Steve and Johnnie

The last few shows with Steve and Johnnie have been building up to this moment, a show dedicated to the coming of the cicada! Of course, it wouldn’t be The Steve and Johnnie Show without a few other tech and music related goodies along the way.

Marshall Chess, son of Chess Records co-founder Leonard Chess, spins some tales from the days at Chess Records and many of the music masterminds he has worked with including his time as founding president of Rolling Stones Records and you can listen to some snippets from his latest project, New Moves.

Next up, Mr. Cicada, otherwise known as Mark Hurley is the Environmental Educator at the Lake County Forest Preserve District and Cicada 101 is in session! We’re learning about the different broods of cicadas across the States and in Illinois, the three things that every young cicada has to look forward to in life and a handful of things you can participate in to learn even more as we approach… Cicada-geddon

Patrick Crispen, Director of Educational Technology at Keck School of Medicine of USC brings your regular round up of social media news revolving around the Tik Tok ban, Facebook’s new Meta AI and some tech support answering listener questions including the key differences between MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.

Johnnie Putman and Steve King are taking you on a trip to sunny Panama City in Florida where they are broadcasting from WKGC in Panama City for the next few shows. On this show, we’re talking to some hometown superstars.

Our first guest is another household name for your weather! Ed Curran, meteorologist for CBS2 and longtime Chicago broadcaster reflects on the iconic moments in his incredible career, including right here on AM720, WGNTV and yes, The Al and/or Ed Show days. They also talk about National Donate Life Month and how lucky he was to have his sister help him with his kidney ordeal. You can see Ed at the Walk for Kidneys with the National Kidney Foundation on June 9th.

Next, we’re going to the drive-in with Shelley and Paul Bottomley, the owners of Route 34 Drive In Theatre in Earlville, IL to be exact! Go behind the silver screen with them to kick off their 70th anniversary in business! The pandemic couldn’t shut them down and neither will a chilly weekend!

The late night drive closes with Tom Appel for your routine auto check up and this time we’re looking at the evolution of the dashboard as large tablet-like screens are becoming more common, Tom’s experience that was like a scene out of 1983’s Christine, road tests and more recalls, including some from Tesla, which may come as a shock to almost no one.

As always, shenanigans ensue so grab a snack, kick up your feet and roll the window down.

Steve King and Johnnie Putman bring a cast of characters this week you may or may not have heard of to talk about some incredible music and some baffling tech and business troubles.

Kicking off the show is John Dreznes, owner of Beverly Records, who spins onto the show with his father Jack Dreznes to shed some light on Record Store Day, which is Saturday, April 20th. We learn about their family-owned business that has been serving Chicago for over 50 years!

Steve Bernas, President & CEO of BBB of Chicago and Northern Illinois, checks in with some of the latest scams to look out for. We have tax/IRS scams, ridiculous prom dress scams, and when weeding out shady moving companies be sure to access the Illinois Commerce Commission for more info.

Sue Foley, Canadian guitarist extraordinaire, talks about her April 17th show at SPACE in Evanston, the many incredibly talented women that inspired her, and how she pays tribute to them on her latest album.

Your regular tech and social media check in is brought to you by Patrick “Crispy” Crispen! This time he’s telling us about scammers that are stealing your login info by making you think you logged out, the continued Roku account saga, and some updates (or lack thereof) for Windows 10 users.

Tune in below and make sure to stop by next Saturday as they broadcast from Panama City Beach. It’ll be the same show with a different view!

Johnnie Putman and Steve King are delighted for you to join them for their 40th anniversary as Him n’ Her. On this packed show, we take you back to some very big moments in history, including a brief spotlight on the producer behind this finely tuned podcast 30 years in the making.

Liz Miller Smith, Vice President and Event Director of AXPONA, tunes in to talk about the origins of the largest audio expo in the country, what attendees and audiophiles can expect and a number of special guests who will be present from April 12th until the 14th at the Schaumburg Convention Center.

Next up, we are off to see a wonderful film at the Pickwick Theatre in Park Ridge with its resident film historian Matthew C. Hoffman. He has been a vital part of the Pickwick for over a decade in keeping the golden age of cinema alive and his latest event is celebrating the 85th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz, which will take place April 10th & 11th.

We continue our trip to the past with Chicago jazz icon Dee Alexander and her tribute to Billie Holiday. She and the Metropolitan Jazz Octet perform and demonstrate masterful jazz talent from their incredible album, “It’s Too Hot For Words” at the Chicago City Winery on April 10th.

Tom Appel, Publisher of Consumer Guide Automotive, helps close off the show with more old school tunes and your regular auto industry updates including more recalls, info about car coatings and more of latest test drives.

Click here for more on Steve & Johnnie’s anniversary, including many photos!

