Mike offers a tip for shopping on Black Friday--don't do it! Veronica Porter talks about her food business, Ask Aunt V, which features healthy, local food that can be obtained at a restaurant but can also be delivered to you as you step off of the commuter train in Naperville. Erica Dodt from the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club, reports on the latest concerning the proposed Illiana Tollway. She is joined by Will County Board Member Judy Ogalla and Symerton Mayor Eli Geiss. Then Mike announces that his caroling group, the Frozen Robins, will be performing during the holiday season at the Morton Arboretum and the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Mike introduces another way to support The Mike Nowak Show, if only to prove that he can be as annoying as NPR. Bea Johnson talks about her book and website, both named, coincidentally, Zero Waste Home, and how she has set out to accomplish a nearly impossible feat. Josh Mogerman from the NRDC explains why, in abandoning transparency, an Illinois legislative committee might have fatally flawed the new fracking rules for the state.

Cassandra Francis, recently installed president of Friends of the Parks, explains why the proposed site of the Lucas Muesum of Narrative Art is a violation of the City of Chicago's Lakefront Protection Ordinance. Mike examines a news report about a British gardener who apparently died after coming in contact with a poisonous plant and whether that story makes sense. Mike also comments on the reaction to the approval of fracking in Illinois by a legislative committee.

Dr. Marla Spivak from the Bee Lab at the University of Minnesota talks about the decline of pollinators in America and what we can do to reverse the trend. Diane Gassman, who lives in LaSalle County, Illinois, reports on what it was like to experience frac sand from local mining operations being whipped by high winds in the days leading up to Halloween. Mike follows up on several issues from previous shows, including how to recycle batteries and composting yard waste in Chicago.