Chicago Media Personality James VanOsdol Nears Milestone As Car Con Carne Approaches 600th Episode. Special Live Event To Commensurate Dubbed, Night of 1000 Stars.
Car Con Carne, the podcast, started seven years ago by Chicago media personality James VanOsdol (WKQX, WLUP, WXRT, WGN), reaches its 600th episode on Monday, April 26 at 5:30 p.m. Episode 600 is being cheekily billed as “Night of 1000 Stars.” While the guest list will be considerably smaller than 1000, the plan for the night is still ambitious. Dozens of former guests are expected to contribute to the show, which will be video-streamed live (YouTube/Facebook) before it’s turned into an audio episode.
For the years leading up to the pandemic, Car Con Carne was a weekly show recorded in VanOsdol’s parked car. Guests would meet at local restaurants, and audio/video interviews would be conducted over a meal in the car. Once the pandemic hit, Car Con Carne switched to a nightly-from-home model, a format that’s led to 281 shows (and counting). While the plan is to return to the car at some point when the world feels more safe, Car Con Carne continues to record guests remotely.
VanOsdol has worked on-the-air and behind the scenes at some of Chicago’s most significant radio stations, including WKQX (101 WKQX & Q101), WLUP (the Loop), WXRT, WGN-AM, WZZN and WTMX. He launched his first podcast in 2006, back when the medium was still new and years away from mainstream awareness. In 2012, he joined the ranks of the Steve Dahl Network, a podcast network run by Radio Hall of Famer Steve Dahl. In addition to hosting Car Con Carne since 2014, VanOsdol also co-hosts the weekly “History of Alternative” podcast for 101 WKQX.