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.

“Live, Local & Progressive” is also heard now on Atlanta’s WMLB AM 1690 and KFNN 1510 AM Phoenix, and streaming live on Facebook and YouTube. 

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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), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), 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, Ira Glass, gun control activist David Hogg, Rainbow PUSH Coalition CEO Yusef Jackson, Ezra Levin of Indivisible, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Politics Girl Leigh McGowan, Carol Moseley Braun, The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols, author and pundit Chris Matthews, author Richard North Patterson, 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, and Brooklyn Dad Defiant, 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

Congressman Jonathan Jackson, Democrat representing the 1st District of Illinois.

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Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, Democrat representing the 5th District of Missouri.

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Robert Pape, professor of political science at the University of Chicago and author of “The Escalation Trap” on Substack; his new book, “Our Own Worst Enemies: America in the Age of Violent Populism,” is out now.

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Ira Glass, creator and host of “This American Life.”

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Adam Mockler, Gen-Z liberal political commentator who hosts “The Adam Mockler Show” on You Tube.  He discusses the rise of independent media, network shifts at CNN and CBS, and current trends within the Democratic Party.

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Joan Esposito and guest Chris Bury are joined by Illinois Congressman Mike Quigley, Democrat representing the 5th District of Illinois. They discuss concerns regarding U.S. foreign policy, national security readiness, and threats to democratic stability.

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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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Raja Krishnamoorthi, Democrat representing the 8th District of Illinois.

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

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Anna M. Gomez, commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission. 

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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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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 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 watch the video stream (live or on demand) on Facebook or YouTube. 

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

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This week on the show

Mon 11/2
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– Michael Jones, founder, publisher and national political correspondent for Once Upon a Hill and author of the Congress Nerd
newsletter [Listen]
– Camaron Stevenson, national correspondent in Washington, D.C. for Courier and author of the weekly “Below the Belt(way)” newsletter
– Leslie Martes, CEO of Forward Majority [Listen]
– David Schultz, distinguished university professor of political science and legal studies at Hamline University and an adjunct law professor at the University of St. Thomas [Listen]

Tue 11/3
– Ray Suarez, broadcast journalist and author of “We Are Home: Becoming American in the 21st Century” (2024)
– William Muck, professor of political science at North Central College, and 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
– U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, Democrat of Illinois

See Joan live Tuesday night at WCPT’s free election night watch party and live broadcast; she’ll be on the air from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. Central, and there’s still time to register to attend!

Wed 11/4
– Aaron Kleinman, Heartland Signal‘s senior political analyst, author of the “Radio Free America” newsletter, and co-host with Patti Vasquez of the podcast/radio show “The 50 State Fight“
– Thom Serafin, founder and CEO of Serafin & Associates, Inc.

Thu 11/5
– Paul Lisnek, multi-Emmy Award-winning TV host who served as political and legal analyst at WGN for 18 years; he is also the author of 15 books and host of “Curtain Call Chicago” and “Paul On Politics“

Fri 11/6
– Willie Chriesman and Jennifer Schulze with our regular media segment

Last week on the show

Mon 10/26
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– Bill Scher, politics editor at Washington Monthly; his latest articles are “Meet the Democratic Senate Candidates Who Are Overperforming. And Underperforming” and “Kansas? Montana? Mississippi? Where Will the Blue Wave Crest?“
– Nicole Foy, immigration reporter for ProPublica; she recently authored the investigative article, “We Found That More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days” [Listen]
– Pat Kreitlow, founder and editor of Up North News

Tue 10/27
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 – Christopher Armitage, author, veteran, former law enforcement officer, activist, policy adviser, and publisher of The Existentialist Republic on Substack; his latest piece is “Would the U.S. Be Better Off as a European Union-Style ‘Country of Countries’?“
– Professor Steven D. Schwinn of the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law
– Terry Savage, syndicated personal finance columnist and author

Wed 10/28
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– Dr. Elicia John, behavioral scientist and assistant professor of marketing at American University in Washington, D.C., and Dr. Lez Trujillo Torres, consumer researcher and assistant professor of marketing at University of Illinois Chicago; together they have authored a recent study on the U.S. census [Listen]
– George D. Strickland, recently retired Lake County associate judge for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Lake County
– U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, Democrat of Illinois [Listen]
– U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, Democrat of Illinois [Listen]
– Zev Shalev, founder of Narativ.org, a bestselling news Substack

Thu 10/29
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– Ron Roberts, host of “The Ron Show,” a political talk show now airing on Heartland Signal station WMLB Atlanta [Listen]
– Melissa Bean, Democratic candidate for Congress in the 8th District of Illinois [Listen]
– Ian Karbal and Peter Hall, state government reporters for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star
– Andrew Grunwald, vice president of Political Strategy at The States Project, and Melissa Walker, principal strategist, Giving Circles, at The States Project [Listen]
– Heartland Signal reporters Elinor Epperson and Kori Skillman [Listen]

Fri 10/30
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– 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

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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.