Katherine Patino of the rising indie pop band Girl K joins Justin on Extension 720 to talk about her young career playing music in Chicago, if she feels the buzz about the band around the city, what attracted her to playing music, when she realized she wanted to be a musician, why she decided to move from Joliet to Chicago, what inspired her to play the type of music she plays now, Girl K’s new record, “For Now” and their […]

It’s the “The Download on Chicago Business” sponsored by Signature Bank. This morning, the Steve Cochran Show speaks with Jason Erkes, Chief Communications Officer of Cresco Labs. Jason talks about what Cresco Labs does, the passage of the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program, the growing business of medical marijuana, how medical marijuana is looked at as an alternative to opioids, the role that politics plays in their business and the challenge of normalizing and professionalizing the industry in the media.

The Download is back with another election special! Justin is joined for the evening by the Chicago Tribune’s Eric Zorn (in the honorary Paul Green chair). Justin and Eric welcome a rotating panel including esteemed journalists Kerry Lester, Garrard McClendon, Kitty Kurth, Marj Halperin, Walter Jacobsen, Ken Davis, Hermene Hartman and Marilyn Katz to breakdown the election results.

What are the Chicago aldermanic races that we should be paying the most attention to for tomorrow’s Municipal Election? The Daily Line‘s Heather Cherone and A.D. Quig join Justin to break down the races in all 50 wards with particular attention to the hotly contested races in the 1st, 3rd, 14th, 25th, 30th, 40th, 44th, 45th and 49th wards.

It’s the “The Download on Chicago Business” sponsored by Signature Bank. This morning, the Steve Cochran Show speaks with Melissa Kaufman, a former Google executive who now runs The Garage at Northwestern University, which is one of the first and leading university-based startup incubators. Melissa talks about why she left Google to take on the position at Northwestern, what The Garage at Northwestern does, how The Garage differs from other incubators, the way The Garage attracts students, what drew her into […]

The tremendous Stephen Merchant (“The Office,” “Extras,” “Hello Ladies”) joins Justin to discuss his illustrious career and his new film, “Fighting with My Family.”  

It’s the “The Download on Chicago Business” sponsored by Signature Bank. This morning, the Steve Cochran Show speaks with award-winning acoustical architect Timothy Pickett about his company Encompass Audio Visual. Tim talks about what it means to be an acoustical architect, how they keep up with technological advances, how they see the growth of the industry and the challenges of navigating an eco-friendly future.

Academic researcher, humorist and author Melanie LaForce joins Justin to discuss her book, “Corn-Fed: Cul-de-sacs, Keg Stands, and Coming of Age in the Midwest.” Dr. LaForce talks about coming to terms with being from the Midwest, how the Midwest is finally getting its due, why she wanted to write a book about growing up in the Midwest, being able to find the humor in uncomfortable moments, why having a job at Dairy Queen was an important part of her development, […]

Longtime performance artist and curator Frank Maugeri joins Justin to discuss his latest project, “Cabinet of Curiosity” and its “Tabletop Tragedies” production currently playing at the Chopin Theatre through February 17th. Frank talks about the mission of “Cabinet of Curiosity,” how this work compares to some of his past work, the importance of collaboration to the production and how he plans to continue the tradition of performance art and pass it on to a younger generation. Frank and Justin are […]

It’s the “The Download on Chicago Business” sponsored by Signature Bank. This morning, the Steve Cochran Show speaks with Cory Carnes, General Manager of Impact. Cory talks about the work that Impact does, how the company has evolved, the importance of brand recognition, why the company continues to grow, how the business has changed over the years, how the company remains ahead of the curve and why they are proud to be a Chicago company.