Author: WBEZ Chicago

Posted on

Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - Earth Day Activities To Put On Your Calendar

Earth Day is an opportunity to think about the environment around us. From park cleanups to film festivals focusing on climate change and environmental issues, there’s plenty to choose from. Reset gets ideas of ways to plug in from the founder and executive director of the One Earth Film Festival Ana Garcia-Doyle, Community Relations Manager at the Chicago Park District tMaria Stone and the director of Loyola University Chicago’s Baumhart Center for Social Enterprise and Responsibility Karen Weigert. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Posted on

Curious City - Is extremist ideology still fringe?

Extremism in America has been on the rise. Last episode, we looked at extremist groups in Chicago and how they terrorized select groups of people and influenced housing policy in the city during the 1950s. But what does extremism look like today? Curious City host Erin Allen talks with Odette Yousef, a national security correspondent focusing on extremism at NPR, about why it’s less about fringe groups and more about ideology that has permeated our culture. “January 6 was a good example of how everything has changed,” she says. “That to me was really a milestone in terms of how extremism looks in this country, because I think we have long expected it to come out of small cells or groups. And here it was just everyday Americans who had gotten really kind of radicalized until the point where they participated in the violence that day.” She also talks about how extremism has shown up in Chicago and how the city compares with other large American cities.
Posted on

Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - Michael Shannon On His Directorial Debut, ‘Eric Larue’

Michael Shannon is an Oscar-nominated actor, known for his movies like “The Shape of Water” and “Revolutionary Road,” and the TV show “Boardwalk Empire.” Now, he’s enjoying the view behind the camera as he makes his directorial debut in the new film “Eric Larue.” It tells the story of Janice, the mother of a teenage boy who shot and killed three of his classmates and how she tries to cope with the fallout, guilt and hostility. Reset sits down with Michael Shannon and screenwriter Brett Neveu.
Posted on

Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - Chicago’s Small Businesses Hit Hardest By Trump’s Tariffs?

The stock market has been showing the effects of President Trump’s tariffs on imports over the past week. But those effects certainly aren’t confined to the money markets. To learn more about the impact on Chicago-area businesses, Reset sits down with Elliot Richardson, president of Small Business Advocacy Council; Bruce Wesley, owner of Wesley’s Shoe Corral; and Mark Doyle, founder of Rags of Honor and Veteran Roasters. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Posted on

Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - Without Chicago, There Wouldn’t Be Soap Operas

Love triangles, amnesia, cliffhangers, blackmail – there’s no trope or plot device that soap operas haven’t seen – or invented. But who invented the soaps themselves? Turns out, the genre got its start in Chicago. It’s a piece of broadcast and pop culture history that is getting its due in a new podcast from WBEZ. Reset gets the inside story with Natalie Moore, host of “Stories Without End,” a WBEZ Making podcast. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Posted on

Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - What’s That Building? Chicago’s Newest Museum

Calling all Chicago history buffs: the city’s newest museum is spotlighting an undertold story of Chicago’s past. It’s also now open in the only surviving building of the historic Jane Addams homes, Chicago’s first public housing development. Architecture expert Dennis Rodkin takes us inside. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Posted on

Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - It’s Not Just Tariffs: Tensions With Canada Leave Great Lakes In Jeopardy Producer:

The U.S. and Canada have co-managed the Great Lakes for more than a century, but rising political tensions could change chat. What does this mean for the immediate and longterm future of the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem? Reset finds out with Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WBEZ reporter on climate change, and Alaina Harkness, CEO of Current, a water innovation hub. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Posted on

Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - WBEZ’s Weekly News Recap, April 4, 2025

The Chicago Teachers Union reaches tentative contract deal with Chicago Public Schools. Teen violence in Streeterville has alder calling for earlier curfew. Jewish students at DePaul sue the university over alleged antisemitic attack. Reset dives into these and other top local stories with ABC 7 News anchor Ravi Baichwal, WBEZ senior education editor Kate Grossman and Better Government Association president David Greising. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.