John Williams

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins Wendy Snyder, filling in for John Williams, to talk about this weekend’s Songs of Good Cheer event at The Old Town School of Folk Music (get tickets here), his favorite Christmas songs, and why he’s in favor of the medical aid in dying bill that is still sitting on Governor Pritzker’s desk waiting to be signed into law. Eric also explains why he believes Notre Dame should be in the College Football Playoff.

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

The great Mr. Fix-It, Lou Manfredini, joins Wendy Snyder, filling in for John Williams, to tell us the projects we need to be working on this week. This week, Lou tells us what you can do to prevent ice dams. Lou also answers all of your home improvement questions and absolves himself from any blame for the Bears loss to the Packers.

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

Alexander Zalben, Editor of Comic Book Club, joins Wendy Snyder in for John Williams to break down the 2026 Golden Globe nominations.

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

Wendy Snyder (in for John Williams) is joined by legendary television journalist Bill Kurtis to talk all about his new book, Whirlwind: My Life Reporting the News. Kurtis shares fascinating stories from his storied career while promoting his interview with WGN’s Larry Potash at the Museum of Broadcast Communications on Saturday, December 6th, 2025.

Tom Appel, Publisher, Consumer Guide Automotive and host of the Consumer Guide Car Stuff podcast, joins John Williams to talk about the Trump administration rolling back fuel economy standards. Tom breaks down what this means.

Author and registered dietician nutritionist Dawn Jackson Blatner joins John Williams to talk about why you should not eat lunch while you a working, and the one habit that could decrease your risk of heart attack, high blood pressure, diabetes, and weight gain. Dawn also answers 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, political pundit Marj Halperin, and long-time Chicago journalist Cate Plys, publisher of Roseland, Chicago: 1972. This week, the Rascals start the podcast discussing Northwestern University paying $75 million to the federal government over the next three years to to get federal funding reinstated. Do the Rascals believe Northwestern capitulated to Trump? Next, the Rascals break down the latest news about the military striking an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Caribbean on September 2nd. Do the Rascals believe a war crime was committed? Also, how about that Cabinet meeting yesterday? Turning to some local news, what’s going on with new capacity limits at the beloved Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza? And where are we on the Chicago budget? What will the city do to raise revenue? And as we motor towards the end of the year, it’s time to start thinking who is the Person of the Year for Chicago!