The Ben Joravsky Show
Chicago journalist Ben Joravsky starts each show by riffing on the news of the day with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty. Then he talks politics with activists, elected officials, journalists and all sorts of political know-it-alls. We talk Chicago, Illinois, national (lots of national), international and lefty politics. Find The Ben Joravsky Show wherever you download podcasts.
Episodes
Dave Portnoy, who made his name being politically incorrect, says Jimmy Kimmel went too far. Ben riffs. Holly Kim explains why she’s running for state comptroller. And what she will do if she wins. Get ready for the TIF debate. Holly Kim is treasurer of Lake County,
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Dems start to realize they have to get out of their comfort zone to take back the country. Ben riffs. Kevin Lamm explains how it can be done. What are the issues that rally red district voters? What's the lesson from Catelin Drey and Debra Shigley? How they apply to the 16th congressional district in Illinois--one of the reddest districts in the country. Kevin is a candidate for state Democratic Committeeman in the 16th.
Joe Rogan finally weighs in on Jimmy Kimmel and free speech. Ben riffs. Kat Abughazaleh talks about getting thrown to the ground by ICE thugs. If you think it’s bad outside an ICE facility, imagine the horror of what goes on inside where it can’t be seen. How to confront fascism? Hint—don’t take bad-faith arguments in good faith. Speaking of bad-faith arguments, Trump on Tylenol. Kat is running in the Democratic primary f...
Ben and Dr D have so much to discuss and so little time in which to discuss it. Starting with Brendan Reilly going a little MAGA to try to beat Toni Preckwinkle. Is a little MAGA like a little pregnant? And Chicago is going to the dogs—if Lincoln Park gets its way. And Raja wins big in Rock Island. And Juliana says she doesn’t need corporate pac money cause she has JB’s money. Well, she didn’t say the last part. And Robin ...
Have we finally, at long last, reached the beginning of the end of the MAGA craze, when America says, you know, maybe it's not a good idea to let a demented authoritarian run the country. With Trump playing the role of Senator McCarthy and Jimmy Kimmel playing the role of Edward R. Murrow? Ben riffs. Congresswoman Robin Kelly explains why she thinks progressives should vote for her in the Democratic primary to replace Sena...
Mayor Johnson's political enemies take a poll and guess what? It discovers that nobody likes Mayor Johnson. Funny how that works. Ben riffs. Asha Ransby-Sporn makes her debut, discussing how the mayor's opponents work the press against the mayor. It doesn't hurt that the mainstream press is more than happy to go along for the ride. Get ready for lots of local political conversation--as well as some national talk. Cause Ben...
Breaking news! As the recording starts, word arrives that a judge has dismissed Trump's $15 billion defamation suit against the New York Times. Ben riffs. Denali takes the long view--to understand what Trump is doing as president today, you need to go back in time to the Biden years, when MAGA was preparing to seize control. So she takes the deep dive on a particularly ugly campaign waged in Georgian by white moms against ...
The week’s news gets personal for Ben and Dr D, as you shall see. But first! A roundup of the week’s events, including Aurora and the flag, Kevin Ryan’s plea, JB in London, and then…Ice comes to Dr D’s neighborhood. And one woman’s courageous stand.
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Turns out there are divisions in MAGA—who knew? Ben riffs. Mayor John Laesch explains what's going on in Aurora. Specifically... why he ordered flags flown at full mast after Trump ordered all flags everywhere lowered to half-mast to commemorate Charlie Kirk. Turns out Trump isn’t the absolute Boss of everything everywhere—though he thinks he is. John is the mayor of Aurora..
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Trump sues the New York Times for defamation. Ben riffs. Kevin Ryan talks about his long-shot campaign for the U.S. Senate. He’s a 33-year-old southwest side, Marine vet, public school history teacher, bartender, self described New Deal Democrat who wants to take money out of politics so billionaires don’t control the process. And what’s so wrong with that? Kevin’s taking his case to the voters, driving from one end of Ill...
In the spirit of peace and reconciliation, Ben gives a shoutout to a Tribune editorial. “If Americans cannot speak without fear of being shot, then democracy is dead.” David Faris talks about Charlie Kirk’s legacy. Was he the Jordan Klepper of the right? A modern day William F Buckley? A descendent of Joe McCarthy? Is being open minded a sign of political weakness? Do militants on the right believe in free speech for all?...
Ben and Dr D have so much to discuss. The Sky. The Jackal’s Mistress. What movie made Dennis cry? Hint—it starts with an R but it’s not Rocky. Brendan takes on Toni. Meet Scotty G, the Antioch Republican. Not to be confused with Teddy D, the Wilmette Republican. Why DB will beat them both to win the Republican nomination to face JB. Also, could Kevin Ryan be Ben’s Daiber? Finally, a shoutout to Kenny D’s shoutout to the ...
MAGA ties itself into knots trying to dislodge Trump from Epsteingate. Ben riffs Monroe talks Epstein, Biden, Kamala and Roger Taney. Who? He’s the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who wrote the opinion that slavery is legal. Is the current Supreme Court worse? Monroe advances that argument. How For the Love of Money by the O’Jays is misunderstood. And why its theme applies to the Bears. In the middle of our recording, w...
The Supremes say its okay to round up people for no crime other than the crime of being Hispanic, which is no crime at all. Ben riffs. Then Natalie Hopkinson connects the dots, so to speak. How Trump manipulates our stereotypes and prejudices to scare people into cheering or at least tolerating authoritarianism. And how the media helps him, frightening white America with sensational images of Black people. Also, the para...
Dennis decided to start collecting comedy albums and Ben was kind enough to join him to talk all about it. It’s the first episode of I Find That Funny. Stick around for Marlon—one of Dennis’s oldest friends—to make his debut.
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Clever investors devise a scheme to make money off of tariffs--oh, those capitalists. Ben riffs. Meredith Shiner picks up where she left off with her latest essay in The New Republic--Trump's war on cities. Especially D.C. You know, real people live in D.C. As always Dems left their most dedicated voters hanging by allowing the District to be used as a bargaining chip. A few words about MAGA's hatred of government. And Chi...
Ben and Dr D take on all the issues, including…The new alliance between Mayor Johnson and Governor Pritzker to stand up against Trump’s invasion. And the governor talks about his weight. And all the latest local updates.
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Boss Donnie and his baby boys make big bucks off of Crypto. Ben riffs. State Senator Rachel Ventura explains why she's recording today's show in her car--in contrast to the Trumps flaunting their disdain for ethics and propriety. Rachel offers one riff after another on AI, crypto, the need for progressive taxation, the impact of tariffs on farmers, the five to eight ratio and more--like why she doesn't take corporate PAC d...
As Trump prepares to invade Chicago, a federal judge rules that the invasion of Cali was unconstitutional. Ben riffs. Nick Uniejewski makes his show debut. He’s running against Senator Sara Feigenholtz, an entrenched incumbent in a North Side district that’s not had a contested Democratic primary since—get ready for this—Ben was in high school. In short, a long time ago. Why he’s running. What are his issues. And what he l...
After experimenting with making nice to MAGA, Gavin Newsom goes for the jugular. Ben riffs. Jack White talks fascism, Trump, racism and the military occupations. Also, a conversation about the MAGA attempt to deny the existence of the trans-Atlantic slave trade elicits this confession from Jack: "I don't know how to combat stupid." But he goes on to do a good job at it, nonetheless. Jack is a former columnist and editor f...
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