In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

City Council holds its last session of 2021, passing the sports betting ordinance and unanimously approving a near 3 million dollar settlement for Anjanette Young, for a wrongful raid Chicago police carried out on her home. Reset goes behind the headlines on the Weekly News Recap.

A new investigation from the Better Government Association lays out the failed promises of jobs and housing made to Cabrini’s residents — predominantly Black Chicagoans — and where those promises stand today. Reset gets the details from investigative reporter Alejandra Cancino.

Reset checks in with the Cook County Department of Public Health to discuss how experts are handling the messaging around COVID and its new variants -- and how the county hopes to reach people who are still skeptical about vaccines.

Inflation’s at its highest level in 39 years. What’s behind the trend and when might it end?

As all Illinois counties enter a “high-transmission” zone and the omicron variant arrives in Chicago, Reset checks back in with Dr. Mia Taormina for the latest public health guidance.

Disagreements about vaccines have highlighted growing divisions in our country— and, for some of us, our homes, too. Reset explores what happens when couples and co parents don’t agree on vaccines with Jessica Calarco, associate professor of sociology at Indiana University, and Lyz Lenz, author of the newsletter Men Yell at Me.

Actor Jussie Smollett is found guilty of five charges that he staged and made a false report of a hate crime against himself. City Council struggles to redraw the ward boundaries and the new Omicron variant arrives in Chicago as COVID cases and hospitalizations surge throughout the state.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday warned Russian President Vladimir Putin of consequences if his country invades Ukraine. Illinois Congressman Mike Quigley gives Reset his take on the crisis and other news from Capitol Hill.

The federal infrastructure bill includes a provision that will make transit stations across the country fully accessible. The All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP) Act sets aside $1.75 billion in grants for upgrades and improvements to meet or exceed the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reset checks in with U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth for the latest on the ASAP Act, which she...

An investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times and Better Government Association found tens of thousands of people jailed on low-level drug possession cases had their charges routinely dropped in Cook County, but the consequences are costly. Reset checks in with reporters and local drug policy experts for details and analysis.

For decades, researchers have chased a pharmaceutical cure for memory loss. But despite the fact that no disease-modifying biotech treatments have emerged, new research suggests that dementia rates have actually declined in the United States over the last decade. Why is this happening? And what does it mean for brain health in the future? Reset talks with the co-authors of American Dementia: Brain...

Illinois is in the midst of a COVID surge, surpassing 11,000 new cases for the first time this year, while newly released standardized test scores show the impact the pandemic had on learning. Plus, the latest on the criminal trial of actor Jussie Smollet. Reset goes behind the headlines on the Weekly News Recap.

Spotify Wrapped lists are out. What songs did you listen to this year? Which did you turn to just get you through it? We break out our playlists and share our favorite tracks, ear worms and guilty pleasures as the year winds down.

On the heels of the opening oral arguments in the biggest challenge to Roe v. Wade that has come before the Supreme Court, Reset asks local leaders and experts about their reactions.

There’s one day left before Chicago City Council members have to pass the final remap of Chicago’s 50 wards. A heated battle between the city’s Black and Latino caucuses have forced both sides to give ground in time for the final vote. Reset checks in on where things stand.

A new strain of COVID-19 has been detected in at least 15 countries. Reset checks in with a New York Times science reporter for the latest on the Omicron variant and how the U.S. is preparing for its arrival. 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

When we see relatives and friends at the Thanksgiving table this year, the conversation may turn to politics, the pandemic, social and racial justice, and other topics where people don’t always agree. Reset talks to a conflict resolution specialist about setting boundaries with loved ones and strategies to diffuse dinner-table squabbles.

Recent court cases have many thinking about what makes the jury system flourish and fail. Reset hears from an expert on what you should know about the jury selection process.

Kyle Rittenhouse took an AR-15 assault-style rifle across state lines and shot and killed two people, but a jury ruled that he was acting in self-defense and the verdict was “not guilty” on all charges. Reset talks with a Second Amendment expert about what this says about gun rights in America and learns how right-wing extremist, vigilante and militia groups are responding to the verdict.

Despite the Nordic country’s utopian reputation, Finns of African descent often face racial profiling and discrimination. WBEZ’s Natalie Moore talked with Finns of African descent about their experiences living in the social welfare state.

Today Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges. Reset talks to an array of journalists and experts about the verdict. Reset goes behind those headlines and more in the Weekly News Recap.

Cooler weather means more time indoors, and that can often mean more screen time. So, how do we set boundaries that work? Listeners call in with their life hacks.

Most Chicago journalists spend a lot of time pointing out what’s wrong with our city. Jon Hansen’s doing something different. He hosts Block Club Chicago’s podcast It’s All Good, which celebrates Chicagoans who are doing something good for their neighborhood.

The American Trucking Associations says the industry faces a shortage of 80,000 drivers. That’s up 30% from the estimated shortage before the pandemic. Reset explores why Illinois trucking companies are concerned about this issue and what the shortage means for the supply chain crisis.

Most NPR listeners recognize David Sedaris from what’s become a holiday tradition: the re-airing of his 1992 account of spending two Christmas seasons working as an elf at Macy's in New York. Since “Santaland Diaries,” Sedaris has penned numerous books, become a regular contributor to The New Yorker and been inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.