WGN - The Download with Justin Kaufmann Podcast

The Carry Out is the nightly segment where Justin reads the news so you don’t have to. Tonight’s top stories include the special legislative session beginning down in Springfield, Karen Handel winning her closely watched race in Georgia’s 6th congressional district, President Trump taking to Twitter to gloat, robbers posing like Uber and Lyft drivers, United Airlines announcing they will now serve Chicago Deep-Dish pizza on some flights, the Blackhawks announcing that Marian Hossa will miss the 2017-2018 season, the […]

The Daily Line‘s Mike Fourcher joins Justin to break down all the local political stories making news this week including the special legislative session in Springfield, the chances a deal gets done during the special session, pre-slating being held this week for all countywide and statewide offices up for election in 2018 and Cook County Clerk David Orr announcing he’s not seeking re-election. Mike also talks about how The Daily Line is launching a Springfield bureau. Follow Justin on Twitter […]

Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen (aka The Shirtless Wonder) joins Justin to talk about his great career, the memories he has of playing in Chicago, recording the massive hit record “Hysteria,” the influence of producer “Mutt” Lange, the guitar sound that he created with Steve Clark, always staying true to the melody of a song, producing the new record from Tesla, how the band puts integrity above everything else, their relationship with the digital world, how a lot of their original […]

The tremendous musician Yonatan Gat joins Justin to talk about his great career, playing a memorable show at The Hideout Block Party, creating an environment where a concert is a shared experience, incorporating a number of different musical styles in his work, his latest record, “Director” and his show tomorrow night at Constellation. Follow Justin on Twitter and give him a like on Facebook. The Download with Justin Kaufmann airs Monday through Friday from 7 pm. to 11 pm on @WGNRadio

State Senator Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) joins Justin to preview the special session in Springfield, how different this session is from the special sessions the state has had the last couple of years, what needs to be done to get a state budget deal, the cynicism from the public that a deal will ever get done, the ongoing debate over funding for Chicago Public Schools and the chances that Governor Rauner doesn’t win re-election if a budget deal doesn’t get done […]

It’s Tuesday so it’s time for “The Download on Chicago Business” sponsored by Signature Bank. Tonight, Justin is joined by Protein Bar founder and Limitless Coffee & Tea co-founder Matt Matros. Matt talks about his career, what led him to start Protein Bar, what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, the importance that timing played in his success, why he decided to move on from Protein Bar, when he became interested in coffee and  what separates his brand from […]

Grammy Award-winning gospel singer Darius Brooks joins Justin to tell us about his amazing career and his role in tomorrow’s international “Make Music Day” festival. Darius talks about how he got involved in this project, what it means to him to be a part of show that promotes social justice, what it was like being surrounded by music while he was growing up, what drew him to gospel music, why so many great musicians started out singing in church, Chicago’s […]

The Carry Out is the nightly segment where Justin reads the news so you don’t have to. Tonight’s top stories include Illinois lawmakers being called back to Springfield this week, IDOT roadwork already slowing down over the budget impasse, Republicans working on a less mean healthcare bill, some Congressmen pushing for a bill that would allow lawmakers to carry guns, the U.S. Supreme Court saying a law banning offensive trademarks is unconstitutional, a new study saying social media site Facebook […]

Hall of Fame baseball player Tim Raines joins Justin to discuss his new book, “Rock Solid: My Life in Baseball’s Fast Lane.” Tim talks about his great playing career, his problems with drugs early on, how players like Andre Dawson and Gary Carter helped him with his rehab, being a “five-tool” player, the success he had during his first full season playing in the major leagues, the role confidence plays in being successful, how he always was striving to be […]

The Carry Out is the nightly segment where Justin reads the news so you don’t have to. Tonight’s top stories include Amazon buying grocery retalier Whole Foods, a Minnesota police officer being acquitted of killing Philando Castile, President Trump tweeting again, a heavy donor to Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the husband of a Chicago alderman facing hefty fines for lobbying the mayor through his private emails but failing to register as lobbyists, a new study saying french fries take years […]