Joan Esposito (Full Episodes)
Here are full episodes of "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" (weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT Chicago), 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. 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).
Episodes
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
– David Layman, former Providence, Rhode Island, news anchor, managing editor, and political commentator for RIPBS
&nda...
On today's show:
– Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune contributing columnist and ABC7 Chicago political analyst
– Ty Rushing, co-founder and president of the Iowa Association of Black Journalists and chief political correspondent of Iowa Starting Line (Courier)
– William Campbell, host of "Here’s How: Ireland’s Political, Social and Current Affairs Podcast"
Catch "Joan Espo...
On today's show:
– Bruce Rheins, former CBS Los Angeles deputy bureau chief
– Rick Smith, host of “The Rick Smith Show,” weekdays from 7:00 to 8:00 p.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:
– Keya Vakil, deputy political editor at COURIER
– Sister Joann Persch, a 91-year-old nun who has been protesting ICE near the Broadview facility (sometimes by Zoom); she is with Sisters of Mercy
– Stewart Reynolds, AKA Brittlestar, author of the 2025 book “Lessons from Cats for Surviving Fascism”
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:...
On today's show:
– Kina Collins, gun violence prevention and health care advocate from the West Side of Chicago who is running for Congress in the 7th Congressional District of Illinois
– Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, immigration attorney and CEO of Lincoln-Goldfinch Law in Austin
– Hoan Huynh, Illinois state representative and candidate for Congress
– Rep. ...
On today's show:
– Chicago Ald. Jessie Fuentes
– Robert Held, Chicago attorney recently detained by ICE but not charged with a crime
– 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/liv...
On today's show:
– Ed Yohnka, director of communications and public policy at ACLU Illinois
– Marjorie Hershey, Indiana University political science professor emeritus
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
– Dr. Annie Andrews, pediatrician, public health expert and candidate for U.S. Senate in South Carolina, where she is seeking to unseat Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham
– Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ)
– Susan Stokes, the Blake Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, director of the Chicago Center on Democracy, and author of ...
On today's show:
– Nina Burleigh, journalist, best-selling author, documentary producer, and publisher of the American Freakshow Substack newsletter
– “Out Chicago” host Scott Duff and film critic Rebecca Ford
– Jim Lichtenstein of the "Still Here Hollywood" podcast
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com...
On today's show Mike Nellis fills in for Joan and his guests are:
– Daniel Biss, mayor of Evanston and candidate for Congress
– Army Maj. Gen. Randy Manner (Ret.), former acting vice chair of the National Guard Bureau, and member of National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A)
– Carlos Alvarez-Aranyos, founder of American Opposition, one of the main organ...
Panelists are:
- Paul Wende of Ironworkers Local 63
- Rob Fulton of Riggers Local 136
- Tom Villanova of Southland Friends of Labor
- Andy Rico of IBEW Local 176
- Cliff Horowitz of Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates
The broadcast took place in front of an audience at Max & Benny’s restaurant, deli and bakery, 461 Waukegan Road in Northbrook, Illinois.
See omnystudio.c...
Joan does an abbreviated broadcast ahead of WCPT’s Fall Labor Panel, co-hosted by Thom Hartmann and Richard Chew.
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:
– Patrick Hanley, head of the New Trier Democrats and Democratic candidate for the 9th Illinois State Senate seat (currently held by Laura Fine)
– John Shaw, director of The Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
– Joe Brancatelli of the joesentme.com business travel newsletter
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" we...
On today's show:
– Mark Turcotte, Illinois Poet Laureate and distinguished writer in residence at DePaul University and Chicago Tribune columnist Rick Kogan
– Lisa Stark, former ABC News reporter who recently penned a letter to Disney CEO Bob Iger calling on him to defend free press and protect ABC journalists from political pressure
– Bob Kustra, former Illinois lieutenant govern...
On today's show North Central College Political Science Professor William Muck is in for Joan and his guests are:
– William Enyart, former Illinois congressman and adjutant general of Illinois
– Steven Levitsky, David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies and Professor of Government, and co-author (with Daniel Ziblatt) of “How Democracies Die” and “Tyranny of the Minority...
On today's show: John St. Augustine fills in for Joan and his guests are:
– Bill Kurtis, retired news anchor and author of “Whirlwind: My Life Reporting the News”
– Heidy Moran, principal at Carl Schurz High School
– Jen Weigel, Chicago radio and television personality
– Steve Rizzo, motivational speaker, author, and former stand-up comedian
Plus, John played an interview...
On today's show:
– Chicago artist and poet Tony Fitzpatrick
– Sarah Lipton-Lubet, president of Take Back the Court
– Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL)
– William Muck, 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).
See o...
On today's show:
– Army Maj. Gen. Randy Manner (Ret.), former acting vice chair of the National Guard Bureau, and member of National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A)
– Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United
– Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL)
– Heartland Signal’s Rich Eberwein with three stories you might have missed from our digital newsroom
Catch "Jo...
On today's show:
– Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL)
– Jonathan Alter, contributing editor of the Washington Monthly, former senior editor and columnist at Newsweek, filmmaker, journalist, political analyst, and the publisher of the Substack “Old Goats with Jonathan Alter.“ He is also the author of “His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life” and “American Reckoning: Inside Trump&r...
On today's show:
– Joel Ostrow, professor of political science at Benedictine University
– Juliet Jeske, founder of Decoding Fox News, a crowd-funded media project
– Pat Brady, former Illinois GOP chairman, and co-founder/partner with BE Media Inc.
– Kat Abughazaleh, Democratic candidate for Congress in the 9th District of Illinois
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local a...
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