WGN Plus

The Mincing Rascals

News EN ↓ 99 episodes

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

Author

WGN Plus

Category

News

Podcast website

wgnradio.com

Latest episode

Jul 8, 2026

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Episodes

The Mincing Rascals 7.30.25: Jesse Jackson Jr. political future, taxing the rich, legislative redistricting 30.07.2025

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys, and political pundit Marj Halperin! The Rascals begin the podcast talking about the possibility of Jesse Jackson Jr. running for congress. Should a convicted felon be allowed to run for federal office? Mayor Brandon Johnso...

The Mincing Rascals 7.23.25: Colbert canceled, Epstein files, Coldplay kiss cam 23.07.2025

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 The Last Ward, and political pundit Marj Halperin! The Rascals start the podcast talking about CBS canceling ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.’ Where are the Rascals on the cancellation? Was this j...

The Mincing Rascals 7.16.25: Flooding in the US, Epstein, MLB All-Star Game & Emmys 16.07.2025

We have a packed panel on this week’s edition of The Mincing Rascals. This week your Rascals are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, political pundit Marj Halperin, longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys, Emmy-winning journalist Brandon Pope, and Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute. The Rascals start the podcas...

The Mincing Rascals 7.9.25: Texas floods, NASCAR in Chicago, Ed Burke released from prison 09.07.2025

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, political pundit Marj Halperin, and longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! The Rascals start the podcast talk about the devastating flooding in Texas. There has been a lot of finger pointing, but is it too early to place blame for the catastrophe? 4th of J...

The Mincing Rascals 7.2.25: Trump tax bill, Paramount settlement, birthright citizenship, One Fair Wage 02.07.2025

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 political pundit Marj Halperin! This week, the Rascals star the show talking about President Trump’s tax and policy bill. The Rascals break down the latest....

The Mincing Rascals 6.25.25: Mamdani wins, Pritzker running again, U.S strikes on Iran 25.06.2025

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 political pundit Marj Halperin! This week the Rascals head to New York to start the podcast and break down Zohran Mamdani winning the Democratic mayoral primary. What do the Rascals think the win means […]

The Mincing Rascals 6.18.25: ICE raids, ‘No Kings’ protests, Terry Moran, Israel-Iran conflict, ‘snap curfew’ passes 18.06.2025

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys, and political pundit Marj Halperin! The Rascals kick off today’s podcast talking about some Illinois politicians being denied entry to ICE facilities this week. What are these types of actions designed to accomplish?...

The Mincing Rascals 6.11.25: Immigration protests, Terry Moran let go, Mike Madigan sentencing 11.06.2025

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Brandon Pope, of WCIU, and longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! The Rascals start off the podcast talking about the protests in Los Angeles against the Trump administration’s immigration policies. What are the major takeaways from the protests? ABC News...

The Mincing Rascals 6.4.25: Mail-in voting law, medical aid in dying, gender identity debate 04.06.2025

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, and longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! It’s a small, but mighty crew! This week, the Rascals start the podcast talking about the Supreme Court saying it would hear whether Republicans can challenge Illinois’ law that allows mail-in election ballots to be [&#823...

The Mincing Rascals 5.28.25: Chicago crime down, POTUS pardons, Harvard vs. Trump 28.05.2025

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 longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! The Rascals start the podcast this week talking about violence being down over Memorial Day weekend and crime in general being down in Chicago. Are Mayor Johnson’s po...

The Mincing Rascals 5.21.25: DOJ investigation, ‘snap curfews,’ Biden cancer 21.05.2025

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Brandon Pope, of WCIU, and longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! The Rascals start off the podcast talking about the Department of Justice looking into the hiring practices of Mayor Brandon Johnson. What do the Rascals make of the DOJ probe? The Chicago City [...

The Mincing Rascals 5.14.25: Pope Leo XIV, Qatari jet, Biden’s decline 14.05.2025

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, political pundit Marj Halperin, and longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! This week, the Rascals start the podcast talking about their favorite story, meme, etc. about Pope Leo XIV. Are we pope’d out yet? As usual, plenty of news about the Trump administ...

