John McDonald is heard twice every weekend on WGAN. He has been on the air on WGAN for 16 years. From local news to state politics to national stories that have everyone talking, John covers it all. John is a native Mainer and a multi-faceted entertainer. John is also a Maine humorist and president of the Maine Storytellers Association. He has written several books of Maine humor and writes a syndicated weekly newspaper column found in many papers around the state.

John can be heard Saturdays and Sundays 6-10 a.m.

John's new book, the Maine Dictionary, has quickly become another local bestseller.  Learn more about the book here.

Listen to Interviews

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 Celebrating WGAN's 70th Year on the Air! We Spoke With: Current WGAN General Manager and former WGAN Program Director Cary Pahigian. Click Here! Senator Olympia Snowe to extend her anniversary wishes. Click Here! Governor John Baldacci to congratulate us on our 7 decades on the air. Click Here! Senator Susan Collins to wish us a happy anniversary. Click Here! Former WGAN newsman Don Huff. Click Here! Nick Seneca, former WGAN afternoon personality. Click Here! Former WGAN morning man Bruce Stevens. Click Here! ...And Congressman Tom Allen! Click Here! Saturday, May 31st, 2008 John spoke with Michael Brennan, candidate for the 1st Congressional District in Maine, about his stance on a number of issues.  You can learn more about Michael's campaign here. Click here to listen to the interview. Saturday, June 28, 2008 Independent candidate for US Senate, Herb Hoffman, joined John in studio to talk about his attempt to unseat Susan Collins. Part 1 Part 2 Saturday, June 7th, 2008 John sat down with Adam Cote, 1st Congressional District Candidate for the Democratic Party, to discuss his campaign.  To learn more about Adam's bid for Congress, click here. Click here to listen to the interview. Saturday, May 24th, 2008 John chatted with Bill Whitten, Assistant Manager of Cumberland County, about the Memorial Day weekend celebrations going on throughout southern Maine. Click here to listen to the interview. Saturday, May 31st, 2008 John sat down with Captain Bill Linnell regarding a number of waterfront issues, including the recent discussions on the newly invigorated CAT Ferry. Click here to listen to the interview. Saturday, May 24th, 2008 John sat down and talked with Dean Scontras, Republican candidate for the 1st Congressional District Seat, who responded to some of the criticisms levied by opponent Charlie Summers, and also discussed some current campaign issues.  You can learn more about Dean Scontras' campaign here. Click here to listen to Part 1 of the interview. Click here to listen to Part 2 of the interview. Saturday, May 24th, 2008 John sat down with Sheriff Mark Dion, who updated the listeners on precautions the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department will be taking during the Memorial Day weekend. Click here to listen to Part 1 of the interview. Click here to listen to Part 2 of the interview. Saturday, May 17th, 2008 John sat down with Charlie Summers, a candidate for the 1st Congressional District seat for Maine.  You can learn more about his run for Congress here. Click here to listen to Part 1 of the interview. Click here to listen to Part of the interview. Saturday, May 10th, 2008 John sat down with Sarah Cecil, Director of the upcoming Maine Festival of the Book, being held in Portland May 15th-17th. Click here to listen to the interview. For more information about the festival, click here! Saturday, May 10th, 2008 John spoke at length with Newell Augur, head of the Maine Beverage Association, about the recent beverage tax being levied on soda, beer and wine by the state. Click here to listen to Part 1 of the interview. Click here to listen to Part 2 of the interview. For more information about the new organization Fed Up With Taxes, click here! Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 John received an update on the Maine Republican Convention in Augusta from an old friend, Scott Fish of AsMaineGoes.com. Click here to listen to the interview. Saturday, April 26th, 2008 John sat down with Dennis Bailey, spokesperson for Casinos No!, to retort on remarks made by Pat LaMarche during the previous week's show. Click here to listen to Part One of the interview. Click here to listen to Part Two of the interview. Saturday, April 19th, 2008 John sat down with Pat LaMarche, an advocate and spokesperson for the Evergreen Mountain Resort and Casion. Click here to listen to Part 1 of the interview. Click here to listen to Part 2 of the interview. Click here to listen to Part 3 of the interview. Saturday, April 19th, 2008 John and guest co-host Pat LaMarche interviewed Hannah Pingree about the Legislature's late night adjournment for the season. Click here to listen to the interview. Sunday, April 13th, 2008 Deputy Chief Joe Loughlin from the Portland Police Department joined John in the studio to talk about his book now being released in paperback, "Finding Amy: A True Story of Murder in Maine", the spellbinding story of Amy St. Laurent. To listen to part 1 of the interview, click here. To listen to part 2 of the interview, click here.   