Sasha-Ann Simons
She began her career as a journalist in television news 16 years ago and made the leap to public radio in 2015 at WXXI News, the NPR member station in Rochester, N.Y. While there, Sasha-Ann earned numerous awards. She was also a contributing reporter for PBS NewsHour.
Sasha-Ann joins us from Washington’s WAMU where she was a program host, regularly behind the mic on 1A, WAMU’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and the station’s local midday talk show, The Kojo Nnamdi Show. She was also a national reporter, focused on issues of race, identity and economic mobility. Sasha-Ann often brought that lens to the conversation when she served as an emcee or moderator at various events and panel discussions in the nation’s capital. In 2019, she earned a regional Edward R. Murrow award for her work, and in 2020, she won both a Dateline award from the Society of Professional Journalists and a Radio Feature award from the National Association of Black Journalists.
Sasha-Ann is a native of Kingston, Jamaica. She grew up in Toronto, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson). She has also studied television and film production at American University. When Sasha-Ann’s not on the air, she enjoys spending time with her family and exploring the many amazing restaurants across the city.
Stories by Sasha-Ann Simons
The growing movement of ‘Ex-vangelicals’
Sarah McCammon writes about the deeply personal and political impact of going from evangelical to ex-vangelical.
Chicago writer Mark Larson updates Studs Terkel’s ‘Working’ for the 21st century
Terkel revealed the truth about Americans’ lives on the job in his 1974 book ‘Working.” A new oral history takes the same approach to today.
From Chicago to Toronto: New memoir documents decades of family conflicts, racism, and resilience
In My Fighting Family, author Morgan Campbell explores what it means to be a Black American in Canada and knowing which battles to fight.
Laughter and good vibes in The Second City’s ‘Black By Popular Demand’
Rising comics showcase their hilarity in the comeback show with new songs, sketches, and the style of improv that has become synonymous with Second City.
Billy Dee Williams on his famed ‘Star Wars’ role, his side passion — and the part he still wants to play
From landing a Broadway role at 7 to making history as Lando Calrissian in “Star Wars,” Billy Dee Williams’s career has been exceptional. He sat down with WBEZ’s Reset.
How to be a ‘Supercommunicator’ with Charles Duhigg
The author of ‘The Power of Habit’ is out with a new book on the neuroscience and psychology of how we communicate with one another.
‘Evicted’ exhibition in Chicago humanizes the housing crisis
For millions in the U.S. and around the world, access to a safe, reliable, and permanent home remains out of reach.
Ijeoma Oluo offers a plan for societal change in her new book ‘Be A Revolution’
In her latest book, Oluo aims to take our conversations on racism out of a place of pain and trauma and into a place of loving action.
Chicago-native Common on his new book and new relationship – with Jennifer Hudson
At just over 200 pages, the book is split into four sections — food, body, mind and soul — and incorporates health advice from multiple sources.
An end of an era for Pitchfork: What’s next for music journalism?
Pitchfork founder Ryan Schreiber, former president Chris Kaskie and former executive editor Amy Phillips joined WBEZ’s Reset to talk about the legacy of the music website.