After Hours with Rick Kogan

Author Jane Skinner Sawyers joined Rick Kogan to talk about her latest book, ‘Chicago Beer: A History of Brewing, Public Drinking and the Corner Bar.’ They explored how craft brewing came to the city, the bar the Sun-Times bought as a means to investigate corruption in Chicago, and much more!

Author Richard Reeder joined Rick Kogan in studio to talk about his new book, ‘The Curious Odyssey of Rudolph Bloom.’ The book details the life of Rudolph Bloom, father of James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ protagonist Leopold Bloom. Prior to talking about his book, Reeder discussed his life before becoming an author, highlighting the time he spent […]

Ray Long, investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune, joined Rick Kogan in studio to continue their discussion on Long’s book, ‘The House that Madigan Built: The Record Run of Illinois: Velvet Hammer.’ He went on to address his time actually meeting Madigan and what he was like in person. Later, they talked about and described […]

Champ Clark, former writer for People Magazine and author, joined Rick Kogan to discuss his new noir novel, “Buh-Bye Cruel World: A Drake Hayes Sizzler!” They highlighted the darker aspects to this novel in comparison to Clark’s previous book, the variety of characters that populate the story, and how the novel captures the overall feeling […]

WGN’s Rick Kogan is joined by former broadcast newsman and current author Peter Nolan to discuss his book, “Campaign! The Election that Rocked Chicago.” The book details the events that lead to the election of Harold Washington as Mayor of Chicago in 1983. They also highlighted Nolan’s career in news as well as their presentation […]

In the “shortest After Hours show in the history of WGN,” Chicago Tribune Investigative Reporter Ray Long joined Rick Kogan to discuss Michael Madigan. They reviewed Long’s Tribune article detailing Madigan’s push to gain his allies’ ComEd jobs and then briefly highlighted Long’s first book, “The House that Madigan Built: The Record Run of Illinois’ […]

Radio personality and Loop alumna, Kevin Matthews, joined Rick Kogan (filling in for Bob Sirott), to talk about his book, ‘Broken Mary: A Journey of Hope’ and how he got inspiration for the title. They also discussed a resource available to musicians with original music, Elevator a Go Go. To find out more, visit Elevator […]

New architecture critic for the Chciago Sun Times, Lee Bay, joined Rick Kogan (filling in for Bob Sirott) to talk about his career and writing stories about architecture. They also discussed Lee’s new book and his new monthly column.

Dean Richards, entertainment reporter for WGN, joined Rick Kogan (filling in for Bob Sirott) to provide the latest news in entertainment. Rick and Dean talked about a Bob Saget memorial coming to a popular streaming service and the wedding that Tom Hanks crashed and officiated. They also shared details about what movies to watch this […]

Jen Sabella, the Director of Strategy and co-founder of Block Club Chicago, joined Rick Kogan (filling in for Bob Sirott) to share the latest Chicago neighborhood stories. She provided details on: American Blues Theater Will Build Its First Permanent Venue In Lincoln Square: Scheduled to open in 2023, American Blues’ new home will be the “crown […]