In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

The 8-track record blends elements of rock, dance, and Latin music together to create a unique sound. It’s out now. Reset checks in with Fernando De Buen López from Así Así.

The Lesbian Bar Project listed only 21 lesbian bars in the country two years ago, and none were in Chicago. Reset looks at why there are so few queer women focused spaces in the city and how they are evolving with Renauda Riddle, owner of Nobody’s Darling, Hannah Viti, DJ at Party SloMo, and Zoe Schor, owner of Dorothy.

Hundreds of thousands of local students prepare to return to school, while politicians head to Springfield for the Illinois State Fair. Reset goes behind the week’s headlines with Heather Cherone, Chicago politics reporter for WTTW News, Ray Long, Chicago Tribune investigative reporter, and Sarah Karp, WBEZ education reporter.

In Chicago, 2,400 kids lost parents to gun violence over a five-year period, according to an analysis by the Washington Post. Reset hears from Oji Eggleston, executive director of Chicago Survivors, and John Woodrow Cox, staff reporter at the Washington Post who talked with kids and their families to explore this little-discussed facet of America’s gun violence epidemic.

Most colleges and universities have rolled back masking and testing mandates. Reset checks in with Elissa Nadworny, NPR education reporter, and Robert Jones, chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to hear what schools are doing.

After being sexually assaulted by a man who was later arrested for alleged gropings in downtown Chicago, one survivor said it was very difficult to get law enforcement to take her story seriously. Reset talks with Block Club Chicago reporter Melody Mercado and Mallory Littlejohn, legal director at the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, about what happened and what needs to change. A nat...

The Inflation Reduction Act signed by President Biden this week will pump billions of dollars into green technologies. Reset checks in with Washington Post Innovations reporter Pranshu Verma.

Rates of preeclampsia were already on the rise among pregnant Americans for decades — then came COVID. A study published last week found pregnancy and birth outcomes worsened in the United States during the pandemic. Reset checks in with a senior author of the study Dr. Jose Figueroa, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Eleni Tsigas...

Drivers from Uber and Lyft have asked for the option to unionize, and now food delivery drivers from companies like DoorDash and Grubhub are joining in. Reset hears more about what local and national ride-share and delivery advocacy groups want from Chris Liebelt from Chicago Uber Drivers and Lenny Sanchez from Independent Drivers Guild.

R. Kelly returns to the courtroom to stand trial for federal child pornography charges. Earlier this year, the R&B singer was sentenced to 30 years in prison for sex-trafficking. Reset digs into the trial and how it fits into a larger conversation around gender-based violence with Salamishah Tillet, co-founder of A Long Walk Home.

In Fixing Legal Injustice, former public defender and death row expert Andrea Lyon explains what is wrong with the criminal justice system through her clients’ stories and historical perspective, and she proposes one solution— an independent Defender General of the United States.

Jess Shoman, from Tenci, and Dan Wriggins, from Friendship, chat with Reset ahead of their show this evening at the Hideout. You can find more about the show at the Hideouts website.

In The Last White Man, Mohsin Hamid takes a page out of Franz Kafka’s book when his own main character wakes up one day looking completely differently. Reset talks to the critically-acclaimed author about how his latest work explores race and belonging.

A community effort to boot Riot Fest from Douglass Park on Chicago’s West Side is gaining momentum. Reset hears from organizers about what some residents are demanding, and how festival organizers and the city are responding.

From a budget forecast to what’s believed to be the biggest mass exoneration in U.S. history, it’s been a busy news week in Chicago and Illinois. Reset digs deeper into those stories and more on the Weekly News Recap with Chicago Tribune reporter A.D. Quig, City Cast Chicago host Jacoby Cochran and David Greising of the Better Government Association.

It’s an expansive region, stretching from the Appalachian foothills to the Great Plains. But the exact states are up for debate. Reset settles the debate with listeners and a data columnist working to define regions in the U.S. using Airbnb data.

Studies have shown a connection between working fewer hours and lower carbon emissions. But experts say the environmental benefits of a shorter workweek depend on how people spend their time when they’re not on the job.

After years with the Chicago Reader and decades in community journalism, publisher Tracy Baim will turn over leadership to fresh voices by the end of the year. Reset sits down with Baim to learn about her inspiration and visions for the future.

The national organ transplant system has run for 36 years but a report from the White House shows it’s repeatedly failed and crashed for hours at a time. Reset hears more about why this program has never been audited and how it could be improved from The Washington Post’s Joe Menn.

Indiana has become the first state to pass a new abortion ban since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. But it likely won’t be the last. Reset talks to Shefali Luthra with The 19th and WBEZ reporter Michael Puente about the state of abortion rights in Indiana and nationwide.

With the two-year student debt moratorium set to expire this month, Reset gets advice on how to keep payments under control from Yanely Espinal with Next Gen Personal Finance.

In a new series called “Reset Lost and Found,” producers track down things in Chicago that a Google search can’t uncover — like where to find Swedish egg coffee in Chicago. In the first edition of the series, Reset freelance producer Claire Hyman teaches us how to make the beverage and Tre Kronor owner and chef Patty Rasmussen gives us a history lesson.

A month after the deadly Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park, Reset checks in with North Shore superintendent Michael Lubelfeld about his district’s plans for school safety and mental health for the upcoming school year.

Why do we find ourselves having to buy new devices every few years? And is that by design? Reset turns to Washington Post tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler for answers, and discusses how consumers can push the tech industry to create longer-lasting products.

Devon Price didn’t realize he was autistic until after he finished his Ph. D. in psychology. Now, he’s devoting much of his career to researching and writing about autism. Reset learns more about the inequities autistic people face and how to find community as an autistic adult.