In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

There is no more walking down the streets of Chicago. The lake has taken the land. This is the story of a new audio drama called Lake Song. Reset explores the story of success and survival in the future Windy City with Jeremy McCarter, founder and executive producer for Make-Believe Association, and Laura Alcalá Baker, co-creator, casting director and line producer for Lake Song.

Cook County unanimously passes next year’s budget, while Cook County homeowners finally get a look at their property tax bills. Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot rolls out an ambitious plan for the CTA. Reset goes behind those headlines and more with Amanda Vinicky, WTTW political correspondent, Monica Eng, Chicago reporter for AXIOS, and A.D. Quig, Cook County and Chicago government reporte...

Thanksgiving is nearly here, and as you get ready for the big meal, we’re telling you all about our favorite new food spots to hit up when you’re hungry. Reset digs into local foodies’ Nick Kindelsperger, food critic for the Chicago Tribune, and Steve Dolinsky, author and the NBC-5 food reporter, about new restaurant picks and we share our own.

Reset digs deeper into efforts to cultivate living landscapes in manmade environments like the roofs of buildings across the city. Molly Meyer, CEO and founder of Omni Ecosystems, and Mike Repkin, director of research and development at Omni Ecosystems, join us to talk about why reconnecting with nature that way is so important.

If your neighborhood has historic disinvestment, few grocery stores and you don’t have a car, you might have to take two buses just to get the food you need. A new initiative in Bronzeville is hoping to bridge this gap with an app that calls an electric rideshare vehicle to your door, bringing green technology to the neighborhood and addressing entrenched problems. Reset talks to Paula Robinson, m...

Black and Latino residents in Chicago are more likely than their white counterparts to be exposed to industrial pollution. As a result, they have higher rates of asthma and other chronic health conditions. Reset explores why environmental racism exists on the South Side, where the industrial hotspots are today, and how local leaders are working toward environmental justice with Karen Weigert, Rese...

Duckworth plans to push for an assault weapons ban, stronger benefits for U.S. veterans and their families, water protections and more when the next Congress is sworn in in January, and she says there’s a lot of important work to do before that during the lame duck session. Reset talks to newly-reelected U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth about those priorities and why she believes bipartisanship is sti...

Whole Foods just checked out of Englewood, and it’s just one of the grocery stores that closed recently on the city’s South and West sides. Will millions in city subsidies deliver healthy solutions for food deserts? Reset talks with Alderman Jason Ervin, 28th Ward, as well as Asiaha Butler, executive director of R.A.G.E Englewood, who is looking to expand food access.

Chicago City Colleges and the non-profit One Million Degrees announced a new partnership to provide students mentorship, coaching and professional development support. Reset talks with Aneesh Sohoni, CEO of One Million Degrees, and Juan Salgado, Chancellor of the City Colleges of Chicago, to learn more about the partnership and its potential impact.

In 2018, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless proposed an ordinance that would tax home sales over $1 million at a higher rate in an effort to fight homelessness in Chicago. On Monday, Mayor Lightfoot and her allies in City Council blocked a hearing for that ordinance, known as Bring Chicago Home. Reset breaks down what happened and what’s next with Carla Johnson, grassroots leader with the Chic...

As outside temperatures drop, so has new music from a handful of rising Chicago artists. Bundle up to a range of sounds from musicians Human Bloom and Sam Hudgens, DIY R&B songstress ALIAH, and rapper Vicki Street. Plus, singer ASXA returns with powerful vocals. Reset sits down with Vocalo Radio’s Stephen Bekoe to hear his top 5 picks “In Rotation” for November.

Industries like tech and business are difficult to get into if you don’t have the access to opportunities that will teach you the things you need to know. One of the finalists of the Pritzker Traubert Foundation’s $10 million dollar Chicago Prize wants to bring those opportunities to Greater Grand Crossing. Reset talks to finalists Rhonda Hopps, executive director for the Comer Education Campus, G...

Twitter has long been a crucial place for socializing and sharing information, especially among marginalized communities, but the chaos unleashed by Elon Musk’s takeover has many worried that their beloved forum is dissolving before their eyes. Reset breaks down what’s next for Twitter’s chronic illness community with Brianne Benness, host of the podcast No End In Sight and creator of #NEISVoid, a...

Major technology companies like Meta, Twitter and Salesforce all announced layoffs over the last several weeks. But smaller start-ups, including some here in Chicago, are also making cuts. Reset speaks with an expert on venture capital, Craig Wortmann, and a local tech journalist for Crain’s Chicago Business, John Pletz, to find out what this latest wave of layoffs means for Chicago and for the ec...

How the Light Felt, the latest album from Chicago alternative band Smut, is out now. Reset checks in with vocalist Tay Roebuck, bass and synth player Bell Cenower and guitarist Andrew Min.

Winter is right around the corner, so it’s time for some indoor fun. Reset gets board game recommendations from JP Nery, owner of Chicagoland Games.

Congressman Chuy Garcia joins the mayoral race. Democrats dominate the midterms. Chicago’s City Council approves Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s 2023 budget. Reset goes behind those headlines and more with Chicago Tribune chief political reporter Rick Pearson, CW 26 reporter and anchor Brandon Pope, and FOX 32 political editor Mike Flannery.

A hidden door in what looks like a laundromat. A theater with dining-room-style seating where magicians come right to your table. All this is an ordinary evening at the Chicago Magic Lounge in Andersonville. Reset learns more about their shows with Joey Cranford, CEO and co-founder of Chicago Magic Lounge, and speaks to one of their current magician residents Paige Thompson.

So many people are suffering silently due to long COVID. But, they’ve also come together to support each other in their fight for access to quality care. Reset talks with Dr. David Putrino, director of rehabilitation innovation for the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, Dr. Pete Thomas, internal medicine and preventive community medicine specialist at Howard Brown Health in Chicago, Kathi...

The polls closed last night, and some races in other states are still too close to call. But most results are in for Illinois and Cook County elections. Reset breaks down everything you need to know about the midterm elections with, Dave McKinney, WBEZ state politics reporter, Tina Sfondeles, Chicago Sun-Times chief political reporter.

Imagine being a student-athlete. You secured your athletic scholarship and got accepted into college. But then, the NCAA tells you that you’re academically ineligible to play in school. This isn’t an uncommon situation. Reset discusses the challenges of navigating certain academic requirements set by the NCAA and talks to Joyce Anderson, co-founder and COO of Honest Game, a group working with high...

A few months ahead of Chicago’s municipal elections, aldermen approved the mayor’s spending plan 32-18. Reset explores the biggest takeaways from Chicago’s newly-approved budget with WTTW politics reporter Heather Cherone.

Games are fun, but are they art? One philosopher makes the case. Reset talks to C. Thi Nguyen, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Utah.

Cultivate Collective is combining wellness and sustainability to bring greener options and opportunities to the Southwest Side. They’re one of six groups from the South and West sides that are in the running for a $10 million dollar grant from the Pritzker Traubert Foundation. The Chicago Prize will be awarded to the group with the best pitch for a development project in their neighborhood on the...

Typically, karaoke go-tos include Whitney Houston or ABBA. But Edgewater resident Jason E. Jackson subverted those expectations when he went the operatic route to win the first Chicago Sings Karaoke competition. Reset riffs with Chicago’s first-ever karaoke champion.