In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

In the last two years, the number of police officers inside Chicago Public Schools has dropped by one-third. Since 2020, it’s been up to local school councils to decide whether to keep officers in the building.

As prices continue to rise, Reset breaks down the latest inflation data and explores WBEZ’s new guide to the best free activities and events in Chicago this summer.

As a Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade approaches, Reset talks with two women who decided to end their pregnancies.

Everything you need to know about the Jan. 6 hearings on Capitol Hill. Plus, why likely GOP voters in Illinois still back Trump.

Reset talks to Chicago actor and producer Bashir Salahuddin about what it was like to play alongside Tom Cruise in the new film Top Gun: Maverick, and his big plans for the third season of HBO’s South Side. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast. And please give us a rating, it helps other listeners find us. For more about Reset, go to wbez.org and follow us on Twitter @WBEZReset

Mayor Lightfoot kicks off her reelection campaign. Plus, a new Chicago Sun-Times/WBEZ Poll reveals a shift in the Republican race for governor. Reset goes behind the headlines in the Weekly News Recap.

Half a million Chicagoans live in food deserts. We meet four local leaders working to solve that problem.

When children are released from the Cook County Juvenile Center on Chicago’s Near West Side, they’re expected to be picked up by a guardian. But many kids under the care of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services are not assigned housing and are forced to wait in jail until a guardian arrives — sometimes for months. Reset gets the latest from the WBEZ criminal justice reporter Patr...

The half-millimeter-long robotic crab joins a menagerie of tiny robots inspired by the natural world. Reset checks in with Northwestern University professor John Rogers about the tiny crab and other creations his team developed that could soon help monitor air quality, track disease outbreaks and even clear clogged arteries within our bodies. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast. A...

Illinois has the eighth strictest gun laws in the nation, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Reset talks with reporters and an expert to understand what separates Illinois from states with even stricter gun laws. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast. And please give us a rating, it helps other listeners find us. For more about Reset, go to wbez.org and fo...

Artists owned and operated, the founders of local record label, Sooper Records, join Reset to explain how the business started, their own beginnings in Chicago’s music scene and share some of the music from artists on their label. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast. And please give us a rating, it helps other listeners find us. For more about Reset, go to wbez.org and follow us o...

An ethics bill stalls in Chicago’s City Council. Meanwhile, the mayoral race heats up with two new candidates. Plus, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul files the state’s first-ever hate crime lawsuit. Reset goes behind the week’s headlines in the Weekly News Recap with Chicago Tribune investigative reporter Ray Long, Alex Nitkin with the The Daily Line and WBEZ investigative reporter Dan Mihalo...

Chicago had its most violent Memorial Day weekend in five years. However, new data from the Chicago Police Department show shootings this year are below the pace of 2021 and 2020. Reset gets the latest on these trends, and what residents are doing to keep communities safe. Plus, we’ll look at how Illinois schools are preparing students and teachers for an active shooter. For more Reset interviews,...

Earlier this year, Illinois First Congressional District Representative Bobby Rush announced that he will not be seeking reelection after holding the position for nearly three decades. Now, there are 21 candidates vying for his seat. Reset learns more about some of the candidates and what’s at stake for the voters of the first district. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast. And ple...

The Second Amendment is only 27 words long, but the text has been fiercely debated for centuries. Debate focused on the meaning of militias and who belonged to them until the Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller that private citizens have a right to handguns in the home for protection. Reset learns more about the history of the Second Amendment and how it’s interpreted today. For...

Multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird has a new album out June 3rd. It’s called Inside Problems. Bird joined Reset last month to discuss performing, song-writing, and the violin he bought when he was sixteen years old. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast. And please give us a rating, it helps other listeners find us. For more about Reset, go to wbez.org and follow us on Twitter @WBEZR...

Workers at two Starbucks in Edgewater neighborhood become the first in Chicago to vote for unionization, while Chicago prepares to roll out a universal basic income program. Reset goes behind the week’s headlines in the Weekly News Recap. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast. And please give us a rating, it helps other listeners find us. For more about Reset, go to wbez.org and fol...

After the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, many are wondering how we can create safe, nonviolent communities. Reset talks about gun violence prevention and restorative justice with Dion McGill of Strengthening Chicago’s Youth at Lurie Children’s Hospital and Sara Knizhnik with the Gun Violence Prevention Initiative for the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office. For more Reset intervi...

A gunman killed 19 children and two teachers Tuesday at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, a small city west of San Antonio. The 18-year-old shooter was a student at the local high school and was killed by law enforcement. Parents and children alike are struggling to manage their stress and fears in the wake of the massacre. Reset gets the latest from a reporter on the ground in San Antonio, t...

Chicago prides itself on its beautiful outdoor spaces — but when you look at the lack of seating and amenities in places like Grant and Millennium parks, it makes a person wonder: just who are Chicago’s downtown parks designed for? Reset checks in with Chicagoans who sparked a conversation on social media about public spaces, and digs into the history behind them with a professor of urbanism. For...

As carjackings have increased during the pandemic, some Chicago neighborhoods are turning to private security firms to patrol their streets. Hyde Park, Bucktown, and now Lincoln Park’s Fullerton area have all hired P4 Security Solutions, a private security company which hires off-duty police officers to keep watch and report suspicious activity to the Chicago Police. Reset talks with a reporter wh...

Chicago R&B artist Ravyn Lenae is out with her debut album Hypnos. It’s been four years since she released her last EP, and fans are overjoyed. Ravyn joins Reset to discuss musical inspirations, Chicago artists and her new music. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast. And please give us a rating, it helps other listeners find us. For more about Reset, go to wbez.org and follow us on...

Chicago’s controversial new ward map gets approved. Meanwhile, Mayor Lori Lightfoot pushes for an earlier curfew for teens under 18. Plus, Illinois becomes the first state in the Midwest to ban “ghost guns." Reset goes behind the headlines in WBEZ’s Weekly News Recap. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast. And please give us a rating, it helps other listeners find us. For more about...

The nationwide shortage of baby formula continues to be a source of stress for families with little ones. In Chicago, organizations across the city are collecting donations to help. Reset learns more about where to donate or find baby formula in the Chicago area, and why breastfeeding isn’t the ultimate solution to the crisis. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast. And please give u...

Chicago Beyond is bringing together correctional officers and administrators, formerly incarcerated people and their families to shift the current understanding of safety, which they say is based on control, to one that makes people whole. They are launching this initiative next week. Reset checks in with people impacted by the carceral system who are leading this work. For more Reset interviews,...