It's the Democracy, Stupid (formerly "The Big Picture") Full Episodes

It's the Democracy, Stupid (formerly "The Big Picture") Full Episodes

From Heartland Signal and WCPT AM 820 in Chicago, "The Big Picture with Edwin Eisendrath" is now "It's the Democracy, Stupid with Edwin Eisendrath." Each week Edwin and his guests get specific about politics, government, campaigns, and the kind of country all this work is meant to build. Join us live every Saturday from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Central to be part of the conversation. About Edwin Edwin Eisendrath served two terms in Chicago’s City Council before being appointed Midwest Region Director of HUD by President Bill Clinton. He was subsequently appointed Federal Receiver in charge of the takeover and turnaround of the Chicago Housing Authority. Off the campaign trail, Edwin has worked in higher education and as a consultant to universities here and around the world. After the 2016 election cycle he knew he had to focus back home. He brought business and labor leaders together to rescue the Chicago Sun-Times and its subsidiary, the Chicago Reader. He ran the company as its CEO until both publications were saved. Back in the 1990s Bill Clinton’s campaign slogan, "It’s the economy, stupid," captured the biggest concern of the era. Today American democracy itself is under attack. So Edwin launched an effort called, "It’s the democracy, stupid." In addition to his radio show here on WCPT, Edwin has built a community around his political ideas on Substack, hosts a weekly show on Lincoln Square, and is a frequent guest on political shows. He remains deeply involved in democracy work. He is a proud Chicagoan, married to the journalist Jennifer Schulze.

Episodes

March 29, 2026 163 mins

On this week's show:
Ilan Goldenberg, senior vice president and chief policy officer at J Street; he  previously served as special adviser on the Middle East to Vice President Kamala Harris
Adam Hanieh, director of the SOAS Middle East Institute,  professor in the Development Studies Department at SOAS, University of London, and author of “Crude Capitalism: Oil, Corporate Power, and the Making ...

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On this week's show:
– Todd Huntley, director of the National Security Law Program at Georgetown and a retired U.S. Navy JAG captain
– Jonathan Shorman, journalist covering democracy for Stateline
– U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL)
– Will Bunch, national opinion columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer

Catch “It’s the Democracy, Stupid” Saturdays from 1:...

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On this week's show
Tamar Jacoby, director of the New Ukraine Project at the Progressive Policy Institute and contributor to Washington Monthly; her latest article is “Ukraine: Requiem for a Citizen Soldier
– Ahmed Baba, independent journalist, political analyst, and founder of the best-selling Substack publication “Ahmed Baba News
– Elizabeth Jacobs, professor emerita of Epide...

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On today's show
– Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent at The Economist, and author of “How Long Will Israel Survive? The Threat From Within”  
– Jonathan Larsen, veteran journalist, TV news producer, and Substack content creator offering “adversarial journalism and commentary”
– Rochelle Olson, editorial columnist at The Minnesota Star Tribune

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February 28, 2026 165 mins

On this week's show
– Adam Klasfeld, founder and editor-in-chief of All Rise News
– Ian Gary, executive director of the FACT Coalition
– Mark Jacob, publisher of the Stop the Presses Substack
– Mica Rosenberg, investigative reporter on ProPublica’s national desk focusing on immigration

Catch “It’s the Democracy, Stupid” Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. ...

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February 21, 2026 166 mins

On today's show
– Nicholas Grossman, professor of International Relations at the University of Illinois, editor of Arc Digital, and the author of “Drones and Terrorism”
– Jen Bendery, senior politics reporter for HuffPost
– Jill Lawrence, opinion writer for The Bulwark and other publications, including the “History Keeps Happening” Substack newsletter
&n...

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February 15, 2026 161 mins

On today's show
– David Roberts of the Volts newsletter and podcast, which focus on the technology, politics, and policy of decarbonization
– Mike Nellis, Democratic strategist and host of “Endless Urgency with Mike Nellis
– Michael Tomasky, editor of The New Republic; his latest articles are “The Sickening Image That Will Haunt Pam Bondi the Rest of Her Life” and “W...

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February 9, 2026 159 mins

On today's show:
– Joan Esposito, host of "Live, Local & Progressive," weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT
– J. Patrick Coolican, editor-in-chief of the Minnesota Reformer
– Holly McCall, editor of Tennessee Lookout, a news outlet covering Tennessee politics and government
Bill Scher is the politics editor of the Washington Monthly; his latest article is "Three Takeaways from th...

