Joan Esposito (Full Episodes)

– Pat Kreitlow, founder and editor of Up North News (Courier)
– Hadley Duvall, reproductive freedom and abortion rights activist
– Jason Meisner, federal courts reporter for The Chicago Tribune

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On today's show
– Professor Steven D. Schwinn of the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law
– Michael Dorf, Democratic lawyer, the Law Offices of Michael C. Dorf, LLC
– Ed Yohnka, director of communications and public policy at ACLU Illinois

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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On today's show
– Donna Chaffee, author of “First Great Sorrow: My Years with Robert F. Kennedy“
– Brian Endless, senior lecturer and director of African Studies and the African Diaspora at Loyola University Chicago

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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On today's show
– Barbara McQuade, legal analyst, law professor, former United States attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, co-host of the “#Sisters in Law” podcast, and author of “Attack From Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America” (2024) and “The Fix:
Saving America from the Corruption of a Mob-Style Government” (2026)
– David Hochberg, vice president of lending for Team Hochberg at Homeside Financial
– Heartland Signal’s Rich Eberwein with three stories you might have missed from our digital newsroom

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-pr...

On today's show:
– Amanda Zurawski, reproductive rights activist who was the lead plaintiff in the landmark Zurawski v. State of Texas case
– Bill Scher, politics editor at Washington Monthly; his latest article is “The Iran War’s Biggest Loser? Definitely Netanyahu“
– Spencer Critchley, author of Patriots of Two Nations and host of the Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good podcast

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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On today's show
 Majid Padellan, AKA Brooklyn Dad Defiant and host of “The Defiant Weekly“
– William Campbell, host of “Here’s How: Ireland’s Political, Social and Current Affairs Podcast“
– Joel Ostrow, professor of political science at Benedictine University

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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On today's show
– Jon Seidel, federal courts reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times; his latest articles have focused on Loretto Hospital and the “Broadview Six”
– John Lothian, founder and editor of John Lothian News
– Army Maj. Gen. Randy Manner (Ret.), former acting vice chair of the National Guard Bureau, and member of National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A)
– Jill Wine-Banks, legal analyst, former general counsel of the U.S. Army, author of “The Watergate Girl,” co-host of #SistersInLaw and host of Just The Facts with Jill Wine-Banks

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays fr...

On today's show:
– Chris Fitzsimon, host of the Stories from the States podcast
– Daniel Squadron, president and co-founder of Future Now and author of “The Fourth Branch: How State Government Can Save Our Union” (2026)
– Debra Kerr, president and CEO of Chicago’s Intuit Art Museum, along with the museum’s chief curator, Alison Amick

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's show
– Aaron Kleinman, Heartland Signal‘s senior political analyst and author of the “Radio Free America” newsletter
– Jonathan Alter, contributing editor of the Washington Monthly, former senior editor and columnist at Newsweek, political analyst, and the publisher of the Substack “Old Goats with Jonathan Alter.“ His latest piece for Washington Monthly is “”60 Minutes’ Must Still Be Saved“
– Joe Brancatelli of the joesentme.com business travel newsletter

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's show Richard Chew fills in for Joan and his guests are
– Naomi Davis, urban theorist, attorney, activist, and founder and CEO of BIG: Blacks in Green
– Comedy duo Frangela (Frances Callier and Angela V. Shelton)
– Army Maj. Gen. Randy Manner (Ret.), former acting vice chair of the National Guard Bureau, and member of National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A)
– Amy McGrath, political and national security analyst, former fighter pilot and U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran, founder of Democratic Majority Action PAC, former candidate for U.S. Senate and House, author of “Honor Bound: An A...

On today' show
– Marjorie Hershey, professor emeritus, political science at Indiana University Bloomington
– Camaron Stevenson, national correspondent in Washington, D.C. for Courier
– Dr. Kristin Lyerly, OB/GYN, 2024 candidate for Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District, plaintiff in a lawsuit that challenged Wisconsin’s pre-Civil War abortion law

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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On today's show
– Maya Rupert, political strategist, leader in the social justice movement, and executive vice president of Blue State, which specializes in political fundraising  and campaign consultancy
– Marj Halperin, Democratic analyst and organizer with Indivisible Chicago and One Community Near South
– Chris Bury, former TV newsman and recently retired DePaul journalism professor

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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On today's show:
– Bruce Rheins, former CBS Los Angeles deputy bureau chief
– Jack Kiraly, director of Government Relations at The Planetary Society
– Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, newly announced candidate for Chicago mayor
– John Parker of KTNF’s “The Gaily Show,” weeknights at 10:00 Central on WCPT

