After Hours with Rick Kogan

07/05/2025

5-7 pm Sunday WGN Radio brings you Marc Smith, creator of the Poetry Slam, talks The Last Word Quintet., podcast, Through the Mill and new venture; Gayle Gleespen on what's happening at Yorktown Center; Maureen Schulman on The Happiness Club benefit.

07/03/2025

Is this the future of music? Former Chicagoan Champ Clark's new creative road has him writing songs and letting AI help him make CDs. "All the words and music are mine. They don’t change. It’s the performance that is AI, carefully controlled by myself.”

Champ Clark’s musical career recently came back to life and the reason is artificial intelligence.

07/02/2025

With the support (artwork and driving skills) of wife Bonnie Koloc, Robert Wolf has been gathering stories from the quiltwork of our country. Think of his latest, 'Coyotes and Stars,' as another chapter in what he calls an “autobiography of America.”

Author Robert Wolf aims to create what he calls an “autobiography of America.”

06/25/2025

As Mike Royko's son David says, "Dad was the first rabid Pee-wee Herman fan I knew.” There were millions who knew and loved Pee-wee Herman and a fine new documentary dives into the complicated life of Paul Reubens, the man who was Pee-wee.

In a compelling, two-part, three-hour-long HBO documentary, “Pee-wee as Himself,” we hear from fans and friends, but mostly from Paul Reubens himself.

06/24/2025

From Promontory Point to the lily pool in Lincoln Park to another stunning space overlooking the Mississippi River in Dubuque, it's time to visit and enjoy one of the spectacular creations of Alfred Caldwell?

He worked closely with Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe and others, but you may not know his name. He created some of the most stunning outdoor spaces in the city.

06/21/2025

Terrific 5-7 pm Sunday WGN Radio has Sebastian Maniscalco on starring in podcast, “Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story,” apple.co/EasyMoney; music from Champ Clark; Julia Sniderman Bachrach on “The Prairie School Legacy in Iowa Symposium,” Alfred Caldwell. Tune in

06/18/2025

A couple guys raised in the suburbs--Sebastian Maniscalco and Will Manalti--bring us a spectacular podcast series that tells the fascinating story of Charles Ponzi and his wild and wicked twist on the American Dream.

“Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story” is produced by Northbrook’s Will Malnati, starring Sebastian Maniscalco as the famous swindler.

06/17/2025

Rich Cohen's 'Murder in the Dollhouse' is a great book about love and hate in the world we live in. But there’s another world below, where a subterranean river rushes by in darkness. Once you’ve learned to see that world, nothing ever looks the same.

Author Rich Cohen was recently in Winnetka to sign copies of his latest book, set in the wealthy town of New Canaan, Connecticut, and all about the famous disappearance of Jennifer Dulos.

06/14/2025

5-6:30 pm WGN Radio has actress/playwright Atra Asdou on her, “Iraq, But Funny,” at Lookingglass Theatre Company; my brother Mark on touring with Beach Boys and thoughts on Brian Wilson/Sly Stone; and correspondent Candace Jordan with news from the social front. Candid Candace

06/11/2025

For more than 40 years, sketch artist Andy Austin captured the activities, antics, boredom, rare joy and frequent heartbreaks of the dramas that play out in the courtrooms of our city, vividly capturing their characters and crimes.

As a resident of Astor Street in the Gold Coast, she was an unlikely figure to be a courtroom artist, but her sketches illustrated Chicago-area trials for decades.

06/10/2025

So, what were you doing at 17? Evanston high schooler Anthony Mateos gathered the voices of StreetWise vendors to give us a book that gives us a look at a world we sometimes sadly ignore.

The 17-year-old Anthony Mateos of Evanston has written a book titled “Who We Are: Stories From the Chicago StreetWise Community.”

06/07/2025

Kogan After Hours 5-7 pm Sunday WGN Radio has you music from Sam Fazio, on his career and summer festivals Sam Fazio Music; words from Rich Cohen 0n his latest book, “Murder in the Dollhouse," his career and appearance Tuesday at The Book Stall or .com