Joan Esposito: Live, Local & Progressive | October 30, 2026

On today's show – Chris Fitzsimon, host of the Stories from the States podcast – “Out Chicago” host Scott Duff and film critic Rebecca Ford with their monthly look at TV, movies, theater and more Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (he…

Joan Esposito: Live, Local & Progressive | October 29, 2026

On today's show – Ron Roberts, host of “The Ron Show,” a political talk show now airing on Heartland Signal station WMLB Atlanta – Melissa Bean, Democratic candidate for Congress in the 8th District of Illinois – Ian Karbal and Peter Hall, state government reporters for the Pennsylvania Capital-Sta…

Joan Esposito: Live, Local & Progressive | October 28, 2026

On today's show – Dr. Elicia John, behavioral scientist and assistant professor of marketing at American University in Washington, D.C., and Dr. Lez Trujillo Torres, consumer researcher and assistant professor of marketing at University of Illinois Chicago; together they have authored a recent stud…

Joan Esposito: Live, Local & Progressive | October 27, 2026

On today's show – Christopher Armitage, author, veteran, former law enforcement officer, activist, policy adviser, and publisher of The Existentialist Republic on Substack; his latest piece is "Would the U.S. Be Better Off as a European Union-Style 'Country of Countries'?" – Professor Steven D. Sch…

Joan Esposito: Live, Local & Progressive | October 26, 2026

On today's show – Bill Scher, politics editor at Washington Monthly; his latest articles are “Meet the Democratic Senate Candidates Who Are Overperforming. And Underperforming” and “Kansas? Montana? Mississippi? Where Will the Blue Wave Crest?“ – Nicole Foy, immigration reporter for ProPublica; she…

Joan Esposito: Live, Local & Progressive | October 23, 2026

On today's show – Chris Fitzsimon, host of the Stories from the States podcast; a radio version of the podcast now airs on WCPT Sundays at 6:00 p.m. Central – Bruce Rheins, former CBS Los Angeles deputy bureau chief Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.…

Joan Esposito: Live, Local & Progressive with guest host Rickey Hendon | October 22, 2026

On today's show Rickey Hendon fills in for Joan and his guests are – Willie Wilson, 2027 candidate for Chicago mayor – Pennie McCoach, president and business agent of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 308, which represents rail workers for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) – William Muck,…

Joan Esposito: Live, Local & Progressive with guest host Carolyn Fiddler | October 21, 2026

On today's show Carolyn Fiddler fills in for Joan and her guests are – Ben Jacobs, reporter – Chris Mann, Democratic candidate for attorney general of Kansas – Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) – Minnesota Attorney General Keith Elllison, 2026 cand…

Joan Esposito: Live, Local & Progressive with guest host Mike Nellis | October 20, 2026

On today's show Mike Nellis fills in for Joan and his guests are – Aaron Kleinman, Heartland Signal‘s senior political analyst and author of the “Radio Free America” newsletter – Melissa Toufanian, former State Department deputy assistant secretary who served on the communications team for the orig…

Joan Esposito: Live, Local & Progressive | October 19, 2026

On today's show – Amanda Zahorak, Democratic candidate for Illinois House District 48 – Paul Lisnek, multi-Emmy Award-winning TV host who served as political and legal analyst at WGN for 18 years; he is also the author of 15 books and host of “Curtain Call Chicago” and “Paul On Politics“ – Robert P…