Author: WBEZ Chicago

Driving down Route 66, some 60 miles southwest of downtown Chicago, a massive astronaut statue, placed outside of a restaurant near Wilmington, Illinois used to be visible. But it’s no longer there. Reset learns more about the Gemini Giant, where it used to stand, and why it’s up for sale now. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

With a new album out next month, Lizz Wright joins Reset to discuss “defining loves” in her life, the artistry she finds in cooking, and growing up steeped in gospel music. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Chicago alders want to censure Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez over his attendance at a rally where a veteran burned the American flag in front of City Hall. Plus, a WBEZ analysis finds more Chicagoans lacked heat in January than any month since 2019. Reset dives into these and other top local stories with City Cast Chicago’s Jacoby Cochran, WBEZ statehouse reporter Alex Degman, and WTTW Chicago politics reporter Heather Cherone. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

A lot happened in 2020. Beyond a global pandemic, the year was also marked by a divisive presidential election, the spread of misinformation and mass protests, just to name a few. A new book by author and NYU sociologist Erik Klinenberg, titled 2020: One City, Seven People and the Year Everything Changed, charts the transformation of a nation. Reset learns more from the author himself on his process and on why it’s important to look back to learn. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

James reimagines the Mark Twain classic Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – this time telling it from the perspective of the enslaved character Jim. Everett has written 30 books, including Erasure, the 2001 novel adapted into the Oscar-winning film American Fiction. Reset talks with the author about what his new work can teach us about agency and art of balancing satire and irony while conveying the horrors of slavery. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ended its five-day quarantine recommendation for people who test positive for COVID-19, announcing that people can return to activities after symptoms improve for at least 24 hours. It’s a big change from the required 10-day quarantine period from four years ago when the World Health Organization first declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Reset reflects on the impact of four years of COVID-19 with Steven Thrasher, author of The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide, and Megan E. Doherty, co-leader of Care Not COVID, an advocacy group pushing for safer healthcare settings. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Rainforests are complex ecosystems that house over half of the world’s species, but they’re under threat from deforestation and climate change, and gathering data about the shifts in populations is difficult and unreliable. But AI could help. Reset hears from the Morton Arboretum’s Chuck Cannon, and Loyola University’s Karen Weigert on efforts to build accessible tools that can be used to monitor the species that call rainforests home. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

For the most part, Sarah McCammon followed the rules set by her Evangelical family. She was taught to obey God, not to question her faith, and that her eternal salvation was secured in heaven. She later left the church, but soon saw the power of evangelical Christian beliefs on the political right after covering the Trump campaign in 2016 for NPR. Reset learns more about McCammon’s journey and the power she sees in that conservative religious community. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

When it comes to talking about sex, taboos and stigma can – and do – lead to myths and misinformation – particularly for women. From disproportionately impacted by long-term effects of STDs to infertility to even just being prepared for changes in their menstrual cycle, many women – across age groups – say the sex education they were offered in school and social circles left them woefully unprepared. Reset sat down with DePaul student Tyesha Thomas, Northwestern’s Dr. Traci Kurtzer, and co-host of WBEZ’s When Magic Happens podcast Cheryle Jackson to discuss sexual health and how the knowledge gap seems to persist across generations. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.