Steve and Johnnie

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Steve and Johnnie prep for Hurricane Isaias Oct 08, 2026

Show notes

Beloved WGN Radio family members and hosts of the Steve and Johnnie show, Steve King and Johnnie Putman, join Lisa Dent from Panama City Beach in Florida to discuss their perspective as Hurricane Isaias makes its way to the coast.

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8765097/Steve_and_Johnnie_10_08_2026_2026-10-08-192137.64kmono.mp3

More coverage

Weather

Residents board up windows and National Guard troops deploy as Hurricane Isaias nears US Gulf Coast

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‘I’ hurricanes have brought destruction. Isaias is next

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Steve and Johnnie prep for Hurricane Isaias

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What does the Waffle House Index say about storms?

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The Waffle House Index helps Southerners — and FEMA — gauge a storm’s severity

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Steve and Johnnie prep for Hurricane Isaias

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Steve and Johnnie: The White Sox streaking

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Steve and Johnnie: Long Grove’s gluten-free fall fest

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Steve Dawson, QB helmet stickers, and Ford recalls

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Steve and Johnnie: Will Byington rock star photographer

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Lisa Dent

Charlie Roumeliotis: Sizing up the New York Islanders

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Newsroom Sound Check: 10/08/26

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Ron Brown’s Movie Reviews: ‘Digger’

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State Street Jewelers talks Antwerp, Belgium

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Lou with Lisa: Is your quartz countertop actually safe?

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Steve and Johnnie: The White Sox streaking, The Skokie Theater re-opening, and The Empty Pockets touring Oct 04, 2026

Show notes

Steve King and Johnnie Putman re-joined live from the the WGN Skyline Studios after Chicago Blackhawks Hockey. This was their last show from Chicago for three weeks. After tonight’s show, they’re heading down to Florida’s Gulf Coast, where they’ll be doing a few shows from the studios of WKGC-FM, in Panama City.

Chris & Monica Matsakis, two of the new owners of one of the Chicago area’s cultural landmarks, The Skokie Theater, joined Steve and Johnnie to talk about the The Skokie’s re-opening on Thursday October 8th and how the new owners plan to honor its historic legacy while relaunching it as a home for both emerging and established artists.

Friend of the show Josh Solomon of The Empty Pockets also had a chat with Steve and Johnnie to talk about the show they’ll be playing at Rate Field before Wednesday’s White Sox game and discuss some of the recording done at Abbey Road Studios for their upcoming album, Dear Billionaires.

Consumer Guide’s Publisher Tom Appel drove-by and updated Steve and Johnnie with the latest on eased fuel economy rules, new road tests, automotive recalls, Tom’s “Car Tunes” & more.

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8732354/8732354_2026-10-04-164754.64kmono.mp3 More with Tom Appel

Steve and Johnnie

Steve and Johnnie prep for Hurricane Isaias

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Steve and Johnnie: The White Sox streaking

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Steve and Johnnie: Long Grove’s gluten-free fall fest

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Steve Dawson, QB helmet stickers, and Ford recalls

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Steve and Johnnie: Will Byington rock star photographer

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Steve and Johnnie: A harvest moon rise, a guitar virtuoso, and Long Grove’s gluten-free fall fest Sep 27, 2026

Show notes

Steve King and Johnnie Putman broadcast live from the the WGN Skyline Studios after Chicago Blackhawks Hockey on a full harvest moon Saturday night. They’re joined by Ron, Bob, Jonathan, and introduce WGN newsman Dimitri Bubaris to prove that he does, in fact, exist.

On Saturday’s night’s show, they got the scoop on the Chicagoland Gluten Free Fall Fest in Long Grove from the fest’s Co-Founder, Sunny Chauhan. Sunny details with our hosts the highlights of the festival including a gluten-free bake off, Exclusively gluten-free food and drinks, food trucks, live music, and much more.

A dear friend of S&J, who just happens to be one of the modern era’s most accomplished and versatile guitarists, Tommy Emmanuel, is coming back to Chicagoland for an appearance in January, he dropped in to catch up with Steve and Johnnie on Saturday night.

Our resident computer guru, Dr. Patrick Crispen had the latest AI updates, and explains what the heck a Googlebook is, unlocks this week in hacks, explains why it is important to only download phone and tablet apps from Google Play and Apple’s app store, and other helpful tips.