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's show
– Jen Golbeck, professor, computer scientist, psychologist, "expert in the far-right, online extremism, AI, and bad things on the internet," and author of the MAGAReport on Substack
– Bill Scher, politics editor at Washington Monthly
– U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
– Heartland Signal’s Rich Eberwein with three stories you might have missed from our digital newsroom

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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On today's show: 
– Aaron Kleinman, Heartland Signal‘s senior political analyst and author of the “Radio Free America” newsletter
– Brian Endless, senior lecturer and director of African Studies and the African Diaspora at Loyola University Chicago

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's show
– Greg Hinz, columnist for Crain’s Chicago Business
– Mark Jacob and Jennifer Schulze with our regular media segment

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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On today's show
– Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder
– Nicholas Enrich, former civil servant who worked at USAID under four administrations and author of “Into the Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower’s Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID”
– Bryan Kennedy, mayor of Glendale, Wisconsin, national president of Democratic Municipal Officials, member of the DNC, and author of the new book “It’s All Local: Saving Democracy From the Ground Up”
– Joel Ostrow, professor of political science at Benedictine University

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsign...

On today's show:
 – Chris Fitzsimon, host of the Stories from the States podcast
– Rick Smith, host of “The Rick Smith Show,” weekdays from 5:00 to 6:00 a.m. Central on WCPT

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's show 
– Ira Shapiro, co-author of “Betrayed: America Didn’t Vote for This”
– Mike Nellis, Democratic strategist and host of “Endless Urgency with Mike Nellis
– Heartland Signal’s Rich Eberwein with three stories you might have missed from our digital newsroom
– Mary Morten of Seven Days in Chicago: A National Call to Elevate Health as a Governing Priority, along with Cleve Jones, AIDS and LGBT rights activist

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio

On today's show
– Christopher Armitage, author of The Existentialist Republic newsletter on Substack
– Army Maj. Gen. Randy Manner (Ret.), former acting vice chair of the National Guard Bureau, and member of National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A)
– U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL)

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's show
– Michael Rabbit, 45th Ward committeeperson and one of the so-called Broadview Six; last week federal prosecutors dismissed all charges against the remaining four defendants, of which Rabbit was one 
– Walter J. Podrazik, television historian, analyst, and adjunct lecturer at the Department of Communication at UIC
– Robert Held, Chicago attorney detained last year by ICE but not charged with a crime
– Ray Long, retired Chicago Tribune investigative reporter

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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On today show:
– Michael Dorf, Democratic lawyer, the Law Offices of Michael C. Dorf, LLC
– Leigh McGowan, AKA Politics Girl
– Andre Dubus III, New York Times bestselling author of nine books; his latest is “Ghost Dogs: On Killers and Kin“

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's show:
– William Muck, professor of political science at North Central College
– Michigan State Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D) (along with William Muck)
– Joe Walsh, former Republican congressman from Illinois and host of The Social Contract with Joe Walsh

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's show:
– Maggie Mullen, state government and politics reporter for WyoFile.com, an independent, public-interest news service in Wyoming
– Aaron Kleinman, head of research at Heartland Signal and author of the “Radio Free America” newsletter
– Spencer Critchley, author of “Patriots of Two Nations” and host of the “Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good” podcast

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's show
– David Hochberg, vice president of lending for Team Hochberg at Homeside Financial
– Suzanne Chod, professor of political science at North Central College

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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On today's show
– Marvin Kalb, journalist with CBS News for 24 years, Murrow professor emeritus at Harvard, author of 18 books, most recently “A Different Russia: Khrushchev and Kennedy on a Collision Course”, and contributor to Washington Monthly; his latest article is “The Secret Plan to Murder a Pope“
– Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC)
– Joel Ostrow, professor of political science at Benedictine University (the link Prof. Ostrow mentioned on the air is: foblueyellowukraineusa.org/donate)

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live...

On today's show:
– Chris Fitzsimon, host of the Stories from the States podcast
– “Out Chicago” host Scott Duff and film critic Rebecca Ford with their monthly look at TV, movies, theater and more!

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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On today's show:
– Marj Halperin, Democratic analyst heard on “The Mincing Rascals” podcast and organizer with Indivisible Chicago and One Community Near South
– Nancy Stearns, freelance journalist covering corporate social responsibility, and founder of Impactivize, a platform that focuses on “inclusivity and civil rights in America”
– Steve Phillips, columnist and New York Times bestselling author of “Brown Is the New White: How the Demographic Revolution Has Created a New American Majority” (2016) and  ”Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else?: Playing Offense in the Fight for Racial Justice in America” (2026)
–Heartland Signal’s Rich Eberwein with three stories you might have missed...

