Morning Shift Podcast

The Sun-Times is celebrating its 75 years of informing Chicago-area readers this week. Since January 2022, it has been part of Chicago Public Media alongside WBEZ and Vocalo. Reset talks with Sun-Times staffers Neil Steinberg and Stefano Esposito about the paper's past, present and future.

There are currently no federal U.S. laws that protect people from weight-based discrimination, and only a handful of cities and states have such laws on the books. Reset talks to professor Esther Rothblum and advocate Brandie Solovay about why this discrimination persists and how to address it.

Ready for some hip-hopera? Reset talks with Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, director, dramaturg and co-book writer for The Factotum, a fresh spin on The Barber of Seville that takes place on the South Side of Chicago and highlights diverse voices and diverse life experiences in a way that's often missing from the genre of opera.

After a tumultuous few years, the Chicago Reader moved to non-profit status in 2022. A six-month nationwide search for the right person to lead the new organization led to tapping a homegrown talent with experience at the Better Government Association and other Chicago-based organizations. Reset checks in with the former publisher and the publisher-to-be who starts in mid-February.

Plus-size fashion has come a long way in the 119 years since Lane Bryant opened its doors in 1904, but it still has a long way to go. Many people still struggle to access the same clothing options as straight-size people. Reset learns more from fashion blogger Natalie Craig and journalist Gianluca Russo, author of The Power of Plus. Then we'll hear from Jovana Savic, founder of Thick Mall, a local vintage market offering more options to plus-size customers and local writer Megan Kirby who covered Thick Mall for the New York Times.

This newest WBEZ podcast shares stories of Asian Americans and their relationships with identity, confidence, and success. Reset chats with the hosts Susie An and Esther Yoon-Ji Kang, along with producer Stephanie Kim to get a behind-the-scenes look at the pod.

A lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood was instituted in 1985, but change is afoot. Reset hears from Dr. Anu Hazra, University of Chicago infectious disease specialist, Jim Pickett, senior advisor with AVAC, Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention, Luke Romesberg, director of Youth Housing Program at the Center on Halsted, and Jennifer Brier, professor of history and gender and women's studies, UIC.

Structural fatphobia is everywhere, including the skies. Almost no one can get comfortable on airplanes, and that's especially true for fat and plus-size people. Reset speaks to podcast hosts Nicci Nunez and Alex Stewart who are leading trips around the world for plus-size people.

Many asylum seekers arrive in Chicago with little knowledge of where they'll sleep or how they'll access food and care, especially mental health care. Reset hears about one migrant's experience from Chicago-Sun Times journalist Elvia Malagón and from professor and social worker Aimee Hilado about what support migrants needs most.

Chicago has some major decision-making to do in the February 28 election, and WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times are here to help you get up-to-date on the issues you care about. Reset talks to politics editors Tony Arnold and Angela Rozas O'Toole about the new mayoral questionnaire and quiz.

For countless Americans, the start of a new year brings renewed goals of weight loss, exercise and trying the latest diet trend. But for the sake of both mental and physical health, advocates are calling for a weight-neutral approach to fitness. Reset learns about what that would look like with Louise Green, C.P.T., plus-size trainer and founder of Big Fit Girl and Mirna Valerio, runner, speaker and author of A Beautiful Work in Progress.

Residents in Chicago and surrounding areas held vigils and protests demanding police accountability after the release of body cam footage that showed Memphis police officers brutally beating 29-year-old Tyre Nichols. He later died from his injuries. Reset talks with Sharon Fairley from the University of Chicago Law School, co-founder of the Let Us Breathe Collective Damon Williams and founder of the Lake County Chapter of Black Lives Matter Clyde McLemore.

How can Chicago become a technology hub to, perhaps one day, compete with the likes of Silicon Valley? A coalition of businesses in Chicago thinks one step could be hiring thousands of foreign workers, all of them H-1B visa holders laid off in recent weeks by companies like Microsoft and Google. The group will need to move quickly. When an H-1B visa holder is let go from an American company, they have 60 days to find work or leave the country. Reset talks with Brad Henderson and Nuwan Samaraweera of P33 who are leading the Chicago H-1B Connect Coalition.

