WGN - The John Williams Full Show Podcast

Pastor Corey Brooks, Founder and Senior Pastor at New Beginnings Church of Chicago and the Founder and CEO of Project H.O.O.D, joins John Williams to talk about the progress he’s making in the effort to build his opportunity center on the south side, and why he’s considering a walk across America to raise awareness and […]

Marge Sipla, Speed Jokes spirit animal, cataloger and Member of the Speed Jokes Committee, joins John and the gang to give us her favorite Speed Jokes of May 2025! And there was some debate over the ‘bald eagle’ and ‘Tupperware’ jokes! What was your favorite joke this month? And as always, John brings you another […]

Jonas Frey, Founder of Appointment Trader, talks to John Williams about the Illinois General Assembly voting to ban third party restaurant reservations apps. The bill is awaiting Governor Pritzker’s signature. Jonas tells John about the app, how it works, how much reservations typically sell for, how they keep people from hoarding reservations, how much money […]

NewsNation Now anchor Connell McShane joins John Williams to talk about the trade negotiations between the US and China, the debate over banning international students coming to the U.S., and the latest on the judicial rulings on tariffs.

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!

Chris Johnson, CEO and CPE (Chief Popcorn Eater), Classic Cinemas, joins John Williams to talk about how long they have had a theater in Fox Lake, how many people visit the theater in a year, what makes them stand out from other theaters, what gets people to come out to see movies, the connection that […]

It's time once again for our Best of the Midwest feature! Are you trying to come up with some vacation ideas that are only a quick getaway from the Chicago area? Well, John Williams has some great recommendations for your trip! Today, John is joined once again by Amy Beadle, Marketing Manager, Visit Springfield! Amy tells John […]

Author and registered dietician nutritionist Dawn Jackson Blatner joins John to talk about how she can tell if a fruit is ripe, a new study that shows the benefits of vegan protein, and to share her thoughts on weight loss drugs. Dawn also answers all of your health and nutrition questions.

Kelly Leonard, Vice President, Creative Strategy, Innovation and Business Development at The Second City and host of the “Getting to Yes, And…” podcast, joins John Williams to talk about a recent conversation he had with University of Toronto professor Christopher DiCarlo where they discussed the ethics of artificial intelligence. Are robots going to kill us? Kelly […]

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, Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute, and longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! The Rascals start the podcast this week talking about violence being down over Memorial Day weekend and crime in general being down in Chicago. Are Mayor Johnson’s policies working? The […]

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.

Elder law attorney Kerry Peck joins John Williams to answer all your questions about elder law, trusts, wills, and elder abuse. Kerry and John talk about a recent article in The Cut about a victim of a Love Scam. How should you protect yourself or your senior relatives from becoming a victim?

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 Lake Forest Hospital, joins John Williams to talk about the nurses at his hospital receiving an award from a national credentialing organization, the FDA setting new requirements for COVID vaccines in healthy adults and children, the CDC ending COVID vaccine recommendation for healthy kids and pregnant women, and […]

Tom Fortino, Founder and Principal, Alpha Wealth Group, and host of “The Alpha Wealth Hour” on WGN Radio, joins John talk about why the market is bouncing back today, the decision by President Trump to delay EU tariffs, consumer confidence jumping, what we could see from Fed policy, the impact of the Trump administration’s tax bill, […]

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins John Williams to talk about how YouTube is replacing owner’s manuals, the news about Caitlin Clark’s injury will keep her from playing the Sky early next month, Chicago’s drop in crime since Brandon Johnson took office, and why President Trump continues to go after Harvard University.

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

WGN host and auto racing expert Dane Neal joins John Williams to preview the 109th running of the sold-out Indy 500! Dane talks about the possibility of seeing an EV in the Indy 500, how fast the cars will be going this year, why he thinks anything can happen in this year’s race, the drivers that he will be looking […]

Liz Shulman, English teacher at Evanston Township High School and in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University, joins John Williams once again to talk about how she managed the school year. Liz tells John about her recent piece in the Wall Street Journal about showing her students ‘The Breakfast Club,’ how the cell phone […]

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!

