Author: WBEZ Chicago

PACKS frontwoman Madeline Link felt blessed to write about love that made her “feel wonderful — not deranged,” like relationships in her past. The 2024 album Melt the Honey explores partnership and life with crunchy guitars and loose rhythm sections. She joins Reset to talk about her love of South America, live music, and paper mache. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

What happened this week, Chicago? Well, the city is making final preparations for the Democratic National Convention, a judge dealt a blow to protest organizers, Riot Fest does an about-face, and a former school official is sentenced to prison for stealing nearly $1.5 million in chicken wings. Reset goes behind the headlines of those stories and much more in our Weekly News Recap, with Julie Bosman, Chicago bureau chief for The New York Times; Carrie Shepherd, Chicago reporter with AXIOS; and WBEZ state politics reporter Dave McKinney. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

If you ever find yourself strolling down Armitage Avenue in Logan Square, you may encounter a friendly beaver on a three-foot wide baby blue button, greeting you with a simple “Hello!” The button marks the entrance to the Busy Beaver Button Company and Museum, a spot in Logan Square that has archived 60,000 pin-back buttons. They’ve got everything from a “pre-button” celebrating George Washington’s inauguration to a heart-shaped button of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Reset sent two team members to the museum to find out what's so special about buttons. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

From the deep-dish-versus-tavern-style debate to the fierceness of defending ketchup-less hot dogs, Chicagoans have feelings about food. Is it giardiniera that unites us? Reset hears the case for why the spicy pickled condiment is one thing Chicagoans can agree on. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

In 1971, a group of friends crowded around a dining room table in Chicago’s Kenwood neighborhood. They were putting together the first issue of the Chicago Reader, one of the first free alternative weekly newspapers in the country. With its origins beginning more than 50 years ago it would go on to become a model for alt-weeklies nationwide. Now, an effort is underway to create a coffee-table book showcasing this history. We sat down with Chris Haas, editor and designer of the upcoming book Free Chicago; Amber Nettles, associate publisher for the Chicago Reader; Kerry Reid, theatre editor for the Chicago Reader. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

The busy summer travel season coincides with hurricane season, so travelers and airlines should brace for storm-related flight delays and cancellations. But that’s just one part of an almost never-ending chain reaction: more air travel (and its carbon emissions) contributes to severe weather, severe weather wreaks havoc on air travel, and so on and so on. Reset learns about this cycle, and what is being done to break it. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

The CDC tracker shows coronavirus levels are much higher nationwide than they were this time last year. With infection levels on the rise, should folks get another COVID booster? Are tests effectively catching the latest strains? How long are we supposed to isolate again? To learn more, Reset checks in with UChicago Medicine’s infectious disease specialist Dr. Emily Landon. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

More than half of the average American adult’s diet consists of ultra processed foods. Foods like the frozen meal you grabbed for lunch, or your go-to morning granola bar or even your plant-based chicken nuggets. All of these foods can be ultra-processed. And eating these foods has been linked to overeating and higher risks of all kinds of diseases, from diabetes to cancer. Reset checks in with health coach Rochelle Trotter about how we got here, and how we get out. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

A Chicago hotline that normally serves as a simple way for people to join a waitlist for subsidized housing has been disconnected for more than a month, with no clear return date. Now, people in need of housing are redirected to call 211 and find their closest in-person office – there’s seven in the city. Advocates say that puts a burden on people who are already struggling. Reset sits down with Chicago Sun-Times reporter and assistant editor Brett Chase who looked into this issue. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.