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), 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), gun control activist David Hogg, Rainbow PUSH Coalition CEO Yusef Jackson, former Sec. of Transportation Ray LaHood, 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 andAquilino Gonell, progressive content creators Brooklyn Dad Defiant and Keith Edwards, Chair of the Texas Democratic Party Kendall Scudder, legal analysts Leah Litman, Barbara McQuade, and 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 U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL).

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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 Ezra Levin, co-executive director of Indivisible, ahead of the May 1st day of “economic non-cooperation” that Indivisible is co-organizing. 

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Joan is joined by Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.

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Joan is joined by U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL).

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Joan is joined by U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL).

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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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Joan is joined by U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL).

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Joan is joined by Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (D-IL).

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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 6/1
Listen to the full show
– Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder [Listen]
– 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” [Listen]
– 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” [Listen]
– Joel Ostrow, professor of political science at Benedictine University

Tue 6/2
Listen to the full show
– Greg Hinz, columnist for Crain’s Chicago Business [Listen]
– Mark Jacob and Jennifer Schulze with our regular media segment [Listen]

Wed 6/3
Listen to the full 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

Thu 6/4
– 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
– Heartland Signal’s Rich Eberwein with three stories you might have missed from our digital newsroom

Fri 6/5
– Bruce Rheins, former CBS Los Angeles deputy bureau chief
– Jack Kiraly, director of Government Relations at The Planetary Society

Last week on the show:

Mon 5/25
Happy Memorial Day. Enjoy a best-of episode.

Tue 5/26
Listen to the full show
– Michael Rabbitt, 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 Rabbitt was one [Listen]
– Walter J. Podrazik, television historian, analyst, and adjunct lecturer at the Department of Communication at UIC [Listen]
– Robert Held, Chicago attorney detained last year by ICE but not charged with a crime
– Ray Long, retired Chicago Tribune investigative reporter

Wed 5/27
Listen to the full show
– Christopher Armitage, author of The Existentialist Republic newsletter on Substack [Listen]
– Army Maj. Gen. Randy Manner (Ret.), former acting vice chair of the National Guard Bureau, and member of National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A) [Listen]
– U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) [Listen]

Thu 5/28
Listen to the full show
– Ira Shapiro, co-author of “Betrayed: America Didn’t Vote for This” [Listen]
– Mike Nellis, Democratic strategist and host of “Endless Urgency with Mike Nellis [Listen]
– Heartland Signal’s Rich Eberwein with three stories you might have missed from our digital newsroom [Listen]
– 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 [Listen]

Fri 5/29
Listen to the full 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

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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.