In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

A third of the way through the season, the Cubs still have the best record in the majors. But beyond all the highlights this team is filled with real characters with good stories. Pitcher Kyle Hendricks went to an Ivy League university, something that’s fairly rare in the world of baseball. His father moved here to watch him play, and when there’s no action on the diamond, he drives a limo for a living. Hendricks talks about that and more when he went one-on-one with WBEZ’s sports contributor Cheryl Raye-Stout.

After four years as Chicago’s legislative inspector general, attorney Faisal Khan is now the CEO of a new political watchdog group in Chicago called Project Six.Khan’s office was dismantled in November by the City Council, the very body that he was supposed to oversee and investigate. Morning Shift talks to Khan about his tenure as the City Council’s inspector general and what his plans are for Project Six.

Michel Martin, weekend host of All Things Considered on NPR, has been hitting the road in a series of live events across the country. It’s called “Going There,” and the goal is to take a deeper dive into the issue animating Americans right now and to get beyond the headlines and the breaking news. Morning Shift host Tony Sarabia talks to Martin about the series, which has an event here in Chicago on June 14 called “The Chicago Freedom Movement: Then and Now.”

In the latest installment in our series the Working Shift, we talk with someone who has worked on several food trucks in the City of Chicago and Milwaukee about the challenges and benefits of running a restaurant on wheels. Morning Shift talks with Ashley Gleason, General Manager of The Roost Carolina Kitchen, which serves up fried chicken, biscuits and sweet tea at two brick-and-mortar locations and a food truck.

WBEZ sports contributor Cheryl Raye Stout sits down with Cubs second baseman Ben Zobrist for a wide-ranging interview that gets beyond the typical locker room confab. Zobrist opens up about his faith, his family and growing up in a small town in downstate Illinois. Oh, and baseball of course!

We wanted to hear from listeners about some of the positives of being a redhead. Here are a few messages we got on our hotline.

Only around 1 percent of human beings have red hair, most of them from countries in Northern and Western Europe. As a result, redheads have often been misunderstood or even maligned for standing out. No one wants to be the “red-headed stepchild” for example. This weekend in suburban Highwood, carrot tops and strawberry blonds are coming together for Redhead Days, a celebration of redheads. Morning Shift talks to festival organizer Jim Stoecker about the quirks and perks of being a redhead, what the festival is all about and how redheads have been portrayed in popular culture throughout history. We also take comments from redheaded listeners.

Eric Ripert is a celebrity chef who actually has the bona fides in the kitchen. His New York City restaurant Le Bernardin has three Michelin stars. In his new memoir, 32 Yolks: From My Mother's Table to Working the Line, he traces his love of food and cooking to the experiences around the table with his family. Jenn White talks to Ripert.

Payday loans are short term loans for small amounts of money offered by companies outside the mainstream banking system. Millions of Americans use them to cover unexpected expenses when they’re in a pinch. They’re an easy way to get some quick cash, but they have serious drawbacks, including interest rates as high as 390 percent. Now the U.S. agency that helps consumers with money matters — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — wants to better regulate the payday loan industry. Morning Shift talks with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan about some of the proposals.

According to Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool, schools in Chicago and across the state might not be able to open their doors in the fall unless Springfield passes an education budget. That statement raised some eyebrows. WBEZ’s Becky Vevea joins us to discuss how the continuation of the budget stalemate through the summer would affect different school districts in different ways.