WGN - The Download with Justin Kaufmann Podcast

How about this for an eclectic show? On tonight’s episode of the Download, WGN Bears Insider Adam Hoge, Chicago Bears great Doug Plank and WGN’s Sam Panayotovich break down the Bears controversial selection of North Carolina QB Mitchell Trubisky in round 1 of the NFL Draft and then we switch gears and chat with famed chef and restaurateur Rick Bayless about his great career and Frontera Grill’s 30th anniversary celebration this weekend. Follow Justin on Twitter and give him a […]

Celebrity chef, author, restaurateur, educator, television and podcast personality Rick Bayless joins Justin to talk about his amazing career, the 30th anniversary celebration of his beloved Frontera Grill, the emotions that come up when celebrating an anniversary like this, what it was like opening a restaurant in Chicago back in the late ’80’s, how the River North neighborhood has changed over the years, the challenges of running a chef-owned restaurant back in 1987, wanting to capture the real flavors of […]

The Carry Out is the nightly segment where Justin reads the news so you don’t have to. Tonight’s top stories include President Trump convening a meeting of Senators to discuss North Korea, Chicago City Treasurer Kurt Summers announcing that he will not be running for Illinois governor, Governor Rauner trying to get some IDOT employees removed, stocks breaking records today, a giant rabbit dying on a United Airlines flight, a new startup wanting to get hotels to charge by the […]

It’s Wednesday so that means Greg Flamm is here for “The Swap Meet!” Let’s spend an hour bragging about your junk! 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

We have a great Wednesday show for you! On tonight’s episode of The Download, The Daily Line’s Mike Fourcher tells us why City Treasurer Kurt Summers decided against running for governor, “Ask Amy” columnist and best-selling author Amy Dickinson chats about her new book, “Strangers Tend to Tell Me Things: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Coming Home,” we get to know Chicago hip hop artist Dally Auston and since it’s Wednesday, we end the show with “Swap Meet,” a Chicago-centric version […]

The tremendous Chicago hip hop artist Dally Auston joins Justin to talk about his new 99cent EP, the evolution of his music, how he pushes himself when he doesn’t have a deadline, starting out in the Chicago poetry scene, falling in love with writing when he was in high school, the big year he has ahead of him, being part of the SaveMoney collective, the great artists coming out of Chicago, the importance of being from the West Side of […]

The Carry Out is the nightly segment where Justin reads the news so you don’t have to. Tonight’s top stories include some movement happening on the Illinois budget impasse, the women’s march happening in Springfield, President Trump wanting to cut the corporate tax to 15 percent, Trump signaling he’s giving up on trying to get the border wall paid for in his budget, the parent company of Jewel-Osco wanting to buy Whole Foods, property value coming down at Trump Tower, […]

It’s Tuesday night so that means it is time to come together and collectively complain and bemoan about #TheWorst things in society…for prizes! Tonight, Justin is joined by the great T.J. Jagodowski and Mark Bazer! Do you know what’s The Worst? Fungal infections. 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

Adrian Burgos, Jr., Professor of History at the University of Illinois, and Clemson Smith Muñiz, Executive Editor of La Vida Baseball, join Justin to discuss the launch of La Vida Baseball, a new digital media platform that celebrates the passion of Latino baseball’s past, present and future. Adrian and Clemson Smith talk about why this site is needed, the lack of a media platform for a lot of Latin American players, the success of the World Baseball Classic and the value of telling the […]

Chicago Cares CEO Jenne Myers joins Justin to talk about being a leader in the region in trying to get Chicagoans to volunteer, how volunteering can be good for some of the issues that plague our communities, the chance that volunteering becomes mandatory in the city of Chicago, the importance of getting out of your own community to volunteer in other communities, the challenge of getting people to volunteer, how social media is helping with getting people to volunteer, April […]