Edwin Eisendrath: total Chicago guy

Edwin Eisendrath is best-known for being the former CEO of the Chicago Sun-Times, and was also Alderman of the 43rd Ward (Lincoln Park area) and the regional director of HUD. He talks about why he thinks Chicago is a great city; knowing Governor JB Pritzker, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton, (who[m] he says is brilliant and has an incredible memory), Mayor Harold Washington; leading the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); how Chicago neighborhoods have changed, the Chicago housing situation and redlining; why he respects government careerists; what he thinks of how the media covers politicians; why he ran for alderman; why he respects journalists; why he's pro-union; mistakes he's made; the Chicago political scene; how he helped the Sun-Times; Chicago’s problems and positives, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG163.mp3

Tom Petersen: Bob Collins memories and more

Tom Petersen started his long media career in Milwaukee as a disc jockey, and worked at WEMP in Milwaukee, WXYZ in Detroit, KWWL-TV in Waterloo/Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at a rock station in Duluth, Minnesota, and at WGN Radio, where he worked with Bob Collins for several years. He talks about his news career, Chicago and Detroit's corruption, Bob Collins and Wally Phillips stories, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG115.mp3

Mark Carman: Doing sports again in Chicago

Mark Carman did his first podcast 100 episodes ago, and now he's back in Chicago at WGN with the David Kaplan Show. This is also the first podcast that includes play-by-play: we recorded it while he was watching the Cubs-Brewers game because he was prepping for the post-game that night on WGN. He talks about his on-air gig at KCSP/610 Sports Radio in Kansas City, where he also worked with Nick Wright; why he went to Yahoo! Sports radio in Houston, where he did a show with Doug Russell; the three upscale hostels he owns in Chicago: Oak 112, Urban Holiday Lofts, and Holiday Jones; why he got into the travel business; why he left Yahoo!; how he joined the David Kaplan Show; his resume that includes WCBR with The Naked Truth About Sports, producing at WSCR 670 The Score, being the news and sports director at WLBK, doing St. Edwards University play-by-play; what it's like to work with David Kaplan; Napgate; and more (he also did a podcast before he went to Kansas City, so he kept his promise to do another one if he'd come back to Chicago!).

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG111.mp3

Richard Milne: Music all the time

Richard Milne has been working at WXRT in Chicago since 1976, where he also hosts Local Anesthetic. He talks about how he makes decisions to air bands' music on the show; why he prefers CDs; his relationship to the Smashing Pumpkins; why Lou Reed was the most exciting on-air interview he's ever done; what he thinks of digital vs vinyl; his first radio job in WDEK in DeKalb, Illinois; how WXRT DJs can choose their own music; how he developed his business, Rank Entertainment; what makes WXRT an atypical music station and special place to work, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG108.mp3

Panda Riot: Chicago Dream Pop

Panda Riot is a Chicago dream-pop band whose music is used for this podcast. Two of the members, Brian Cook (guitar, recording) and Jose Alejandro Rodriguez (drums), talk about how they came up with the band's name; how they developed into a band; their album, She Dares All Things, where the songs used on this podcast come from; how they started with films; why they moved from Philadelphia to Chicago; the tension between New York and the Philadelphia music scene; changes in the music industry and the Internet; why they mainly tour the East Coast; if they want their music to be in movies or commercials; what motivates them; the dream pop genre; how they came up with their style; their process, how they know a song is done, and more.

Panda Riot is coming out with a new vinyl LP of Northern Automatic Music, and have previously released the CD version of Northern Automatic Music, the EP Far and Near, the 7-inch Serious Radical Girls, and the flexi-single Amanda in the Clouds.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG107.mp3

Rafer Weigel: Gracious TV Sports Guy

Rafer Weigel does sports on WLS-TV in Chicago, and talks about writing his own scripts; why producers are necessary; how acting helped his TV work; his acting career, which included playing Jenny McCarthy's neighbor on her TV show, a Charmed episode with Melissa Milano, ads for Honda and Avis, ER, Party of Five, Free Enterprise with William Shatner and Eric McCormack, and a movie with Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen on Showtime; why he didn't like the acting lifestyle; writing for the Chicago Sun-Times and Los Angeles Times; what the acting biz is like; if his father, sportscaster Tim Weigel, helped him get into the media; being the "man about town" and covering the Kings for KUSI-TV in San Diego; doing news in Sacramento at KOVR-TV; doing sports at CNN Headline News with Robin Meade; what it's like to work at CNN; how he got the WLS-TV sports gig; what his dad taught him; his work with ESPN Radio; advice he has for people who want to do sports media, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG106.mp3

