Justin Kaufmann

What an incredible honor to have the legendary George Freeman in-studio tonight! Jazz great George Freeman, guitarist Mike Allemana and vocalist Joanie Pallatto join Justin on Extension 720 for a great conversation and to perform three songs from George’s latest album, “George the Bomb!” George talks about his amazing career, how different “George the Bomb!” is from his other work, his eclectic style of playing, his early life playing clubs and ballrooms, the skill needed to play jazz guitar, Chicago’s […]

Three powerhouses in the arts world are in-studio tonight! Stephanie Cristello, Artistic Director of EXPO CHICAGO, Julie Rodrigues Widholm, Director and Chief Curator of DePaul Art Museum and Hendrik Folkerts, Dittmer Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Art Institute of Chicago, join Justin to talk about the leading international art fair, EXPO CHICAGO. Stephanie, Julie and Hendrik chat about what is different about this year’s art fair, the overarching theme of EXPO CHICAGO, how they keep up with the […]

It’s another edition of the “Monday Evening Quarterback!” Tonight, Justin and WGN Bears Insider Adam Hoge break down the Bears last second 16-14 victory over the Denver Broncos. Adam and Justin talk about the great day from Bears kicker Eddy Pineiro, Matt Nagy’s decision to stick with the run game after abandoning it early in week 1, the continued lack of production on the offensive side of the ball, the disappointing performance from the Bears wide receivers not named Allen Robinson, the […]

Chicago Tribune theater critic and author Chris Jones joins Justin on Extension 720 to preview the 2019 Fall theater season including “Five Presidents”, “Oslo” and “Lindiwe.” Chris also talks about the “Year of Chicago Theater” and the shows that are specifically unique to Chicago. This is the podcast for Extension 720. The show originates from Chicago on WGN Radio and features newsmakers, tastemakers and trailblazers.  Hosted by award-winning broadcaster Justin Kaufmann, this talk show/audio magazine goes in-depth to help you better understand the city […]

Heather Cherone, Chicago City Hall reporter and Managing Editor of The Daily Line, joins Justin on Extension 720 to talk about the latest political stories making news this week including the ongoing Chicago budget strife, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s negotiations with the CPD, CFD and CTU, CPS geting Fed oversight for sexual misconduct and assault allegations, the lawsuit against the Lincoln Yards development and the return of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans. This is the podcast for Extension 720. The […]

Writer, teacher and Chicago-born author Alex Poppe joins Justin on Extension 720 to discuss her new book, “Moxie.” Alex talks about turning a short story into a novel, where she finds inspiration for her stories, what attracts her to a character, the importance to having a connection with a story, how this novel is a love letter to New York, what it is like teaching in Iraq, if Americans are informed about what is currently happening in Iraq, what attracted […]

It’s the return of “Monday Evening Quarterback!” Tonight, Justin and WGN Bears Insider Adam Hoge break down the Bears uninspiring 10-3 loss to the Green Bay Packers that opened the NFL’s 100th season. Adam and Justin talk about the catastrophic offensive failure, the ways in which Matt Nagy was outcoached, the awful performances from both Mitchell Trubisky and the offensive line, what we can take away from Mitch’s bad night, the lack of any sort of running game, Allen Robinson’s nice start […]

Professor, Egyptologist and author Sarah Parcak joins Justin on Extension 720 to discuss her new book, “Archaeology from Space: How the Future Shapes Our Past.” Sarah talks about what a “space archaeologist” does, the advancement of technology and how it has helped improve her work, what got her interested in archaeology, how much more there is to discover, what she is looking for when she is on an archaeological dig, how crowdsourcing is helping archaeology and why she believes that […]

Tonight on Extension 720: A sit-down with B.J. Armstrong. The former champion-turned-agent gives us his thoughts on the business of professional sport and what he learned from Michael Jordan. Rebecca Makkai is winning award after award from her amazing novel “The Great Believers.” She’s in studio. And we start our new series with Chicago Historian John R. Schmidt. We go and explore some of the places in his new book “Hidden Chicago Landmarks.” Tonight? The forgotten Balbo Column next to […]

In this Extension 720 series, Chicago historian John R. Schmidt takes us on a tour of Chicago’s “Hidden Chicago Landmarks.” Tonight, John and Justin get out of the WGN studio to learn more about the Balbo Column. John tells us about the history of the Balbo Column, what caused Chicago to go “Balbo crazy,” why Benito Mussolini sent the Balbo Column to Chicago and why the monument remains in Chicago despite being tied to a Fascist regime. This is the […]