John Williams

Liz Shulman, English teacher at Evanston Township High School and in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University, joins John Williams once again to talk about how she managed the school year. Liz tells John about her recent piece in the Wall Street Journal about showing her students ‘The Breakfast Club,’ how the cell phone ban at her school worked this entire school year, and the way AI has impacted learning and school work.

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

Wendy Reed, Partner at Just Rite IT, joins John Williams to talk about what Just Rite IT does, how they help customers with their technology needs, the most important need for businesses right now, the typical problems they solve, how they ease the day-to-day burden for their clients, and the ways they can help increase employees production and save their customers money.

Suzy Welch, best-selling author, tech entrepreneur, and award-winning professor at NYU Stern, joins John Williams to talk about her new book, “BECOMING YOU: The Proven Method for Crafting Your Authentic Life and Career.” Suzy talks about how AI is changing the world we live in, how she ended up writing her new book, why she’s not interested in happiness, how you can figure out your purpose, the importance of finding out what you are good at and how much money you want, and who could benefit from the methodology in the book.

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 to the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan and visit with Brandy Miller, Executive Director, Pure Ludington! Brandy tells John the best way to get to Ludington from the Chicago area, what Ludington is most known for, the wonderful beaches in Ludington, where you can stay when you visit, the great opportunities for hiking, biking, kayaking, and fishing, and the popular events taking place this summer.

Local farmer John Andermann of the Will County Farm Bureau joins John Williams to talk about where he farms, how long he’s been farming, how the planting season is going this year, the costs of fertilizer and putting the crop into the ground, how he comes up with the money to do the work, the support they receive from the government, and how tariffs have been impacting the farm.

Author and registered dietician nutritionist Dawn Jackson Blatner joins John Williams to talk about Memorial Day and the unofficial start of grilling season! Dawn offers some alternatives (or in addition to) to your typical grilling fare! And, as usual, Dawn answers all of your health and nutrition questions.

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, Brandon Pope, of WCIU, and longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! The Rascals start off the podcast talking about the Department of Justice looking into the hiring practices of Mayor Brandon Johnson. What do the Rascals make of the DOJ probe? The Chicago City Council did not take a vote today on ‘snap curfews.’ Do the Rascals think that ‘snap curfews’ could be effective? Pivoting to the WNBA, the Rascals chat about the game between the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever last weekend. What are the Rascals thoughts on the budding rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese? It was revealed over the weekend that former President Biden was diagnosed with an advanced stage of prostate cancer. The Rascals talk about the diagnosis, and the controversy surrounding the book by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson on Biden’s mental decline. And speaking of controversy, the Sun-Times is being criticized for using AI to create a summer reading guide containing books that don’t exist. The Rascals break it all down. And finally, it’s time for Red Light, Yellow Light, Green Light. What are the Rascals recommending (or not recommending) this week.

WGN Radio’s John Williams and Lisa Dent are on a mission to help send three buses full of kids to City Kids Camp, a 501c3 non-profit, where inner-city kids get to spend a week of adventure at a summer camp in the country, southwest of Peoria. John and Lisa are joined by Hector Corona, the camp’s owner and founder, and Bob Evans, the development director. This is WGN Radio’s third annual City Kids Camp Radiothon and our partners, Republic Bank of Chicago, Alpha Wealth Group‘s Tom Fortino, Avondale Roofing, and Jewel Osco, have provided financial support along with many WGN Radio listeners.

The cost to send a kid to camp for a week is $600 and that includes meals, lodging and camp activities. Any donation to City Kids Camp is appreciated and you can make a donation online here. Learn more about City Kids Camp at citykidscamp.org.