Joan Esposito (Featured Interviews)
From Heartland Signal and WCPT AM 820 in Chicago, here are featured interviews from "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" (weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central, a topical and interactive talk show 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
Joan Esposito is joined by Joe Walsh, former Republican congressman from Illinois and host of The Social Contract with Joe Walsh.
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).
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Joan Esposito and North Central College Political Science Professor William Muck are joined by Michigan State Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D), a day after Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, a Republican, removed Tsernoglou from House committees she served on. The speaker's move came a day after Tsernoglou publicly advocated for a resolution that would create a six-member committee to investigate convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epst...
Joan Esposito is joined by Aaron Kleinman, head of research at Heartland Signal and author of the "Radio Free America" newsletter.
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).
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Joan Esposito is joined by Maggie Mullen, state government and politics reporter for WyoFile.com, an independent, public-interest news service in Wyoming. She talks about the "checkgate" scandal in the Republican-led Wyoming House of Representatives.
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).
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Joan Esposito is joined by Joel Ostrow, professor of political science at Benedictine University.
The link Prof. Ostrow mentioned on the air is foblueyellowukraineusa.org/donate.
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).
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...Joan Esposito is joined by Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC).
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).
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Joan Esposito is joined by Marvin Kalb, journalist with CBS News for 24 years, Murrow professor emeritus at Harvard, author of 18 books, most recently “A Different Russia: Khrushchev and Kennedy on a Collision Course,” and contributor to Washington Monthly; his latest article is “The Secret Plan to Murder a Pope.”
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central...
Joan Esposito is joined by Nancy Stearns, freelance journalist covering corporate social responsibility, and founder of Impactivize, a platform that focuses on “inclusivity and civil rights in America.”
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).
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Joan Esposito is joined by Steve Phillips, columnist and New York Times bestselling author of "Brown Is the New White: How the Demographic Revolution Has Created a New American Majority" (2016) and "Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else?: Playing Offense in the Fight for Racial Justice in America" (2026).
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/prog...
Joan Esposito is joined by Dr. Stockton Mayer, infectious disease physician at UI Health.
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).
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Tiktok: https://www....
Garnet Henderson, investigative reporter covering reproductive health, abortion access and disinformation; she is the co-founder of Autonomy News
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).
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Joan Esposito is joined by Shantay Bolton, president of Columbia College Chicago. Bolton talks about this Saturday's Manifest Arts Festival, in its 25th anniversary year.
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).
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Joan Esposito is joined by 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.
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).
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Joan Esposito is joined by Gregory Royal Pratt, investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune. He is one of the Tribune reporters recently awarded, as Staff of the Chicago Tribune, the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting.
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).
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Joan Esposito is joined by Heartland Signal’s Rich Eberwein with three stories you might have missed from our digital newsroom.
Catch "Chew's Views with Richard Chew” weekdays from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/chews-views).
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Joan Esposito is joined by Devon Hayakawa, co-director of Paramount Theatre's production of "South Pacific," playing through June 14.
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).
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Joan Esposito is joined by U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (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).
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Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@heartlandsignal ...
Joan Esposito is joined by David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal editor-in-chief and opinion columnist.
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).
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Website: https://heartlandsignal.com
WCPT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WCPT820
Heartland Signal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeartlandSignal
Tiktok: h...
Joan Esposito is joined by Joel Ostrow, professor of political science at Benedictine University, and Rima Ziuraitas, sergeant and combat medic in the Foreign Legion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
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).
Follow us:
Website: https://heartlandsignal.com
WCPT Facebook: https://www.fa...
Joan Esposito is joined by Laura Rodriguez, senior vice president of government affairs at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
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).
Follow us:
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