns more from WBEZ education reporter Sarah Karp and State Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas.

Reset gets the latest from advocates Reverend Sandra Castillo and Ere Rendon from the Resurrection Project. Both have been working to find asylum seekers permanent housing.

From bio ads to attack ads, what messages are Chicago’s mayoral candidates sending to voters? Reset breaks down the spin with political analyst Jason DeSanto and how this might affect who pulls out ahead. Then WBEZ’s Alex Keefe stops by to talk about the People’s Agenda — Chicago residents’ chance to help shape WBEZ’s election coverage and Reset’s mayoral forums on Feb. 7, 8 and 9.

Every Chicagoan knows the winters can be a real drag, and a long drag at that. But some residents have found passions that make the cold season a little easier. Reset hears from Alison Cuddy, who discovered the joy of winter swimming, Rhonda Wheatley who makes art journals, and comedians Deanna Ortiz and Mila Rao who practice and teach the art of comedy.

Reset checks in with Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, about steps the city is taking to improve access to mental health resources for residents. We also get an update on COVID-19 in the city.

After seeing his grandmother struggle to get dressed in assisted living, the founder of Joe & Bella decided to create an adaptive fashion brand that worked for older adults and was actually fashionable. Reset talks to Ben Graham, vice president of marketing for Joe & Bella, about adaptive apparel and hears from Reyes Witt and Hugo Colin from Columbia College about a recent collaboration with fashi...

Reset goes behind the headlines of the biggest local stories of the week with Erin Hegarty, City Hall reporter for the Daily Line, A.D. Quig, Cook County and Chicago government reporter for the Chicago Tribune and Tony Arnold, WBEZ politics editor.

Once a week Reset hosts a conversation on Twitter Spaces to bring you interviews beyond the show. Reset recently spoke to Dr. Marisa G. Franco and New York Times “friendship correspondent” Anna Goldfarb about why it’s difficult to make new friends in adulthood and how we can forge new connections at any stage in life.