A Very Important Podcast by The Heckler The Heckler

Grant DePorter has worked at Harry Caray's since 1989 (less than two years after the restaurant group was formed) so he worked closely with Harry himself for quite a while. Not surprisingly, he has some wild stories about Harry back in the day (including an estimated 14,000 bar visits and 300,000 alcoholic beverages consumed in his life). Grant also talks about the hard work he puts in to keep Harry's legacy alive, even if that means embracing some of the great and not-so-great Harry Caray impressions that are out there including Will Ferrell's and Ryan Dempster's. 

Grant grew up in a hotel, which not everyone can say. He's also a massive sports memorabilia geek, as evidenced by several of the stories he told during this interview. 


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A Very Important Podcast by The Heckler is back! Today's guest is Brian Chang, a friend of Brad's who recently wrapped up a seven-game winning streak on Jeopardy! during which he netted $163,904 in prize money. Only about 30 other people have had a streak like that in the history of the show.

Brian had plenty of memorable moments during his run, including going viral for trolling guest host Ken Jennings, winning a very rare tie-breaker in what could have been the craziest finish to an episode that you'll ever see, blanking on what many thought should have been a gimme, and going up against a four-game champion at the end of his run.

In addition to all this, Brian and Brad talk about dealing with social media trolls (of which there are many), Alex Trebek's passing, behind-the-scenes surprises, the Tournament of Champions, and much more.


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Earlier this week Brad decided to give up his Cubs season tickets after Todd Ricketts' performance opening up a Trump rally. Like many Cubs fans, Brad has struggled to confront the ownership's links to the President and all that surrounds him. After doing a quick hit on WBEZ Thursday, Brad and Chicago sports media personality and fellow tormented Cubs fan Ben Finfer discussed their feelings on the matter. 


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Former Cubs pitcher and current Marquee Network personality Ryan Dempster has always had a reputation as being a funny, approachable guy. Brad's experience with him is no different, going back all the way to his playing days with the Cubs from 2006 to 2012. 

In this episode, he talks about his extremely polarizing Harry Caray impression, the time he beaned A-Rod in 2013 for the Red Sox, if it's tougher to be "funny" now than it used to be, how he feels players are weathering the ups and downs of this bizarre 2020 season, how Spring Training is now compared to his playing days, and much more.


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After two months off, Brad's finally got enough wind in his sails to record a new episode. Our troubling times have made it tough to stay passionate about something like this, but today's guest was just what we needed. Tron Smith (full name discussed in the podcast) and Brad met the better part of a decade ago and have become fast friends who genuinely appreciate each other. Tron's journey is a unique one; from the South Side of Chicago to Phoenix, where she lives today with her totally jacked boyfriend Joe a.ka. "Old Bae."

In this episode, Brad and Tron discuss Tron's interesting travels to the Grand Canyon and Bali, which were highlighted by Tron's fears of elk and heights (Grand Canyon) and monkeys (Bali). They also discuss why Tron didn't like their mutual friend who eventually introduced them when she first met him, her various game show appearances, the podcast she's launching with her friend EJ, why she refuses to call him "E.J." and much more. Follow Tron on Instagram: www.instagram.com/beingtrondotcom  


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After a brief hiatus that no-doubt disappointed millions of people, Wellness Checks are back. Today's guest is David Strauss, one of the three brothers whose family owns Sluggers, the Wrigleyville staple. David and his family have always been very good to Brad and The Heckler, hosting a number of events and running ads and co-promotions from time to time.

This was recorded a few weeks ago, but the topics all remain relevant: How does a family-owned bar in Wrigleyville deal with these difficult times? What will Wrigleyville look like by the time the pandemic is over? Not surprisingly given his career path and a life spent working in a bar a few hundred feet from Wrigley Field, David had a lot of great thoughts on this.

Also discussed are some of the crazy things he's seen in his days behind the bar at Sluggers, including the 2016 Cubs taking over the place the night after they won the World Series.

Follow Sluggers on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SluggersBar


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