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 results of the special election in Georgia, Bill O’Reilly being ousted at FOX News, Governor Bruce Rauner pledging to veto an abortion-rights bill, the Mike Madigan camp shelling out money for Cubs and Sox tickets, J.B. Pritzker saying that not all billionaires are alike, McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks receiving death threats, a fisherman pulling a Muskie […]

Best-selling author Jami Attenberg makes a return visit to The Download to discuss her latest book, “All Grown Up.” Jami talks about the type of characters she is drawn to, her intention to write an honest portrayal of a person in contemporary society, creating a complex character that doesn’t follow typical conventions, finding out what it means to be a grown up, the difficulty in writing characters that could be contemporaries, why she chooses to use familiar landscapes (including the city […]

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 visiting Kenosha this afternoon, the aircraft carrier that was supposedly heading to North Korea is actually in Australia, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich trying another appeal, Naperville being ranked as the #2 best city in America, Mayor Emanuel vowing to crack down on unlicensed party buses, the Chicago Blackhawks facing elimination in the first round of the […]

Alderman Brian Hopkins (2nd) joins Justin to talk about escalating crime and violence in Chicago, addressing these issues in disparate neighborhoods throughout the city, trying to get additional police officers on the streets, changing the ways the city deploys police officers and the possibility of adding private security services to certain neighborhoods to help combat crime. 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 […]

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 always hilarious Reena Calm and Tim McLaughlin! Do you know what’s The Worst? Getting attacked by a goose that you didn’t provoke. 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 an amazing show for you this evening! On tonight’s episode of The Download, Justin speaks with Alderman Brian Hopkins (2nd) about ways to improve policing in Chicago neighborhoods, educator, organizer and poet Kevin Coval discusses his new book of poems, “A People’s History of Chicago,” Chicago Tribune’s “Chicagoan of the Year” in jazz Tomeka Reid talks about her career and an upcoming show at Symphony Center, Jordan Vogt-Roberts tells us about starting his career in Chicago and directing […]

“Kong: Skull Island” director and former Chicagoan Jordan Vogt-Roberts joins Justin to talk about his career, what he knew about the King Kong franchise before he took on this project, the challenges of directing such an iconic character, trying to make this Kong movie different from the others, the stress and pressure involved with making a big budget Hollywood movie, how he mentally prepared himself for tackling a project this huge, immersing himself in the Chicago comedy scene early in […]

The Carry Out is the nightly segment where Justin reads the news so you don’t have to. Tonight’s top stories include the Trump administration’s dealing with North Korea, Congress getting ready to negotiate a deal on Donald Trump’s spending plan, President Trump welcoming thousands to the White House Easter Egg Roll, the protests taking place in Berkeley, Netflix stock stumbling, the Hawks taking on Nashville in game 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Bulls crawling into the playoffs and […]

Mark and Harry are back for some Friday night fun on The Download. They started things off talking to Suzanne Baker from the Naperville Sun and the Tribune to talk about a recent petition from high school students at Naperville North calling into question the pressures they’re put under to succeed. This sparked a conversation among Carman, Harry and the listeners. Then, they talked about Tax Day and shared their favorite accountants on the silver screen. Somehow this conversation morphed […]

Zachary Swezy, blogger, writer and event planner from 1833 joined the guys in-studio to talk about the upcoming “ClubHub” event, proceeds from which will go toward the Syrian Community Network. He talked about the motivation behind starting this series of parties with a cause and previewed the art and music at next month’s night out. http://serve.castfire.com/audio/3340850/3340850_2017-04-15-013050.64kmono.mp3?ad_params=zones%3DPreroll%7Cstation_id%3D3779.mp3