Episodes

Ben and Dr D catch up on what’s going on. Alderman Marty Quinn—aka, Madigan’s guy—says take this job and shove it. Mike Quigley says—I wanna be mayor! And noticeably absent from the growing list of announced mayoral candidates are the guys most likely to wind up in the runoff, if they do run—Mayor Johnson and Alexi G. Also, Ben and his wife make like Thelma and Louise, with their road trip across America.

Trump’s Supreme Court soldiers do their MAGA thing. Ben riffs. Paul Nolley returns to talk about his campaign for Congress in the 16th district. He’s a Democrat and it’s a R +11 district, but he sees an upset victory in plain sight. Why? Cause the issues are on his side. Starting with health care. His opponent—incumbent Darin LaHood—is so nervous he agreed to debate. Usually, MAGA candidates in red districts try to coast in on Donnie’s coattails.

Why do hyphenated Americans—Mexican, Italian, Irish, Polish. Greek, you name it—root for the country on the left side of that hyphen? Ben riffs. Adolfo elaborates. And that leads them to the Supremes coming close—too close—to erasing the 14th amendment. So much for being textualists. Next thing you know, Ben & Adolfo are breaking down the meaning of Country Road. You know—“almost heaven, West Virginia…” Which US fans sing at soccer games. Adolfo is a lawyer—born & raised on the South Side!

Can the U.S. media objectively cover the U.S. soccer team? Ben riffs. Kevin Blackistone adds a riff of his own. And then they’re off. Talking soccer and colonialism, Caitlin Clark and MAGA, Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson’s take down of Clarence Thomas and Trump’s desecration of Kevin’s beloved hometown of Washington, DC. Kevin is a writer, TV commentator, and journalism professor.

A listener gently chides Ben for not giving DSA enough credit for congressional wins in NYC—in other words, it wasn’t just Mamdani. Ben riffs. Mick Dumke explains the latest chapter in the Parking Meter Debacle. As Mayor Johnson looks into buying back the control of our streets that Mayor Daley foolishly sold for a relative pittance. Learn about the Investment Bros, the mayor’s “dream team” of advisors, the non-disclosure agreement, the letter from Webb, Andre’s mic drop and more. It’s all so pa...

Chicago aldermen debate the latest parking-meter debacle. Ben riffs. Christian Mitchell, Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor, returns. Talking Supreme Court ruling in Haitian deportation case, state police in Broadview, Darren Bailey and abortion, JB’s possible presidential run, Bears stadium, lefties and centrists and more. A former state representative, Christian is Governor Pritzker’s running mate in November’s election.

Just when you thought the Trumps couldn’t get any greedier, Jared and Ivanka invade Albania. Ben riffs. Rummana—aka, Chicago’s foremost authority on Mayor Mamdani—talks…Mayor Mamdani! He went 3 for 3 in Tuesday’s congressional primaries. What does that say about the future of American politics? Also, Rummana makes a prediction about the two sports known as football. Rummana is a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. Her views are her own.

Trump’s wading-pool follies offer a needed laugh as the idiocy is high and the stakes are relatively low. Ben riffs. David Faris talks Trump’s War in Iran. Years of U.S. blundering and bullying and miscalculations leading to Trump’s inability to consider the consequences of bombing Iran. Finally, a few thoughts about George W. Bush, who has most definitely not earned a rehabilitation. David is a professor of political science at Roosevelt University and a columnist for The Nation. His views are ...

The NBA champion NY Knicks have a choice—follow their Trump-loving billionaire owner to the White House or stay far away and let the world know what they think of Trump. Ben riffs. Sergio predicts they won’t go. Then he tells you what you need to know about how Trump uses the UFC and the UFC uses Trump. It’s not pretty. Learn about Dana White, Ari Emanuel, Josh Hokit and that end-of-the-empire spectacle Trump threw for himself on the White House lawn. In contrast, there’s Mayor Mamdani’s speech ...

The Supremes love reefer, though not as much as they love guns. Ben riffs. Attorney Jim Coogan updates us on the latest mis-justice of Trump’s “Justice” Department. Including…Broadview 6. IRS “settlement.” E Jean Carroll retribution. Also, Jim confronts the Bears question. Jim is managing partner of Coogan Gallagher.

A few days after Trump celebrates his birthday in a spasm of hate and violence, Barack Obama opens his presidential center on the south side. Ben riffs. Monroe talks Obama’s legacy. The reflecting pool debacle. Epstein’s suicide. The Iran “peace” deal. And Brian Urlacher, whose thoughts on immigrants raise the question: Why are so many white jocks MAGA men?

As the World Cup comes to America, a judge makes Trump remove his name from the Kennedy Center. Ben riffs. Serena Mathews—soccer analyst extraordinaire—tells you everything you need to know about the politics of the World Cup. The imperialistic model of FIFA. How Infantino sucked up to Trump. How Trump stole FIFA’s soccer trophy. How soccer sportswashes MAGA hate. How rich guys in the USA passed the hat to bring in a coach. Why, despite it all, she loves the game so much. Stick around for her pr...