For more information about "Finding Amy: A True Story of Murder in Maine", written by Captain Joseph K. Loughlin and Kate Clark Flora, click here. Saturday, April 12th, 2008 John spoke with Philip Lawler, author of the new book "The Faithful Departed," about the collapse of the Catholic religion in Boston. Click here to listen to Part 1 of the interview. Click here to listen to Part 2 of the interview. For more details about the book, click here. Saturday, March 29th, 2008 John sat down with Rep. Tom Allen currently running for the seat occupied by Senator Susan Collins. Click here to listen to the interview. Saturday, March 22nd, 2008 John sat down with Will Lund, superintendent of the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, and discussed the intricacies of the recent Hannaford security breach.  Click here to listen to the interview. Saturday, March 15th, 2008 John sat down with local musician Dave Rowe, band leader for the Dave Rowe Trio, who are playing a show on blessed St. Patrick's Day. Click here to listen to the interview. Saturday, March 15th, 2008 John spoke with Paul Kuritz, professor at Bates College and author of the new release The Fiery Serpent. Click here to listen to the interview. Saturday, March 8th, 2008 John sat down with Mike Daisey, writer and star of the show "Barring the Unforeseen." Click here to listen to the interview. Sunday, March 2nd, 2008 Captain Bill Linnell was in the studio to talk to John about local lobstermen and pressing fisheries issues in Maine's legislature. Click here to listen to the interview. Sunday, February 24th, 2008 John sat down in the studio with Jean Hackett from A Running Conversation to discuss the upcoming fundraiser Two Trials, a women's weekend on Peaks Island to benefit the Maine Children's Cancer Program.  The event takes place on Sunday, March 9th, at the Inn on Peaks Island. For more information on the event, visit arunningconversation.com.   Click here to listen to the interview. Saturday, February 23rd, 2008 John spoke with Pat McGown, Commissioner of Conservation for the State of Maine, about some big issues headed toward his department. Click here to listen to the interview. Saturday, February 16th, 2008 John spoke with former colleague A. J. Higgins of the State House Bureau and the Bangor Daily News. Cllick here to listen to the interview. Sunday, February 10th, 2008 John interviewed Democratic candidate for President Senator Barack Obama this weekend, a few short hours before the Maine Democratic caucuses. Click here to listen to the interview! Sunday, February 10th, 2008 As heard Sunday on the John McDonald Show, WGAN's Morning News co-host Ken Altshuler had an opportunity to interview Democratic candidate for President Hillary Clinton.   Click here to listen to the interview. Saturday, February 9th, 2008 John had a lengthy interview with State Senator Ethan Strimling about his proposal to ban all incandescent light bulbs from Maine. Click here to listen to Part One of the interview. Click here to listen to Part Two of the interview. Sunday, February 3rd, 2008 Arthur King sat in for John this Sunday, and invited Republican political strategist Roy Leonardson to sit down in-studio and go over the current Presidential candidates.   To hear Arthur and Roy talk about Mitt Romney's recent victory in the Maine caucus, click here.   Roy gives his predictions (and takes a few of our listeners' opinions) on who will be the final two candidates in the 2008 Presidential race.  Click here to listen!     Sunday, February 3rd, 2008 Arthur King filled in for John this morning and spoke with Scott Fish, editor of asmainegoes.com, about the influence of the Internet on politics. Click here to listen to the interview. Saturday, February 2nd, 2008 John spoke with David Trahan, who made a special announcement in regards to the upcoming election. Click here to listen to the interview. Saturday, February 2nd, 2008 John spoke with Scott Fish, editor of AsMaineGoes.com. Click here to listen to the interview. Sunday, January 27th, 2008 Chuck Kruger talked to John on Sunday about the current presidential campaigns and caucuses, as well as announcing his own candidacy to run for District 48 in the Maine House of Representatives. Click here to listen to the interview. Sunday, January 13th, 2008 John talked with Skip Greenlaw, Executive Director of the Maine Coaltion to Save Schools. Clicke here to listen to the interview. Saturday, January 26th, 2008 John had a surprise chat with state representative Scott Lansley about a bill of his going through the House. Click here to listen to the interview. Sunday, January 6th, 2008 This weekend, John talked with Scott Fish, asmainegoes.com editor and owner, about the recent caucus and his thoughts on Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama. Click here to listen to the interview. Saturday, December 15, 2007 John spoke with Scott Fish of As Maine Goes. Click here to listen to the interview. Saturday, December 15th, 2007 John had a discussion with Frank Heller, one of the original organizers of what turned out to be the DownEaster. Click here to listen to the interview. Saturday, December 1st, 2007 John chatted with Sen. Richard Rosen about some hot-button Congressional issues. Click here to listen to the interview. Saturday, December 1st, 2007 John had a sit-down with Chris Busby, editor and publisher of The Bollard. Click here to listen to Part 1 of the interview. Click here to listen to Part 2 of the interview.