It’s time once again for our Best of the Midwest feature for 2026! Are you trying to come up with some quick getaway ideas that are only a short trip from the Chicago area? Well, John Williams has some great recommendations for you! Today, we head to Wisconsin and visit with Kathleen Papcke, Chair, Women’s Weekend Committee, Geneva Lake Women’s Association! Kathleen tells John everything about this year’s Women’s Weekend events coming up this April. Find more information here.

Professor Samir Khuller, Chair, Northwestern’s Computer Science Department, joins John Williams to talk about the university offering a major in AI next year.

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, multi-media journalist Brandon Pope, author of Brandon Pope’s Screening Room, and long-time Chicago journalist Cate Plys, publisher of Roseland, Chicago: 1972. This week, the Rascals start the podcast discussing the war in Iran. How and when does this war end? Last week, HHS Secretary RFK Jr. called out Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks for serving high-sugar drinks. Should the government be regulating these types of drinks? This week, Uber launched their women-only ride option. Do the Rascals have any issues with this option? Also this week, The Wall Street Journal has a piece on how AI could save local news. How are the Rascals feeling about this? And speaking of AI, former congressman Bobby Rush used AI in a campaign ad to voice his support for Jesse Jackson Jr. Do the Rascals believe this is a good use of AI? And finally, the Rascals make some election day / Oscar predictions.

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. Bob says it’s a little too early to start seeding, but definitely get debris cleaned up and make sure to get leftover fall leaves off your lawn. We are ‘keeping it green’ with Bob!

Local farmer John Andermann, President of the Will County Farm Bureau, joins John Williams to talk about his farm and his yield last year, what he’s doing with his field right now, how very few farmers turned a profit last year, the cost of fertilizer going up, and how the war in Iran is impacting business.

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

Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, Chief Medical Officer for Northwestern Medicine Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital, joins John Williams to talk about being on the back-end of flu season, how most of the respiratory illness they saw in the hospital was influenza, how far we have come with COVID since 2020, if popular weight loss drugs could become a new treatment for addiction, and a new study that showed AI could identify other serious health conditions during breast cancer screenings.

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins John Williams to talk about his thoughts on the current landscape of NCAA sports in the transfer portal era, Uber rolling out their women-only option, and his general observations about the war in Iran.

DeWayne Peevy, Vice President & Director of Athletics, DePaul University, joins John Williams to talk about the DePaul basketball team ahead of the Big East tournament. DeWayne talks about how the team has performed this year, the big step the team made in the second year of the Chris Holtmann era, what the future of the program look likes, how the school is navigating NIL, and the amazing support they have received from students, fans, and donors.