Podcasts about Newsmakers

Thalia DeWolf, Associate Director of Education at The Academy of Aid in Dying Medicine, joins Lisa Dent to talk about medical aid in dying. Who qualifies in Illinois? What is the process like? Thalia answers these questions and more. If you have questions, visit www.aadm.org.

Mayor Brandon Johnson joins Lisa Dent to talk about running for reelection. The Mayor talks about how his family feels about him running for reelection, his relationship with the City Council, and what he would do differently in a second term. Mayor Johnson also talks about the mental health clinics he’s opened and his efforts […]

Erik Singer is an accent expert and professional dialect coach and he joins Lisa Dent to talk about the Chicago accent. Erik shares how an accent is identity and talks about the difference between a dialect and an accent. You can follow Erik’s work by visiting: www.eriksinger.com

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories, including the women’s performances in Dancing with the Stars, girls’ flag football, and more!

Al Pitrelli, guitar legend, music director, and original member of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, talks to Lisa Dent about the upcoming TSO performance at Allstate Arena on December 23rd. Get tickets here: ticketmaster.com/transsiberian-orchestra.

Lou Manfredini hops on the show with Lisa to answer listeners' home project questions. Today, he shares tips on home windows, cement decks, and security systems. Listen to HouseSmarts Radio on WGN each Saturday morning at 6 am.

Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon joins Lisa Dent to discuss voting by mail and answe listeners’ questions. Plus, Gordon shares what Cook County voters should be doing right now to be ready for elections.

Ron Brown, news anchor for WGN Radio, joins Lisa Dent to dish out some Brownie Points. This week, he reviews Practical Magic 2. Plus, what will he score The Uprising and Primetime?

Alderman of the 2nd Ward Brian Hopkins joins Lisa Dent to discuss the new deal to sell Chicago parking meters to an investment firm. Plus, the duo talks about the incentive to get the deal done and the language used in the contract.

Jeanne Heid Grubman, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Chicago Methodist Senior Services, joins Lisa Dent to discuss dementia-friendly neighborhoods. Jeanne shares that education about dementia is important and that Illinois has the most dementia-friendly neighborhoods. For more information on how you can get involved in creating a community, visit www.cmsschicago.org.

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories, including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle switching Archie and Lilibet’s school, Bob Dylan’s 39-Disc box set of Rolling Thunder Revue, and James Bond.

Matt Davison, CEO of NAMI Chicago, joins Lisa Dent to talk about how kids’ suicide ER visits have spiked. Matt talks about the importance of youth mental health education and the engagement of parents and students in recognizing signs and symptoms. For more information on NAMI Chicago, visit namichicago.org.

Pat Brady, SVP of Mercury Public Affairs and former chairman for the Illinois Republican Party, joins Lisa Dent to talk about the mayoral race.

Brian J. Rogal, Investigative Reporter at The Chicago Tribune, joins Lisa Dent to talk about how Google has provided a glimpse of the new Thompson Center. What is Google bringing to the table in downtown Chicago?

Robert Simonson, Cocktail writer and co-founder of Chicago’s Martini Expo, joins Lisa Dent to talk about how the first martini recipe appeared in a Chicago-published book in 1988. For more information on the Martini Expo, visit www.martiniexpo.com.

Stephanie Gretsch, an epidemiologist with the Chicago Department of Public Health, joins Lisa Dent to discuss recent measles exposures. Stephanie explains how incubation works from the time of exposure, what symptoms someone can have, and how many cases have been confirmed in the country. For more information about the Chicago Department of Public Health, visit […]

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories, including the latest season of Dancing with the Stars, Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers reuniting, and strange laws.

Dr. Santina Wheat, Program Director, McGaw Northwestern Family Medicine Residency at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital, joins Lisa Dent to talk about strength and balance as we age. Plus, how hot beverages affect your esophagus and more!

Guests: Greg Koenig (R) #36, Optometrist, Assemblyman

Guests: Greg Koenig (R) #36, Optometrist, Assemblyman

Demetrius Ivory, Chief Meteorologist at WGN-TV, and WGN-TV weather producer Bill Snyder join Lisa Dent to talk about the weather. The trio talks about how Chicago could see its warmest winter since 1941.

Lisa Dent and Kevin Powell talk with Blackhawks host Charlie Roumeliotis about Connor Bedard being named the franchise’s 37th captain. He becomes the team’s second-youngest captain. Charlie talks about the Players’ Tribune piece that Connor wrote, plus the new era of Chicago sports.

Howard Tullman, American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, educator, writer, lecturer, and art collector, joins Lisa Dent to discuss his latest article. Howard and Lisa discuss the need to be contributing citizens and how companies may need to take responsibility for developing the next generation of employees into concerned, committed, and informed citizens.

Terry Savage, nationally syndicated money columnist, joins Lisa Dent to discuss Treasury Direct accounts, the stock market, and tax refunds.

Guests: Joe Frey, Chicken Tender, Frey Family Farms

Guests: Joe Frey, Chicken Tender, Frey Family Farms

Annette Prince, Director of Chicago Bird Collision Monitors group, joins Lisa Dent to talk about the migrating birds flying through Chicago. Annette talks about how birds can sometimes get confused by the glass on buildings which explains so many birds falling from the sky during these migrations and talks about the sheer muscle power needed […]

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories, including the new Tom Cruise movie “Digger,” Oprah Winfrey at The Sphere in Las Vegas, and remembering iconic fashion and costume designer Bob Mackie.

