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.

How does city council spend its work time? (Photo credit: Mike Stephen/WGN Radio)

Mike Stephen discusses an analysis about the substance of Chicago City Hall meetings with Better Government Association policy analyst Geoffrey Cubbage, talks to local musician Joe Rian about his new tunes, and discovers the Secret History of blues and soul singer G.L. Crockett. To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our Apple Podcasts Page, Spotify, or our RSS feed.

A delicious Italian beef from Johnnie’s in Elmwood Park. (Photo credit: Mike Stephen/WGN Radio)

Mike Stephen discusses the story of the Italian beef sandwich (and how it’s hard to get a good one outside of Chicagoland) with Los Angeles Times food columnist and Oak Park native Lucas Kwan Peterson, chats about the semi-independence of the Chicago City Council with Geoffrey Cubbage of the Better Government Association, and talks to Jonny Untch about being a local musician and educator. To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our Apple Podcasts Page, Spotify, or our RSS feed.

Mike Stephen learns about the broken promises of Cabrini-Green from Better Government Association senior investigative reporter Alejandra Cancino and then gets an update on the response of state correctional facilities to the COVID-19 pandemic from Jennifer Vollen-Katz, executive director of the John Howard Association of Illinois. To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our Apple Podcasts Page, Spotify, or our RSS feed.