Author: WBEZ Chicago

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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - Trump Administration Goes After Chicago, Deerfield Schools

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.
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Curious City - “Enemy Alien”: How Chicago photojournalist Jun Fujita avoided Japanese internment camps

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.
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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - Need Spring Break Ideas? We’ve Got You Covered

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.
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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - A Death Doula’s Advice On Conquering Your Fear Of Dying

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.
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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - Trump Administration Policies Leave Chicago College Students In The Lurch

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.
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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - What Trump’s Tariffs, Executive Actions Could Mean For Your Money

Tariffs on foreign goods threaten increased costs for U.S consumers. Grocery prices are on the rise, and fears of a recession loom. It’s a lot to digest, and a lot of money potentially flying out of your wallet. So what actions can we take to make sure our personal finances are in order to weather economic uncertainty? Reset gets tips and answers to your finance questions from Christine Benz, director of personal finance and retirement planning at Morningstar, and author of the book How to Retire. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - Chicago Public Media CEO Melissa Bell On Future of Chicago Sun-Times, WBEZ

Last week, the Chicago Sun-Times lost 20% of its workforce, as public media faces funding threats from Washington. So what’s ahead for one of the largest non-profit media companies in the country? Reset sits down with Melissa Bell, CEO of Chicago Public Media, to learn how this will affect what readers and listeners can expect from CPM’s newsrooms. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - Chicagoan Fanny Barrier Williams And The Rise Of Black Women’s Clubs

Throughout Women’s History Month, Reset has been taking deep dives into the lives of unsung remarkable Chicago women. In this week’s segment, we look at Fanny Barrier Williams, a lesser-known contemporary of Ida B. Wells who played a role in Black women’s clubs. To learn her story, Reset sat down with Jennifer Brier, a local historian and history professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - The Pandemic’s Essential Workers: Then And Now

Reset checks in with a panel of Chicagoans — whose jobs were considered essential during the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020 – for their reflections on the fifth anniversary of the lockdown. They also discuss how that “essential” label has transferred to today. The panel included Sharif Nassr, founder and CEO of the children’s nursery Caterpillar Care Chicago; Hannah Chavez, who was employed as a Whole Foods grocery store worker in 2020; and Elise Foster, president of Branch 11 of the National Association of Letter Carriers union. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.