Episodes

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 down everything from the memorial speech to the Tylenol denunciation to the broken United Nations elevator to Kimmel’s stance. And more…

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 debate. Holly Kim is treasurer of Lake County.

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 Drey and Debra Shigley? How they apply to the 16th congressional district in Illinois--one of the reddest districts in the country. Kevin is a candidate for state Democratic Committeeman in the 16th.

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 inside—hidden from view. How to confront fascism? Hint—don’t take bad-faith arguments in good faith. Speaking of bad-faith arguments, Trump on Tylenol. Kat is running in the Democratic primary for Congress in the 9th congressional district.

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 to the dogs—if Lincoln Park gets its way. Raja wins big in Rock Island. And Juliana says she doesn’t need corporate pac money cause she has JB’s money. Well, she didn’t say the last part. And Robin talks gun control. And DB makes it official. He’s running for governor again a...

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 Senator Joseph McCarthy and Jimmy Kimmel playing the role of Edward R. Murrow? Ben riffs. Congresswoman Robin Kelly explains why she thinks progressives should vote for her in the Democratic primary to replace Senator Durbin. Also, Robin's take on the congressional leadership of C...

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 press against the mayor. It doesn't hurt that the mainstream press is more than happy to go along for the ride. Get ready for lots of local political conversation--as well as some national talk. Cause Ben can't help himself. Asha is a writer, activist and political strategist w...

Breaking news! As the recording starts, word arrives that a judge has dismissed Trump's $15 billion defamation suit against the New York Times. Ben riffs. Denali takes the long view--to understand what Trump is doing as president today, you need to go back in time to the Biden years, when MAGA was preparing to seize control. So she takes the deep dive on a particularly ugly campaign waged in Georgian by white moms against a Black educator. That leads to the question--what do people mean when the...

The week’s news gets personal for Ben and Dr D, as you shall see. But first! A roundup of a few moments of interest, including Aurora and the flag, Kevin Ryan’s plea, and JB in London And then…Ice comes to Dr D’s neighborhood. And one woman takes a courageous stand.

Turns out there are divisions in MAGA—who knew? Ben riffs. Mayor John Laesch explains what's going on in Aurora. Specifically... why he ordered flags flown at full mast after Trump ordered all flags everywhere lowered to half-mast to commemorate Charlie Kirk. Turns out Trump isn’t the absolute Boss of everything everywhere—though he thinks he is. John is the mayor of Aurora.

Trump sues the New York Times for defamation. Ben riffs. Kevin Ryan talks about his long-shot campaign for the U.S. Senate. He’s a 33-year-old southwest side, Marine vet, public school history teacher, bartender, self described New Deal Democrat who wants to take money out of politics so billionaires don’t control the process. And what’s so wrong with that? Kevin’s taking his case to the voters, driving from one end of Illinois to the other—MAGA counties included—in a converted school bus inscri...

In the spirit of peace and reconciliation, Ben gives a shoutout to a Tribune editorial. “If Americans cannot speak without fear of being shot, then democracy is dead.” David Faris talks about Charlie Kirk’s legacy. Was he the Jordan Klepper of the right? A modern day William F Buckley? A descendent of Joe McCarthy? Is being open minded a sign of political weakness? Do militants on the right believe in free speech for all? Or just for themselves? And more, including a few words about Ezra Klein… ...

Ben and Dr D have so much to discuss. The Sky. The Jackal’s Mistress. What movie made Dennis cry? Hint—it starts with an R but it’s not Rocky. Brendan takes on Toni. Meet Scotty G, the Antioch Republican. Not to be confused with Teddy D, the Wilmette Republican. Why DB will beat them both to win the Republican nomination to face JB. Also, could Kevin Ryan be Ben’s Daiber? Finally, a shoutout to Kenny D’s shoutout to the late Bruce Dumont. It took a conservative Republican to put an anti-Daley le...

