Author: WBEZ Chicago

Thanksgiving is all about the blessings of home, but thousands of Chicagoans don’t have shelter this holiday. As temperatures drop, we’ll hear what services exist to help the unhoused find relief with Christine Haley, chief homelessness officer for the state of Illinois and Doug Fraser, executive director of The Chicago Help Initiative. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Reset sits down with a bookish panel to hear about their favorite escapist and happily-ever-after fiction. The panel includes Sonali Dev, author of “The Vibrant Years,” Bryn Donovan, author of “Her Knight At The Museum,” and Jen Prokop, co-host of the Fated Mates podcast. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

NBC’s hit show “Parks and Recreation” ran from 2009 to 2015 and is now living a second life in streaming. A comfort show for many, it follows the staff of the parks department in the fictional Midwest town of Pawnee, Indiana. The show stars actors Amy Poehler, Rob Lowe, Nick Offerman and Chicagoan Jim O’Heir. Reset checks in with O’Heir as he releases his new book “Welcome to Pawnee: Stories of Friendships, Waffles and Parks and Recreation.” For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Chicagoans may have to dig a little deeper into their pockets to pay their electric bills next year as a result of advancing technology like data centers, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Reset checks in with watchdog reporter and assistant editor Brett Chase from Chicago Sun-Times to find out what the connection is between our electric bills and energy-hungry tech operations. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Some Illinois residents checking the mail have been in for a big surprise: A letter confirming that their medical debt has been erased. Reset learns more about the program and looks at other recent efforts to erase medical debt in our area with Elizabeth Whitehorn, director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services and Rev. Otis Moss III, senior pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

A year and a half ago, Oak Park’s architecturally significant Village Hall was headed for demolition. But the building, a modernist structure designed in the mid-1970s by architect Harry Weese, survived that threat. And late last week the village board selected a River North architecture firm to work out a plan for revitalizing the building for long-term use. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Chicago footwork is essential to the city’s history of electronic dance music and culture. It was pioneered in the 1990s by dancers, DJs and producers like DJ Rashad, DJ Spinn, DJ Clent, RP Boo and more on Chicago’s South and West sides. And it’s characterized by fast choppy vocal samples, interesting basslines and hi-hats and snares. Reset sits down with Litebulb, Steelo and P-Top of The Era Footwork Crew to learn more about the evolution of Chicago footwork and its continuing legacy. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

There’s a plot twist in the years-long Jussie Smollett case and we got a look at the “magic list” of former Illinois House speaker Mike Madigan. Reset breaks down those stories and more with CW-26 reporter and anchor Brandon Pope, WTTW Chicago politics reporter Heather Cherone, WBEZ criminal justice editor Patrick Smith and Chicago Sun-Times federal courts reporter Jon Seidel. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares for his second term, same-sex couples are preparing for potential setbacks in LGBTQ rights and legal protections. Reset learns more from parent Tia Lantzy and attorney Nidhi Desai. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.