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8697891/8697891_2026-09-27-182331.64kmono.mp3

Steve and Johnnie

Steve and Johnnie prep for Hurricane Isaias

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Steve and Johnnie: The White Sox streaking

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Steve and Johnnie: Long Grove’s gluten-free fall fest

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Steve Dawson, QB helmet stickers, and Ford recalls

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Steve and Johnnie: Will Byington rock star photographer

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An upcoming Evanston Space performance, green stickers on a QB helmet explained, and Ford leads 2026 auto recalls Sep 20, 2026

Show notes

Steve King and Johnnie Putman come in from the rain to broadcast live from the the WGN Skyline Studios for a rejoin after a Nothwestern Wildcats football win in Evanston. They’re joined by Ron, Bob, and Jonathan to catch up on the current conditions at Riot Fest, get caught up on the current films that are trending, and get some fascinating insight on the more technical aspects of getting the Chicago Bears “mic’d-up” for gameday.

Steve and Johnnie are happy to welcome back Chicago-based musician and songwriter Steve Dawson, who treated us to some in-studio performances and stories about songs penned when he was only 17, ahead of his October 11 appearance at
Evanston Space.

Consumer Guide’s Publisher, Tom Appel drives by with his latest road test results, automotive recalls, Tom’s “Car-Tunes” and a lot more.

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8671472/8671472_2026-09-20-183512.64kmono.mp3

Steve and Johnnie

Steve and Johnnie prep for Hurricane Isaias

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Steve and Johnnie: The White Sox streaking

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Steve and Johnnie: Long Grove’s gluten-free fall fest

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Steve Dawson, QB helmet stickers, and Ford recalls

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Steve and Johnnie: Will Byington rock star photographer

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Steve and Johnnie: Alicia Witt in Evanston, rock star photographer’s photo tips, is AI Going to Kill us? Sep 13, 2026

Show notes

Steve King and Johnnie Putman are back in the WGN Skyline Studios after a one week holiday hiatus, packing all the content they can fit into a condensed version of the show following a rejoin after Big Ten football on WGN.

Steve and Johnnie kick off the show with a chat with actor and singer-songwriter Alicia Witt in advance of her upcoming Chicago appearance at Evanston SPACE on Saturday, September 26th and details some of the time spent being directed by the legendary David Lynch.

By request, it’s a return visit from Chicago based rock star photographer Will Byington, who stops by to share tips on taking great pictures with your phone and shares the advantage and disadvantages of AI-assisted digital photography.

Steve and Johnnie’s computer guru Patrick Crispen, Director of Educational Technology at Keck School of Medicine of USC, unpacks the story behind Invitations that are actually phishing attacks, the dark web service selling 153M+ Drivers Licenses, this week in hacks, and a lot more.

Finally, Steve and Johnnie share some memories of their dearly departed friend and WGN colleague Judy Markey.

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8654106/8654106_2026-09-13-161606.64kmono.mp3

Steve and Johnnie

Steve and Johnnie prep for Hurricane Isaias

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Steve and Johnnie: The White Sox streaking

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Steve and Johnnie: Long Grove’s gluten-free fall fest

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Steve Dawson, QB helmet stickers, and Ford recalls

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Steve and Johnnie: Will Byington rock star photographer

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Steve and Johnnie: Remembering Dolly, a harmonica virtuoso, and automobile tips & tricks Aug 30, 2026

Show notes

Steve King and Johnnie Putman broadcast live from the WGN Skyline Studios for a full show packed with reflections on a legend. They kick off the show with a brief chat with Ron from the newsroom about losing Dolly Parton, a historic day in Northside baseball, the Southside’s magic number, and the perplexing timeline of Ted Nugent recordings.

Steve and Johnnie are joined by 2-time Grammy award-winning pianist, diatonic harmonica player, and composer, Howard Levy, live in studio. The trio talk about his time recording with Dolly Parton and his new album, “Heavy World.”

Consumer Guide’s Publisher, Tom Appel brings S&J up-to-date on the guide’s latest road test results, automotive news, and recalls. Plus, a new edition of Tom’s “Car-Tunes” and more.

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8628297/8628297_2026-08-30-192537.64kmono.mp3 More with Tom Appel

Steve and Johnnie

Steve and Johnnie prep for Hurricane Isaias

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Steve and Johnnie: The White Sox streaking

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Steve and Johnnie: Long Grove’s gluten-free fall fest

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Steve Dawson, QB helmet stickers, and Ford recalls

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Steve and Johnnie: Will Byington rock star photographer

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Steve and Johnnie: Storm chasing in Indiana, an Illinois Christmas town, and back-to-school tech tips Aug 23, 2026

Show notes

Steve King and Johnnie Putman re-join live after the White Sox broadcast in the WGN Skyline Studios for a slightly abridged version of Saturday night’s show. They’re joined by the usual suspects (Ron, Bob, and Jonathan) for a brief chat on AI internet films and and the joy Chicago baseball is bringing us.

Steve and Johnnie talk to Doug Downey, the Mayor of Carlinville, IL, about competing in the Hallmark Merriest Christmas Town contest and the surprise nomination by one of the towns citizens.

