John Williams

The great film critic Michael Phillips joins John Williams to talk about leaving the Chicago Tribune after 24 years. Michael tells John about what his plans are for the future, why it’s a precarious time for all arts critics, his thoughts on the Tribune no longer having a full-time film critic on staff, how journalism has changed since he first started working at the newspaper, and some of the highs and lows of his career has a film critic.

David Keith, Professor and Founding Faculty Director, Climate Systems Engineering Initiative, University of Chicago, joins John Williams to discuss a recent piece in the New York Times Magazine about how man-made clouds could save the Great Barrier Reef.

Craig Bolanos, Founder and Wealth Advisor at VestGen Wealth Partners, joins John Williams, to talk about today’s big market rally after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell suggested interest rate cuts would be coming soon, how many rate cuts he expects to see for the rest of 2025, and when we we’ll see the full impact of tariffs. Craig also explains why he’s bullish on the Bears this year!

Enjoy this edition of “The Best of Speed Jokes.” What was your favorite joke of the week? Keep sending your jokes to [email protected]!

Author and registered dietician and nutritionist Dawn Jackson Blatner joins John Williams to talk about the dangers surrounding the recent trend of raising ‘carnivore babies,’ the importance of balanced diet, the benefits of weightlifting, how to tell if a food is overly-processed, and to answer all of your health and nutrition questions.

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 over to the great state of Michigan and visit with Brandy Miller, Executive Director, Pure Ludington! Brandy tells John where Ludington is located, how they are a quintessential beach town during the summer, the charming downtown where you can enjoy dining, art, and shopping, the cozy places to stay when you visit, their unique outdoor recreation scene, and all the events they have planned for the fall including Fall Color Tours, and Ludington Lumber Days.

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to [email protected].

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 The Last Ward, and political pundit Marj Halperin! This week the Rascals begin the podcast with a fascinating discussion about the future of journalism and Substack. The Rascals then mince about Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips announcing he’s taking a buyout from the paper. Do the Rascals think the city needs a local movie critic? There was a Tribune editorial about the dangers of driving on DuSable Lake Shore Drive. Should we put speed cameras (or even AI) on DLSD to catch speeders? Austin gets us up to speed on a critical budget vote scheduled for Chicago Public Schools later this month. Last Friday, President Trump met with Vladimir Putin to discuss a peace deal with Ukraine. And then earlier this week President Trump met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders to discuss how the war Russia-Ukraine war might be resolved. What were the major takeaways? Also this week, President Trump said the Smithsonian focuses too much on ‘how bad slavery was.’ Is this all just a distraction? California Governor Gavin Newsom has been trolling President Trump on social media. Do the Rascals think this mockery is effective and what does it mean for Newsom’s political future?

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 our water levels are now above average for the month with all the rain and that late August is a good time to start putting down grass seed.

Dr. Joel Ostrow, professor, comparative and international politics, Benedictine University, joins John Williams to offer his assessment of President Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin and to break down the meeting between President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other world leaders.