Steve King and Johnnie Putman are your radio Easter bunnies with a show that’s half as long but crammed full of 5 hours worth of content! On this show, we’ve got the usual antics involving talking about food, reading books backwards, some musical discoveries and a (poorly) singing producer! They also reflect on their time with the recently passed Wayne Vriesman, former WGN General Manager. Our guest for the evening is Patrick Crispen, Director of Educational Technology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. He educates the class with some talk on some of the latest hacking problems involving Roku and AT&T, some of the darker parts of the Web to be aware of, and first steps when acquiring a new Macbook like Steve did. It’s been 2 weeks so be sure to listen in and “ketchup.”

Johnnie Putman and Steve King are swinging into spring with a bit of baseball, music and car talk for a truly Irish show! First on the roster is John St Augustine, author and former WGN host, talking about his latest project, IRONMAN, an autobiography from legendary Chicago Cubs catcher Randy Hundley. John tells us about many of the tales within including Randy’s youth pitching with his father, playing with a mixed race team in the 60s and many of John’s own stories during the many years he has known Randy.

Next up is an incredible Blues musical talent from Ireland, Grainne Duffy with her husband and bandmate, Paul Sherry. They join us in studio for a chat about her fantastic discography, her inclusion with Women of the Blues Foundation, and what they think of Chicago’s version of St. Patrick’s Day.

Lastly, it’s car talk time with Consumer Guide Automotive‘s publisher Tom Appel and his regular roundup of new car test drives and a ton of listeners questions including some helpful hints on maintaining your tires and the very difficult task of turning on your headlights.

On this star-studded show, Steve and Johnnie are joined by… Steve and Johnnie? Before we get to that, they start the show with our technology wizard Patrick Crispen for a special look at some features for your phones that are aimed at protecting the young phone users and older users who may not be as keen. Such things include toggling safe search on your browser, Google Family Link and an ‘Ask to buy’ feature that functions as a two-factor authentication and prevents unwanted purchases. Will Byington returns to the studio for more professional “phone-ography” camera tips including some really incredible camera features and modes to amplify your photo game, such as a hyperlapse, timelapse and a panorama as you can see above. Last, but never least, we’re rolling our the red carpet for Steve’s brother Lee Kingsmill! He gives us his predictions on this big Oscar Awards night, followed by a shameless plug for his book Safe Inside, and we talk about some crazy dollar numbers on those gift baskets the nominees receive! Listen below for your weekly check up with Him n’ Her and remember to turn all of those clocks ahead one hour!

As we come out of winter, Johnnie Putman and Steve King welcome the magic of spring with some real mental magic! The Musical Mentalist himself, Sidney Friedman, is back in studio to amaze us with his incredible intuitive abilities! We saw it with our own eyes, and you can too in The Alley at Carnivale on April 3. Get your tickets before they vanish! Then, we have another car meet with our car guy, Tom Appel to discuss some of his latest car tests, recalls, some serious news involving stolen vehicles by way of your keys and fobs and why fobs might be troublesome. As always, expect a regular helping of late night tomfoolery and hijinks!

The Oscars are right around the corner! Steve and Johnnie are rolling out the red carpet for a couple of fantastic guests who light up the stage and your TV screen! Dave Karger is the host of TCM’s Musical Matinee and author of 50 Oscar Nights: Iconic Stars & Filmmakers on Their Career-Defining Wins, a brand new book that sheds some light on everyone’s favorite movie night: The Oscars! Dave tells the class about some fantastic stories from the red carpet about the Oscar winners both big and small over the years, and it is all covered in his fantastic book! Megon McDonough, singer and songwriter extraordinaire and Illinois native, rolls onto the show for a trip down memory lane, some exhilarating meditation tips and a look ahead at her big show, Leap of Love, a tribute to Burt Bacharach and Hal David at Carnivale!, Thursday Feb 29th 7PM. As the tech problems continue, we are lucky to have our tech guru and Director of Educational Technology at Keck School of Medicine of USC, Patrick Crispen! We’re tackling the big drop in service that hit AT&T users all across the country, more computer wizardry from Patrick and the continuing debacle of the Lurie cyberattack.

Stroll down Lake Shore Drive with Johnnie Putman and Steve King as they take you from the days of old to the modern day on this shortened show. We go back in time with Author Neal Samors to talk about his brand new book Memories of Growing Up In Chicago: Recalling Life During the 20th Century, a must-have for any Chicago . The book is a time capsule of stories from notable Chicagoans all through the 1900s and Neal tells us all about his own experiences growing up, exploring the North and South sides and some stories with our very own Bob Sirott and Walter Jacobson.

Taking us back to the modern day is Tom Appel, your favorite car guru and Publisher of Consumer Guide Automotive. He joins us in studio to talk about the 2024 Chicago Auto Show and some of the biggest headlines, highlights and headaches including a handful of manufacturers skipping the show this year, a major merger on the horizon and another batch of recalls.