Author: WBEZ Chicago

The Art Institute's Frida Kahlo’s Month in Paris: A Friendship with Mary Reynolds explores a pivotal moment in Kahlo’s career. Reset sits down with Caitlin Haskell, Gary C. and Frances Comer senior curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, one of the curators behind the exhibition to learn more about the two artists’ friendship and their connection to the surrealist art movement. This exhibition will be open now until Sunday, July 13, 2025. Tickets are an additional $5 in addison to a general admission. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on all imports worldwide on April 2. At the same time, Gov. JB Pritzker wrapped up a trade mission trip to Mexico City to strengthen trade relationships between Illinois and Mexico. Reset takes a closer look at the local impact of U.S. tariffs, and what Illinois is doing about it. Cécile Shea with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs weighs in. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

"BAUBO UNEARTHED,” is an art exhibition in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood that fuses myth, history, and contemporary practice to pull lessons of joy and resistance. Drawing on the ancient figure Baubo — whose irreverent humor disrupted grief — it embodies her spirit to challenge sorrow and imagine more compassionate futures. Reset sits down with the artist and curator of the show Stephany Colunga to learn more and explore the exhibit. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union have been negotiating a contract for nearly a year. This week, a key CTU bargaining committee approved the tentative deal, bringing the teachers one step closer to a final contract. Reset hears what’s in the contract – and how it impacts schools – from WBEZ education reporter Sarah Karp. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

About 1 in 4 Illinois residents depend on Medicaid. Congressional Republicans are pushing legislation that would likely lead to significant cuts in federal funding for Medicaid programs around the country. From lost coverage to lost jobs, the looming cuts could impact millions in Illinois alone. Reset checks in with U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen (D–IL), whose district has one of the highest numbers of Medicaid recipients. We also hear from Medicaid advocates Anusha Thotakura, executive director of Citizen Action/Illinois, and Stephanie Altman, director of Healthcare Justice at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law to learn more. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

In 2024, Chicago was named the rattiest city in the US by Orkin Pest Control for the TENTH year in a row. The city’s budget for its ‘Bureau of Rodent Control’ is almost $15 million annually. And they’re trying something new. Starting in [[[]]], bait boxes with rat ‘birth control’ will be placed in alleys throughout Wicker Park and Bucktown to try to curb the growth of rat populations. Reset checks in with Quinn Myers of Block Club Chicago to learn more about the program. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

With the weather warming up, it’s time to exit hibernation. And what better way to get outside and give back than cleaning up your neighborhood with people in your community? There are a number of ways to get involved, so Reset checked in with Sophie Rallo, executive director and founder of Garbage Gals, Kirstin Quigley of LoveBlue Chicago and Katherine Tellock, executive director and founder of Cleanup Club Chicago to learn more. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

In her new book, The Portable Feminist Reader, writer and cultural critic Roxane Gay has compiled writings by ancient, historic and modern feminist voices. It explores the state of American feminism, its successes and failures, and what feminism looks like in practice. Gay recently joined Reset host Sasha-Ann Simons to discuss the anthology in front of a live audience at the Athenaeum Center in Chicago. Here’s their full, unedited conversation, which includes some strong language. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

In the final installment of our Women’s History Month series, we go inside the lives of immigrant women who found their way to Hull House upon arrival to Chicago, and their homes in the surrounding neighborhoods. Reset speaks with Chicago professor and historian Jennifer Brier and Liesel Olson, director of the Hull House Museum, to honor the unnamed remarkable figures that helped shape Chicago. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.