Steve and Johnnie

It’s not the big game, but Steve King and Johnnie Putman bring old friends that make it like the big game of radio shows! The Chicago Auto Show is in town and there is no one better than John Davis, Emmy-award winning host of MotorWeek, to give us the scoop. Together they talk about brand new vehicles, how the show was impacted by the recent UAW strike, and the winners of the 2024 Driver’s Choice Awards. Next up, we hang out with one of our favorite local legends, Jim Peterik, for some great stories behind some fantastic tracks and an update on the tour, including The Ides of March 60th Anniversary Show on March 15th at the Norris Cultural Center. Then, we talk with Patrick Crispen about the seemingly endless onslaught of tech scams, the emergence of Bluesky Social and strangely enough, a malware infected smart toothbrush! We close out the show with a few extra tidbits around two of the greatest things to exist: Pączkis and The Beatles! Be sure to also check out the latest Tommy Emmanuel videos from his last appearance on the show!

After last week’s micro-show, Johnnie Putman and Steve King return to form with a heaping pile of content and not enough hours in the day to talk about it! We also commemorate the Day the Music Died, a day that pays tribute to the loss of Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper.

We catch up with the President & Chief Executive Officer of BBB of Chicago & Northern Illinois Steve Bernas for some Super Bowl betting scams to look out for as the big game approaches, how to keep your information and tax returns safe before that April 15th tax deadline and some Covid related medical scams. Steve likes to remind us to only use trusted tax services and check your credit report only through annualcreditreport.com.

Next up, we segue to the exciting world of entertainment with a few old friends starting with Lynn Orman who shares some of her Grammy adventures over the weekend, and Jessica Radloff with her own adventures among Hollywood’s finest at the Critic’s Choice Awards, plus a few things to look forward to on television and streaming. They are followed by John Mueller and he talks about his Winter Dance Party, a legendary show that serves as an homage to those three rock legends we lost 65 years ago.

We close out the show with Patrick Crispen, your regularly scheduled tech guru, for a whirlwind of web wisdom. He tells us about the best password practices to keep your info locked down, some updates (or lack thereof) for Windows 10 and we address the terrible cyberattack on Lurie Children’s Hospital.

As usual, stick around for final hour goofiness and get to know our own Sylvia Snowden, a brilliant new addition the the WGN Radio Newsroom.

Steve King and Johnnie Putman are stopping by for a micro-show! It’s a fraction of the usual shenanigans with all of the same fun and pushing of buttons! Tune in below for some fun stories around bad weather drivers, fun night drive photos, some classic moments in the history of Him n’ Her and we flash back at some major moments from January 1967!

Singer/songwriter Melanie, known for songs including “Brand New Key” and “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain),” died Tuesday at age 76. In July 2011, Melanie visited WGN Radio’s Steve King and Johnnie Putman in-studio for a career-spanning interview and some performances captured on video:

Johnnie Putman and Steve King are keeping the winter weather advisories coming as we continue into the middle of winter. Monica Eng, reporter from Axios Chicago and co-author of Made in Chicago, starts off with a tip to keep you warm: jump in a hot tub on the Chicago river, in addition to a few other more reasonable tips. Plus, it wouldn’t be right to have Monica and not talk about delicious food around town! Then, Chicago based freelance photographer Will Byington snaps his way into the studio for a plethora of helpful camera hints and hacks, outdoor survival tips, his latest nightlife stories and a tease at what he offers in his Shot Club Photo Class! Book your “phoneography” class now! Last, but certainly never least, Tom Appel, Publisher at Consumer Guide Automotive and Co-host of the Car Stuff Podcast, goes further in-depth on staying safe on the roads as many Tesla owners continue to suffer winter woes and what you may need to know if your car is 4WD or otherwise. Take notes, bring snacks and crank up your volume as you listen below!

On this slightly shortened show, Steve King and Johnnie Putman are putting out some very important information during a deep freeze. Before we get to our usual friends, WGN’s own and Host at CHGO Sports, Marc Carman tags in to provide his professional analysis on the latest sports headlines, including the Bulls’ Krause fiasco on Friday. On a rare back to back appearance, your favorite car expert and Consumer Guide Publisher Tom Appel is here to educate us on what to be aware of before hitting the icy roads and how to keep your car healthy as Chicago hits subzero temperatures. While we’re shivering away here, Patrick Crispen, Director of Educational Technology at Keck School of Medicine of USC is back home on the west coast with a heaping pile of tech and social media news covering a Facebook hacking epidemic and a few highlights from CES Tech. Enjoy the show, stay safe, warm and keep that water running!

