Laura Walker, Executive Director of the Hegeler Carus Foundation, joins John Williams to tell us everything we should know about the the upcoming immersive ‘The Mansion is NOT Haunted‘ Tours! Laura talks about the beautiful Hegeler Carus mansion, where it’s located and how you can get there, what makes the mansion and its history so unique, how their general tours work, and their upcoming Christmas tours.

Northwestern University economics and history Professor Joel Mokyr joins John Williams to discuss winning the 2025 Nobel Prize for Economic Science. Professor Mokyr tells John about how surprised he was when it was announced he was a winner of the Nobel Prize, when he did the research that won the prize, what is so revelatory about his research, and if he thinks the U.S. is doing a good job of nurturing innovation.

Dr. Joshua Baker, President of Midwestern University, joins John to talk about recently becoming the 10th president of Midwestern University, what he’s learned about the new role, how many students attend the university, where the student body comes from, what distinguishes Midwestern University from other schools, the programs that are in the most demand right now, the acceptance rate at the school, and the importance of leaning into a ‘student first’ mentality.

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, Executive Director of the Chicago Policy Center and the The Last Ward, and political pundit Marj Halperin! The Rascals kick off the podcast breaking down the ICE activities throughout the Chicago area over the last week. What do the Rascals think are the biggest things we need to be paying attention to? Austin says if you can find a tamale vendor who had been convicted of a homicide, he will give you $1000. At the request of the Trump administration, Facebook suspended a popular Chicago ICE-sighting group. Marj calls this action, ‘sinister.’ Should social media companies be able to silence civil disobedience. The ‘No Kings’ protests are planned across the U.S. on Saturday. John thinks these protests are going to be the biggest we’ve seen. Mayor Johnson will outline his 2026 budget. The Rascals break down Johnson’s plan to close a $1.15 billion budget shortfall including a head tax proposal. And finally, it’s time for red light, yellow light, green light! What are the Rascals recommending (or not recommending) this week?

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 we are right about average on rain for the month. He’s not concerned about grass, but trees and shrubs still need to be watered.

Anne Libera, Director of Comedy Studies at The Second City, joins John Williams to discuss her new book, “Funnier.” Anne talks about who the book is for, how people can use comedy better, what you can do to make yourself funnier, the biggest elements of comedy that people don’t think about, her interest in how jokes work, what the jokes that really make us laugh have in common, and how this book is applicable in more ways than just writing comedy.

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

Dr. Allison Zielinski, cardiology at Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, joins John Williams to talk about the importance of getting your heart health checked, why you should know your risk factors, and the most common signs of a heart attack. What are the symptoms that we should be aware of?

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins John Williams to talk about why he’s not a fan of the Nobel Prize for Economics, the frightening implications on the rise of AI, and some U.S. airports refusing to show a video showing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blaming Democrats for the ongoing federal government shutdown.