Matt Bubala: Producing Fun

Matt Bubala, host of Good Parenting Radio, talks about producing John Williams' show at WGN Radio; running his own business, Black Dog Radio Productions (which also syndicates Steve Dale's show), and advice for starting a business; his experience in Los Angeles producing Peter Tilden's show at KABC/KMPC and meeting famous people in L.A.; what it was like to work with and hang out with Danny Bonaduce at WKQI in Detroit; getting hired by Mitch Rosen and fired by Larry Wert; how the neighborhood near WDFN "The Fan" in Detroit was, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG105.mp3

Pugs Moran: from Chicago to Dallas

Pugs Moran (John Myron) got his radio start in Chicago, where he was executive producer for Wendy Snyder and Bill Leff's show on Q101, Kevin Matthews' producer on AM 1000 WMVP, and created a show with Kelly Mohr on WCKG. That's where he and Kelly got fired when Steve Dahl recorded their private conversations and played them on the air. Pugs says, "Beware of meeting Superman without his cape." He talks about the support he got when he was fired, including from Garry Meier; his career in Dallas, which included a popular show with Kelly on KLLI Live 105.3 (listen to their demo here) and a brief stint at KDBN The Bone (which flipped formats); what he thinks the Chicago School of Talk Radio is; interning at Shadow Traffic in Chicago with Kathy Voltmer; working at WLUP The Loop with Mitch Rosen (who was Eddie Schwartz's producer); how the Case of the Texas Seven made Kelly and him more successful; Texas food, steak, pizza, and more. This interview was recorded during his June 13th show on Deep Ellum On Air.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG103.mp3

Jenniffer Weigel: Multimedia Ace

Jenniffer Weigel talks about her work at the Chicago Tribune, for which she writes a column and appears on WGN-TV; how she got into radio; what it was like to work with Jonathan Brandmeier and Steve Cochran; her father, sportscaster Tim Weigel; her grandfather John Weigel, who founded Weigel Broadcasting; if her family's media involvement helped her own career; the lack of women in radio, her books, theater work, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG101.mp3

John Records Landecker: still having fun

John Records Landecker became famous at WLS-AM, and is now at WLS-FM. He names who he told off in the introduction of his book, Records Truly is My Middle Name, and talks about his blind dad, a German Jew who came to the US in the 1930s, drinking and drugs, his great upbringing at the University of Michigan/Ann Arbor, how Jay Leno allegedly stole his radio bit for the Tonight Show (which he called a "super coincidence"), how Jan Jeffries, VP of programming of Cumulus, brought him back to WLS-FM, Don Wade at WLS-AM and WIBG in Philadelphia, his experience at CFTR in Toronto and why he came back to the US, why his WLUP/The Loop gig didn't go so well, his success at WLS-AM, why he got a gun and numbered tattoo, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG100.mp3

Gene Honda: fun sports voice guy

Gene Honda is the public address announcer for the Blackhawks, White Sox, DePaul, Big Ten basketball and hockey tournaments, the NCAA Final Four, the Chicago Marathon, and more. He also does voice and TV work for PBS and WTTW in Chicago, After School Matters, and worked in cable TV. He talks about his radio career at WPGU in Champagne-Urbana and WLAK in Chicago, and his brief movie career, which included "The Dilemma," (for which he ironically had to audition to be the Blackhawks public address announcer), and "Opportunity Knocks," in which he played a Japanese businessman who said words his mom wouldn't translate. He also talks about Blackhawks and White Sox players, his friend Ozzie Guillen, and his dad, who was a chief architect for Marina City, River City, and Prentice Women's Hospital. And there's even more!

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG99.mp3

Rick Gieser: sports radio and more

Rick Gieser has just been elected as a village trustee in Carol Stream, but also does a lot more: he's the producer of Sports Central on WGN radio, was the first morning show producer at WSCR/The Score with host Tom Shaer, does public relations for Zanies, where he has met a lot of comedians including Drew Carey and Jeff Garlin, and does PR for Monster Jam, Disney Stars on Ice, Woodfield Mall, and Ringling Bros Circus. He talks about his radio career, which started in an Amtrak train car at WDME in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, and included time at WNDE in Indianapolis and WFBQ with the Bob and Tom Show. He's done a lot and has plenty of photos to prove it at his Facebook page...friend him and find out! He also brought delicious doughnuts from Sweet Mornings Cafe, which I guess you could say supplied the "craft service" for this podcast :p