The Mincing Rascals 5.7.25: Senate race, George Ryan legacy, Alcatraz, movie tariffs 07.05.2025

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 political pundit Marj Halperin! The Rascals begin the podcast discussing U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL 8) announcing that he’ll be running for the senate seat being vacated by Dick Durbin. The Rascal...

The Mincing Rascals 4.30.25: Durbin’s successor, Trump 100 days, Amazon tariffs, plastic ban 30.04.2025

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 (sign up for his new Substack!), longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys, and political pundit Marj Halperin! The Rascals begin the podcast discussing the odds that Governor Pritzker becomes president, f...

The Mincing Rascals 4.23.25: Durbin retiring, Pritzker’s political future, economic turmoil 23.04.2025

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Brandon Pope, of WCIU, Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute (sign up for his new Substack!), and political pundit Marj Halperin! The Rascals start today’s podcast discussing Senator Dick Durbin announcing that he won’t seek another term...

The Mincing Rascals 4.16.25: Teen takeovers, homeschool bill, Kilmar Ábrego García 16.04.2025

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Brandon Pope, of WCIU, and longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! The Rascals start the podcast talking about the City of Chicago not approving a $1.25 million settlement to the family of Dexter Reed, who was fatally shot by police during a traffic stop. […]

The Mincing Rascals 4.9.25: Tariff reversal, ‘Hands Off’ protest, driving exam age 09.04.2025

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, and longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! The small but mighty group of Rascals start off the podcast talking about the markets and economy as the tariff wars run amok this week. Do the Rascals believe President Trump caved on his trade policy? […]

The Mincing Rascals 4.2.25: Election recap, CTU-CPS deal, tariff announcement 02.04.2025

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Brandon Pope, of WCIU, Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute (sign up for his new Substack!), and longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! The Rascals start off the podcast discussing yesterday’s election results. What were the big takeaways from the results in Wisconsin and Flor...

The Mincing Rascals 3.26.25: Signal chat leak, Chicago charter, voting rights 26.03.2025

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 (sign up for his new Substack!), longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys, and political pundit Marj Halperin! This week the Rascals start the podcast discussing The Atlantic publishing the contents of a Signal group ch...

The Mincing Rascals 3.19.25: Tesla protests, funding vote, Sun-Times buyouts 19.03.2025

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 political pundit Marj Halperin! This week, the Rascals start the podcast by congratulating new dad Jon Hansen! Next, the Rascals discuss the first few months of the Trump administration. What are the biggest [...

The Mincing Rascals 3.12.25: COVID anniversary, curfew debate, fur ban rejected 12.03.2025

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys, and political pundit Marj Halperin! The Rascals start this week’s podcast by sharing what they remember about the start of the COVID pandemic back in March of 2020. Woah, and all of sudden we are debating vaccine eff...

The Mincing Rascals 3.5.25: Sanctuary cities hearing, trade war, Rahm Emanuel’s political future 05.03.2025

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 (sign up for his new Substack!), Brandon Pope, of WCIU, and political pundit Marj Halperin! The Rascals being this week’s show talking about the House hearing with the mayors of New York, Boston, Denver, and Chicago about their […]

The Mincing Rascals 2.26.25: Mayor Johnson’s approval rating, $830 million borrowing plan passes, school cell phone ban 27.02.2025

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 longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! This week, the Rascals start the podcast discussing the results of the election in Dolton where controversial Mayor Tiffany Henyar...

The Mincing Rascals 2.19.25: Federal government cuts, Illinois DOGE, Brandon Johnson borrowing plan 19.02.2025

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Brandon Pope, of WCIU, Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute, and longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! This week, the Rascals kick off the podcast talking about President Trump blaming Ukraine for the war with Russia. What do the Rascals make of Trump’s statements? Today, Governor Pritzker de...

The Mincing Rascals 2.12.25: Madigan verdict, Blagojevich pardon, Dexter Reed settlement 13.02.2025

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Brandon Pope, of WCIU, political pundit Marj Halperin, and longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys. Woah, a lot of news already this week! The Rascals kick things off discussing the most important story of the week: The controversy surrounding the Super Bowl half...

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