The tremendous Chicago jazz drummer Makaya McCraven joins Justin to talk about his career, the diverse and collaborative jazz community in Chicago, the many sounds and styles that jazz encompasses, why jam sessions are so important to the growth of a musician, his goal of making compelling art, the fascination of American music around the world and the upcoming Red Bull Music Round Robin event at Thalia Hall.   Also check out the Digital Round Robin website where visitors can create […]

Chicago author and screenwriter Juliet McDaniel joins Justin to talk discuss her debut novel, “Mr. and Mrs. American Pie.” Juliet talks about the emotion of having her novel being optioned for television, the similarities and differences between writing a screenplay and a novel, where the inspiration for the main character in “Mr. and Mrs. American Pie” comes from, how the character changed from draft to draft, what attracts people to this character and the process of adapting this character to […]

The amazing musician Anna Burch joins Justin in-studio to talk about her career, her recent record, “Quit the Curse,” the time she spent living in Chicago, the transition she made from being a member of a group to a solo artist, her process of writing songs, the intense nature of her lyrics, embarking on a European tour and what can we expect from her next. Anna also plays a couple of songs including, “Belle Isle” and “Go it Alone.”   […]

The amazing musician Anna Burch joins Justin in-studio to talk about her career, her recent record, “Quit the Curse,” the time she spent living in Chicago, the transition she made from being a member of a group to a solo artist, her process of writing songs, the intense nature of her lyrics, embarking on a European tour and what can we expect from her next. Anna also plays a couple of songs including, “Belle Isle” and “Go it Alone.”   […]

The tremendous actor John David Washington joins Justin in-studio to discuss his amazing performance in Spike Lee’s new film, “BlacKkKlansman.” John David talks about his career, working with Spike Lee on this film, what he knew about the story of Ron Stallworth, the amount of humor in the movie, how the film is both a period piece and contemporary, his work on HBO’s “Ballers,” how playing sports has helped him with his career in Hollywood, why he was initially apprehensive […]

The tremendous actor John David Washington joins Justin in-studio to discuss his amazing performance in Spike Lee’s new film, “BlacKkKlansman.” John David talks about his career, working with Spike Lee on this film, what he knew about the story of Ron Stallworth, the amount of humor in the movie, how the film is both a period piece and contemporary, his work on HBO’s “Ballers,” how playing sports has helped him with his career in Hollywood, why he was initially apprehensive […]

Scott Smith, The Download’s new media correspondent, joins Justin for an in-depth discussion about his recent decision to delete 6 years of old tweets. Scott talks about how Twitter has evolved through the years, what went into his decision to delete old tweets, the importance of context to Twitter and the tool he used to delete his old tweets. The Download with Justin Kaufmann Podcast is easy to find. Listen on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Android device. Search for WGN […]

Scott Smith, The Download’s new media correspondent, joins Justin for an in-depth discussion about his recent decision to delete 6 years of old tweets. Scott talks about how Twitter has evolved through the years, what went into his decision to delete old tweets, the importance of context to Twitter and the tool he used to delete his old tweets. The Download with Justin Kaufmann Podcast is easy to find. Listen on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Android device. Search for WGN […]

The tremendous Chicago-based rock-n-roll band Post Animal join Justin in-studio to talk about their career, the goals they had when they first started playing music together, their process of collaboration, the importance of being influenced by many different styles of music, how the band has progressed through the years, the current status of the Chicago indie-rock scene, what they know about the rock scene that preceded them, the significance of continuing to play basement shows, the advantages and challenges of […]

The tremendous Chicago-based rock-n-roll band Post Animal join Justin in-studio to talk about their career, the goals they had when they first started playing music together, their process of collaboration, the importance of being influenced by many different styles of music, how the band has progressed through the years, the current status of the Chicago indie-rock scene, what they know about the rock scene that preceded them, the significance of continuing to play basement shows, the advantages and challenges of […]