John Williams

Fox Sports betting analyst Sam Panayotovich, Host of Bet Sweats on the BetMGM Network, joins John Williams to talk about the big Eagles v. Chiefs game this weekend, why he thinks Philadelphia is going to win, and his picks for the most entertaining prop bets.

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, political pundit Marj Halperin, and Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute. The Rascals kick off the podcast talking about the biggest national political stories of the week including President Trump blaming DEI for the D.C. plane crash, Elon Muck’s DOGE taking control of the federal payment database, and having access to the Treasury, the Department of Justice looking into FBI agents who worked on Jan. 6 cases. The Rascals unpack all the stories and take a deep dive into the DEI debate. This week, things got heated at a city council meeting over a controversial public art display at the Chicago Cultural Center. What to do the Rascals make of what happened at city council yesterday between Alder Conway and Alder Sigcho-Lopez? A new poll done by the Illinois Policy Institute and M3 Strategies shows Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s approval rating down to 14%. Austin breaks down the numbers. And what is the latest on the Bring Chicago Home initiative and Mayor Johnson’s plan for a Bears stadium downtown. And the possible trade war has even spread to sports as some fans have been booing the national anthem in response to tariffs on Canada. What will happen when Edmonton comes to Chicago to play the Hawks? Will the fans boo the Canadian anthem?

Lt. General Richard Newton, USAF (Ret), Senior National Security Contributor to NewsNation, joins John William to talk about President Trump saying that he wants to take ownership over Gaza.

Mortgage and real estate expert David Hochberg joins John Williams to talk about what’s going on with the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, what is going on with interest rates now, why an adjustable rate mortgage could work for some people, and how he’s helped self-employed listeners when other lenders turned them down. Also, Home Sweet Home Chicago with David Hochberg hosts the 2025 Vest-a-Thon benefiting Chicago Police Memorial Foundation’s Get Behind the Vest Program, Feb. 22, 10am – 1pm. More information on that is here.

David hosts “Home Sweet Home Chicago” on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm on WGN Radio. You can call him at 855-56-David, or check out the Team Hochberg website.

Dr. Amar Pattani, family dentist at Main Street Smiles at 312 W Main Street in Barrington, joins John Williams to answer all of your dental health questions. Dr. Pattani tells John what sugar does to your teeth, what you should look for when you buy toothpaste, dental floss, and mouthwash, and if he agrees that the state of Illinois has the best dental health in the country.

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 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.