Dr. Maya Shankar started her podcast A Slight Change of Plans as a pandemic project. Now, she is nearly three years into hosting insightful conversations about change. Reset gets a lesson in coping with change from the cognitive scientist and podcast host.

The NRA files a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Illinois' assault weapons ban. Classes are back in session at UIC as faculty end their strike. A White Sox pitcher is investigated for domestic abuse allegations. Reset goes behind those headlines with John Chase, deputy metro editor at the Chicago Tribune, Dave McKinney, WBEZ state politics reporter and Brandis Friedman, WTTW co-anchor and correspondent and host of “Chicago Tonight: Black Voices”

Reset explores a distillery at one of the oldest remaining brewing sites in Illinois with architecture sleuth Dennis Rodkin.

Article: (Two sentences max) With the seemingly never-ending barrage of gun violence, how do you cope? Do you go numb? Can't sleep? That's all normal according to the American Psychological Association. Reset talks with a psychologist Iggy V Ladden and pastor Raymond Chang and hears from WBEZ listeners.

An incubator on the South Side of Chicago aims to launch new businesses and train young people to be entrepreneurs. Reset checks in with James Parker, CEO and founder of 1921 Coworking and Incubator.

The Bryant Block, now known as the Delaware Building, was one of the most regal to be built downtown after the Great Chicago Fire. But in subsequent years, it became a hotbed of gossip and intrigue. Reset gets the story from their architecture sleuth Dennis Rodkin.

A new grant from the city's tourism arm Choose Chicago seeks to help 12 Chicago neighborhoods draw more tourism: Auburn Gresham, Austin, Back of the Yards, Englewood, Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square, New City, North Center, North Lawndale, Roseland, South Chicago and Hyde Park. Reset hears more about the program with vice president of Choose Chicago Rob Fojtk and hears from folks in neighborhoods who could receive this money.

In this installment of Reset's on-going series “What's That Building?” the show learns about a mini-architecture district in Hammond, Indiana, just over the border from Illinois. Reset hears from its architectural sleuth, Dennis Rodkin, about the First Baptist Church in Hammond, and how it came to preserve so much building history.

Nominations for this year‘s Academy Awards were released this week, with the film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” leading the pack with 11 nominations. Meanwhile, critically-acclaimed films like “The Woman King,” “Till” and “Nope” were shut out of Hollywood's biggest night of the year. Reset talks with a pop culture writer Michi Trota and a cinematic superfan, Jeremy Marder from the Music Box Theatre, for their takes on this year's nominees.

Companies that make disposable and reusable period products like tampons, cups, pads and underwear aren't required to list the chemicals they contain. This came into focus after popular period underwear brand Thinx settled a class action lawsuit that alleged the company's marketing misrepresented the safety of the products. Reset learns from health experts Anna Pollack and Jhumka Gupta of George Mason University about the research that goes into ensuring these products are safe and accessible.

Lunar New Year started Sunday. It's supposed to be a time of celebration. But how might mass shootings targeting Asian Americans impact local Lunar New Year events? Reset is joined by Tuan Huynh and Van Huynh who are organizing festivities in Chicago, Alderwoman Nicole Lee and Stephanie Foerster from the Uptown Chamber of Commerce.

Reset architecture sleuth Dennis Rodkin takes us to the Sheldon and Harriet Peck Homestead, a confirmed Underground Railroad site in west suburban Lombard.

As we mark three years with COVID-19, the FDA has announced the U.S. will soon move to a single dose of vaccine each year, like an annual flu shot. Reset checks in on that as the importance of sleep for our health with infectious disease specialist Dr. Mia Taormina of Duly Health and Care.

Jan. 22 marked 50 years since Roe v. Wade. Reset discusses the past, present and future of reproductive rights with journalist Shefali Luthra and abortion advocate Alicia Hurtado.

The Preston Bradley Center has been a staple of Chicago's Uptown neighborhood since 1925. It was recently under threat of demolition, but former Uptown resident Dan Ivankovich decided to save the building and transform it into a multi-purpose space to serve the local community. Reset learns about the building's history and what it might look like in the future with Dennis Rodkin, reporter for Crain's Chicago Business.

