Mike Stephen goes inside a new occult gallery in Logan Square called Covet Oddities and chats with owners Ben and Erica Santine, learns about the limitations of the Freedom of Information Act in Illinois with Better Government Association financial policy analyst Sophia Van Pelt, and highlights the great work of La Casa Norte‘s Hope for Homes Day initiative with executive director Jose Munoz. To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our Apple Podcasts Page, Spotify, or our RSS feed.

It's possible to make a living as an independent author. (Photo credit: Mike Stephen/WGN Radio)

Mike Stephen talks to Conspire Creative founder Sharon Woodhouse about her new book The Profitable Author: 1,001 Ways to Build a Business You Love Around Your Books, previews the Surabhi Ensemble’s live performance with guitarist Carlo Basile, and gets the lowdown on the upcoming West Side Book Fair from Bridgett McGill. To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our Apple Podcasts Page, Spotify, or our RSS feed.

We explore a new book about the local nonprofit Takeout 25. (Photo credit: Mike Stephen/WGN Radio)

Mike Stephen learns about a new book about the impact of the local nonprofit Takeout 25 called The Takeout 25 Effect: Mobilizing for Positive Change with author Ravi Parakkat, explores a project mapping high concentration of truck traffic in Chicago called the Chicago Truck Data Portal with Jose Acosta Cordova of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, and discovers the Secret History of local fingerpicking guitar master Charlie Schmidt. To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our Apple Podcasts Page, Spotify, or our RSS feed.

We head over to Wicker Park to discuss the challenges facing local business owners this past year. (Photo credit: Mike Stephen/WGN Radio)

Mike Stephen sits down with four local business owners at Janik’s Cafe in Wicker Park to discuss the challenges of 2023 and how to make 2024 a better year. The panel features Katie Coleman of Mulberry & Me, Scott Weiner of The Fifty/50, Mario Ponce of Takito Kitchen, and Felipa Janik of Janik’s. To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our Apple Podcasts Page, Spotify, or our RSS feed.