In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

Protests in Chicago last weekend over the death of Paul O’Neal are just the latest in a public outcry against police-involved shootings, particularly against black men.  Mychal Denzel Smith's new memoir, Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching: A Black Man’s Education, delves deeper into that issue to uncover the struggles that black men, black women and black LGBT people face every day as they navigate through life.  Morning Shift talks to Smith about the inspiration behind his book and his path to activism.

For 150 years, the family and friends of Chicago suburban man Robert Kennicott believed the scientist had killed himself during a Smithsonian expedition in Alaska. Years later, two anthropologists from the same institution Kennicott helped establish have discovered the true cause of his death.  We talk to Washington Post reporter Sarah Kaplan about her story around the mysterious death of Robert Kennicott.

A new video shows the moments before a fatal Chicago police shooting of an unarmed teenager suspected of car theft. Chicago took to the streets two days after the release.

On Friday, the district announced they were cutting nearly 500 CPS teaching and 500 support staff positions. CPS says the move is a response to changing enrollment numbers, and those people affected are eligible to apply for other jobs in the school district.

llinois is the fourth-largest seller of pigs in the country. All those pigs are raised in “hog confinement” facilities that have rapidly grown around the state over the past 20 years. A Chicago Tribune investigation is examining the impact of those facilities on the environment, other farmers, and adjoining communities. Reporter David Jackson joins us to talk about the series.

In the latest installment of our series 'Working Shift,' we talk to a person who mixes his passion for music with his love for smiles.  Dr. Scott Stiffle of Always There Dental Care is known to some of his clients as their “rock and roll dentist.” We talk with Stiffle about his 35-year career as a Dentist and the local charities run by his practice.

On this day, 50 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. joined forces with the Chicago Freedom Movement to bring attention to unfair housing conditions in Chicago. They marched in the all-white neighborhood of Marquette Park, where they met by protesters slinging rocks and bottles.  Some Civil Rights activists say it was an important step in the movement; Dr. King met with Mayor Daley later in the summer to agree on terms for improved conditions. To commemorate the anniversary, the Inner-City Muslim Action Network and others launched the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Project, which hosts festivities this weekend.  We talk with Rami Nashashibi from IMAN about the project, and WBEZ’s Natalie Moore details the changes Marquette Park has experienced over the last five decades.

It seems the drama and controversy surrounding the 2016 Rio Olympics have been overshadowing the actual sports. With all of the problems leading up to the games, is anyone still excited for the first Olympic tournament in South America? We talk to Mike Pesca, host of the Slate podcast The Gist, to get his take on the games and open up the lines to see if Chicagoans are excited for the Olympic games. [

In the latest edition of our series “The Movie That Made Me”, we talk to two people who hold a vanishing position-video store clerks. Odd Obsession Movies owner Brian Chankin and volunteer Josh Brown talk about their rare job, the importance of video stores and the movies that made them.

In 1985, the State of Illinois Building opened in the North Loop to much fanfare -- at a cost of $172 million. A year later, the Helmut Jahn-designed structure won the coveted “distinguished building award” from AIA Chicago. But for many Chicagoans today, the Thompson Center is more eyesore than distinguished building.  For the latest installment of What’s That Building, Dennis Rodkin of Crain’s Chicago Business shared with us what makes Chicago’s 30-year relationship with the Thompson Center such a complicated one.