Joan Esposito (Featured Interviews)

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 scrutinized President Donald Trump's claim that he OK'd Iran's recent retaliatory strike on a U.S. base. "It's a bunch of crap that any leader would say, oh, yeah, attack our positions; we're ready for you guys," he told WCPT. "That is criminal, if it was true. I just believe this is his ego talking, and I certainly hope nothing more, but it certainly should be investigated after he leaves the presidency."

The conversation also touched on the impact of the Trump administration's dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development and the importance of soft power. "It is a way for the United States to extend and influence others without, quite frankly, holding a gun to their head," Manner said. "The military is the strongest proponent of soft power because if we use hard power, that means soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines could be in harm's way and perhaps not go back home to their families. So that is a last resort, not the first resort."   

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 information.

Joan Esposito is joined by Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), who spoke about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that, minutes before, had narrowly passed the Senate 51-50. It now returns to the House for a vote. Jackson criticized the bill for raising the national debt, disproportionately benefiting the wealthy, and cutting essential programs like SNAP and Medicaid. He expressed concern about the impact of budget cuts on agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which forecasts storms, and highlighted the vulnerability of 16 million people who could lose health insurance on account of the legislation. Jackson said he remains hopeful that some Republicans will still oppose the bill, despite relentless pressure from Trump.  

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 information.

Joan Esposito is joined by Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, who discussed the organization's work to protect civil rights and democracy through litigation. Key efforts include blocking the administration's attempts to indiscriminately fire federal workers and challenging the U.S.-El Salvador agreement on a gulag prison. Perryman highlighted recent victories, such as halting the national funding freeze and preventing the decimation of the Department of Education. Despite a recent Supreme Court ruling that limited lower courts' power, Perryman emphasized that Democracy Forward continues to secure significant legal wins. The organization relies on donations to support its legal efforts.

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 information.

Joan Esposito is joined by Peter Beinart, editor-at-large for Jewish Currents, professor of journalism at the City University of New York, and author of the 2025 book “Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning.”

In the interview Beinart described the Israeli destruction of Gaza as possibly "the worst series of war crimes of the 21st century." 

"Gaza only has 2 million people," he told WCPT, "but the number of people who've been killed just dwarfs, for instance, Ukraine, which has, I think, 40 million people. You have most of the buildings, most of the hospitals, most of the schools, most of the universities, most of the bakeries, most of the agriculture destroyed. You have mass starvation. So yes, this is a historic set of crimes. And we also have a situation where Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have said it crosses into genocide. So this is going to be something that is going to be haunting all of us, especially those of us who are Americans, whose government provided these weapons, I think, for decades and decades, maybe the rest of our lives."

Beinart criticized the Biden administration for giving "Israel an unlimited, unconditional supply of weapons, even as it was clear that Israel was killing huge, huge numbers of civilians, destroying massive amounts of infrastructure, even after Netanyahu was indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, even after the International Court of Justice said it was a plausible case that this was genocide, even as it was clear that the war was failing on its own terms, that Hamas was not destroyed and that Israel was not freeing the hostages with military force. So, yes, I think this will be the defining legacy, certainly on foreign policy, of the Biden administration." 

Beinart highlighted the historical context of Israeli policies towards the Palestinians and the potential for increased radicalization among Palestinians due to the military actions. He also addressed the concept of "new anti-Semitism" and the media's role in portraying the conflict. 

"There's a tremendous amount of attention to what might constitute discrimination against Jews," he said. "Very little is focused on what might constitute discrimination against Palestinians. I think it is bigoted against Jews to say they don't deserve to be treated equally, but almost everybody in American politics thinks it's OK to not treat Palestinians equally. It's basically almost kind of taken for granted that Palestinians should basically live without equal rights under Israeli control. People constantly ask themselves, how do Jews feel about certain pro-Palestinian slogans? Do people ever ask how Palestinians feel about pro-Israel slogans, when many of those Palestinians might have family members being killed in Gaza and the West Bank? There's this huge asymmetry in which Jewish life is considered to matter a lot. I mean, I'm a Jew; I obviously believe Jewish life is precious. But Palestinian life is precious too, but it's not treated that way in a lot of the mainstream media discourse."

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 information.

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).  

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 information.

Joan Esposito is joined by Kat Tenbarge, author of Spitfire News, a newsletter about internet culture, politics, and media.

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 information.

Joan Esposito is joined by Shawana S. Moore, associate professor, clinical track, Doctor of Nursing Practice program director in the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory 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 information.

Joan Esposito talks to Missouri Democratic House Minority Leader Ashley Aune.

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 information.

On the three-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Joan Esposito is joined by Lizz Winstead, founder and chief creative officer at Abortion Access Front. Winstead is also co-creator of "The Daily Show."

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 information.

Joan Esposito is joined by abortion rights activists Kate Cox and Lauren Miller.

Kate Cox sued the state of Texas after she was denied emergency abortion care when she received a fatal fetal diagnosis. Her request was denied and she was forced to leave the state to receive care. At the Democratic National Convention in August 2024, Kate announced that she was pregnant again, despite what the state of Texas put her through.

Lauren Miller is an eighth-generation Texan and a former plaintiff in Zurawski v. State of Texas. Lauren was pregnant with twin boys when she learned that one of the boys, Thomas, had a fatal fetal anomaly. She was forced to travel to Colorado for an abortion so that her life and the life of her surviving twin, Henry, would not be threatened. Henry was born in June 2023, three weeks after Zurawski v. State of Texas was filed.

They spoke to WCPT from Washington, D.C., where they were taking part in the Our Voices, Our Stories, Our Future: Free & Just Storyteller Summit. 

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 information.