MAGA ties itself into knots trying to dislodge Trump from Epsteingate. Ben riffs Monroe talks Epstein, Biden, Kamala and Roger Taney. Who? He’s the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who wrote the opinion that slavery is legal. Is the current Supreme Court worse? Monroe advances that argument. How For the Love of Money by the O’Jays is misunderstood. And why its theme applies to the Bears. In the middle of our recording, word breaks from Utah that Charlie Kirk has been shot.

The Supremes say its okay to round up people for no crime other than the crime of being Hispanic, which is no crime at all. Ben riffs. Then Natalie Hopkinson connects the dots, so to speak. How Trump manipulates stereotypes and prejudices to scare people into cheering or at least tolerating authoritarianism. And how the media helps him. Also, the parallels between Smollettgate and Big Balls' story. Funny, Trump didn't send the guard to Chicago after Jussie said he was mugged by white guys in MA...

Dennis decided to start collecting comedy albums and Ben was kind enough to join him to talk all about it. It’s the first episode of I Find That Funny. Stick around for Marlon—one of Dennis’s oldest friends—to make his debut. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Clever investors devise a scheme to make money off of tariffs--oh, those capitalists. Ben riffs. Meredith Shiner picks up where she left off with her latest essay in The New Republic--Trump's war on cities. Especially D.C. You know, real people live in D.C. As always Dems left their most dedicated voters hanging by allowing the District to be used as a bargaining chip. A few words about MAGA's hatred of government. And Chicago as an avatar. Meredith writes for The New Republic. She covered Capit...

Ben and Dr D take on all the issues, including…The new alliance between Mayor Johnson and Governor Pritzker to stand up against Trump’s invasion. And the governor talks about his weight. And all the latest local updates. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Boss Donnie and his baby boys make big bucks off of Crypto. Ben riffs. State Senator Rachel Ventura explains why she's recording today's show in her car--in contrast to the Trumps flaunting their disdain for ethics and propriety. Rachel offers one riff after another on AI, crypto, the need for progressive taxation, the impact of tariffs on farmers, the five to eight ratio and more--like why she doesn't take corporate PAC donations. Rachel is the state senator from the 43rd district in and around...

As Trump prepares to invade Chicago, a federal judge rules that the invasion of Cali was unconstitutional. Ben riffs. Nick Uniejewski makes his show debut. He’s running against Senator Sara Feigenholtz, an entrenched incumbent in a North Side district that’s not had a contested Democratic primary since—get ready for this—Ben was in high school. In short, a long time ago. Why he’s running. What are his issues. And what he learned from his old boss, Congresswoman Marie Newman. See Privacy Policy a...

After experimenting with making nice to MAGA, Gavin Newsom goes for the jugular. Ben riffs. Jack White talks fascism, Trump, racism and the military occupations. Also, MAGA’s attempt to deny the existence of the trans-Atlantic slave trade elicits this confession from Jack: "I don't know how to combat stupid." But he does a good job combatting it, nonetheless. Jack is a former columnist and editor for Time, among other publications. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California P...

Ben and Dr D have a week’s worth of news to discuss. But first! Ben apologizes to Cameron Maine for calling him British. He’s Australian. Cameron explains how he turned a passion for gaming into a career covering Illinois politics for WMBD in Peoria. Then back to the beat for B and D…News on Pritzker, Trump, Alderman Sposato, Darren Bailey and more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Trump says he can do anything he wants--like invading Chicago. Ben riffs. Rummana Hussain predicts Chicago's reaction to an invasion. Then it's all things Jussie--again. As Ben and Rummana pick up a conversation they've been having for--get ready--six years! Yes, six years of Jussie talk. The pretext this time around? A new Netflix documentary that promises to reveal the truth about Smollettgate. Well, it doesn't do that. Rummana says it's cheesy. And Ben says that's the point, this whole saga i...

Trump makes a Daley-like power move against Intel. Ben riffs. Kam Buckner talks about Trump's threat to send the national guard to Chicago--or just about any blue state city with a Black mayor. How Governor Pritzker and Mayor Johnson should respond. Redistricting battles state by state. Winning statehouse seats is the key to saving democracy. Why Kam thinks the Bears are squirrelly when it comes to their stadium games. Did they try to pull a fast one on Chicago? Finally, a tribute to Candace Par...