Author: WBEZ Chicago

Agriculture is a vital industry that we all rely on — after all, it’s what feeds us. But in 2020, the industry was responsible for 11.2% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, which contributes to a warming planet. This, in turn, creates challenges for growers whose seasons are impacted by intense rainfall and warmer night time temperatures. Reset learns more about this with Illinois state climatologist Trent Ford; Liz Moran Stelk, executive director of Illinois Stewardship Alliance; and Andy Hazzard, founder of Hazzard Free Grain farm in Pecatonica, IL.

There has been no end in sight to the debate around a Black actress playing Ariel in the upcoming live-action “Little Mermaid.” But the debate, the backlash, and the never-ending nitpicking doesn’t end there. Reset talks through the problematic reasoning against Black actors in recent fantasy shows and films, and the importance of diversity on screen.

The Onion is going to the mat to protect the right to parody. And their brief filed with the Supreme Court reads like, well, a hilarious Onion article. Reset checks in with Onion head writer Mike Gillis.

In his new book Boys Will Be Humans, actor Justin Baldoni creates an instructional guide to unlearning toxic masculinity and embracing emotions.

Reset sits down with leaders of the BASE Chicago, an organization based in West Garfield Park that provides a range of programming for urban youth from baseball and softball training, to violence prevention and even college readiness.

A new independent investigation shows abuse allegations were swept under the rug as coaches moved from team to team. Reset talks through the report with two sports reporters and explores how it could impact generations of young female soccer players to come.

No new property taxes, funds to support migrants, an increase in the police budget, and more were included in Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s budget address Monday. Hit play to listen to the full speech.

In 1919, Chicago erupted into race riots after white beachgoers killed a Black teen named Eugene Williams. Poet Eve Ewing tells the story of that so-called "Red Summer" in her poetry collection 1919. Now, playwright J. Nicole Brooks has re-imagined Ewing's poems as a play, which debuts at the Steppenwolf Theatre on Oct. 4. Reset sits down with Ewing about the adaptation, the emotional weight of that summer in 1919, and how it continues today.

There are 44,000 federal rules, laws and policies that restrict and sanction people after incarceration that pose “permanent punishments.” WTTW is hosting a four part mini-series exploring the barriers that exist for the 3.3 million people in Illinois that have been incarcerated. Reset hears more about the series and how permanent punishments impact people’s lives from WTTW host Brandis Friedman, Marlon Chamberlain of Heartland Alliance’s Fully Free campaign and Celia Colón, founder of Giving Others Dreams.