Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, Chief Medical Officer for Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, joins John Williams to talk about The FDA approving a new type of painkiller that doesn’t carry the risk of addiction associated with opioid medications, how concerned we need to be about bird flu, flu casing rising in Illinois, and his thoughts on the future of vaccinations if RFK is confirmed by the Senate to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins John Williams to talk about some recent unpopular opinions that he wrote about including his belief that the news should get rid of their weather forecasters, and if the Super Bowl should be played on a Saturday night. Eric also discusses last week’s D.C. plane crash and the Trump administration’s response to the tragedy.

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL 8) joins John Williams to talk about the confirmation hearings of RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, his thoughts on Elon Musk’s power over the federal government, and how proposed tariffs might impact Americans.

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 says now is a great time to spend some time deep cleaning your carpets, rugs, and appliances. Lou also answers all of your home improvement questions.

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

Marge Sipla, Speed Jokes spirit animal, cataloger and Member of the Speed Jokes Committee, joins John and the gang to give us her favorite Speed Jokes of January 2025! What was your favorite joke this month? And as always, John brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to [email protected]

NewsNation Now anchor Connell McShane joins John Williams to talk about what we know about the D.C. plane crash and the confirmation hearings of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Kash Patel, and Tulsi Gabbard.

The great Tom Skilling joins John Williams to talk about what he’s been doing since he left day-to-day work at WGN-TV, the rain they are getting in Hawaii right now, how Chicago winter has been, what we can expect from the rest of the winter and spring here, and his participation in last year’s Woodstock Groundhog Days event.

Craig Bolanos, Founder and Wealth Advisor at VestGen Wealth Partners, joins John Williams to talk about the market having a roller coaster week, the overall gains the market has made this year, the AI race, why expects volatility to return in 2025, Trump proposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico, his thoughts on stubborn inflation, and what he expects from Fed policy and rate cuts this year.

Peter Greenberg, ‘Eye on Travel‘ host and CBS News travel editor, joins John Williams to give us the latest update on the fatal plane crash in Washington D.C. Peter also gives some tips on how to make your travel less expensive and more efficient. You can see Peter this weekend at the Travel and Adventure Show in Rosemont. Find more information here.