Johnnie Putman and Steve King celebrate their return to WGN with a bang! It’s been one year since their WGN revival and we have some heavy hitters! Also celebrating a magnificent milestone anniversary is ABC7’s top meteorologist, Tracy Butler. Now with 30 years under her belt, she has been Chicago’s longest running female meteorologist and a household name along with our very own Tom Skilling! Following her is Steve Bernas, President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois for a quick look at the chaotic new Stanley Cup trend, and the chaos that comes in the form of new scams to look out for when buying one at resale values or on malicious websites. Another public panic comes from Steamboat Willie going to the public domain and Jim Engel, Cartoonist, Illustrator, & Designer, helps us understand what that means for Disney going forward as the public has its way with the character. To help close our show, we reflect with our resident car guru, Tom Appel, Publisher at Consumer Guide Automotive, on the legacy of Steve, Johnnie and Tom, as well as a few other automotive headlines.

It’s that time of year we’re all thinking of! Time to buy a new calendar, but more importantly, hang out with Steve King and Johnnie Putman for a special show closing out the year and reflecting on the.. delightful year that was 2023. We start the show with your favorite showbiz machine, Gino Salomone, Entertainment Reporter for Fox 6 in Milwaukee and The Dish Network and together they reflect on some of the heavy headlines from 2023 of the influential names that have passed on. Joseph Crispen is in studio and he brings the rest of the Crispen gang, Christine and Patrick, the official tech guru for the show! They talk about their London trip, the big AI questions and the state of streaming platforms going into 2024. Next is the musical duo, Sandi MarLisa and Eli Ingram, known as Jack and Gin, telling the world about the thrilling year they’ve had and the NYE Ball Drop Party in Panama City Beach which, according to USA Today has the #1 NYE ball drop. Saving the best for last, Wayne Baker Brooks is in studio to play some of his hits and promote his show at the Chicago City Winery on January 7th, treat yourself to some tickets to see a Chicago blues legend here!

Christmas came early for all of our nice list listeners! Johnnie Putman and Steve King bring a big bag of great guests, award-winning gift ideas, an actual bag of gifts for the show crew and some delightfully merry morsels of music to get you in the spirit!

Muriel Anderson returns once again to talk about her new board game inspired by her recent album Sailing Dreams. Next up is Suzy Bogguss, and she tags in to tell the class about her new album Prayin’ For Sunshine and give us some deep, creative insight into how many of her songs came to be. We also find out more about her new cookbook, Suzy’s Soup Night which you can purchase bundled with the album and is filled to the brim with enough recipes for a whole year! She is followed by a fellow collaborator Paul Witcoff, who often joined for New Year’s shows, and he reconnects with our hosts to open the way to something new that may come around in 2024.

Then, author and historian Jeremy Arnold demonstrates his deep love and knowledge of Christmas music and movies, much of which you can experience for yourself in his book, Christmas at the Movies which takes you through a century’s worth of Hollywood’s holiday hits. We also put THAT Die Hard debate to rest! Later, we look at some more social media shenanigans with Patrick Crispen, but we focus on some thoughtful gifts for the travel and tech savvy types in your family that are sure to drop some jaws.

Steve King and Johnnie Putman bring you another short show but this time we’re glad to have a little Rush! Bobby Rush stops by the studio joined by acclaimed Broadway director Stephen Helper following their production of Slippin Through the Cracks highlighting the best moments of Bobby Rush’s life and musical legacy. Gary Colabuono, best known as one of the founders of The Chicago Comic Con stops by to share some tales of his friend and former Comic-Con partner Larry Charet, and Gary’s directive to help raise money as Larry comes down on some hard times. Head to their GoFundMe page to donate and help Larry Charet. Later, Tom Appel, your favorite Consumer Guide Automotive Publisher and car guru charges on to the show covering a delightful experience with a recent EV test drive, some interesting speed monitoring technology, and a look at the 2024 Consumer Guide Best Buys.