Nuclear fallout shelters are still among us, though they are not exactly ready for the apocalypse. These remnants of Cold War-era infrastructure do exist across Chicago, often in places you might not expect.
In Illinois, it is illegal for any housing provider to deny a tenant solely based on how they pay for rent. And in Chicago, “source of income” is a protected class and allows alleged victims of discrimination to file complaints with the Chicago Commission on Human Relations.
But new reporting from WBEZ finds that people are being discriminated against for using rental assistance, in spite of local laws aimed at preventing that.
Reset digs into why landlords are rejecting Section 8 vouchers, and who is most impacted with WBEZ data projects editor Alden Loury and data intern Ashley Soriano.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Gen Z and millennial candidates are running for public office, and they’re not afraid to take on members of their own parties who have been in power for decades. Reset talks with Chicago Tribune state government reporter Olivia Olander, NPR politics reporter Elena Moore and Illinois State Rep. Nabeela Syed.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Tucked in the city’s municipal code is a law that prohibits the production, storage and launching of nuclear weapons in Chicago. We find out why the city decided this law was necessary.
Ocean Vuong is perhaps best-known for his 2019 novel “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” and deeply intimate poetry collections such as “Night Sky with Exit Wounds” (2016) and “Time Is a Mother” (2022). In his new novel, the Vietnamese-American author tells the story of friendship and acting with kindness even when you’re filled with hopelessness.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
The National Institutes of Health is the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world, but under the Trump administration, NIH is freezing funding to several universities, including Northwestern. One of the projects being delayed is cutting-edge research on ovarian and pancreatic cancer. Reset learns more about the effect of this freeze on patients and early career scientists with Josh Leonard, professor of chemical and biological engineering at Northwestern University.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Chicago’s newly passed “green social housing” ordinance creates a city-owned, nonprofit developer that will issue loans to companies that build eco-friendly homes. Reset breaks down what’s in the plan and gets thoughts on this approach from affordable housing advocates Daniel Kay Hertz of Impact for Equity and Courtney Hanson of People for Community Recovery.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
The new Pope has Chicago roots, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s housing initiative gets City Council approval, and new candidates crowd the race to replace Sen. Durbin. Reset goes behind those headlines and much more in our Weekly News Recap. This week’s panel features CW 26 reporter Brandon Pope, Chicago Sun-Times reporter Mitchell Armentrout and Chicago Tribune editor Chris Jones.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
To mark Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Reset learns more of the past, present and future of Illinois’s South Asian community with the executive director of the South Asian American Policy & Research Institute Shobhana Johri Verma, and education consultant, South Asian American Policy & Research Institute Julie Thomas Achettu.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Thursday, May 8, the papal conclave chose Robert Prevost to be the next head of the Roman Catholic Church. He was born and raised in the Chicago area and is the first American pontiff. Reset gets local reaction to the announcement from Bob Herguth, Chicago Sun-Times investigative reporter, Father Michael Trail, St. Thomas the Apostle parish in Hyde Park Mary FioRito, attorney, former top aide to Cardinal George, the late predecessor to Cardinal Blase Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
