Author: WBEZ Chicago

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, CEO of the Preeclampsia Foundation, and Dr. Melissa Simon, OB-GYN at Northwestern University Medicine.

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.