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The Mincing Rascals

News & Politics Podcasts

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

Location:

United States

Description:

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

Language:

English


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

3/12/2025
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 efficacy. […]
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The Mincing Rascals 3.5.25: Sanctuary cities hearing, trade war, Rahm Emanuel’s political future

3/5/2025
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 (sing 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 […]

Duration:01:09:03

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

2/26/2025
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 Henyard lost her reelection bid. Speaking of unpopular, the […]

Duration:01:06:26

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

2/19/2025
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 delivered his 2025 […]

Duration:00:57:24

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

2/12/2025
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 halftime show! […]

Duration:00:56:50

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The Mincing Rascals 2.5.25: DEI debate, public art controversy, Mayor Johnson’s favorability

2/5/2025
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 Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute. The Rascals kick off the podcast talking about the biggest national political stories of the week including President Trump blaming DEI for the D.C. plane crash, Elon Muck’s DOGE taking […]

Duration:01:04:50

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The Mincing Rascals 1.29.25: Funding freeze chaos, ICE raids, Madigan trial

1/29/2025
The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Brandon Pope, of WCIU, longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys, and Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute. This week, the Rascals start the podcast discussing the confusion over the Trump administration’s federal funding freeze. What were the big takeaways from the chaos that ensued this week? ICE agents came to […]

Duration:00:52:03

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The Mincing Rascals 1.22.25: Birthright citizenship, J6 pardons, controversial puppet display

1/22/2025
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 kick off the podcast discussing the first days of the Trump presidency. The news is coming fast and furious, but what stood out most to the Rascals? Members […]

Duration:01:04:49

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The Mincing Rascals 1.15.25: Driving test age, Trump inauguration, L.A. wildfires

1/15/2025
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! This week the Rascals debate the proposed legislation that aims to increase the age for seniors to retake driver’s test from 79 to 87. Where are the Rascals on this controversial […]

Duration:01:00:51

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The Mincing Rascals 1.8.25: Madigan testimony, Greenland, Meta fact-checking

1/8/2025
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 talking about the seamless certification of the 2024 election. Wasn’t it nice to not have an insurrection this time around? On […]

Duration:01:03:58

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The Mincing Rascals 12.18.24: Drones, Chicago budget, Trump lawsuit

12/18/2024
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 kick off the show starting about the drones that have been flying over multiple states. What do the Rascals make of the story and the hysteria that it has created? […]

Duration:00:54:48

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The Mincing Rascals 12.11.24: Immigration, birthright citizenship, U.S. healthcare

12/11/2024
The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Jon Hansen of WGN Radio and Block Club Chicago, and Brandon Pope, host of ‘On the Block‘ on WCIU, This week, the Rascals start the show breaking down the Chicago visit from Tom Homan, President-elect Trump’s ‘border czar.’ Do the Rascals believe the new administration’s plan for mass deportation […]

Duration:00:51:29

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The Mincing Rascals 12.4.24: Madigan trial, Hunter Biden pardon, Pete Hegseth nomination

12/4/2024
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 political pundit Marj Halperin! This week, the Rascals start the podcast discussing the Mike Madigan trial. Why should people still be interested in the trial? Controversy continues to […]

Duration:01:03:01

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The Mincing Rascals 11.26.24: Trump charges dropped, Johnson office drama, Shopping Cart Theory

11/26/2024
The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys, Brandon Pope, host of ‘On the Block‘ on WCIU, and political pundit Marj Halperin! The Rascals begin this special Tuesday holiday week episode of the podcast discussing The Shopping Cart Theory. Can you judge a person’s character if they […]

Duration:00:44:17

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The Mincing Rascals 11.20.24: Trump Cabinet, Chicago budget, Mayor Johnson’s successor

11/20/2024
The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys, and Brandon Pope, host of ‘On the Block‘ on WCIU! This week the Rascals kick off the podcast breaking down the nominees for President-elect Trump’s Cabinet. Do the Rascals believe these nominees will get confirmed? Next, the Rascals discuss […]

Duration:01:03:10

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The Mincing Rascals 11.13.24: Trump Cabinet picks, property tax hike proposal, Bears stadium plans

11/13/2024
The Mincing Rascals this week are Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute, and longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! This week, our small but mighty Rascals start the podcast discussing last week’s election results and the flurry of nominees to fill President-elect Trump’s Cabinet. What do the Rascals make of these controversial choices? […]

Duration:00:51:58

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The Mincing Rascals 11.6.24: Takeaways from the 2024 election

11/6/2024
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, political pundit Marj Halperin, and longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! This week the Rascals start the podcast breaking down the results of the presidential election. What were the surprises and the big takeaways? Locally, the Rascals discuss Chicago’s […]

Duration:00:59:41

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The Mincing Rascals 10.30.24: School board elections, property tax proposal, presidential endorsements

10/30/2024
The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys, Brandon Pope, host of ‘On the Block‘ on WCIU, and political pundit Marj Halperin! The Rascals begin the podcast talking about the Chicago School Board elections. How are the Rascals handling their vote for the school board? Eric bemoans […]

Duration:01:00:00

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The Mincing Rascals 10.23.24: Rudy Giuliani forfeit assets, lower speed limit, Chicago school board

10/23/2024
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 longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! The Rascals start the podcast this week talking about former president Donald Trump and the multiple stories that detail why he is a threat to […]

Duration:00:56:31

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The Mincing Rascals 10.16.24: Trump tariffs, I-PASS sticker, Chicago school board

10/16/2024
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! This week the Rascals kick things off by breaking down former president Donald Trump’s interview with Bloomberg News at the Economic Club of Chicago. John and Eric were disappointed in the crowd’s […]

Duration:00:58:31