Mueze Bawany praises—yes, praises—Mayor Johnson. Look for MAGA and the mainstreams to lose their minds. The question must be asked—why does Chicago love temperamental white guys so much? Like Mayors Daley and Rahm and Coach Ditka. The conversation moves to the Bears. Mueze pleads with the Bears to hire Ben Johnson as their next coach. Ben does a dramatic reading of Mueze’s football texts. Mueze is a public school teacher, a football coach and a proud member of CTU. Speaking of things that will cause the mainstreams and MAGA to lose their minds.

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Who comes closer to telling the truth—Justice Alito or Michelle Obama? Ben riffs. Jack White answers the question. Then they’re off...presidential chit chat. Obama and Trump at the Carter funeral service. Is Baby Bush worse than Trump? Cato the Elder. Cato the Elder? Yes, Cato the elder. Amazon’s deal with Melania. The oligarchs make their move to cozy up to Trump. And more. Jack is a writer and retired journalist.

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Trump responds to the fires in Los Angeles with hate. Ben riffs. Meredith Shiner compares and contrasts President Carter and Trump. Also, the difference between a minority party and an opposition party. You have a choice, Dems. A few words about Mark Zuckerberg bowing to MAGA. Or the difference between a nerd and a dork. And more—so much more. Meredith is a political columnist.

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Mark Zuckerberg waves the white flag as he surrenders to Donny. Ben riffs. Monroe says it's all about sucking up to Big Daddy in order to make even more billions. Then it's on to the latest lunacy from Trump--whales, windmills, and various invasions. Monroe makes like the dairy farmer in South Dakota. He doesn't believe Trump will do the stuff that Trump swears he plans to do. Helluva way to run a country. Finally, a few words about Mayor Johnson and the press. Having spent over a year disparaging him as incompetent, the mainstreams now view him as the second coming of LBJ. As they blame him for killing Pritzker's Hemp Bill. Make up your minds, people!

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News from “the world” has Baby Donny visiting Greenland. Ben riffs. Adolfo Mondragon returns to explain the logic of the illogic to Ben. Including…why Dems don’t riot when they lose, like MAGA does. Why corporate Chicago loves Pedro Martinez. Why MAGA likes Mexican cuisine but dislikes Mexicans. Why free speech apparently does not apply to Washington Post cartoonists who criticize the boss. And more. Adolfo is a lawyer in Chicago.

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Alden Loury tells you everything you need to know about property taxes. Including…why we need them. Why we hate them. Why they’re unfair and not up for the task we demand of them. How they force people to leave their neighborhoods. Ben adds a few words about TIFs. Which are property tax hikes. Even if corporate Chicago and all their city council flunkies pretend they aren’t. Alden is a writer and editor for WBEZ and one of Chicago’s foremost demographers. His views are his own.

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Ben doesn’t want to talk about all the bad news that happened last night. But he does so anyway. Kevin Blackistone returns to take us from A to Z on the Congressional land-transfer bill that enabled Washington to take control of land in Washington. It makes no sense until you realize that DC is treated more like a colony than a free state in the United States. In fact “Chocolate City” is not a state at all. Get ready for a twisting saga starring Mayor Muriel Bowser and featuring Elon Musk, Utah Senator Mike Lee and several other MAGA creatures. Kevin is a columnist for the Washington Post, a professor of journalism at the University of Maryland and a panelist for Around the Horn. His views are his own.

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Producer-director Michael Tollin has made movies about Michael Jordan and Hank Aaron. Now he’s producing a movie about Dick Allen, one of the greatest baseball players of the 60s and 70s. Michael’s love for Allen goes back to when he was playing for the Phillies. Ben loves him for his years with the White Sox. Hear them bicker over whether Allen’s true greatness was in Philly or Chicago. Proving that sports fans will argue over anything. And, yes, Michael’s movie about MJ was The Last Dance.

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As the re-election of Speaker Johnson happens in the background, Pat Whalen explains the Trump-MAGA playbook. And, as one of the only Chicagoans who actually watches the George Stephanopolous Show, he discusses ABC’s decision to cut a deal, uhm, settlement, with Donnie. What’s the Trump library include a book? Also that’s not the show’s real name. And a shoutout to Nick Sposato. Pat is a comedian, actor, podcaster and impresario.

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Congress elects Mike Johnson speaker by a few votes. Contrast that to Mayor Johnson’s four-vote budget victory. Ben riffs. Greg returns! He talks Mayors Lightfoot, Johnson, and Rahm. Also, journalism. Specifically, what constitutes a puff piece. Ever heard of a “beat sweetener”? Well, stick around for Greg’s explanation . Greg is a writer for the Chicago Tribune. And the author of The City Is Up For Grabs. His views are his own.

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