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January 31, 2026 166 mins

On this week's show:
– George Packer, staff writer at The Atlantic and author; his latest piece for The Atlantic is “What Should Americans Do Now?” and his latest book is “The Emergency: A Novel
– James Santelle, former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin (2010 to 2015), and a 30-year veteran of the Department of Justice
– Steve Held, co-pub...

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January 24, 2026 161 mins

On this week's show:
– Will Bunch, Philadelphia Inquirer national opinion columnist
– Abraham L. Newman,  professor and John Powers Chair in International Business Diplomacy, and director of the BMW Center for German and European Studies
–  Elizaveta Gaufman, assistant professor of Russian Discourse and Politics at the University of Groningen (in The Netherlands), and author ...

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January 18, 2026 162 mins

On this week's show:
Laura Jedeed, investigative and features journalist who focuses on the American conservative movement and far right; Slate recently published her article “You’ve Heard About Who ICE Is Recruiting. The Truth Is Far Worse. I’m the Proof
David Pepper, lawyer, political activist, author (of fiction and nonfiction), and former chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, and ...

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January 10, 2026 168 mins

On this week's show:
– Elizabeth Jacobs, professor emerita of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and a founding member of the public health advocacy group Defend Public Health
Jill Lawrence, opinion writer for The Bulwark and author of the History Keeps Happening Substack newsletter
Don Moynihan, professor of Public Policy at the University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy
– Matt Caffrey,...

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January 3, 2026 166 mins

On this week's show:
Seth Cotlar, professor of history at Willamette University
– John Nichols, national affairs correspondent for The Nation
– Mark Jacob of Stop the Presses, “a weekly newsletter about how right-wing extremism has exploited the weaknesses in American journalism, and what we can do about it”
– Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center for Economic Po...

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December 27, 2025 159 mins

On this week's show Professor Joel Ostrow fills in for Edwin Eisendrath, and his guests are
– Scott Sakiyama, Oak Park attorney who was detained temporarily by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Oct. 20 near his child’s elementary school after trying to warn the community about ICE presence in the area
– Juan Garcia, founder of Kalpulli Across Borders
– Geoffrey R. Stone, the Edwa...

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December 20, 2025 165 mins

On this week's show
– Michael Tomasky, editor of The New Republic and author of five books, including his latest, “The Middle Out: The Rise of Progressive Economics and a Return to Shared Prosperity
– Adam Klasfeld, editor-in-chief of All Rise News
– Dan Froomkin, editor of Press Watch
– Norman Eisen, executive chair and co-founder of Democracy Defenders Fund

...

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December 13, 2025 154 mins

On this week's show:
Will Bunch, Philadelphia Inquirer national opinion columnist
– Chris Geidner, author of The Law Dork newsletter on Substack
– 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) C...

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December 6, 2025 151 mins

On this week's show:
– Lavora Barnes, political director of Democracy Defenders Fund and former chair of the Michigan Democratic Party
– Melissa Sanchez, investigative reporter at ProPublica, covering immigration
– Bobby Kogan, senior director of Federal Budget Policy at the Center for American Progress
– Rachel Leingang, Midwest political correspondent for Guardian ...

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November 29, 2025 154 mins

On this week's show Turi Ryder fills in for Edwin and her guests are:
–  Danielle Perry of the Greater Chicago Food Depository
– Greg Hinz oCrain’s Chicago Business
– Rami Gabriel and Karim Nagi of the music duo The Arab Blues
– Monica Shapiro, one of the real-life inspirations for Seinfeld’s Elaine Benes
– Mike Triggs, LGBQT memoirist; he...

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November 22, 2025 165 mins

On this week's show Rick Smith fills in for Edwin Eisendrath and his guests are:
Matias Vernengo, professor of economics at Bucknell University
 Paul Wende, business manager, financial secretary, treasurer of Ironworkers Local 63
– Richard Chew, host of "Chew's Views" on WCPT

Catch “It’s the Democracy, Stupid” Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal...

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November 15, 2025 165 mins

On this week's show:
– Tara McGowan, founder and publisher of COURIER Newsroom
– Chris Gaba, health care data analyst, blogger and founder of ACASignups.net
– Nissa Rhee, co-founder and executive director of Borderless Magazine, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet covering immigration and immigrant communities in Chicago
– Michael Mann, climatologist, geophysicist, ...

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