The Mincing Rascals

John Williams and journalists from WGN Radio other Chicago media outlets discuss news of the week on The Mincing Rascals podcast from WGN Plus

The Mincing Rascals 5.1.24: College protests, Bears stadium proposal, Kristi Noem’s dog

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune, and political pundit Marj Halperin. The Rascals start today’s podcast talking about the pro-Palestinian protests that are happening on college campuses around the country. […]

05-02
01:03:54

John Williams, The Mincing Rascals Live at Winter’s Jazz Club

THIS EVENT HAS SOLD OUT. Join John Williams and the cast of The Mincing Rascals at Winter’s Jazz Club (465 N. McClurg Ct.) on Wednesday, June 12 for a live taping of the podcast – plus Robert’s Pizza and jazz guitarist Andy Brown. Tickets are $42.75, inclusive of all fees. Get tickets here. TICKETS ARE […]

04-26
02:32

The Mincing Rascals 4.24.24: Bears stadium, Dexter Reed lawsuit, Trump trial

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Jon Hansen of WGN Radio and Block Club Chicago, Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune, and political pundit Marj Halperin. A lot of news to get to this week and the […]

04-25
01:03:20

The Mincing Rascals 4.17.24: I-190 protest, Dexter Reed shooting, Chicago Sky

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute, Jon Hansen of WGN Radio and Block Club Chicago, and Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune. The Rascals start this week’s show talking about the protest earlier […]

04-17
01:02:07

The Mincing Rascals 4.10.24: Dexter Reed shooting, Lightfoot Legacy, Dolton mayor controversy

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, political pundit Marj Halperin, Brandon Pope, host of ‘On the Block‘ on WCIU, and Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune. The Rascals start the show talking about COPA releasing the video […]

04-11
01:16:05

The Mincing Rascals 4.3.24: Anthem controversy, flag burning, ShotSpotter

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, political pundit Marj Halperin, and Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune. This week the Rascals discuss the LSU women’s basketball team not being on the court during the playing of […]

04-03
01:10:53

The Mincing Rascals 3.27.24: Cook County State’s Attorney race, Ald. Sigcho-Lopez flag controversy, Ronna McDaniel out at NBC

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute, Brandon Pope, host of ‘On the Block‘ on WCIU, and Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune. The Rascals kick things off this week talking about the delay […]

03-27
01:04:08

The Mincing Rascals 3.20.24: Primary election recap, Grant Park’s busy summer, Trump’s ‘bloodbath’

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute, Brandon Pope, host of ‘On the Block‘ on WCIU, and Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune. The Rascals start the show discussing the Bring Chicago Home real […]

03-21
01:01:34

The Mincing Rascals 3.13.24: SOTU recap, Bring Chicago Home, new Bears stadium

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, political pundit Marj Halperin, and Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune. The Rascals kick off the podcast this week recapping last Thursday’s State of the Union. What do the Rascals think […]

03-14
01:09:10

The Mincing Rascals 3.6.24: Trump on ballot, Bring Chicago Home, CTU contract

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute, Jon Hansen of WGN Radio and Block Club Chicago, and Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune. This week, the Rascals start the pod talking about everyone’s favorite […]

03-07
01:03:53

The Mincing Rascals 2.28.24: IVF ruling, Bring Chicago Home, Caitlin Clark

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Jon Hansen of WGN Radio and Block Club Chicago, and Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune. The Rascals kick off the podcast celebrating the career of the great Tom Skilling! […]

02-29
01:06:26

The Mincing Rascals 2.21.24: Reinsdorf pitches new Sox stadium, Alexei Navalny’s death, and Mayor Johnson’s communication problem

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute, political pundit Marj Halperin, and Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune. This week, the Rascals kick things off by discussing the unseasonably warm weather in Chicago. […]

02-22
01:07:20

The Mincing Rascals 2.14.24: ShotSpotter, Biden age concern, and ‘right-to-die’ legislation

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute, Brandon Pope, host of ‘On the Block‘ on WCIU, and Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune. The Rascals start off today’s podcast talking about Mayor Johnson’s decision […]

02-15
57:40

The Mincing Rascals 2.7.24: Elected school board, border bill, Sox to ‘The 78’

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, political pundit Marj Halperin, and Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune. This week the Rascals start the show talking about last week’s 24-hour strike by the Chicago Tribune Guild. Did […]

02-08
01:10:21

The Mincing Rascals 1.31.24: Trump on the ballot, cease-fire vote, body-cam transparency

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute, and Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune. Eric kicks off the show showing solidarity with the Chicago Tribune Guild, who are going on strike for 24 […]

02-01
01:03:24

The Mincing Rascals 1.24.24: Natural gas ban, New Hampshire primary, Sox to ‘The 78’

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute, and Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune. Today, the Rascals debate the proposed ordinance in Chicago that would ban natural gas in newly constructed homes and […]

01-25
01:05:08

The Mincing Rascals 1.17.24: Iowa caucuses, Trump v. Biden, Bulls’ Ring of Honor

The Mincing Rascals this week are Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Brandon Pope, host of ‘On the Block‘ on WCIU, political pundit Marj Halperin, and Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune. The Rascals start this week’s show by discussing the results of the Iowa caucuses. Is there […]

01-18
57:13

The Mincing Rascals 1.10.24: Chicago crime, Trump ballot eligibility, NIL money

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, and Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune. John kicks of the pod by congratulating Eric on his Michigan Wolverines winning the CFP National Championship. Congrats, Eric! You rooted like a […]

01-11
01:04:23

The Mincing Rascals 1.3.24: Ed Burke verdict, Mike Madigan trial delayed, Harvard president controversy

Happy New Year! The Rascals are back for 2024. The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute, Brandon Pope, host of ‘On the Block‘ on WCIU, and Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune. The […]

01-04
01:07:59

The Mincing Rascals 12.27.23: 2023 Highlights

Happy Holidays to all of our loyal Mincing Rascals listeners! While the Rascals are enjoying some well-deserved holiday time with family and friends, we bring to you a Mincing Rascals “Best Of” episode. This podcast features John, Eric Zorn, Brandon Pope, Austin Berg and Jon Hansen discussing a variety of issues including the NASCAR race […]

12-27
38:55

Mary Rinder

Regarding Unintended Young Victims, Father Pfleger made a very similar comment as David Brown's. Babies are being murdered and it is time to examine these difficult subjects.

09-09 Reply

Brian Juszczyk

guys seriously.. just how ignorant are you? people are leaving the state because of property taxes. people are literally getting priced out of there homes.

01-06 Reply

Mary Rinder

John, I agree with you. Not liking a type of food is not being dismissive of a group of people. To much is being read into this.

11-30 Reply

Mary Rinder

Great conversation, as always. Thank you for the Weds session and Happy 4th!

07-04 Reply

Mary Rinder

As always, great discussion. Eric, don't calm down! lol

06-28 Reply

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