Author: WBEZ Chicago

A small park used to be home to the first Catholic Church for African Americans west of Baltimore, served by the first openly Black priest. Reset gets the story from architecture guru Dennis Rodkin for our series What’s That Building? For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

From the creation of fabrics to the washing of synthetic fibers to the quick disposal of yet another piece of en vogue clothing, fast fashion harms the environment in multiple ways. Reset discusses local alternatives to fast fashion with Reset sustainability contributor Karen Weigert, co-director of Monarch Thrift Shop Mireya Fouché and Kate VanAsten, founder of the sustainable fashion brand Wulfka. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to borrow $830 million squeezed through the City Council Wednesday. Meanwhile, two high-profile trials are underway in Chicago and a near-miss at Midway Airport had Chicagoans questioning the safety of air travel. Reset checks in on those stories and other big local news of the week in our Weekly News Recap with WBEZ’s Patrick Smith, Tessa Weinberg and Alden Loury. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Most people celebrate paczki day on Fat Tuesday, but in keeping with Polish tradition, many bakeries in the Chicago area actually start selling paczki on the Thursday before Lent. We caught up with a bakery manager and people picking up their paczki orders to hear what makes this jelly filled donut so special. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Feeling the impact of inflation, many Americans are leveraging their buying power – by not buying anything. Thousands of people on social media are promoting what’s called the Economic Blackout. People in Illinois and Chicago are also mobilizing around the idea. To learn more about the effort and motive behind it, Reset was joined by the founder of The People’s Union USA John Schwarz; Rev. Otis Moss III, Senior Pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ; and Peg Dublin, co-chair of Third Act Illinois Peg Dublin. We also sat down with DePaul University economics professor Brian Thompson and small business owner Julie Horowitz to learn more about the impact of consumer activism. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

A new report from WBEZ finds that the rise in rents in Chicago is rising faster than the rise in median household income. Whereas the latter has only risen 9% on average, rents in the city have gone up more than 28%. The result? Families are struggling to find an affordable place to call home. Reset digs into it with WBEZ data reporter Amy Qin and housing director of Impact for Equity Daniel Kay Hertz about where rents are going up the fastest, the slowest, and what options are left to residents trying to live within their means. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

usic Box Theatre has curated a selection that will hit the home run for baseball fans and film buffs alike in their series “Play Ball!” Reset sits down with the series programmer Jeremy Marder and WBEZ sports contributor Cheryl Raye-Stout to break down what makes this pairing of film and baseball so riveting. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

When Vivian Harsh became a Chicago librarian, she began what was called at the time the “Special Negro Collection” – an archive housing Black history and literature. Harsh knew writers like Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Richard Wright and Zora Neale Hurston personally. Their work is also housed in the Vivian Harsh Research Collection, at Chicago’s Woodson Regional Library. Reset chats with the unit head of the collection, Raquel Flores-Clemons, to learn about Harsh’s life and legacy. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

The goal of Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposed cell phone ban is to improve student performance and social skills and fight cyberbullying. But can parents handle the limiting of direct access to their kids during school hours? Reset checks in with Chicago Sun Times education reporter Nader Issa and hears from expert Devorah Heitner on the impact of screens on kids. We also check in with Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat, superintendent of Peoria Public Schools, which has already gone phone-free in its classrooms. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.