Brooklynn Skye has been a staple in the Chicago music scene for years and has played with the likes of noname, Sistazz of The Nitty Gritty, The Celestials! and more.
And now, she’s embarking on her solo career, and just dropped her latest single “NVR MET YOU.” Reset sits down with the Chicago born-and-bred artist to learn more about her journey, music and evolution.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Trump administration cuts $153 million in Illinois mental health and substance abuse services. Mayor Brandon Johnson struggles to find money for a $175 million pension payment. Also: can you name 1,000 things you love about Chicago? Reset goes behind the headlines in the Weekly News Recap. This week’s roundtable includes Simone Alicea, City Cast Chicago executive producer; Alex Nitkin, government finance and accountability reporter with the Illinois Answers Project; and Nader Issa, Chicago Sun-Times education reporter.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
The Yukon building is a two-story structure built in 1898 by the Boston-based real estate investor who also put up the Rookery, the Monadnock and the Marquette in Chicago. The Yukon was always meant to be a temporary building, and yet has stood for more than 120 years. Now, the property taxes are delinquent and at least three tenants have vacated their spaces in recent months. How much longer can the Yukon last?
Reset gets the full story from Dennis Rodkin, senior reporter covering residential real estate for Crain’s Chicago Business.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
The City Fresh Market opened in 2004 to serve the Yugoslavian community with grocery items that were hard to find. “The desserts were a big reason my family would make the trip to the store when I was a kid,” says one of the managers. Reset tries some of the offerings – from borek to slices of dobos torte – and explores the role grocery store bakeries play in the community with WBEZ producers Lynnea Domienik and Cianna Graves, and the City Fresh Market manager Amina Krlicevic.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Chicago Public Schools and a suburban school district are under a civil rights investigation from the Department of Education. And the center of the investigation? School locker room policy. The investigation, announced last week, comes after politically conservative groups filed complaints about trans students being allowed to change in the locker room that lines up with their gender identities. The Trump Administration says it is investigating alleged violations of Title IX, while the Chicago and Deerfield school districts insist they are in accordance with Illinois law. Reset digs into what’s at stake with Chicago Sun-Times reporter Violet Miller.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Jun Fujita is the Japanese-American photographer behind some of the most recognizable photographs taken in Chicago in the 20th century, including his shots of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929, the Eastland passenger boat disaster of 1915, and the 1919 Chicago race riots. Fujita was also a published poet and something of a regional celebrity, known for socializing with William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway.
Fujita’s foreign identity also made him the subject of government inquiry and suspicion on multiple occasions — during both World War I and World War II — according to Graham Lee, Fujita’s great-nephew and the author of a new Fujita biography, “Jun Fujita: Behind the Camera.” After Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Fujita’s assets were frozen, his business was shuttered, his cameras were taken away, and he constrained himself to Chicago to avoid possible internment, Lee said.
How did Fujita navigate this perilous time for an immigrant in Chicago? We sat down with Lee to discuss how Fujita, a “supremely confident person,” came to rely on both the support of his community and his wits.
From free admission days at several museums, to day trips, to visiting a park in a new neighborhood, there’s a lot to offer in a short timeframe. Reset gets ideas from Kameron Stanton, co-founder Black People Outside; Tori Levy, staff writer of Secret Chicago; and WBEZ engineer Dave Miska. Listeners also weighed in on places to go and things to do.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Until about 100 years ago, death was revered as a natural and sacred part of life. The rise of the funeral industry at the turn of the century, coupled with modern society’s longevity obsession, made death foreign and scary.
Death doula and former hospice nurse Suzanne O’Brien has been at the bedside of thousands of dying patients across the world. She’s on a mission to remind us that death is not a medical experience, rather a human one. And in her new book, “The Good Death,” O’Brien says as long as we continue to fear death, we’ll miss out on its profound teachings. Reset checks in with the author to learn more about how to prepare for life’s most difficult transition.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Chicago is in the national spotlight when it comes to the immigration debate, but that’s nothing new to the mayoral office. We take a look back at how mayors have either embraced or rejected new arrivals.
Some college students are saying their summer and post-graduation plans are in jeopardy, as research grants, PhD projects, jobs and internships are being canceled or rescinded in the wake of anti-DEI policies and pulled funding from Washington.
Additionally, groups like the PhD Project – which helps students from underrepresented groups to secure graduate degrees in business – have become a target in the Trump Administration’s attack on DEI in higher education.
To learn more, Reset hears from Alfonzo Alexander, CEO of the PhD Project, as well as Juan Simon Angel and Britney Smart, two Chicago university students.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.