Author and registered dietician nutritionist Dawn Jackson Blatner joins John to talk about how she can tell if a fruit is ripe, a new study that shows the benefits of vegan protein, and to share her thoughts on weight loss drugs. Dawn also answers all of your health and nutrition questions.

Kelly Leonard, Vice President, Creative Strategy, Innovation and Business Development at The Second City and host of the “Getting to Yes, And…” podcast, joins John Williams to talk about a recent conversation he had with University of Toronto professor Christopher DiCarlo where they discussed the ethics of artificial intelligence. Are robots going to kill us? Kelly explores how AI is being used, when it might be useful, and why there are some things that AI will never replace. Kelly also shares his thoughts on the late, great George Wendt.

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 longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! The Rascals start the podcast this week talking about violence being down over Memorial Day weekend and crime in general being down in Chicago. Are Mayor Johnson’s policies working? The Rascals break down the statistics. Unfortunately, Jussie Smollett is back in the news for donating $50,000 to an arts center to settle Chicago’s lawsuit. Eric hopes this is the last time we’ll have to talk about Jussie Smollett. Next, the Rascals talk about the latest rounds of pardons by President Trump. Should there be a constitutional amendment to change the power of the pardon? President Trump has escalated his war on Harvard. The Rascals wonder why Harvard? A couple of airlines made news this week with Southwest beginning to charge for checked bags and Turkish aviation officials want to fine passengers that stand up after landing. What one change would the Rascals make to make air travel more comfortable? Also on the travel front, Cate gets everyone up to speed on the Red Line extension project. Why has the projected cost of the project gotten out of hand? 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.

Elder law attorney Kerry Peck joins John Williams to answer all your questions about elder law, trusts, wills, and elder abuse. Kerry and John talk about a recent article in The Cut about a victim of a Love Scam. How should you protect yourself or your senior relatives from becoming a victim?

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

Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, Chief Medical Officer for Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, joins John Williams to talk about the nurses at his hospital receiving an award from a national credentialing organization, the FDA setting new requirements for COVID vaccines in healthy adults and children, the CDC ending COVID vaccine recommendation for healthy kids and pregnant women, and if he believes more people should be taking weight loss drugs.

Tom Fortino, Founder and Principal, Alpha Wealth Group, and host of “The Alpha Wealth Hour” on WGN Radio, joins John to talk about why the market is bouncing back today, the decision by President Trump to delay EU tariffs, consumer confidence jumping, what we could see from Fed policy, the impact of the Trump administration’s tax bill, and why he’s bullish on the market.

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins John Williams to talk about how YouTube is replacing owner’s manuals, the news about Caitlin Clark’s injury will keep her from playing the Sky early next month, Chicago’s drop in crime since Brandon Johnson took office, and why President Trump continues to go after Harvard University.