Joan Esposito (Featured Interviews)
Here are featured interviews from "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
Joan Esposito is joined by Army Maj. Gen. Randy Manner (Ret.), former acting vice chair of the National Guard Bureau, and member of National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A).
Manner sharply criticized the Secret Service's treatment of U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, hours after the California Democrat had been forcibly removed from a Los Angeles press conference that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was giving. He ...
Joan Esposito is joined by Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL). Kelly speaks about the Thursday incident involving the forcible removal of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) from a Los Angeles press conference with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
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).
Mike Nellis, filling in for Joan Esposito, is joined by Mallory McMorrow, Michigan state senator, candidate for U.S. Senate, and author of Hate Won’t Win: Find Your Power and Leave This Place Better Than You Found It.
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).
Joan Esposito is joined by Daniel Biss, mayor of Evanston and candidate for Congress.
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).
And find the Joan Esposito (Full Episodes) podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...
Joan Esposito is joined by journalist, author and pundit Molly Jong-Fast, who talks about her new book, "How To Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir."
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).
And find the Joan Esposito (Full Episodes) podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon.
&n...
Joan Esposito is joined by Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, who talked about the "Dog Days of Summer" social media campaign that features cats, dogs, and other animals in need of forever homes. It kicked off last month and runs each Tuesday through Labor Day. The effort, in its second year, features pets available for adoption from shelters around the state who are looking for a new family. It operates in conjunction with the C...
Joan Esposito is joined by Miles Taylor, political commentator, former senior Trump administration official, and author of “A Warning” (2019). He will be in Chicago on June 19 to headline a public event titled “In the Crosshairs of the President,” a live conversation about authoritarianism, whistleblower retaliation, and the fight to protect democracy. The event benefits Whistleblower Aid’s nonprofit l...
Joan Esposito is joined by Michigan Sec. of State Jocelyn Benson, candidate for Michigan governor and author of The Purposeful Warrior.
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).
And find the Joan Esposito (Full Episodes) podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon.
See o...
Joan is joined by Tamar Jacoby, director of the New Ukraine Project at the Progressive Policy Institute.
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).
And find the Joan Esposito (Full Episodes) podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...
Joan Esposito is joined by Kevin Morrison, Cook County commissioner and candidate for Congress. He is a Democrat running for the congressional seat currently held by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL).
In the interview Morrison highlighted his seven-year tenure as a county commissioner, discussed the challenges in transitioning from state to federal campaign finance laws, and emphasized his commitment to iss...
Joan Esposito is joined by Forest Issac Jones, author of “Good Trouble: The Selma, Alabama and Derry, Northern Ireland Connection 1963-1972.”
The book explores the connections between the American civil rights movement and the Catholic civil rights movement in Northern Ireland. During a 2020 trip to Derry, Jones learned that Northern Irish activists modeled their 1969 march from Belfast to Derry on the 1965 Selma-...
Joan Esposito is joined by Deja Foxx, candidate running in the July 15 Democratic primary for a special U.S. House election to represent Arizona’s 7th Congressional District (to succeed the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva).
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).
Joan Esposito is joined by Helene Klodawsky, independent filmmaker and director of “Stolen Time,” a 2023 feature documentary that confronts the corporate nursing home industry through the eyes of a young elder rights lawyer.
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).
Joan is joined by David Graham, staff writer at The Atlantic and author of The Project: How Project 2025 Is Reshaping America.
Project 2025 was spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation and Russell Vought and the resulting 900-plus-page policy playbook aims to "grab control [of] the executive branch and grab more power for the president," Graham told WCPT. "And all of that is toward a larger goal of creating a very trad...
Joan is joined by Robert Weiner, director of the Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Weiner discussed the challenges of voting rights, including Congress's failure to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Supreme Court's 2013 decision striking down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. He highlighted voter suppression efforts, citing laws in North Carolina and Texas as ...
Joan is joined by Dr. Kevin King, radiation oncologist at City of Hope Cancer Center Chicago, answering questions related to former President Joe Biden's recent prostate cancer diagnosis.
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).
And find the Joan Esposito (Full Episodes) podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Tun...
Joan is joined by Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL).
He discussed his exchange, hours earlier, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, highlighting Rubio's shift from supporting diversity and inclusion to aligning with Trump's anti-diversity stance. Jackson also criticized President Donald Trump's acceptance of a Qatari luxury jet and its potential impact on U.S. foreign policy.
Closer to ...
Joan is joined by Patrick Hanley, head of the New Trier Democrats and Democratic candidate for the 9th Illinois State Senate seat (currently held by Laura Fine).
In the interview, Hanley, who announced his candidacy on May 8, said he sees his "role in this as a community organizer, as a civic leader [and] as somebody who cares deeply about our people and about our democracy." He highlighted his commitment to "good public serv...
Joan is joined by Mark Turcotte, Illinois Poet Laureate and distinguished writer in residence at DePaul 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).
And find the Joan Esposito (Full Episodes) podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...
Joan is joined by Lisa Graves, founder and executive director of True North Research, "a national investigative watchdog group that works with journalists and other researchers to shine a bright light on the dark money fueling regressive agendas targeting vital institutions in our republic."
They discussed the Supreme Court's just-issued decision blocking Trump's deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. Graves criticize...
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