Knicks win. Ben tries to be gracious. Rossana Rodriguez joins the celebration. And then the conversation turns serious. As she makes the connection between fascists in the White House and conservatives in the city council. Her T-shirt says it all. Also, the promise of Mamdani. Pay attention, Chicago lefties. And more. Rossana is the alderwoman of the 33rd ward.

Ben interrupts his road trip and Dr D puts down his newborn baby long enough to tell you what’s going on. Firstly…no one believes the Bears are going to Hammond and no one cares if they do. Susana Mendoza outflanks Vallas and Willie Wilson, locking up the MAGA vote in the mayor’s race. And Mayor Rahm breaks from bike riding in New Hampshire to watch his beloved Knicks.

Trump trolls Biden on the walls of the White House. Ben riffs. Heidi Henry—the Heartland Mama—talks about Trump’s professed love for inflation. Do liberals still think it was the cost of eggs that did in Kamala? The case against data centers. Can a nice guy win in Texas? Bill Gates explains why he was hanging with Epstein. To which Heidi advises—listen to Melinda. Heidi is a political activist and horse trainer in the heart of MAGA land.

Mayor Rahm solidifies his 1 percent base by hanging with the rich guys in the courtside seats at the Knicks game. Ben riffs. Senator Rachel Ventura talks Bears stadium and data centers and AI and paying the state’s bills in face of Trump’s budget cuts. She closes with thoughts on the Democrat’s identity crisis. Are they the party of the courtside crew or the nosebleeds? Though the nosebleed seats are out of reach for many. Rachel is the state senator from the 43rd district in Joliet.

Great news! Dr D is now Daddy D—again. Ben riffs. Pushkar Sharma pays tribute to Amisha Patel. And then explains why and how they put together a campaign to reject Raja in the Democratic primary for Senator. He also talks about Kash Patel and Vivek Ramaswamy and other members of the “white-adjacency” crowd, who look to protect their communities or advance their careers by embedding themselves in MAGA. Pushkar is co-founder of Sacred Acts.

The pope takes a stand against AI enslaving us. Ben riffs. Ishmael Reed joins the conversation from Oakland. Yes, that Ishmael Reed. One of America’s greatest writers—novelist, poet, essayist, playwright and song writer. And one of Ben’s heroes since like forever. The conversation flows from Musk to Thiel to Altman to Vance to Vivek, to Django to Lin Manual Miranda. Hamilton was no hero, people. Finally, how did Trump defeat Harris? Painting her as a Promiscuous Jezebel is how.

South Carolina Republican legislators defy Trump on congressional redistricting. Ben riffs. Mallory Dittmer fills in the details—46,000 Democratic voters had something to do with it. A Democratic candidate for Congress in the fifth district, Mallory analyzes the big issues that make South Carolina ripe for change. Education, health care, affordability and the degradation of democracy. If the Dems are going to take back the house, it will come down to candidates like Mallory.

The great Murakami hurts his hamstring. Ben howls in pain. Miles and Gave assess the Sox and Cubs two months into the season. Sox fans will be delighted. Cubs fans not so much. Bottom line—if the Cubs were as tough on the Brewers as they are with a woman Sox fan, they’d still be in first place. Hey, don’t blame the messengers. Ben defends Jerry Reinsdorf. Gave and Miles try not to laugh. Much talk about a salary cap. Miles co-hosts Blue Line radio. And Gave co-hosts The New Twenty-Four.

There’s hardly any money to get books from one library branch to the other, but $1.5 trillion for the military. Ben riffs. Rachel Hinton fills in the blanks, explicating on her recent article on why it takes so long to get those library books you ordered. Also, political talk. Why is Governor Pritzker irritated by Mayor Johnson? The politics of being tough on teen takeovers. And more. Rachel is an investigative reporter for Block Club.

Maria Pappas speaks the truth about handouts to the Bears. Ben riffs. Karina Villa gives us the low down on her race for comptroller, the impact of Trump cuts on Illinois, the states’s misplaced budget priorities, the need to tax the rich and why she’s cautiously, very cautiously, optimistic about November’s midterms. Karina is the state senator from the 25th district.

One last riff about Paul Singer and Thomas Massie. Take it away, Ben. Michael Rabbitt tells you everything you need to know about the ordeal he and his five co-defendants faced in the Orwellian legal charade known as The Broadview 6 prosecution. They did nothing wrong other than exercise their right to protest against Operation Midway Blitz. Which is not wrong at all—exercising their rights, that is. Plenty wrong with the Blitz, of course. Michael is the Democratic committeeman of the 45th Ward ...

Trump diverts about $1.8 billion in taxpayers’s money to his cronies—just call him President Slush Fund. Ben riffs. Kevin Ryan talks about the lessons he learned from his recent Senate campaign. From there he covers everything from Hegseth in Kentucky to George Washington at Valley Forge. A shout out to Robin Kelly. A call for ranked-choice voting. A plea for a separation between church and state. A recital from Henry the Fifth. And a few words about the paradox of saying Happy Memorial Day. Kev...