Live, Local & Progressive

Joan Esposito: Live, Local & Progressive is a topical and interactive talk show from Chicago that focuses on national, state and city politics.  A veteran Chicago broadcaster, Joan talks to politicians and professors, activists and authors, candidates and correspondents, as well as listeners who call in to share their views on the news of the day. Her goal is to Edify, Entertain and Elect — Democrats, of course.

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Notable recent interviews: Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Michigan Sec. of State Jocelyn Benson, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, Speaker of the Illinois House Emanuel “Chris” Welch, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission Anna M. Gomez, U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), U.S. House Reps. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), Sean Casten (D-IL), Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), Bill Foster (D-IL), Dan Goldman (D-NY), Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Robin Kelly (D-IL), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Scott Peters (D-CA), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Eric Sorensen (D-IL), Elisa Slotkin (D-MI), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Lauren Underwood (D-IL), reproductive freedom and abortion rights activists Hadley Duvall and Amanda Zurawski, gun control activist David Hogg, Rainbow PUSH Coalition CEO Yusef Jackson, Ezra Levin of Indivisible, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Politics Girl Leigh McGowan, Carol Moseley Braun, The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols, author and pundit Chris Matthews, CNN’s Manu Raju, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, “Anonymous” author Miles Taylor, author-pundit Molly-Jong Fast, author Jessica Valenti, Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson, 1/6 Capitol officers Michael Fanone and Aquilino Gonell, progressive content creators Brian Tyler Cohen, Adam Mockler, Brooklyn Dad Defiant and Keith Edwards, Chair of the Texas Democratic Party Kendall Scudder, legal analysts Leah Litman, Melissa Murray, Barbara McQuade, Joyce Vance, Jill Wine-Banks, Retired Army Major General Randy Manner, Maureen Dowd, Sandra Cisneros

About Joan
Joan Esposito has hosted WCPT’s afternoon show since 2019.  Prior to that she spent 20 years as a Chicago television anchor and reporter for WGN Channel 9, ABC7 and NBC5, and had a stint as managing partner at media trainer J2SC.  Joan is a long-time member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).

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Featured Interviews

Joan is joined by Ben Wikler, former chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party and author of the new book, “This Is the Plan: How to End America’s Meltdown and Save Democracy” (2026).

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Joan is joined by U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL).

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Joan is joined by Brian Tyler Cohen, author of the new book “The Day After: How to Wield Power in a Post-Trump World.”

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Joan is joined by Robert Pape, professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago specializing in international security affairs, and author of The Escalation Trap on Substack; his new book, “Our Own Worst Enemies: America in the Age of Violent Populism,” comes out September 22.

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Joan is joined by Jamison Firestone, author of the new memoir “Rule of Lies: My Wild Ride Through Chaos, Corruption, and Murder in Putin’s Russia.”

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Joan is joined by Anna M. Gomez, commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission. 

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Joan is joined by U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) for a conversation about the war in Iran, the dishonesty of Sec. of State Marco Rubio, the cost of living, and more. 

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Ahead of the four-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, Joan is joined by Hadley Duvall, reproductive freedom and abortion rights activist. 

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Joan is joined by Amanda Zurawski, reproductive rights activist who was the lead plaintiff in the landmark Zurawski v. State of Texas case.

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Joan is joined by Leigh McGowan, AKA Politics Girl.

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Joan is joined by Yusef Jackson, newly appointed president and CEO of Rainbow PUSH Coalition. 

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Joan is joined by David Hogg, gun control activist and former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee.

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Joan is joined by Chris Matthews, former host of “Hardball with Chris Matthews” (now on Substack), and author of “Lessons from Bobby: Ten Reasons Robert F. Kennedy Still Matters.”

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Joan talks to U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN).

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Click here for all of Joan’s Featured Interviews.

Listen live weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at 820 AM, on TuneIn, right here on the Heartland Signal website, or tell Alexa to play WCPT from TuneIn.

Text or phone 773-763-9278.
Follow Joan on Threads and Bluesky.

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This week on the show

Mon 8/10
Listen to the full show
– Carolyn Fiddler, state politics expert and author of the newsletter “This Week in Statehouse Action” [Listen]
– Ray LaHood, former Illinois congressman and former U.S. Transportation secretary; on August 27 he will participate in a City Club of Chicago event with Illinois Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski, “Can Bipartisanship Still Work?” [Listen]
– Peter Giangreco, Democratic strategist, partner at The Strategy Group [Listen]

Tue 8/11
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– Joel Ostrow, professor of political science at Benedictine University, and Brian Endless, senior lecturer and director of African Studies and the African Diaspora at Loyola University Chicago

Wed 8/12
– Aaron Kleinman, Heartland Signal‘s senior political analyst and author of the “Radio Free America” newsletter
– Joe Walsh, former Republican congressman from Illinois and host of “The Social Contract with Joe Walsh“
– U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL)

Thu 8/13
– Dr. John Murphy, professor of communication at the University of Illinois and an expert on the history of American public address and political rhetoric

Fri 8/14
– Chris Fitzsimon, host of the Stories from the States podcast

Last week on the show

Mon 8/3
Listen to the full show
– Pat Kreitlow, founder and editor of Up North News, ahead of next Tuesday’s primary election in Wisconsin [Listen]
– Joe Cunningham, former congressman who now serves as spokesperson for the Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance; he discusses PRA’s new report on big pharma and drug prices [Listen]
– Rex Huppke, USA Today columnist

Tue 8/4
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– Julia Métraux, disability reporter for Mother Jones; she discusses her recent article, “California Does Medicaid Home Care Well. They’re Being Punished For It” [Listen]
– Ray Long, retired Chicago Tribune investigative reporter [Listen]
– Pete Dominick, news commentator, stand-up comic, and host of the “Stand Up! with Pete Dominick” podcast [Listen]

Wed 8/5
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– Joyce Vance, author of “Giving Up is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy“; co-host of the “#SistersInLaw” podcast; distinguished professor of the Practice of Law at the University of Alabama; author of the “Civil Discourse” newsletter on Substack; and former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama [Listen]
– Ben Wikler, former chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party and author of the new book, “This Is the Plan: How to End America’s Meltdown and Save Democracy” (2026) [Listen]
– Jon King, editor-in-chief for Michigan Advance, a member of the States Newsroom network [Listen]
– Abby Vesoulis, national politics reporter at Mother Jones; she discusses her recent reporting on U.S. Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) [Listen]

Thu 8/6
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– Lisa Graves, expert on right-wing infrastructure, founder and executive director of True North Research, legal scholar, author of “Without Precedent: How Chief Justice Roberts and His Accomplices Rewrote the Constitution and Dismantled Our Rights” and the Substack column “Grave Injustice” [Listen]
– William Muck, professor of political science at North Central College
– Heartland Signal’s Rich Eberwein with three stories you might have missed from our digital newsroom

Fri 8/7
Listen to the full show
– Melissa Toufanian, former State Department deputy assistant secretary who served on the communications team for the original Iran nuclear deal under President Obama, and now serves as managing director at Navigator Research [Listen]
– Chris Fitzsimon, host of the Stories from the States podcast
– Former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn [Listen]

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“Joan Esposito: Live, Local & Progressive” now has its very own podcast. Two, in fact:  Joan Esposito (Full Episodes), available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon, and Joan Esposito (Featured Interviews), also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon. Subscribe to one or both!  “Joan Esposito: Live, Local & Progressive” is also available at Omny.fm.