Eight Forty-Eight

The Field Museum is welcoming its newest and biggest addition to its collection of dinosaurs. In the main hall, you can find a 46-foot-long cast of one of the most scientifically up-to-date Spinosaurus in the world. Reset puts on its paleontology hat and learns more about the dinosaur with Jingmai O'Connor, an associate curator of fossil reptiles.

From construction on the Kennedy Expressway to road closures because of Nascar, traffic in Chicago is getting worse. Reset discusses how the congestion is affecting drivers and potentially putting cyclists and pedestrians in danger with Rick Resnick of See it All mini tour bus company, Audrey Wennink of the Metropolitan Planning Council and Sharon Hoyer, a cyclist and Streetsblog freelance journalist.

If your lawn has not looked quite as green and lush as usual, you can blame a “flash drought” and one of the driest months of May in 150 years. And if you’re getting air quality alerts in your area, you can blame Canada. Reset checks in with atmospheric scientist Scott Collis.

The director of the new A24 film “Past Lives” joins Reset to talk about going from the stage to the big screen. After working as a playwright for the past 10 years, Celine Song is starting her career in film. She sat down with us to talk about making a movie about real life and touching on themes of love, fate and immigration.

While Pride Month is usually packed with events to celebrate and support the LGBTQ community, queer families are often left with a few options. To learn more, Reset chats with Keewa Nurullah and Kristen Kaza, co-organizers of a free, all-ages Pride event.

Chicago welcomes patio season with a win for restaurants. We talk with Chicago foodies Nick Kindelsperger, Marnie Shure, and Jack Dengel about the city’s new permanent outdoor dining policy and our favorite spots to wine and dine this summer.

Looking for a theater experience that beats the summer blockbusters? Music Box Theatre will be screening William Castle’s House on Haunted Hill on June 7 and 8, complete with gimmicks the legendary director was known for. Reset learns more about Castle’s contributions to the genre, and what the theater is planning for the event with Morgan Wiercinski and Jeremy Marder, co-programmers of the event.

Chicago’s City Council approves $51 million for migrant services. Meanwhile, Illinois lawmakers pass a new budget in Springfield. Reset goes behind those headlines with A.D. Quig, Cook County and Chicago government reporter for the Chicago Tribune, CW 26 reporter/anchor Brandon Pope and WBEZ city government and politics reporter Tessa Weinberg.

Reset sits down with comedian Hari Kondabolu to chat about his new material and his executive producer role on a film about immigration and the rise of the far right in the U.S. and Germany.

Illinois leads the nation in the number of lead service lines, yet it received a smaller share of federal funding to replace those lead pipes than states like Florida and Texas. Reset gets the details from Michael Hawthorne, an environment and public health reporter for the Chicago Tribune.

Reset breaks down what the debt ceiling deal could mean for your student loans with Cody Hounanian, executive director of the Student Debt Crisis Center, and Jack Wallace, the head of government affairs and industry relations at student loan refinance group Yrefy.

In a 34-13 vote Wednesday, Chicago’s City Council approved $51 million to help care for migrants. The decision came after an intense debate among council members and residents. Reset gets the latest from WBEZ reporters Indi Khera and Mariah Woelfel, who have been covering the migrant crisis.

Companies are keeping prices the same while shrinking quantities. While inflation has dropped from its 40-year high in June 2022, the phenomenon of “shrinkflation” has not disappeared. Many items, from paper towels to Oreos, are getting smaller while prices remain the same. Reset talks to Chicago Sun-Times investigative reporter Stephanie Zimmerman and consumer advocate Edgar Dworsky about why “shrinkflation” is happening and about its impact on consumers.

A bill that’s passed in both the Illinois House and Senate would provide basic protections for freelancers requiring clients to pay them within 30 days of work completed. But it still needs Governor J.B. Pritzker’s signature to be law. Reset digs into how this legislation protects freelancers’ right to compensation with two freelancers: writer Anna Burgess and audio producer Mary Mathis.

Swimming season is here. Reset discusses water safety with Chicagoan Dave Benjamin, co-founder and executive director of the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project. Benjamin has made it his mission to prevent drownings in Lake Michigan and beyond.

From housing to health, Chicago agencies, groups and individuals are taking on the challenge to help asylum seekers create a home in the city. Reset checks in with people working on the ground to support migrants and learn about an effort to provide trauma-informed training to volunteers.

Half of Chicagoans witness a shooting by age 40, according to a recent study from the Journal of the American Medical Association. And the average age for witnessing the shooting is only 14 years old. Reset learns about how this trauma can impact young people’s developing brains and discusses efforts to help students heal and turn the tide of violence.

After months of hype and controversy, the live-action remake of the Disney princess classic, “The Little Mermaid,” is finally in theaters. Reset talks to culture writer Brittney Pierre and CW-26 anchor Brandon Pope about their thoughts on the film.

Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest financial decisions many people make in their lifetimes, but many people have been avoiding making moves due to high interest rates and high prices. Now, things could be starting to change in the Chicago area. Reset talks with a real estate expert Ilyce Glink about how to navigate this unique market moment.

In what ways is democracy under threat in the United States? And how do we strengthen our union? Those are two of the key questions posed in a new series of reports, editorials, podcasts and radio segments from WBEZ and the Sun-Times called “The Democracy Solutions Project,” which will run through the 2024 presidential election. The project is a partnership between Chicago Public Media and the University of Chicago’s Center for Effective Government at the Harris School of Public Policy. Reset sits down Eric Liu of Citizen University to hear more about the role civic engagement can play in strengthening democracy.