Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons

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.

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. To kick off the project, Reset sits down with the center’s director Will Howell.

As we celebrate Memorial Day, Reset talks to a veteran and service member parent working to serve veterans in need.

The rapper Kayo explores loss, acceptance and perspective in his latest work. Ahead of his show at the Epiphany Center next week, the artist stopped by WBEZ’s performance studio to share some songs and his story. Reset sits down with the Chicago-based rapper to hear about his journey so far and what’s to come.

Illinois lawmakers pass a budget and wrap up their spring session. Neighbors on Chicago’s Northwest side are divided over proposals to shelter migrants at local City College. Reset goes behind the headlines with Tina Sfondeles, Chicago Sun-Times chief political reporter, Paris Schutz, reporter and anchor for WTTW-TV, and Mariah Woelfel, WBEZ city politics reporter.

A new police training program is underway in Chicago. And it’s drawing from successes in departments in other major cities like New York and LA. The Policing Leadership Academy will focus on just that: training police leaders and supervisors. But even though it’s here in Chicago, the lesson plan won’t be based on practices within the Chicago Police Department. As the academy welcomes its first cohort, Reset turns to Roseanna Ander, Executive Director of the Crime Lab, Kenneth Corey, Former New York Police Chief of Department and Director of Outreach and Engagement at the University of Chicago Policing Leadership Academy, and Charlie Beck, former LAPD Police Chief and interim Chicago police superintendent in late 2019 to early 2020, who helped design the six-month program.

The upcoming Supreme Court decision on race-conscious admissions is raising questions about legacy admission policies and other practices that tend to favor white, wealthier students at the expense of historically underrepresented ones. Reset speaks with WBEZ higher education reporter Lisa Philip on the latest from the case.

Dirty cars, crime and significant delays are a few of the problems riders have pointed out about the Chicago Transit Authority in recent years. Reset discusses the woes of riding the CTA with Natalie Moore, interim editor of WBEZ’s Race, Class and Communities Desk and Cassie Walker Burke, external editor at WBEZ. Then we hear from Illinois State Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), co-chair of Mayor Johnson’s transition team transportation subcommittee and Brian Steele, CTA spokesperson about how they plan to address the issues.

Back in October, the FDA announced a shortage of amphetamine mixed salts, more commonly known as Adderall, which is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. This has had real impacts on individuals and families in Chicago trying to get their hands on the stimulant. So, what’s behind the shortage? Reset dives into a conversation about the demand for ADHD medication, overdiagnosis and what it’s like living and treating the condition with Steven Meyers, licensed clinical psychologist with Chicago ADHD Associates and Zoe Smith, child and adolescent clinical psychologist and assistant professor with the department of psychology at Loyola University.

Chicago is having an urban wildlife moment. Has this always been the case, or is this emergence of city critters indicative of something bigger? Reset checks in with a panel of wildlife experts and ecologists, including Seth Magle, director of the Urban Wildlife Institute at Lincoln Park Zoo, Al Scorch, botanist with Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t, Tyler LaRiviere, Chicago Sun-Times photographer and Rebecca Fyffe, urban wildlife manager.

After a five-year investigation, the AG’s office released a 696-page report showing that the Catholic church failed to acknowledge hundreds of clerics and brothers who abused at least 1,997 across Illinois dioceses. Reset talks with Bob Herguth of the Chicago Sun-Times who has been covering the investigation for years and Larry Antonsen, an abuse survivor and leader of SNAP Chicago, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

West Side Chicagoan @mycousin_tiera is being heralded by some as the city’s best kept comedy secret. You might recognize her from short Instagram and TikTok skits which have garnered millions of views. Now, the mother whose punchlines often focus on what it’s like to raise children, is on a multi-city comedy tour with stops in the Chicagoland area this weekend. Reset gets to know comedian Tiera Oleary and hear what to expect from her stage performance.

Hope Chicago is a college-access nonprofit that launched in 2022 with the goal of getting more Black and brown students from the South and West sides into college. But, it doesn’t stop there. The group also wants to send parents to college too. Reset checks in with CEO Janice Jackson to learn more about the organization’s work and hopes for the future.

Around the Chicago area, cicadas are starting to emerge, and you could see many, many more soon. Next year, the din will get even louder as 13-year and 17-year periodical cicadas come out of the ground. Reset checks in with Allen Lawrance of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago to learn everything there is to know about the fascinating insects.

New reporting from Block Club Chicago shows that Chicago City Council’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights didn’t meet for more than a year as the city struggled with its migrant crisis. Reset checks in with Block Club’s Mick Dumke.

Ready for Summertime Chi? Lake Michigan and the Chicago River are fantastic ways to enjoy your Chicago summer. Reset hears about all the reasons to appreciate our lakefront and waterways and gets some aquatic inspiration to kick off our summer. We check in Marlon Harvey, commodore at the Jackson Park Yacht Club; Alex Surmach, vice president of the board of directors at Learn Scuba Chicago; and John Quail, director of conservation at Friends of the Chicago River.