In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

Reset brings on Alexa James with NAMI Chicago to discuss how the nationwide mental health workforce shortage is affecting Illinois providers. Plus, we check in with Natali Rehman, director of behavioral health at the Inner-City Muslim Action Network, and Jennie Hull, chief program officer for Lakeview Pantry, about how Chicago social service organizations are stepping up to help. For more Reset in...

A Chicago pastor and an activist share what’s running through their minds in the aftermath of the racist attack at a New York grocery store.

We're revisiting our conversation with Jess Shoman, frontwoman of the band Tenci. She joined Reset to discuss her music, recent tour and Chicago’s DIY music scene. 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

Chicago is now at “medium” risk for COVID-19 transmission. Meanwhile, the City Council strikes a tentative deal in the ward remap saga. Plus, President Biden visits Kankakee and Chicago. Reset goes beyond the headlines with WTTW co-anchor and correspondent Brandis Friedman, City Cast Chicago host Jacoby Cochran and WBEZ city government reporter Mariah Woelfel. For more Reset interviews, subscribe...

April saw a price spike of 0.3%, which is a breath of fresh air from March’s striking 1.2% jump. Experts say that we’re past the peak of inflation, so does this mean there’s light at the end of the tunnel? Reset checks in with prices in housing, food, gas, and more. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast. And please give us a rating, it helps other listeners find us. For more about R...

Will Chicago’s 36th Ward really resemble a ‘pool noodle’? Enough members of Chicago’s City Council have reached a tentative compromise on the city’s ward remap, the full council still has to confirm the remap in a vote next week. If approved, it would take the issue off the June ballot and out of the hands of voters. Reset hears more on the deal and reaction from both sides. For more Reset intervi...

This month, Chicago Public Schools is launching the “Please Stay” suicide prevention and mental health campaign for students in grades 7-12. The effort is in response to the rise in depression, self-harm and suicide among U.S. children and teens. Reset checks in with WBEZ education reporter Susie An, Dr. Sameer Vohra with the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership and Dr. Niranjan Karnik wi...

Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill in August 2021 that allows Cook County staff attorneys to represent undocumented immigrants in federal court.

Saba’s latest album “Few Good Things,” took almost four years to finish. “Part of the personal evolution that you hear is just the time spent sitting with the record, tweaking the record, and being able to be present,” he told Reset. The Chicago hip-hop artist takes us inside his follow-up to 2018’s “CARE FOR ME” and tells us how vulnerability fuels his process. For more Reset interviews, subscrib...

Mayor Lightfoot announces the former Chicago Tribune publishing plant in River West as the site of the city’s first casino. Plus, Chicago unveils its bid to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention as the downtown area continues to see a spike in crime. 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 ra...

Sasheer Zamata has kept busy since leaving SNL. She’s starred in Hulu’s hit show Woke and ABC’s Home Economics, and has also produced stand-up comedy specials. Reset checks in with the comedian as she embarks on a nationwide comedy tour to talk about how her childhood impacted her performance trajectory and what she’d like to say to fans who ask her why she doesn’t do impressions. For more Reset i...

Chicago had 178 homicides during the first four months of this year, according to a report from the city’s police department. Reset discusses how the data compares with previous years and gets the latest on CPD’s plan for addressing homicides and violent crime as we head into the summer. Plus, last week on Holocaust Remembrance Day, anti-Semitic leaflets were left outside homes in north suburban H...

A leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion suggests the nation’s highest court is ready to overturn Roe v. Wade. Reset discusses what this could mean for reproductive rights in the U.S. and if Congress could take action in the absence of Roe with Amanda Becker, Washington correspondent for The 19th. Plus, we hear from Gov. JB Pritzker about the future of abortion access in Illinois. For more Reset...

Reset explores key races ahead of Illinois’ primary election on June 28. GUESTS: Heather Cherone, political reporter for WTTW News Hannah Meisel, NPR Illinois government and politics editor 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

Parents and teachers protest Chicago Public Schools budget cuts and the head of the Chicago Reader steps down amid employee protests. Reset goes behind the headlines in the Weekly News Recap. GUESTS: Alex Nitkin, City Hall reporter for The Daily Line Patrick Smith, WBEZ criminal justice reporter

Trees and wetlands sequester carbon, suck up storm water, provide relief from extreme heat and help purify the air. A recent IPCC report found that the restoration of both are important in responding to climate change. Ahead of Arbor Day, we learn about efforts in the Chicago area to create more wetlands, plant more oak trees and create tree canopy in areas that have low canopy coverage. GUEST: Ly...

This week, two Illinois Starbucks coffee shops won union elections, Chicago Reader staff’s protesting forced one of the co-owners to step down, and University of Illinois Chicago graduate students bargained for higher wages. Guests: Katie Prout, staff writer, The Chicago Reader and member of the union’s bargaining committee, Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel, audience engagement manager, The Chicago Reader...

New data from the Chicago Department of Public Health shows that Chicagoans’ life expectancy dropped almost two years on average in 2020. For Black and Latinx residents, life expectancy decreased by an even greater margin. Reset learns more about Chicago’s plans to address the gap from Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady, ACCESS Community Health Network CEO Donna Th...

Nearly 1 in 6 restaurants around the country have closed during the pandemic, according to industry estimates. Those left standing are faced with rising inflation and supply chain issues. So second-generation restaurateurs in the Chicago area say they’re leaning on their parents’ advice and legacy to weather the economic storm, and taking the moment to consider reinvention. Guests: Lori Seay co-ow...

Reset goes behind the headlines of the week’s top stories, from the chaos around mask guidance on air and train travel, to the fight to save Chicago’s “free and freaky” alt weekly. GUEST: Brandon Pope, reporter/anchor at CW 26, Amanda Vinicky, WTTW political correspondent

In her new book The Memory Librarian, Janelle Monáe expands on the afrofuturistic world of her album Dirty Computer. The collection of five short stories center around Black and queer protagonists on a journey of self-love and discovery. Reset talks to Monáe about entering the literary space, afrofuturism and finding joy ahead of her book talk on Friday at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in...

How is Illinois’ weed industry doing two years in? The state promised legalizing recreational cannabis would bring a windfall of tax revenue and would incorporate social equity as a core value of the industry. Reset checks in with Tom Schuba, a Chicago Sun-Times reporter covering cannabis, about what progress has been made and what still needs to be done.

More than 150 Chicago-area convenience stores are now selling a new low-nicotine cigarette that can help you smoke less. The company, 22nd Century Group, is able to market the product in this way after gaining special authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. Reset learns more about this decision, what it means for the tobacco industry at large and why it’s drawn criticism from some med...

Earlier this year, Congress passed the No Surprise Act, that looked to cap big bills from private medical companies and independent physicians. Yet, uninsured patients are still being blind-sided in tens of thousands of dollars in bills. Reset examines the inaccessible healthcare here in Chicago. GUESTS: Kristen Schorsch, WBEZ’s public health and politics reporter Carrie Chapman, senior director o...

Illinois lawmakers pass a $46 billion budget plan over the weekend after a marathon session in Springfield. Meanwhile, another candidate enters the 2023 mayoral race. Plus, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s pick for Chicago’s next inspector general passes a key test. Reset goes behind the headlines on the Weekly News Recap with The Daily Line reporter Erin Hegarty and David Greising, president and CEO of the...