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.

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.