Sasha-Ann Simons

1 month ago | wbez.org | Sasha-Ann Simons

Ocean Vuong is perhaps best-known for his 2019 novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and deeply intimate poetry collections such as Night Sky with Exit Wounds (2016) and Time Is a Mother (2022). In Vuong’s second novel The Emperor of Gladness, the Vietnamese-American masterfully tells the story of friendship and the human ability to act with kindness toward others even when you’re filled with hopelessness.

1 month ago | wbez.org | Sasha-Ann Simons

Benny is a loner whose identity revolves around his wife and children. Gil is a free spirit who longs to fulfill his potential. When the two strangers meet, they form an instant, deep bond. But slowly cracks start to form and their fresh bromance begins to crumble. That’s the premise of a new Chicago Shakespeare Theater play called “Hymn.” It’s an entertaining journey with old school music and elements of Black male friendship woven throughout the narrative.

1 month ago | wbez.org | Dennis Rodkin |Sasha-Ann Simons

A once-decrepit library on a bluff at the edge of downtown Waukegan finally came back to life last week, six decades after moving into a modern building four blocks away. The reopening was the culmination of a yearslong, $15 million effort to turn the building into a showcase of the history of this city of 87,000 people on the Lake Michigan shoreline about 40 miles north of the Loop.

1 month ago | wbez.org | Sasha-Ann Simons

I’m Sasha-Ann Simons, host of WBEZ’s Reset afternoon talk show. When was the last time you got to chat with the mayor of Chicago? Here’s your opportunity — Chicago’s top official will be in the hot seat at noon and we’re passing the mic to you. Mayor Brandon Johnson will join us live for “Ask the Mayor,” and it’s your chance to ask him questions about what matters most to you.

2 months ago | wbez.org | Sasha-Ann Simons |Meha Ahmad

Actress and comedian Lisa Ann Walter stars as teacher Melissa Schemmenti in the ABC comedy Abbott Elementary, which just wrapped its fourth season. Before Abbott, Walter was best known for her role as Chessy in The Parent Trap. In advance of her stand-up shows at Zanies in Rosemont on Friday and Saturday, Walter spoke with WBEZ’s Reset host Sasha-Ann Simons over Zoom. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.