Joan Esposito (Featured Interviews)

Joan talks to Tom Villanova, retired president of the Chicago and Cook County Building and Construction Trades Council, ahead of the Southland Friends of Labor 16th Annual Jobs Breakfast, Monday, February 24th, at IBEW 176, 110 Frontage Road in Joliet   Learn more: https://www.southlandfriendsoflabor.com.

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.

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Joan is joined by Joel Ostrow, Benedictine University political science professor and co-host of the World Discord podcast. He discussed the Russian constitution and its evolution under Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin, highlighting how Yeltsin handwrote amendments to the constitution that paved the way for him "to seize control, to dominate elections, to even, some may say, rig some of the elections during the 1990s, and ultimately paved the way for Putin to ignore the constitution and install his murderous dictatorship."

Ostrow compared this to current U.S. political dynamics, emphasizing the erosion of democratic norms and institutions under President Donald Trump. He asserted that the U.S. is experiencing a constitutional crisis, with Congress and the judiciary losing their traditional roles, and stressed the need for a fundamental shift in how elections and governance are conducted to prevent further erosion of democracy. 

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 is joined by Spencer Critchley, author of “Patriots of Two Nations” and host of the podcast “Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good.” His new book is "The Liberal Backbone."

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 is joined by Democratic strategist Peter Fenn, who discussed the importance of Democrats resisting Donald Trump's policies through legal efforts and organizing at the grassroots level to take back the House of Representatives in 2026. Fenn warned of the dangers of Trump's authoritarian tendencies, comparing them to Hungary's Viktor Orbán. He also criticized Trump and Elon Musk for their self-serving policies, particularly the tax cuts benefiting the wealthy and the impact on programs like Head Start and Medicaid. Fenn is the author of Fenn Daily.

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 is joined by Rich Logis, founder and executive director of Leaving MAGA. He discussed his journey from a hardcore MAGA supporter to a Trump critic, revealing that his departure took a year due to strong community ties and the "liberating but painful realization" that his political beliefs were based on lies. He cited the Uvalde school shooting as a pivotal moment.

"After that day, Joan, I quietly left MAGA," Logis told WCPT. "I only told a few people. I privately left. And when I did that, something was gnawing at me that that wasn't enough. I was always very unapologetically public in my support for Trump; I felt that I needed to reciprocate and I needed to be unapologetically public in my renunciation of MAGA. And it was on August 30, 2022 when I published a mea culpa and in that mea culpa I said that I was wrong, that I hurt others, and that I was sorry that I supported Trump."

Logis also talked about his five-step guide for re-engaging MAGA supporters, stressing the importance of respectful conversations and understanding motivations -- "first empathy, then education," in the words of his ebook.  

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).

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joan talks to Illinois state Rep. Kam Buckner (26th House District), who discussed his mix of optimism and nervousness in regard to the second Trump administration, emphasizing the need to focus on actions over rhetoric. He also highlighted the role of state legislatures in countering bad federal policy, talked about constituent concerns over crime and Trump administration overreach, commented on the recent conviction of former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, and outlined his legislative priorities in Springfield, including affordable housing and budget negotiations.

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.

Filmmaker, author and investigative journalist Greg Palast talks to Joan Esposito about the impact of "vicious" Republican vote-suppression tactics on the 2024 presidential election, pointing out that without that factor, Kamala Harris would have received enough votes to win the presidency. 

"What happened was one of the worst, most biased, Jim Crow elections I've ever seen," Palast told WCPT.

He also found that 2.12 million mail-in ballots were not counted, with Black voters having a 400 percent higher chance of disqualification. Palast mentioned that 4.7 million voters were purged without evidence of wrongdoing, and 42.3 percent of provisional ballots were discarded. He advocated passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to combat these issues.

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 is joined by Joe Walsh, former congressman, political pundit, and host of The Social Contract with Joe Walsh. The anti-Trump former Republican discussed the challenges facing the Democratic Party and the need for an authentic and populist Democratic leader who can connect with regular Americans. He criticized the party for being out of touch and elitist, contrasting this with Donald Trump's ability to harness public anger. Walsh highlighted the importance of the judiciary in checking Trump's actions and expressed concern about the lack of courage among elected Republicans. 

"Any voice that would be there has already left the party like me," Walsh told WCPT. "There's no voice. There's going to be no rescue from the Republican Party. This country needs to wrap their arms around that. We have two major political parties and one of them affirmed in November that they are an authoritarian-embracing cult, period."

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 is joined by Dr. Zachary Rubin, allergist/immunologist at Oak Brook Allergists, who discussed his efforts to disseminate reliable public health information on social media, the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health & Human Services, the importance of staying updated on vaccinations due to ongoing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, and the potential health risks of drinking raw milk. He also advocated for healthy skepticism of online medical information and mental health breaks.

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 is joined by Brett Murphy, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter on ProPublica’s national desk. They discussed the Trump administration's illegal federal funding freeze, which affected a vast number of programs and agencies, including Head Start and the National Institutes of Health. Murphy also talked about the recent ProPublica article he authored with Anna Maria Barry-Jester that highlighted the impact on medical facilities in Sudan, where staff chose to keep operations running despite Donald Trump's order to halt aid, risking the lives of up to 100 babies and toddlers. The article also covered the drastic measures taken by the Trump administration to halt USAID operations, including putting civil servants on leave and restricting access to systems. 

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.