On today's show:
– Garnet Henderson, investigative reporter covering reproductive health, abortion access and disinformation; she is the co-founder of Autonomy News
– Greg Hinz, columnist for Crain’s Chicago Business 
– Dr. Stockton Mayer, infectious disease physician at UI Health

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's show
– William Campbell, host of “Here’s How: Ireland’s Political, Social and Current Affairs Podcast“
– Pat Kreitlow, founder and editor of Up North News (Courier)

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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On today's show
– Aaron Kleinman, head of research at Heartland Signal and author of the “Radio Free America” newsletter
– Jill Wine-Banks, legal analyst, former general counsel of the U.S. Army, author of “The Watergate Girl,” co-host of #SistersInLaw and host of Just The Facts with Jill Wine-Banks
– Shantay Bolton, president of Columbia College Chicago, to talk about Manifest Arts Festival in its 25th anniversary year

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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On today's show
– Chris Fitzsimon, host of the Stories from the States podcast
– Darlene Duggan, head of Anticruelty
– Gregory Royal Pratt, investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune; he was one of the Tribune reporters awarded, as Staff of the Chicago Tribune, the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's show:
– Amanda Marcotte, senior writer at Salon.com
– U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL)
– Devon Hayakawa, co-director of Paramount Theatre’s production of “South Pacific,” playing through June 14
– Heartland Signal’s Rich Eberwein with three stories you might have missed from our digital newsroom

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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On today's show:
– David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal editor-in-chief and opinion columnist
– Laura Rodriguez, senior vice president of government affairs at the Center for American Progress Action Fund
– Thom Hartmann, author and host of “The Thom Hartmann Program,” weekdays from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Central on WCPT
– Joel Ostrow, professor of political science at Benedictine University, and Rima Ziuraitas, sergeant and combat medic in the Foreign Legion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

See omnystudi...

On today's show
– Margaret Donovan, attorney at Koskoff Koskoff and Bieder, visiting clinical lecturer in law at Yale Law School, former assistant United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, Army veteran and former captain in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps
– Rex Huppke, USA Today columnist
– Chris Bury, senior journalist-in-residence, DePaul University

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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On today's show
– Carolyn Shapiro, professor of law and co-director of the Institute on the Supreme Court of the United States at Chicago-Kent College of Law
– Joe Brancatelli of the joesentme.com business travel newsletter
– Mark Jacob and Jennifer Schulze with our regular media segment

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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On today's show Rickey Hendon fills in for Joan and his guests are
– Dante King, university professor, speaker, and human resource management consultant; he is the author of three books, including the 2026 release “The Psychopathy of Whiteness: The Epigenetics of Anti-Blackness, Malignant Narcissism, and Collective Antisocial Personality Disorder“
– Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, civil rights attorney, playwright, racial justice activist, and author of the 2025 book “A Protest History of the United States”
– Ed Yohnka, director of communications and public policy at ACLU Illinois

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlan...

On today's show Jill Wine-Banks fills in for Joan and her guests are
– Army Maj. Gen. Randy Manner (Ret.), former acting vice chair of the National Guard Bureau, and member of National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A)
– Melissa Murray, the Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law at New York University’s School of Law, co-host of the “Strict Scrutiny” podcast, and author of the forthcoming book “The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader” (out May 5)
– Jim Robenalt, author, presidential historian, lawyer, and regular contributor to Vanity Fair, The Washington Po...

On today's show Ken Mejia-Beal fills in for Joan and his guests are
– Dr. Frank Figueroa, mayor of Coachella, California
– Harold Gatewood, chair of the Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus
– DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek
– Katherine Bissell Córdova, executive director of Chicago Fair Trade
– Qasim Rashid, author, activist, human rights lawyer, SiriusXM host, and creator of “Let’s Address This” on Substack

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central
on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's show Turi Ryder fills in for Joan and her guests include
– Tina El Gamal, director of First Floor Theater Company's “Work Hard Have Fun Make History,” opening May 7
– Forrest Claypool, former chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools, and author of “The Daley Show: Inside the Transformative Reign of Chicago's Richard M. Daley”
– Maya Lilly, producer with The Years Project, a multimedia storytelling and education effort designed to inform, empower and unite the world in the face of climate change
– John Huber, music teacher at Chicago's Old Town School of Music on their teen open mic ni...