Patti Vasquez, Dwayne Kennedy and Dan Schaefer talk to comedian and activist Cliff Cash. He'll be doing his standup act September 1st at Zanies Chicago.

Catch "Driving It Home with Patti Vasquez" weekdays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/driving-it-home).

And find the "Driving It Home (Full Episodes)" podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon.

 

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Patti is joined by Dan Kotowski, former Illinois state senator and president and chief executive officer of Kids Above All; Carmen Navarro Gercone, management and public safety expert, with 30 years of experience in law enforcement and the criminal justice system; and Tracey Harkins, attorney, founding partner at Prusak & Harkins, and president of the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Catch "Driving It Home with Patti Vasquez" weekdays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/driving-it-home).

And find the "Driving It Home (Full Episodes)" podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon.

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Patti Vasquez and guest co-host Dwayne Kennedy talk to Matt McNeil, host of “The Matt McNeil Show,” weekdays at 9:00 p.m. on WCPT.  The show originates from KTNF AM 950, The Progressive Voice of Minnesota. 

They focused on the aftermath of the August 27 mass shooting in Minneapolis, where two children were killed and 17 injured. They discussed the recurring nature of such tragedies, noting that the Minneapolis mass shooting was the 286th in the U.S. this year. They criticized the lack of gun control legislation, despite repeated attempts, and highlighted the influence of online extremism. McNeil emphasized the need for mental health funding. The conversation also touched on the role of the NRA and Russia in influencing U.S. gun policies.

Catch "Driving It Home with Patti Vasquez" weekdays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/driving-it-home).

And find the "Driving It Home (Full Episodes)" podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon.

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Patti Vasquez and guest co-host Dwayne Kennedy are joined by Colin Allred, former congressman who is currently running for U.S. Senate in Texas against Republicans John Cornyn and Ken Paxton.

Allred discussed the Republicans' congressional redistricting plan that passed the Texas legislature last week, which he criticized as an attempt to suppress Black and brown voices. He highlighted the five packed town hall meetings he recently did in 10 days across the state of Texas, where he observed a rise in public engagement and concern. 

"There's a lot of fear out there," Allred told WCPT, "but there's also, I think, a lot of bravery and hope. And I saw it kind of in mixed portions, where people would come up and tell me how worried they were and how afraid they were for their kids, but they were there at a public town hall to express how they felt, and they're standing up in front of hundreds of their neighbors and talking about their concerns. And so it was really inspiring to me. And I especially loved some of the young people who came, some of the kids who were asking questions. To me that's who we are. Our democracy is one that's based on giving a voice to everyone, and they may be trying to rig these elections, but we're not going to let them, and we're not going to let them rig the economy against working people. And we just have to fight. This is one of the times where we all have to decide where you stand, because in 20 or 30 years our kids and our grandkids are going to ask us about this time. The only answer we can give that I think will be acceptable is that we did everything we could, and that's what I'm trying to do."

Allred emphasized the need to end gerrymandering, reform the filibuster and ban members of Congress from trading stocks. 

Catch "Driving It Home with Patti Vasquez" weekdays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/driving-it-home).

And find the "Driving It Home (Full Episodes)" podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon.

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Patti Vasquez is joined by Jen Golbeck, professor, computer scientist, psychologist, “expert in the far-right, online extremism, AI, and bad things on the internet,” and author of the MAGAReport on Substack. 

Golbeck discussed the escalating threat of military occupation in cities like Chicago, an action President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested he may pursue, stoking the MAGA base. "They are excited for him to do it," she said, "and excited for the violence against people who aren't supporters of Trump -- and not even Democrats or progressives. Anybody who doesn't support Trump, they want to see violence against them."

She highlighted President Donald Trump's recent directive to the Department of Justice to not prosecute people violating Washington, D.C.'s law prohibiting the open carry of guns. Golbeck also noted the increased presence of bots and AI-generated responses in online discussions and speculated on the impact Trump's declining health and possible death in office could have on the MAGA movement. 

Catch "Driving It Home with Patti Vasquez" weekdays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/driving-it-home).

And find the "Driving It Home (Full Episodes)" podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon.

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Patti Vasquez is joined by Nathan Taylor, executive director of advocacy and public engagement for Election Truth Alliance, a grassroots, nonpartisan organization dedicated to supporting election analysis, discussion, and peaceful action to highlight potential election manipulation, interference, and irregularities in election results.

Taylor highlighted discrepancies the Election Truth Alliance has uncovered in voting data from the 2024 election. They found significant differences in votes between presidential and down-ballot races. In North Carolina, for example, they found 297,000 anomalous votes, potentially indicating vote manipulation. Taylor also mentioned the group's ongoing investigations in Florida, Pennsylvania and Nevada, emphasizing the need for forensic audits and recounts, and noting resistance from Democratic leaders. He said Election Truth Alliance plans to file lawsuits soon, aiming to ensure the integrity of future elections.

"In the U.S, almost 100 percent of our ballots cast are counted by tabulation machines," Taylor told WCPT, and "70 percent of the U.S. uses the same type of machines. And we're worried that if you've compromised these tabulation machines, you could have manipulated votes in the '24 election, and these are the same machines that we're going to use in the midterms as well."

Catch "Driving It Home with Patti Vasquez" weekdays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/driving-it-home).

And find the "Driving It Home (Full Episodes)" podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon.

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Patti Vasquez is joined by Heidi Stevens, nationally syndicated columnist, director of External Affairs at the TMW Center for Early Learning and Public Health, and fellowship coach at The OpEd Project. They talk about her latest columns, "Trump’s latest voting threat was inevitable next step in his long history of undermining electorate system" and "After a child leaves the nest, you get the privilege of parenting the new version of them." 

Catch "Driving It Home with Patti Vasquez" weekdays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/driving-it-home).

And find the "Driving It Home (Full Episodes)" podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon.

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Broadcasting from Iowa Democratic Wing Ding in Clear Lake, Iowa, Patti Vasquez is joined by Ashley WolfTornabane, Iowa candidate for U.S. House.

Catch "Driving It Home with Patti Vasquez" weekdays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/driving-it-home).

And find the "Driving It Home (Full Episodes)" podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon.

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Broadcasting from Iowa Democratic Wing Ding in Clear Lake, Iowa, Patti Vasquez is joined by Stephanie Steiner, Iowa candidate for U.S. House.

Catch "Driving It Home with Patti Vasquez" weekdays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/driving-it-home).

And find the "Driving It Home (Full Episodes)" podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon.

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Filling in for Patti Vasquez, WCPT's Paul Chivari is joined by Brendyn Morgan, candidate for Congress in the 16th District of Illinois. 

Catch "Driving It Home with Patti Vasquez" weekdays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/driving-it-home).

And find the "Driving It Home (Full Episodes)" podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.