In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

Always wondered about the band who plays the Morning Shift theme song you hear at the beginning of our show every day? We’ve got El Ten Eleven in to play a few songs.

We hear from you on how last night’s voting could impact our primary here in Illinois. Then, an update on the search for a new Chicago Police Superintendent. Plus: unpacking the past, present, and future of Chicago’s music scene.

Voters in more than a dozen states made their selections in the primary election for the 2016 presidential race. Politico’s Natasha Korecki describes how results from Super Tuesday may impact the upcoming Illinois primary, and WBEZ political reporters Tony Arnold and Lauren Chooljian look ahead to the Illinois primaries.

It’s been more than three months since Superintendent Garry McCarthy was forced to resign as head of the Chicago Police Department. WBEZ’s Patrick Smith and Dan Weissman give us an update on CPD’s search for a new top cop.

Reclaimed Soul host Ayana Contreras digs deep into Chicago’s Soul music history with artists that arguably never got their due. She's part of a Chicago Public Library One Book One Chicago panel unpacking the past, present, and future of Chicago’s music scene.

We discuss how businesses can thrive by hiring people with mental, physical, and psychological disabilities. And we check out the inspiration behind a new mixed-media exhibition called “Operation Mom’s Couch,” now featured at the National Veterans Art Museum on Chicago’s Northwest Side. Plus, we chat with filmmaker Steven Cone about his new film 'Henry Gamble's Birthday Party'. He weaves a story that touches on faith, doubt, sexuality, identity, depression and the internal and external conflicts you face when being honest is the hardest thing to do.

Hiring employees with intellectual disabilities like Down Syndrome can improve a company’s productivity. It may sound counter-intuitive, but it’s something Debra Ruh says has been proven time and time again at big, successful companies like Canon, Walgreens, and Fedex. Debra Ruh joins us to discuss how businesses can thrive by hiring people with mental, physical, and psychological disabilities.

The National Veterans Art Museum focuses its work on combat inspired art. It has a permanent collection of over 2500 pieces including the permanent exhibit 'The Things They Carried'. In a new exhibition called 'Operation Mom’s Couch' at the NVAM on Chicago’s Northwest Side, mixed-media artist Eric Garcia tells the story of how he went from defending makeshift forts as a kid to defending a real military base in Italy as a member of the U.S. Air Force. We sit down with WBEZ anchor and host Jennifer White to talk about the show and to listen to excerpts of her interview with Garcia. We also speak with gallery coordinator Destinee Oytzinger about the museum’s mission and various exhibits.

Henry Gamble lives in a world that teaches him life is simple. But Henry, his friends, and his family know things aren’t always what they seem. Filmmaker Steven Cone weaves a story that touches on faith, doubt, sexuality, identity, depression and the internal and external conflicts you face when being honest is the hardest thing to do. 'Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party' is playing through Wednesday at the Gene Siskel Film Center.

In his new book 'Why the Right Went Wrong', the Washington Post’s left-leaning columnist E.J. Dionne tracks the history of the conservative movement from the Goldwater Republicans of the 1960s to the Tea Party. We hear the full story. And the cover story in the latest issue of Capital Ideas, the quarterly research magazine for the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, looks at the economic legacy of anti-Semitism in Germany and makes the argument that prejudice and intolerance are bad for business. Capital Ideas editor-in-chief Hal Weitzman talks about the research and discusses how it might apply to our current political climate. Plus, in the latest installment in our series the Working Shift, we talk to Chicago cabbie Cheryl Miller about what it’s like to drive a taxi.