Steve and Johnnie also check in with Paul Goddard, who has been chasing storms for the national networks for 15 years and is the man behind the Region News Source, to get an update on progress restoring power and clean up in Northwest Indiana after the area’s devastating storms.

The always informative Patrick Crispen, Director of Educational Technology at Keck School of Medicine of USC, has back to school computer tips, a Windows 10 support update, computer backup suggestions and more.

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8609422/8609422_2026-08-23-191522.64kmono.mp3

Steve and Johnnie

Steve and Johnnie prep for Hurricane Isaias

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Steve and Johnnie: The White Sox streaking

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Steve and Johnnie: Long Grove’s gluten-free fall fest

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Steve Dawson, QB helmet stickers, and Ford recalls

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Steve and Johnnie: Will Byington rock star photographer

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A Chicago Air and Water Show weekend, a new intro, and stories shared with old friends Aug 16, 2026

Show notes

Steve King and Johnnie Putman are live from the WGN Skyline Studios on an overcast Air and Water Show Saturday evening.

Spike O’Dell, personal friend of the show and a former WGN host with a place on the WGN walk-of-fame, joins Steve and Johnnie to bestow upon them a new intro-theme, discuss his recent dabbling in AI-assisted music composition, and share stories from his broadcast history.

Neal Samors, author of “I Can’t Wait Till Next Year: The Agony of Being a Cubs Fan,” talks with Steve and Johnnie about the Cubs’ history and spends a minute on the chapter covering the White Sox, much to S&J’s delight.

Tom Appel, Publisher of Consumer Guide Automotive, speaks to Steve and Johnnie regarding subscription services that may be required to achieve the full horsepower capabilities of your vehicle and more.

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8595622/8595622_2026-08-16-210222.64kmono.mp3

Steve and Johnnie

Steve and Johnnie prep for Hurricane Isaias

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Steve and Johnnie: The White Sox streaking

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Steve and Johnnie: Long Grove’s gluten-free fall fest

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Steve Dawson, QB helmet stickers, and Ford recalls

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Steve and Johnnie: Will Byington rock star photographer

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A Big Bang Theory book, car alarm vulnerabilities, and sad news for an Evanston institution Aug 09, 2026

Show notes

Hi kids! Steve King and Johnnie Putman broadcast live from the WGN Skyline Studios on a breezy summer-in-Chicago Saturday night.

Jessica Radloff, The New York Times Bestselling Author and host of the Official Big Bang Theory Podcast on HBO Max, joins Steve and Johnnie to talk about her new book Young
Sheldon: The (Juicier-Than-Meemaw’s-Brisket) Inside Story of the Hit Comedy.

With the news that Guitar Works, an Evanston institution, is closing after 47 years, Steve and Johnnie share some personal memories of the store and their friendship with the store’s owner, Terry Straker.

Finally, Patrick Crispen, Director of Educational Technology at Keck School of Medicine of
USC, addresses the threat of a Bluetooth exploit in car-security systems, how to streamline your email threads, and other helpful tech-tips you can use everyday.

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8582309/8582309_2026-08-09-204509.64kmono.mp3

Steve and Johnnie

Steve and Johnnie prep for Hurricane Isaias

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Steve and Johnnie: The White Sox streaking

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Steve and Johnnie: Long Grove’s gluten-free fall fest

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Steve Dawson, QB helmet stickers, and Ford recalls

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Steve and Johnnie: Will Byington rock star photographer

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Exploring the mystery of Bobby Fuller, Rainbow Cone’s 100th anniversary, and the historic 400 Theater reopening Aug 02, 2026

Show notes

Steve King and Johnnie Putman are live in the WGN Skyline Studios on a rainy Lollapalooza Saturday night.

Steve and Johnnie are joined by Ron Smith, Author of He Fought The Mob, his book about famed singer Bobby Fuller; best known for the hit song “I Fought the Law,” his hits and misses, links to Buddy Holly, and untimely and unusual demise.

David Hammond, a corporate communications consultant and food journalist, talks about the 100th anniversary of Chicago’s Rainbow Cone and the unique flavor combinations involved, in addition to the engineering involved with the stacking of scoop slices and it’s historic Chicago origins.

Next, Rogers Park’s historic 400 Theater-owner Jordan Stancil fills in Steve and Johnnie on the progress of the grand reopening of the legendary venue, his family’s Michigan roots in theater-ownership, and highlights the incredibly competitive pricing the 400 offers moviegoers.

The always informative and entertaining Tom Appel, Publisher of Consumer Guide Automotive, updates Steve and Johnnie on the latest vehicle recall announcements, in addition to clearing up travel information regarding the new Gordie Howe bridge that connects the U.S. and Canada and more.

See more on SteveAndJohnnie’s “Both Sides Now” Blog and be sure to tune in next Saturday, August 8th at 9pm-2am.

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8555830/8555830_2026-08-02-214930.64kmono.mp3