In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

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We’re unpacking the headlines and making the news make sense. Get connected with local experts, your neighbors and the stories shaping Chicago.

  1. 16H AGO

    Ask Chicago's Mayor: Sept 2025

    As heightened immigration enforcement continues, we learn how the city’s chief executive is working to keep residents safe. In the Loop sits down with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to learn how he’s balancing national attention with the day-to-day needs of the city residents. Plus, he answers callers’ questions. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.

    46 min
  2. Chicagoans Are Living Longer — But Your Address Is Still A Major Factor

    1D AGO

    Chicagoans Are Living Longer — But Your Address Is Still A Major Factor

    Chicagoans are living longer — at least nearly as long as they did pre-pandemic, according to new data from the Chicago Department of Public Health. Meanwhile, the life expectancy gap between Black and non-Black Chicagoans is narrowing, but according to CDPH, there’s still a long way to go. In the Loop finds out more about how far the city has come in improving the health and longevity of residents and what challenges may lie ahead. We check in with Ayesha Jaco, executive director of West Side United; The Rev. Marshall Hatch, senior pastor, New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church; and Dr. David Ansell, professor of medicine at Rush University Medical Center and author of The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills. For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.

    34 min
  3. Introducing: WBEZ’s In The Loop

    1D AGO

    Introducing: WBEZ’s In The Loop

    WBEZ’s new show “In the Loop” is your place for Chicago-area news and culture. Host Sasha-Ann Simons and executive producer Dan Tucker break down what to expect. Check this feed every weekday afternoon to stay In the Loop.

    2 min
  4. Summer Highlights From Reset!

    AUG 29

    Summer Highlights From Reset!

    As the summer winds down, we wanted to share some highlights of conversations we’ve had on Reset over the last few months. From our immigration series to conversations with music legends to sitting down with Sasha's mom, we’re looking back on an eventful season. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

    14 min
  5. Carol Moseley Braun On Her New Memoir ‘Trailblazer’

    AUG 28

    Carol Moseley Braun On Her New Memoir ‘Trailblazer’

    In 1991, a high-profile and controversial Supreme Court confirmation hearing led Carol Moseley Braun to run for the U.S. Senate. “The good people of Illinois saw fit to elect me,” Moseley Braun says. That’s when she became the first Black woman to serve in the upper chamber. At the same time, Braun was the first woman senator to represent the state of Illinois in Congress. Braun details her childhood, that journey to Congress and the international success that would follow in a new memoir, “Trailblazer: Perseverance in Life and Politics.” Reset sits down with Carol Moseley Braun to learn more about her Chicago upbringing and storied career. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

    23 min
  6. ‘Somebody Knows Something,’ Elgin Police Department Takes On Decades-Old Cold Cases In Their Podcast

    AUG 28

    ‘Somebody Knows Something,’ Elgin Police Department Takes On Decades-Old Cold Cases In Their Podcast

    In the early hours of April 16, 1983, 23-year-old Karen Schepers of Elgin went missing after a night out with co-workers. And over four decades later, the Elgin Police Department’s Cold Case Unit takes this missing persons case on again. The detectives behind the case document their investigation in the first season of the “Somebody Knows Something” podcast. Reset sits down with Elgin Police Department Chief Ana Lalley, detectives Christopher Hall and Andrew Houghton, and Sergeant Matt Vartanian to learn more about their work and the pod. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

    22 min
  7. Fact Checking The White House’s Claims About Crime In Chicago

    AUG 27

    Fact Checking The White House’s Claims About Crime In Chicago

    The National Guard was deployed to Washington, D.C. earlier this month as a part of President Donald Trump’s effort to mitigate crime in the capital. And Chicago could be next. City and state leaders, such as Gov. JB Pritzker, have made their message clear. “Do not come to Chicago.” Since then, the White House has issued a press release of its own. A bullet-pointed list of crime statistics and headlines. Reset will go behind those headlines and fact-check the White House’s claims that Chicago residents want the National Guard in the city with WBEZ criminal justice reporter Chip Mitchell and Northwestern professor Andrew Papachristos. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

    18 min
  8. New Doc Looks At Future Of HBCUs

    AUG 27

    New Doc Looks At Future Of HBCUs

    As students return to campuses across the nation, a new documentary explores the legacy and new challenges faced by historically black colleges and universities. Reset learns more from Brandis Friedman, WTTW anchor and co-producer of the documentary “Opportunity, Access & Uplift: The Evolving Legacy of HBCUs.” We also hear from Felecia Commodore, associate professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

    18 min
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We’re unpacking the headlines and making the news make sense. Get connected with local experts, your neighbors and the stories shaping Chicago.

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