Episodes

Yesterday was day one for mayoral candidates to file nominating petitions. Ben riffs. Podcaster Marc Sims talks mayor’s race, Thomas Sowell, Dave Chappelle and more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mayor Lightfoot's drivers get caught parking in a bike lane, while the mayor ducks into a bakery to buy some doughnuts. Ben riffs. And WBEZ journalist Alden Loury returns to discuss his latest Sun-Times column on low voter turnout. Have Chicagoans become nihilists? Also, demographics in Chicago. If…

Trump makes it official. Ben riffs. And WVON talk show host David Seaton talks Trump, MAGA, Black Trump supporters and more. Much more… See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Political scientist David Faris makes his midterm predictions. And a word or two about MAGA’s bizarre approach to fighting inflation. And the New York Times obsession with John Fetterman’s stroke. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/p…

Chicago's Police union endorses a man named "Don Bailey" for governor. Ben riffs. And columnist Eric Zorn returns to discuss all the burning issues of the day. Like...whether Ben & Maya were unfair to pull First Tuesdays from...

There's a battle raging as the GOP's "right flank" challenges Kevin McCarthy's bid for speaker. Right flanks implies there's a left flank. Ben riffs. Devin Thompson, singer extraordinaire, talks about his upcoming concert. Dave Glowacz, of Inside Chicago Government, examines recent city council mee…

Ben travels to a place he's never been on election night--MSNBC. He weighs in with what he saw. Monroe Anderson returns to say the "Red Wave" turned into a "pink trickle". What happened, MAGA? And Jacob Kaplan, executive director of the Cook County Democratic Party, examines the statewide election …

Oh, what a week, indeed! Ben & Dr. D riff on the news, most of it out of Chicago. Starting with...Donoughtgate. Is Doughnutgate worse than Cinnamon Rollgate? Hmm, tough, tough question. And then it's on to the mayor's race, s...

Sun-Times columnist Rummana Hussain asks the question. If women have a right not to wear hijabs, doesn't that also mean they have a right to wear them? Also, Rummana does a victory march on Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West. She hates to say I told you so, but...she told you so. And a wor…

The midterms were supposed to be a Red Wave, doing with votes what the insurrectionists couldn’t do on January 6–giving MAGA control of Congress. David Faris takes the deep dive on why that didn’t happen. How the pollsters and pundits minimized abortion rights. How the Democrats finally learned to …

What a week of politics for Ben & Dr. D to riff about. The Red Wave turns into a Blue one, at least in Illinois. New York Dems are clueless. Give Speaker Welch credit—he knows how to play the mapmaking game. Congressman “Chuy...

Mayor Lightfoot & George Cardenas pull an Eddie Haskell. Ben explains. Shoutout to Gregory Pratt for another great scoop. And Clem Balanoff talks Jesus Garcia—he’s going to run for mayor. Monroe Anderson is skeptical. Then th...

It's official--Congressman Jesus "Chuy" Garcia is running for mayor. Ben riffs by answering a question from V-Train. Also Peter Cunningham--political strategist, speech writer & rock `n roll guitarist--takes the deep dive on....

Football coach/analyst LeAlan Jones has an unique take on the Chicago Bears. He thinks they're making smart moves that will bring them a Super Bowl Championship. He explains why he believes that and why the "experts" are so c...

Historian Rosemary Feurer & Elliott Gorn talk Chicago's radical past. Particularly the successful effort to pay tribute to Mother Jones, the turn-of-the-last-century radical. Yes, radical. She didn't hide from it. Will Chicag...

Sun-Times columnist Lynn Sweet tries to hold MAGA strategist Dan Proft to the same rules and standards real journalists must follow. Ben riffs. And Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson talks about running for mayor. He explains why he's the progressive candidate in the race. What it means to be…

The Bears make their first move toward convincing Arlington Heights residents to pay for their football stadium. Ben riffs. Monroe Anderson returns to explain a few things about Chicago history that Mayor Lightfoot may not understand. Such as the Evans/Sawyer split that divided Black Chicago and ha…

Elon Musk gets ready to fire hundreds of Twitter employees. Ben riffs. And Troy LaRaviere talks Musk, Trump & Ye. And more… See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/pr...

Singer/guitarist Andrea Bunch and activist Alicia Hurtado—of the Chicago Abortion Fund—talk about the fight for reproductive rights in the aftermath of the midterms. The fight is not over—even in Illinois where abortion is legal. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Priv…

After about 20 years as an organizer, Amisha Patel is taking a break--she's stepping down as executive director of the Grassroots Collaborative. She talks about the struggles to try and force Chicago mayors to do the right th...

Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson announces he’s running for mayor—will confused MAGA voters line up to support him? Ben riffs. Historian Sean Dinces, author of Bulls Market, talks about Chicago’s history of giving handouts to sports franchises. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priv…

Radio show host gives a primer on QAnon.

The British Prime Minister steps down. Ben apologizes for riffing on it. And Micah Uetricht, editor/writer for Jacobian, manages to defend the New York Times. Is Ben unfair to the Times? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-…

Sun-Times columnist Rummana Hussain talks capitalism. Specifically, Twitter employees getting fired because Elon Musk needs to use their salaries to pay back the money he borrowed to buy the company. Which he paid too much for. Crazy… See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California…