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG97.mp3

Rick O'Dell: Smooth Jazz online

Rick O'Dell, creator and host of Smooth Jazz Chicago.net, talks about how he got his broadcast name (his real name is Ralph Nozaki), how Japanese was his first language, the memo his elementary school sent out when his family moved to La Grange, his career at WNUA (where he worked for almost 20 years), WPGU, WAUR, and WCLR, what he thinks of terrestrial vs online radio, Mitsuwa, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG96.mp3

Pat Cassidy: Nice News Guy, nice career

Pat Cassidy, who's the morning guy at WBBM Newsradio in Chicago, talks about his sweet career, which includes several years at WBBM, where they seemed to hold his job while he joined Erich Muller (Mancow)'s show at WLS; 25 years at WMAQ; and various gigs at WGLD, WBMX (where he was the only white guy), WNIS, and WEXI (where he was a music program director). He also talks about what he calls "the most embarrassing incident of all time" for the first time publicly, why he went to WLS, what Mort Downey was really like, the future of news radio, if an agent helps, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG95.mp3

Update: I interviewed Pat right before he retired, at the end of 2021. You can listen to the interview at the link below. 

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG179.mp3 

Christopher Michael: Radio Passion for 45 Years

Christopher Michael talks about why he created a pseudonym (for his real name Gil Peters); his long career in radio, which started in Kankakee and continued at WCLR, WKQX, WYEN, WZBN-WKZN, WMAQ, and WGN; what it was like to work with radio legend Paul Harvey; why he loves radio; how he dealt with numerous firings; advice he has for aspiring broadcasters; how he created his company, Sound Targeting, and his method for getting clients; what he thinks of the radio biz; the weird people and experiences he's had in radio, and more.

We also talk about the breaking news story that we both worked on (which earned us first place for Best Spot News in the 2010 Illinois Associated Press Broadcasters Association Journalism Excellence contest, and first place for Best Live Coverage of an Event in the 2010 Illinois Broadcasters Association Silver Dome Awards).

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG94.mp3

David Jennings: Longtime news guy

David Jennings has been doing radio news for many years including the Virtual News Center; WICC in Bridgeport, Connecticut; WTOP in Washington, DC; WDAS in Philadelphia; and WGN, WMAQ, and WLS in Chicago, where he worked with Steve Scott and also did a talk show with Carl Jeffers. He talks about his Brooklyn roots, getting his start in radio, what he thinks about the lack of black people in news, what a radio manager said about his voice, how many grades he skipped in school, popular New York radio talent, his notable news moments, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG93.mp3

Steve Dale: Beyond Pets

Steve Dale is known all around the media for his advice and passion for pets, but he's had a lot of other experience in radio, including WCFL, WLS, WCLR, WGN, WYCA, and WLTD (now WCGO) with Fred Winston, Larry Lujack, John Landecker, Wally Phillips, Roy Leonard, Bob and Betty Sanders, Dean Richards, and even was part of a "secret project" to change WCFL's format and got fired in an elevator. Plus, he's been a restaurant critic for Crain's Chicago Business, a syndicated columnist for Tribune Media Services, followed Oprah and entertainment for People magazine and USA Today, and has written books and many other articles.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG92.mp3

Sherman Kaplan: living well in radio

Sherman Kaplan talks about his long radio career, which
started in Ohio: as a music disc jockey at WAEF in Cincinnati, as "Mike Sherman the Night Creature" at WSAI in Cincinnati, then in Columbus, Charlotte, and WBBM Newsradio in Chicago, where he's been for over 40 years. He talks about job security, culture, travel, being a restaurant critic, his favorite restaurants, getting hired by Drew Hayes to do the Noon Business Hour on WBBM, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG91.mp3

Mitch Rosen: Sports Radio Boss

Mitch Rosen is the program director of WSCR "The Score" in Chicago, and has worked in Chicago radio for several years, including at WGN and WLUP "The Loop" with Eddie Schwartz and Kevin Matthews, and as a program director at WMVP-AM 1000. He talks about what it takes to work in Chicago sports radio, why he thinks sports radio will remain popular, his experience with Ozzie Guillen and the White Sox, hosts at The Score, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG90.mp3

Hector Soriano: Brandmeier Audio and Bike Guy

You can hear Hector Soriano on Jonathan Brandmeier's show on WGN Radio in Chicago, where he is also in charge of audio. He also worked with Brandmeier in Los Angeles at "Arrow", aka KCBS, and at "The Loop" WLUP in Chicago. He talks about how he started working for Brandmeier, why he likes Chicago more than LA, his bicycle repair gig, what he thinks of Spanish radio, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG89.mp3