WGN - The John Williams Full Show Podcast

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com.

Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, Chief Medical Officer for Northwestern Medicine Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital, joins John Williams to talk about new medical guidance that suggests that more adults should consider starting cholesterol-lowering medications earlier to reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke.

John Williams, Steve Alexander, Lou Manfredini, and the great WGN listeners reflect on the life and legacy of WGN Radio legend, the one and only Orion Samuelson, who passed away at age 91.

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins John Williams to talk about election day in Illinois, the races that he’s most interested in, the Chicago City Council expected to vote on restoring Chicago’s subminimum wage, and what he thinks of CTU wanting students to take a day off of school to engage in civic engagement. […]

Sam Panayotovich, Fox Sports Betting Analyst and co-host of the sports betting show “Chicken Dinner,” joins John Williams to give us his picks for the men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament.

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com.

Austin Berg, Executive Director of the Chicago Policy Center and author of the The Last Ward on Substack, joins John Williams to talk about a new Washington Post editorial backing four key reforms to change Chicago's financial trajectory.

Jackson Potter, Vice President, Chicago Teachers Union, joins John Williams to talk about the effort to close schools on May 1st so students and teachers can take part in a civic day of action.

The great Mr. Fix-It, Lou Manfredini, joins John Williams to tell us the projects we need to be working on this week. Lou says that after all the storms over the past week, it’s a good idea to give your house a good inspection to see if you suffered any wind damage that needs to be fixed by […]

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com.

Former WGN Radio news anchor Steve Bertrand was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the RTDNA Foundation at their 2026 First Amendment Awards. The foundation's awards celebrate the efforts to promote responsible journalism and preserve the constitutionally guaranteed rights to do so. Past honorees include local reporters, network anchors, members of the U.S. House of […]

Enjoy this edition of “The Best of Speed Jokes.” What was your favorite joke of the week? Keep sending your jokes to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com!

It's time once again for our Best of the Midwest feature for 2026! Are you trying to come up with some quick getaway ideas that are only a short trip from the Chicago area? Well, John Williams has some great recommendations for you! Today, we head to Wisconsin and visit with Kathleen Papcke, Chair, Women's […]

Professor Samir Khuller, Chair, Northwestern's Computer Science Department, joins John Williams to talk about the university offering a major in AI next year.

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com.

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, multi-media journalist Brandon Pope, author of Brandon Pope's Screening Room, and long-time Chicago journalist Cate Plys, publisher of Roseland, Chicago: 1972. This week, the Rascals start the podcast discussing the war in Iran. How and when does this war end? Last week, HHS […]

Bob Bertog, president of Bertog Landscape Co. in Wheeling and a certified landscape professional with the National Association of Landscape Professionals, joins John Williams to answer all of your lawn and garden questions. Bob says it’s a little too early to start seeding, but definitely get debris cleaned up and make sure to get leftover fall leaves […]

Local farmer John Andermann, President of the Will County Farm Bureau, joins John Williams to talk about his farm and his yield last year, what he’s doing with his field right now, how very few farmers turned a profit last year, the cost of fertilizer going up, and how the war in Iran is impacting […]

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com.

Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, Chief Medical Officer for Northwestern Medicine Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital, joins John Williams to talk about being on the back-end of flu season, how most of the respiratory illness they saw in the hospital was influenza, how far we have come with COVID since 2020, if popular weight loss drugs could become a […]

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins John Williams to talk about his thoughts on the current landscape of NCAA sports in the transfer portal era, Uber rolling out their women-only option, and his general observations about the war in Iran.

DeWayne Peevy, Vice President & Director of Athletics, DePaul University, joins John Williams to talk about the DePaul basketball team ahead of the Big East tournament. DeWayne talks about how the team has performed this year, the big step the team made in the second year of the Chris Holtmann era, what the future of […]

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com.

Judd Sirott, the television play-by-play announcer for the Boston Bruins on NESN and former pre-game, intermission and post-game host for Chicago Blackhawks broadcasts on WGN Radio, joins John Williams to share his thoughts on the life and legacy of the great Troy Murray, who passed away over the weekend at the age of 63.

The great Mr. Fix-It, Lou Manfredini, joins John Williams to tell us the projects we need to be working on this week. Lou says that it’s time to get outside and do some early spring clean up. Lou also answers all of your home improvement questions. Listen to HouseSmarts Radio on WGN each Saturday morning at 6 am.

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com.

Christopher Parente, Partner, Cheronis & Parente, joins John Williams to talk about how former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s testimony earlier in the week about his client, Marimar Martinez, who was shot by Federal agents last October, possibly contributed to Noem being removed from her position leading DHS.

Jared Gans, staff writer, The Hill, joins John Williams to talk about the latest news coming out of Iran.

Craig Bolanos, Founder and Wealth Advisor at VestGen Wealth Partners, joins John Williams to talk about the disappointing and surprising job report data, how the attack on Iran is impacting the economy, why we need to pay attention to the price of oil, why he’s still expecting economic growth this year, how the markets are reacting to […]

Enjoy this edition of “The Best of Speed Jokes.” What was your favorite joke of the week? Keep sending your jokes to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com!

Dave Masa, Owner, Radon Reduction Systems, joins John Williams to talk about the Illinois Radon Protection Act and the importance of ensuring consistent radon testing standards in Illinois schools.

John Bryan joins John Williams to talk about why he’s suing the city of Yorkville over a proposed data center in the area, saying the project will destroy his quality of life.

Longtime Chicago radio veteran Harvey Wells, founder, Lower Tech Bills, talks to John about how he helps customers lower their internet, cell phone, and television costs. Harvey discusses skinny bundles, and what to know about Paramount-Warner Bros. merger and what it might mean for your streaming costs.

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com.

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, long-time Chicago journalist Cate Plys, publisher of Roseland, Chicago: 1972, political pundit Marj Halperin, and Steve Bertrand, host of the ‘Steve Bertrand on Books‘ podcast. This week, the Rascals start the podcast discussing the U.S. attack on Iran. Do the Rascals think the attack was warranted? Next, […]

Xavier Walton, National Correspondent, NewsNation, joins John to break down the results of the U.S. Senate primary in Texas. What were the big takeaways?

Mortgage and real estate expert David Hochberg joins John Williams to talk about how the war in Iran has impacted interest rates, the housing market stabilizing in the Chicago area, and how young people are typically buying property. David also answers all of your questions. David hosts “Home Sweet Home Chicago” on Saturdays from 10am […]

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com.

Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, Chief Medical Officer for Northwestern Medicine Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital, joins John Williams to talk about the possibility of seeing a single nasal spray vaccine that could protect against all coughs, colds and flus, a new study showing some of the health risks of GLP-1’s, and how AI will impact healthcare.

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins John Williams to talk about how he keeps a record of his old columns, if we should honor Jesse Jackson by renaming a park or airport for him, his thoughts on Iran, and the likelihood that Chicago lands the DNC in 2028.

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com.

Author, terrorism analyst, and DePaul University history professor Dr. Thomas Mockaitis joins John Williams to discuss the latest news about the U.S. attack on Iran. Dr. Mockaitis tells John everything we need to know. Will this attack make it unsafe for Americans across the globe?