In the Loop

As we mark 30 years since Chicago’s deadly 1995 heat wave, we look at the way social isolation contributed to the death of hundreds of residents and what’s being done today to prevent that from happening again. Reset speaks with Carol J. Sharp, president and CEO of The Night Ministry; Jahmal Cole, CEO and founder of My Block My Hood, My City; and Margaret Laraviere, deputy commissioner of senior services for the Department of Family and Support Services.

Chicagoan Lou Della Evans Reid co-founded the Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in the 1950s and led its 200-person gospel choir. She was a pioneer in the modern gospel music scene, putting Chicago on the map as a hub of the genre. She died at 94. Reset hears her life story from Bob Marovich, gospel music historian, author, radio host and founder of Journal of Gospel Music.

President Trump’s massive tax and spending bill signed into law on July 4 enshrined his 2017 tax cuts and cut federal funding for clean energy, food assistance programs and Medicaid in part by shifting costs to states. This comes as local food pantries say they’ve been at capacity the past few years due to inflated grocery prices and increased demand as a result of the COVID pandemic. Reset hears how this could affect Chicagoans with SNAP recipient Cody Martin, Pilsen Food Pantry director Dr. Evelyn Figueroa and Greater Chicago Food Depository CEO and executive director Kate Maehr.

For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.