In the Loop

What role does money play in child development? New research suggests it could affect brain activity. Reset digs into the study and discusses the implications for policies and programs in the U.S. with one of the co-authors of the report and a local researcher.

GUESTS: Katherine Magnuson, director of the Institute for Research on Poverty and professor at the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin–Madison

Dylan Bellisle, postdoctoral research fellow with the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Host: Sasha-Ann Simons

Producers: Andrea Guthmann

Omicron may have reached its peak, but protests over vaccine and mask mandates seem to be on the rise. Suburbs from north suburban Highland Park to Naperville are grappling with protests over COVID policies at restaurants and museums, and west suburban St. Charles has closed its public library indefinitely for in-person services after receiving threats over its mask mandate. Reset checks in with a local elected official and a business owner from Highland Park on navigating the protests.

GUESTS: Nancy Rotering, mayor of Highland Park, Illinois

Richard Holleb, co-owner of Norton’s in Highland Park

Host: Sasha-Ann Simons

Producers: Andrea Guthmann

It’s been 49 years since Roe v. Wade established the Constitutional right to a safe and legal abortion. But now, due to restrictive state laws, women are traveling across state lines to abortion-friendly havens like Illinois to get the procedure. Reset talks to a bioethicist and the head of a downstate abortion clinic about the future of reproductive rights in the U.S. and the politics around Roe.

Host: Sasha-Ann Simons

Producers: Nereida Moreno

Chicago passes the Omicron peak as Lori Lightfoot returns to CIty Hall after testing positive for COVID, and the gubernatorial race heats up with an injection of big bucks to J.B. Pritzker’s campaign war chest. Reset checks in with local journalists about those stories and other big news of the week.

GUESTS: Rick Pearson, chief political reporter, Chicago Tribune; Erin Hegarty, City Hall reporter, the Daily Line

Host: Sasha-Ann Simons

Producers: Andrea Guthmann

Reset interviews WBEZ’s CEO, Matt Moog, about the company’s acquisition of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Host: Sasha-Ann Simons

Producers: Andrea Guthmann

The opioid crisis has gotten less attention during the pandemic, even though deaths have reached record-breaking numbers. What can we do to limit overdoses?

Host: Sasha-Ann Simons

Producers: Andrea Guthmann

As Omicron cases continue to strain hospitals across the country, the Surgeon General is warning that the worst is yet to come. Here in Cook County, new data shows that Black Chicagoans and suburban residents over 60 are dying at disproportionate rates.

Host: Sasha-Ann Simons

Producers: Andrea Guthmann

As the omicron wave continues, Mayor Lori Lightfoot tests positive for COVID-19. Students return to classrooms this week after a standoff between the city and the Chicago Teachers Union. Plus, employees at the Art Institute of Chicago vote to form a union.

Host: Sasha-Ann Simons

Producers: Nereida Moreno

Reset digs into what you need to know before you head out for a COVID-19 test. We check in with Block Club Chicago breaking news editor Kelly Bauer and Steve Bernas with the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois for the latest.

Host: Sasha-Ann Simons

Producer: Stephanie Kim

School counselors and social workers were among the CPS staff who have been locked out of the google classroom by Mayor Lightfoot in the past week, during the standoff between the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools. Reset checks in with a counselor and social worker from a North Side CPS school about how the lockout has impacted their work.

Host: Sasha-Ann Simons

Producers: Lynnea Domienik