Award-winning children’s author Lori Orlinsky joins Lisa Dent to share the story behind her latest book, Being Middle (is a great place to be), a heartwarming and humorous tribute to life as a middle child. Inspired by her daughter, the book is being released just in time for National Middle Child Day on August 12.

Attorney Rae Kaplan of Kaplan Law Firm joins Lisa Dent to discuss the growing threat of wage garnishment as millions of borrowers face student loan default. With pandemic-era protections gone and the Department of Education ramping up collections, Kaplan shares practical steps borrowers can take now to avoid financial hardship and protect their paychecks.

Dr. Juanita Mora, board director for the American Lung Association and CEO of Chicago Allergy Center, joins Lisa Dent to discuss the ongoing air quality concerns in Chicagoland due to wildfire smoke. Mora explains who’s most at risk, what precautions to take, and how the smoky skies are impacting local health as heat and humidity also ramp up heading into the weekend.

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories.

Zach Coppel, 2025 Chicago Ducky Derby Ambassador, and Peter Beale-DelVecchio, President and CEO of the Special Olympics, join Lisa Dent to discuss this year’s Chicago Ducky Derby on August 7. The Darling Ducklings have set their sights on the ambitious goal of selling 17,000 ducks as a team. Ducks can be adopted individually or in packages. Our WGN Radio hosts, Bob Sirott, John Williams and Lisa Dent, are in a friendly competition to see whose team can get the most ducks. Choose your team and adopt a duck today!

Kevin McTigue, Clinical Professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, joins Lisa Dent to discuss the Illinois Tollway’s plans to explore dynamic pricing. McTigue shares insight into how this flexible pricing model is already reshaping other industries, from traffic congestion fees to real-time grocery store pricing, and what it could mean for consumers in the U.S.

Karen Conti, partner at Conti & Dolan, LLC, joins Lisa Dent to discuss the latest developments in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. She explains why House Republicans are issuing subpoenas to the Clintons and former Department of Justice officials and what could happen next.

WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Demetrius Ivory joins Lisa Dent to discuss how Canadian wildfires continue to affect Chicago’s summer weather and air quality. He shares why there’s little reason to expect improvement, how climate change is driving conditions across North America, and why wildfire smoke could linger for the rest of the summer.

Howard Tullman, American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, educator, writer, lecturer, and art collector, joins Lisa Dent to discuss his latest article, ‘Are Competitors Poaching Your Key People? Here’s How to Keep Them.’

Nationally syndicated financial columnist and author Terry Savage joins Lisa Dent to discuss the latest data from the New York Fed, which shows credit card debt has reached $1.21 trillion, matching last year’s all-time high. Savage also discusses the rising number of bankruptcy filings, what they signal about the state of the economy, and the dangerous traps Americans fall into when they ignore early warning signs.