Chicagoland libraries are coming into conflict with parents who say they're exercising their First Amendment right to protest a variety of children's books about LGBT acceptance and body positivity. Reset talks to WBEZ metro reporter Adora Namigadde and Lindsey Dorfman, executive director of the Glenview Public Library.

We ALL like to dance. A couple Chicago DJs are proving just that with their party, Global Currency, celebrating international club music inspired by one of Chicago's musical exports — house music. DJ Mochi and DJ IGGY join Reset to share some tunes from South America, Africa, and more.

In our series “Lost And Found,” Reset helps listeners locate things in the Chicago area they're struggling to find. In this installment, digital engagement producer Claire Hyman helps a set designer find fabric, wallpaper and more. And Bob Doepel, founder of Chicago Scenic Studios, explains a day in the life of a set designer.

The Illinois Rifle Association sues to stop the state's weapons ban, Nicor Gas proposes income-based utility rates, and the Chicago Bears have their sights set on Arlington Heights. Reset goes behind the headlines with Paris Schutz, reporter and anchor, WTTW-TV, Carrie Shepherd, lead producer of the podcast City Cast Chicago, and Steve Daniels, Crain's Chicago Business senior reporter.

No, there's not a ban on gas stoves. But concerns over indoor air pollution's effect on our health led the US Consumer Product Safety Commission to discuss the possibility of the first ever safety regulation of new gas stoves. Reset discusses how this debate fits into the push to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels with Loyola University Chicago's Baumhart Center for Social Enterprise and Responsibility, Karen Weigert and Brent Stephens, Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at Illinois Tech. Then Reset learns about the difference between induction and gas stoves with reporter Khaya Himmelman.

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E are becoming more and more impressive and accessible to anyone with a computer, including students. Some educators expressed concerns about cheating, while others are embracing AI as a teaching tool. Reset speaks with a WBEZ reporter Char Daston and CPS teacher Brady Dunnink about how ChatGPT is impacting city classrooms. Then they talk with Leigh Ann DeLyser from CSForAll and Charles Fadel of the Center for Curriculum development about how and whether to expand AI to more education programs.

Is it getting hot in here? In this installment of Reset Lost and Found, a spice enthusiast called the show in search of fresh hot peppers in Chicago. So our Digital Engagement Reporter, Claire Hyman, located markets throughout the city that sell varieties of chiles. Plus, a local chef Sebastian White gives us some inspiration for how to incorporate a little heat in our cuisine.

Instances of LGBTQ hate crimes are increasing across the country, and Chicago isn't immune. This week, a hammer-wielding man yelled slurs and attacked a queer-owned business in Rogers Park. Reset talks with journalist Jake Wittich, and Slo'mo producer Kristen Kaza about the impact of these attacks and what can be done to preserve safety in queer spaces.

In our series Lost and Found, producers track down things in Chicago that a Google search can't uncover. Elizabeth emailed the show asking where she can find her friend's favorite drink: Swedish egg coffee. Reset brings on producer Claire Hyman and Tre Kronor owner Patty Rasmussen to learn about the history of the beverage and how to make it.

An Asian American student was stabbed multiple times in the head while waiting to get off a bus at Indiana University. The attack has yet to be called a hate crime, though the attacker reportedly targeted the victim because she was “Chinese.” It's clear that anti-Asian violence continues even past the surge the U.S. saw in 2020. But what more needs to be done? Reset discusses with a panel of Asian American activists and community members.

University of Illinois Chicago United Faculty union takes to the picket line after failing to reach an agreement with UIC administration. Reset hears from WBEZ reporter Lisa Philip and UIC faculty member Kate Floros.

WBEZ surveyed CTA riders about their experiences and got thousands for responses. Reset hears from WBEZ's Cassie Walker Burke and Courtney Kueppers about what riders had to say.

In our series “Lost And Found,” Reset digital engagement producer Claire Hyman helps listeners locate things in the Chicago area they're struggling to find. In this installment, she helps a woman find a beloved painting that had once hung in her office downtown before it up and vanished. As part of search, we hear from the painter himself George C. Clarke.

Sankofa Wellness Village will receive $10 million from the Pritzker Traubert Foundation. Reset revisits its conversation with prizewinners Theodore Joseph, Ayesha Jaco and Kemena Brooks about their plans to improve West Garfield Park.