Episodes

A podcaster is upset cause Kat walked off her show. In the category of laughing to keep from crying, Ben riffs. Miles Kampf-Lassin details Trump’s terror campaign against America. He shuts down SNAP, obliterates health care a...

You’ve heard of the Chicago 7? Now there’s a Chicago 6 as Trump’s Justice Department trumps up a case against local activists. Ben riffs. Heidi Henry returns to give a perspective on how ICE’s invasion is playing in her neck ...

Gregory Pratt—ace reporter for the Tribune and the pride and joy of Little Village—stands up for his city. Ben riffs. Alderwoman Rossana Rodriguez takes a moment to express her gratitude to Chicago for its resistance. While p...

Trump sends in the wrecking crew—literally. Ben riffs. David Faris talks about Trump’s attack on cities and states whose residents dared to vote for Harris. How to respond? The case for a general strike. The No Kings March. A...

Ben & Dr D spare no details in their examination of a week’s worth of news. Including…SDG and the IFT, JB and BJ, Pritzker and Trump, Benny and the Bulls, Gambling and the NBA, Rahm and Rahm and more. Stick around to discover...

MJ is back, sorta. Ben riffs. Adolfo Mondragon explicates the ICE invasion of his beloved southwest side and makes the case against calling people illegals. And not cause he’s a snowflake. Which spurs an exchange about snowfl...

Trump seeks $230m from taxpayers as compensation for what? Leading an attempted insurrection? Ben riffs. Jim Coogan on the weaponization of the Justice Department. The fictitious weaponization—imagined by MAGA—versus the real...

Houston’s Mayor John Whitmire says he knows how to deal with Boss Donnie—suck up to him. Ben riffs. And get out your paper and pencils to take notes as Ishan Daya and Julie Dworkin tell you everything you need to know about M...

Trump erects a white-people-only sign on the USA. Ben riffs. Antonio Correa answers your MAGA questions. Why Latinos voted for Trump? What do they say about that now? Where is the don’t-tread-on-me-crowd when we need them? Do...

Ben and Dr D confront a week’s worth of lunacy. Starting with…reporters giving grief to Mayor Johnson for spending property tax dollars on schools. Silly mayor, don’t you know that TIF money—which are property tax dollars— ar...

ICE invades the Southeast Side. Ben riffs. Jen Sabella on the state of journalism in the age of Trump’s invasion of Chicago. Reporters tear gassed or shot with pellets. Officials deny what you see with your own eyes. FOIA req...

Trump sulks cause he didn’t get the Nobel for bringing “peace” to the Middle East. Ben riffs. Monroe reconsiders his opposition to Trump in the hopes of making big bucks like Steven A. Smith. Then decides—nah, too late for th...

Trump’s prosecutorial puppet prosecutes Leticia James. Ben riffs. David Faris runs down the stages of autocracy. We’re currently in the competitive authoritarianism phase. Thanks in part to John Roberts and his Supremes. Imag...

ICE manages to avoid Wrigley Field. Ben riffs. State senator Graciela Guzman talks about Trump’s invasion of Chicago. And Chicago as a testing ground for MAGA messaging and other invasions. Her showdown at the Broadview deten...

Chomsky’s wisdom helps explain America’s illogical take on immigration and deportations. Ben riffs. Marc Sims explains everything all at once. Including…why Americans are so illogical about crime, immigrants, Trump’s behavior...

Bari Weiss hits the jackpot, showing millennials how to play the game. Ben riffs. Laurie Glenn reflects on MAGA lite’s ability to justify and embrace policies and politicians they once abhorred. Also, the Democrats and their ...

The Sun-Times shows much love for Alderman Marty Quinn. Ben riffs. Mark Whitaker talks about his new book, The Afterlife of Malcolm X. Which is about what the title says—how the legacy of Malcolm X lives even 60 years after h...

The New York Times fact checker bends over backwards to avoid calling Trump’s lie a lie. Ben riffs. Trump is so autocratically demented, it takes two journalistic legends to explain it all. Jack White joins Monroe to break do...

Dave Portnoy, who made his name being politically incorrect, says Jimmy Kimmel went too far. Ben riffs. Holly Kim explains why she’s running for state comptroller. And what she will do if she wins. Get ready for the TIF debat...

Dems start to realize they have to get out of their comfort zone to take back the country. Ben riffs. Kevin Lamm explains how it can be done. What are the issues that rally red district voters? What's the lesson from Catelin ...

Joe Rogan weighs in on Jimmy Kimmel and free speech—finally! Ben riffs. Kat Abughazaleh talks about getting thrown to the ground by ICE thugs. If you think it’s bad outside an ICE facility, imagine the horror of what goes on ...

Ben and Dr D have so much to discuss and so little time in which to discuss it. Starting with Brendan Reilly going a little MAGA to try to beat Toni Preckwinkle. Is a little MAGA like a little pregnant? And Chicago is going t...

Have we finally, at long last, reached the beginning of the end of the MAGA craze, when America says, you know, maybe it's not a good idea to let a demented authoritarian run the country? With Trump playing the role of Senato...

Mayor Johnson's political enemies take a poll and guess what? It discovers that nobody likes Mayor Johnson. Funny how that works. Ben riffs. Asha Ransby-Sporn makes her debut, discussing how the mayor's opponents work the pre...