Wendy Reed, Partner at Just Rite IT, joins John Williams to talk about what Just Rite IT does, how they help customers with their technology needs, the most important need for businesses right now, the typical problems they solve, how they ease the day-to-day burden for their clients, and the ways they can help increase […]

Suzy Welch, best-selling author, tech entrepreneur, and award-winning professor at NYU Stern, joins John Williams to talk about her new book, “BECOMING YOU: The Proven Method for Crafting Your Authentic Life and Career.” Suzy talks about how AI is changing the world we live in, how she ended up writing her new book, why she’s […]

It's time once again for our Best of the Midwest feature! Are you trying to come up with some vacation ideas that are only a quick getaway from the Chicago area? Well, John Williams has some great recommendations for your trip! Today, we head to the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan and visit with Brandy […]

Local farmer John Andermann of the Will County Farm Bureau joins John Williams to talk about where he farms, how long he’s been farming, how the planting season is going this year, the costs of fertilizer and putting the crop into the ground, how he comes up with the money to do the work, the […]

Author and registered dietician nutritionist Dawn Jackson Blatner joins John Williams to talk about Memorial Day and the unofficial start of grilling season! Dawn offers some alternatives (or in addition to) to your typical grilling fare! And, as usual, Dawn answers all of your health and nutrition questions.

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, Brandon Pope, of WCIU, and longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! The Rascals start off the podcast talking about the Department of Justice looking into the hiring practices of Mayor Brandon Johnson. What do the Rascals make of the DOJ probe? The Chicago City […]

WGN Radio's John Williams and Lisa Dent are on a mission to help send three buses full of kids to City Kids Camp, a 501c3 non-profit, where inner-city kids get to spend a week of adventure at a summer camp in the country, southwest of Peoria. John and Lisa are joined by Hector Corona, the camp’s […]

Pam Cronkright, newly retired teacher at Ottawa Township High School, joins John Williams to talk about her career in the classroom. Pam tells John about the relationship she had with her students, how it feels on day 1 of retirement, the challenge of teaching history and government to high school students, the importance of teaching […]

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 the rain we’ve been having will help and we’ll see some growth when it warms up.

Steve Budzik, Managing Broker, iCandy Realty, joins John Williams to talk about the boyhood home of Pope Leo XIV and how the city of Dolton is now planning to take ownership of the home through eminent domain.

Niall Stanage, White House Columnist for The Hill, joins John Williams to talk about President Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’ Is Medicaid going to get touched? Niall explains what’s in the bill and the chances of this passing through Congress.

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

Andy Masur of WGN Sports and Ryan Burrow, WGN News Director and host of ‘The Stadium Club‘ podcast, join John Williams to talk about new developments surrounding a possible new Bears stadium being in Arlington Heights.

Attorney Rich Lenkov, Capital Member, Downey & Lenkov, and co-host of “Legal Face-Off” on wgnradio.com, joins John Williams to talk about the Justice Department investigating Mayor Brandon Johnson for alleged racially-motivated hiring. Rich tells John if he believes Johnson’s hiring of some employees is in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Brian Gordon, President, Gordon Associates, joins John Williams to talk about long-term care insurance. Brian explains what long-term care insurance is, the most important thing to consider when looking into long-term care insurance, the best time to start a plan, what they look at when the devise a plan for you, how they work with financial advisors […]

Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, Chief Medical Officer for Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, joins John Williams to talk about former President Joe Biden battling an aggressive, stage-4 prostate cancer. Dr. Kopin also talks about the FDA clearing the 1st blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, and the FDA setting new requirements for COVID vaccines in healthy adults […]

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

Acclaimed Broadway Producer (‘Rent,’ ‘Hamilton’) Jeffrey Seller joins John Williams to discuss his new book, ‘Theater Kid: A Broadway Memoir.’ Jeffrey talks about how some of the stories in the book were things he had written when he was young, what he considers to be his greatest gift, how making a play is like making […]

The great Mr. Fix-It, Lou Manfredini, joins John Williams to tell us the projects we need to be working on this week. Lou tells us what we need to know about portable air conditioners, and to give us tips for cleaning your windows…especially after Friday’s dust storm! 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.