What happens when a school has only a fraction of the students it was built to serve? Hal Woods, Chief of Policy for Kids First Chicago, joins The Lisa Dent Show to discuss declining CPS enrollment, underused school buildings, student opportunities, and the complicated decisions facing Chicago's public schools.

Humana is exiting some Medicare Advantage plans, potentially affecting 600,000 members nationwide. Sandy Leith, SHIP Director (State Health Insurance Assistance Program) from the Illinois Department on Aging, joins The Lisa Dent Show to talk about what Illinois residents should do if their coverage changes. Sandy talks about key Medicare deadlines and where to get trusted […]

Kristen Knutson, Associate Professor of Neurology at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, joins The Lisa Dent show to talk about new studies talking about too much light during nighttime sleep potentially damaging your heart. Professor Knutson talks about how light is important to resetting our internal biological clock but having it at the wrong time […]

Digital privacy expert with Privacy Bee Harry Maugans joins the Lisa Dent Show to talk about the world’s biggest AI rivals agreeing that it may need to be slowed down and perhaps this generation’s version of a space race. Harry talks autonomous drones, automatic hacking, open source models, virtual persona agents, and more. With some researchers […]

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories, including Kevin celebrating Jack’s second birthday themed after Toy Story, Nashville International Airport is in the process of renaming itself in honor of Dolly Parton, and Mary asks, “what’s with” college football players wearing crop tops.

Clarendon Hills resident Stu Breslow joins the Lisa Dent Show to share his story of September 11, 2001 where he was on the 40th floor of the North Tower as the attack on the World Trade Center happened. He addresses every moment from meeting the first responders headed up the tower, to finding shelter away […]

Dan Hampton, NFL Hall of Famer and host of the Hamp and O'B show, joins Lisa Dent to preview the Bears’ first game of the 2026 season against the Carolina Panthers.

In the wake of Judy Markey’s death, Lisa Dent is joined by the Kathy & Judy family, Kathy O’Malley, Steve Bertrand, and Kurt Vanderah, to share stories of not only the show and the humor shared between the four, but the tenacity and fearlessness emanated by Judy to go on air and be her truest […]

Guests: Mary Lau, CEO, Retail Association of Nevada

Science Director for the Center for Food Safety Bill Freese joins Lisa Dent to talk about how the Trump Administration is being sued for approving the use of a pesticide containing the “forever chemical,” trifludimoxazin, which has links to cancer, when growing a wide variety of foods.

Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of the 8th District joins Lisa Lisa Dent to discuss how former researchers from OpenAI and Anthropic have stated that AI could be the catalyst that will bring the end of humanity. They address how it’s imperative that the race to advance AI be stopped before it continues to spiral out of […]

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories, including Kim Kardashian’s new project involving travel baseball, Disney teasing “Infinity-vision” ahead of Avengers: Doomsday, and the two beverages people shouldn’t order when on a flight.

Lou Manfredini hops on the show with Lisa to answer listeners' home project questions. Today, he shares tips on replacing storm windows, fixing a blacktop driveway, repairing your roof following the August storms, and more!

Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), joins Lisa Dent to discuss the recalls of the Ricky Joy Sour Crush Candy Bottles, Vet Plus Inc.’s Fi dog supplements, 1,500 pounds of Prime Line Distributors pork, and more.

Ron Brown, news anchor for WGN Radio, joins Lisa Dent to dish out some Brownie Points. This week he reviews the documentary Peter Asher: Everywhere Man as well as the fast-paced Korean action film Hope.

Senior Director of Fiscal and Economic Analysis at the Illinois Policy Institute Bryce Hill joins the Lisa Dent Show to discuss how last year, the top fifty of Illinois’ state pensioners each averaged about $437,000. Together, they discuss the factors that could lead to such an unsustainable system and what measures need to be made […]

The Chicago River Swim, happening Sunday, September 20th, is kicking off the weekend events on Friday the 18th with the return of The Big Jump. Founder of the Chicago River Swim, Doug McConnell joins Lisa Dent to discuss how people can register for the jump and raise money for ALS research and youth swim education […]

Terri Reifsteck, Vice President of Destination Branding and Development at Experience Champaign-Urbana joins the Lisa Dent Show to talk about the increase in population as well as what visitors can explore now that the area is busier. She spotlights activities such as the start of performing arts season at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, […]

David Hochberg, Vice President of Lending for Team Hochberg at Atlantic Coast Mortgage and host of Home Sweet Home Chicago on WGN Radio, joins the Lisa Dent Show to discuss the 2.1% rise of the four-week average of U.S. home listings, the increase in inflation and interest rates, and much more!

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories, including Nathan Fielder’s documentary of Elizabeth Holmes, several bugs named after Taylor Swift, and Angine de Poitrine will be the featured on The Tonight Show.

Former Governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn joins Lisa Dent to highlight Wednesday morning’s ceremony at Daley Civic Center Building commemorating those who lost their lives after the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center. The ceremony features the Portrait of a Soldier memorial which consists of 300 hand-drawn portraits of the fallen service members […]

Dr. Leiszle Lapping-Carr, Psychologist at Northwestern Medicine joins Lisa Dent to talk about the differences between postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis in the wake of the Lindsay Clancy trial as well as Corie Walsh’s alleged murder of her two-year-old son, Barrett, in Frankfort, Illinois.