John Williams

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 get you in the holiday spirit and visit the World’s Tallest Glass Tree in Williams Bay, Wisconsin! Robert Elliott, the producer of the World’s Tallest Glass Tree, tells John where you can see the tree, what we need to know about the glass tree, where they get their glass from, what color they hope to make this year’s tree, how he and his partners came up with the original idea for building the tree, how you can participate in building the tree, what is unique about Yerkes Observatory, and when you can finally see the finished tree.

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, longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys, Brandon Pope, host of ‘On the Block‘ on WCIU, and political pundit Marj Halperin! The Rascals begin this special Tuesday holiday week episode of the podcast discussing The Shopping Cart Theory. Can you judge a person’s character if they properly return their shopping cart? Next, there is more drama in Mayor Johnson’s office as Johnson’s former communications director was the subject of multiple complaints alleging workplace misconduct. What do the Rascals make of the latest problem in the Johnson administration? Fresh from withdrawing his name to be the next attorney general, former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz joined Cameo. Special counsel Jack Smith is dropping the federal election subversion and classified documents cases against President-elect Trump. Do the Rascals believe the cases should be dropped? And finally, as we head towards the Thanksgiving holiday, what are the Rascals most thankful for this year.

Master Sommelier Emily Wines joins John Williams to talk about the launch of the new MasterClass, “A Sommelier’s Snob-Free Guide to Wine.” What are the five S’s of wine tasting? What should we know about picking out a wine? And what wines does Emily recommend for your Thanksgiving dinner?

Harold Krent, Professor of Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law, joins John Williams to talk about special counsel Jack Smith filing motions to drop all federal charges against President-elect Donald Trump regarding the classified documents case and his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Attorney Rae Kaplan of Kaplan Law Firm joins John Williams to tell us what we should know about student loan forgiveness during the Trump administration.

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins John Williams to explain The Shopping Cart Theory, the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling that a special prosecutor should not have been allowed to put actor Jussie Smollett on trial, and Mayor Johnson’s former communications director being accused of sexual harassment, racism and other abusive behavior before he was terminated last month.

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

The great Mr. Fix-It, Lou Manfredini, joins John Williams to tell us the projects we need to be working on this week. Lou talks about what you should know about changing batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, if you need to drain the gas from your lawn mower and power tools, the importance of cleaning the coils on your refrigerator, and why you should replace the hoses to your washing machine. Lou also answers all of your home improvement questions.

Listen to HouseSmarts Radio on WGN each Saturday morning at 6 am.

Author and registered dietician nutritionist Dawn Jackson Blatner joins John Williams to talk about ‘Thanksgiving Math’ and why you shouldn’t stress out over one meal. Dawn also explains the difference between white meat and dark meat and how to add nutrition to your Thanksgiving meal.