In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

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

Episodes

WBEZ’s Weekly News Recap: Sept. 26, 2025

September 26, 2025 • 48 mins
Chicago schools lose millions in federal grants. Protests gain steam outside the ICE detention facility in suburban Broadview. Chicago’s City Council reaches a compromise on allowing so-called “granny flats.” In the Loop breaks down those stories and more in the Weekly News Recap with WTTW Chicago politics reporter Heather Cherone, Axios Chicago reporter Carrie Shepherd and Chicago Sun-Times reporter Tom Schuba. For a full arch...
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What’s That Building? Future Emmett Till House Museum

September 25, 2025 • 31 mins
The West Woodlawn home of Emmett Till and his family is in the process of becoming a museum and memorial. In the Loop checks in with architecture sleuth Dennis Rodkin, cousin of Emmett Till and former resident of the Emmett Till House Ollie Gordon and Willie Douglas, organizer with Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 21, which is helping rehab the home. For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/i...
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New COVID Vaccine Guidance In Illinois

September 24, 2025 • 33 mins
Illinois is one of several states that have created guidance for vaccines that diverges from federal recommendations. As we enter respiratory illness season, what does that mean for medical treatment? In the Loop talks to Chief Operating Officer for Cook County Department of Public Health Dr. Kiran Joshi, Division Head of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Lurie Children’s Hospital Dr. Ravi Jhaveri and Founding Board President of the...
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More College Grads Among The Longterm Unemployed

September 23, 2025 • 33 mins
A surprising trend in the job market is worrying economists. College-educated people are making up a larger subset of people who are unemployed for six months or longer. Automation, shrinking industries and federal cuts play a role. In the Loop digs into the issue with New York Times reporter Noam Scheiber and DePaul University professor of economics Brian Thompson. For a full archive of In The Loop interviews, head over to wbez...
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What’s The Future Of Electric Vehicles In Illinois?

September 22, 2025 • 34 mins
Federal tax credits for electric vehicles are ending at the end of September, but rebates in Illinois remain. These rebates have been a key tool for the state to achieve its goal of having 1 million electric vehicles on Illinois roads by 2030, though there is a very long way to go on that front. In The Loop discusses what prospective buyers need to know and what this federal change could mean for Illinois’ transition to electric wi...
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WBEZ’s Weekly News Recap: Sept. 19, 2025

September 19, 2025 • 47 mins
Federal agents step up immigration raids. The Cubs make it to the playoffs. Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar dies at 79. Kim Bellware of the Washington Post, WBEZ’s Sarah Karp and Mitchell Armentrout of the Chicago Sun-Times break it down for us. For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
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Meet The Chicagoans Helping People Detained By ICE

September 18, 2025 • 38 mins
While many efforts continue to educate immigrants and citizens alike on “Know Your Rights,” many people have already been detained by ICE. So, what are people doing right now to support them and their families? In the Loop sits down with local organizations who are supporting those who have been detained, hears what it was like in detention and what’s next as the city continues to see increased activity by ICE. We check in wi...
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Who Will Replace Sen. Dick Durbin?

September 17, 2025 • 33 mins
We’re six months out from the statewide Illinois primary, and the main showdown is shaping up to be the Democratic race for Dick Durbin's Senate seat. Political analysts suggest this rare open-seat race will favor Democrats, though that’s not assured. So far, nine Democrats have entered the race, with three notable candidates – Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Congresswoman Robin Kelly and current Lieutenant Governor Juliana St...
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Ask Chicago's Mayor: Sept 2025

September 16, 2025 • 45 mins
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.
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Chicagoans Are Living Longer — But Your Address Is Still A Major Factor

September 15, 2025 • 34 mins
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 a...
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Introducing: WBEZ’s In The Loop

September 15, 2025 • 2 mins
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.
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Summer Highlights From Reset!

August 29, 2025 • 13 mins
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.
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Carol Moseley Braun On Her New Memoir ‘Trailblazer’

August 28, 2025 • 23 mins
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 t...
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‘Somebody Knows Something,’ Elgin Police Department Takes On Decades-Old Cold Cases In Their Podcast

August 28, 2025 • 22 mins
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, detec...
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Fact Checking The White House’s Claims About Crime In Chicago

August 27, 2025 • 17 mins
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 behi...
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New Doc Looks At Future Of HBCUs

August 27, 2025 • 18 mins
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 ar...
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A.I. Is Coming For Your Drinking Water

August 26, 2025 • 18 mins
Illinois has been a leader in the data center boom, with more than 220 across the state. However, those centers use up tons of water, often from the same sources that local communities rely on for drinking water. Advocates that work to protect the Great Lakes (and local drinking water) are raising the alarm on the burden this could put on Illinois municipalities in the short and long term. Reset gets the details from Jen Walling, ...
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What’s That Building? The Charnley-Persky House

August 26, 2025 • 20 mins
The historic Charnley-Persky House in the Gold Coast is a rare two-fer co-designed by a pair of architecture giants: Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan. The building at 1365 N. Astor St., which is often called the first modernist house in the world, was designed in 1891 when Sullivan was 35 years old and his employee Wright was 24. In this episode of What’s That Building?, Sasha Ann Simpons and Dennis Rodkin tour the Charnley-Pe...
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Chicago Doctors Raise Awareness Of Gaza Famine

August 25, 2025 • 23 mins
Chicago-based emergency room physician Dr. Thaer Ahmad is one of the dozens of health care workers from the area who have traveled to Gaza to provide humanitarian aid since the October 7, 2023 attacks. Ahmad and his colleagues are sharing their experiences with Illinois lawmakers in an effort to highlight the starvation in Gaza and to stop weapon transfers to Israel. Reset hears from Dr. Ahmad, WBEZ city politics Mariah Woelfel and...
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WBEZ’s Weekly News Recap: Aug. 22, 2025

August 22, 2025 • 47 mins
Chicago’s Inspector General urges City Council to police bad behavior. Democratic legislators return to Texas for a redistricting vote. Former Northwestern football coach reaches settlement with the university. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul files more lawsuits against the Trump administration and politicians push for Southwest side communities to be declared disaster areas after flooding. Reset dives into these and othe...
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