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:
– Fred Tsao, policy director at Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
– Bruce Rheins, former CBS Los Angeles deputy bureau chief
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:
– Pat Hynes, candidate for Cook County assessor
– Jacob Jenkins, volunteer program manager for Serve Illinois
– Kendall Scudder, chair of the Texas Democratic Party
– Michael Hawthorne, Pulitzer-finalist investigative reporter who focuses on the environment and public health for the Chicago Tribune
– Heartland Signal’s Rich Eberwein wi...
On today's show:
– Sarah Bury, Democratic candidate for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
– Zak Mucha, LCSW, author of “Emotional Abuse: A manual for self-defense”
– Lee Bey, architecture critic for the Chicago Sun-Times
– Casey Babb, director of the Promised Land project with the Macdonald Laurier Institute and international fellow at the Institute for N...
Joan Esposito is back and her guests are:
– Ray Long, Chicago Tribune investigative reporter
– Chris Bury, senior journalist-in-residence, DePaul University
– Sen. Tammy Duckworth (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 informat...
On today's show Mary Morten fills in for Joan and her guests are:
– Jhmira Alexander, president of Public Narrative, Chicago-based nonprofit that works to increase trust between the public and the media
– Carol Sharp, president and CEO of The Night Ministry, Chicago-based organization whose mission is to provide housing support and health care to members of our community
– Ann Bausum, autho...
On today's show William Muck fills in for Joan and his guests are:
– Thomas Countryman, former acting undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security
– Kathleen Sances, president and CEO of Gun Violence Prevention PAC
– Suzanne Chod, professor of political science at North Central College
– Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, civil rights attorney, playwright, racia...
On today's show Marj Halperin fills in for Joan Esposito and her guests are:
– Illinois State Rep. Kam Buckner (D)
– Illinois Sen. Graciela Guzmán (D)
– Robert Creamer, Democracy Partners
– Jonah Minkoff-Zern, co-director, Democracy Campaign, Public Citizen
– Grace Chan McKibben, executive director, Coalition for a Better Chinese American Communi...
On today's show Derrick Blakley fills in for Joan and his guests are:
– Richard Chew, host of “Chew’s Views” on WCPT
– Bill Kurtis, retired news anchor and author of “Whirlwind: My Life Reporting the News”; he’ll be at the 2025 Printers Row Lit Fest this Saturday talking about his new book, “Whirlwind: My Life Reporting the News”
– Alec Nevala-Lee,...
On today's show Turi Ryder fills in for Joan and her guests are:
– David Levine, professor of law, UC Law San Francisco
– Jasmine Davila, writer, live lit performer and storyteller
– Annette Prince, director of the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors
– Siobhan McCarthy, director of “She’s the He,” which will be featured in Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ Internationa...
On today's show William Muck fills in for Joan and his guests are:
– Xavier Becerra, Democratic candidate for California governor and former secretary of the Health and Human Services
– Kevin Schultz, professor of history at UIC and author of “Why Everyone Hates White Liberals (Including White Liberals): A History
– Phil Barker, professor of political science and director of...
On today's show:
– Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL)
– Retired Army Major General Randy Manner, former acting vice chair of the National Guard Bureau and member of National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A)
– Bill Adair, award-winning journalist and educator, and author of “Beyond the Big Lie
The Epidemic of Political Lying, Why Republicans Do It More, and How It Could Bur...
John St. Augustine fills in for Joan and his guests are:
– Dawn Kristy, AI expert, founder of The Cyber Dawn
– Peter Tiernan, author of "Once in Chicago," a 2025 novel that chronicles the adventures of a heartbroken, city-hardened, and ultimately lovestruck 19-year-old working at a famous bar off Rush Street in the summer of 1978
– Dan Mason, former president and CEO of CBS Radio
– Mandy Jankus, ...
On today's show:
– Peter Giangreco, Democratic strategist, partner at The Strategy Group
– Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL)
– 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).
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...
On today's show:
– Marjorie Hershey, professor emeritus, political science at Indiana University Bloomington
– Texas Democratic State Rep. Ann Johnson
– 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).
On today's show:
– Our Pet of the Month segment with Darlene Duggan, head of Anticruelty, and Dr. Payal Patel of Mark Drugs
– “Out Chicago” host Scott Duff and film critic Rebecca Ford
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:
– Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson
– Eric Zorn, writer-publisher of The Picayune Sentinel
– Illinois state Rep. Kam Buckner, 26th District
– 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.co...
On today's show:
– Wayne Steger, professor of political science at DePaul
– 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 informa...
On today's show:
– Mark Jacob and Jennifer Schulze with our regular media segment
– David Hochberg, vice president of lending for Team Hochberg at Homeside Financial
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:
– Helena Volzer, senior source water policy manager, Alliance for the Great Lakes
– Michael Dorf, Democratic lawyer, the Law Offices of Michael C. Dorf, LLC
– Chas Cook, award-winning reality TV and daytime talk TV producer, and former broadcast journalist who worked in the WLS-TV, WGN-TV and WFLD-TV newsrooms
– Ray Long, recently retired Chicago Tribune investigative reporter
On today's show Doris Davenport fills in for Joan and her guests are:
– Turi Ryder, host of “The Turi Ryder Show” on WCPT and author of “She Said What? (A Life on the Air)”
– Delmarie Cobb, media/political consultant
– Alexis J. Roston, actress, director, playwright
– Dante King, university professor, author, human resource management consultant, and D...
Popular Podcasts
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Charlie is America's hardest working grassroots activist who has your inside scoop on the biggest news of the day and what's really going on behind the headlines. The founder of Turning Point USA and one of social media's most engaged personalities, Charlie is on the front lines of America’s culture war, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of students on over 3,500 college and high school campuses across the country, bringing you your daily dose of clarity in a sea of chaos all from his signature no-holds-barred, unapologetically conservative, freedom-loving point of view. You can also watch Charlie Kirk on Salem News Channel