Episodes

Former school CEO Janice Jackson says CTU can't get along. Ben riffs. And Dave Glowacz, ace reporter for Inside Chicago Government, returns with clips from recent City Council meetings. What's on the agenda, you ask? Good que...

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So much for Ben & Dr. D to riff on--so little time. So let's get to it...Willlie Wilson gives away gas, as opposed to cash. That wins the Dr.'s vote. Reefer sales fall. Good news for cookie man. John Catanzara auditions for a...

WBEZ reporter Dave McKinney returns to discuss two of the most powerful players in Illinois politics--Kenneth Griffin, who bankrolls the Republican Party, and Michael Joseph Madigan, who used to run the Democratic Party. They have more in common than you think, Dave breaks down his recent expose ab…

State Attorney Kim Foxx makes a tough decision. Ben riffs. Monroe Anderson talks Ukraine. And then...the great debate. As Adolfo Mondragon--lawyer extraordinaire--defends the sentencing of Jussie Smollett to 150 days in jail....

Mayor Lightfoot went on the Craig Dellimore Show, which is not really called the Craig Dellimore Show, and blamed everything on Ben. Well, not everything. But just the criticism Alderwoman Sue Sadlowski Garza aimed at Mayor Lightfoot. Ben riffs. And state Rep. Kam Buckner talks mayor's race. Will h…

Alderwoman Sue Sadlowski Garza covers a range of topics. Including the tragic murder of Amanda Calo, shot dead by her husband. Katie Garza, the alderwoman's daughter, joins the conversation to pay tribute to Amanda and ask listeners donate to a GoFundMe page for Amanda's two children. Then the top…

Roosevelt University Political Scientist David Faris takes us from A to Z on Putin's war against Ukraine. Putin's twisted logic, motivations and justifications--"it's not a violation of sovereignty, but a restoration of it." How best to confront him. The hypocrisy of Bush. The threat to the world. …

Wednesday, July 10, 2019: An Alligator in the Humboldt Park Lagoon? Confederate Railroad banned from the Illinois State Fair. Legendary Chicago journalist Monroe Anderson returns. Activist Sameena Mustafa is back and Jacobin Writer Micah Uetricht talks local and national politics. See Privacy Poli…

Just after Judge James Linn sentenced Jussie Smollett to five months in the County Jail, Ben & Rummana sat down two discuss. And why not. We've been updating Smollettgate as it unfolded almost from the moment it began in Janu...

Dems want to pretend Michael Madigan never existed. Ben riffs. Alderman David Moore returns to discuss his candidacy to replace Jesse White as Secretary of State. He's the only candidate in the race who openly declares he's n...

Jeff Jenkins is a juggler, activist, circus ring leader, and former aldermanic candidate--not necessarily in that order. He's also a passionate rescuer and trainer of dogs, particularly Pit bulls, who are bred to fight. He talks about saving and training "fight" dogs. There's much overlap between m…

Battle of the letters-to-editor in the Sun-Times. First, Kenneth Griffin, then a Sun-Times reader. Ben riffs. Monroe Anderson & Sergio Mims, co-founder of the Black Harvest Festival, and the great debate. Is media unfair to M...

Sun-Times editorial writer/columnist Rummana Hussain & Ben take a diversion from the madness of the day to discus Kanye, Mama's Boys, David Yurman, Missoni (spelled correctly), and why white people have a hard time telling on...

Sergio Vicente, host of The Fight Podcast, and Benji "the Bookie" Hall return for a great debate. Who should be on the NBA top 75 players of all time and who should be left off. Also, will the Bulls ever be able to beat the good teams? Yes, when Alex Caruso returns. See Privacy Policy at https://a…

What a week's worth of news it was! Michael Joseph Madigan indicted! Mayor Lightfoot allegedly brags about having the "biggest dick in Chicago!" George W. Bush, of all people, comes to town to denounce invasions of sovereign ...

The feds indict former House Speaker Michael Joseph Madigan on corruption charges. True to form, Ben is all over the map. And then state Rep Kelly Cassidy--who took a stand against Madigan long before it was fashionable--returns to talk about his legacy. Good and bad.   See Privacy Policy at https…

Vincent E. Norment--owner of the Marijuana Hall of Fame--returns to consider the question: Is the NFL a racist organization, at least when it comes to the hiring Black coaches? Brian Flores, recently fired coach of the Miami Dolphins, says yes. Vincent and Ben talk about his discrimination lawsuit …

Arne Duncan announces he's not running for mayor. Now Mayor Lightfoot who had nothing but contempt for him can't love him enough. Ben riffs. And Monroe Anderson talks Biden's state of the union and then joins LeAlan Jones--fo...

Ben woke up to discover he'd been scooped by his scoop. That is, his interview with Alderwoman Sue Sadlowski Garza had generated lots of coverage after Gregory Pratt, Chicago Tribune writer, wrote about it. Next thing you know, Mike Flannery's on the line. Ben riffs. And then Gregory Pratt, himself…

On March 10, 2019, Nadia Milleron's 24-year-old daughter, Samya Rose Stumpo, was one of 157 passengers who died when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed on a flight from Adidas Ababa to Nairobi, Kenya. Nadia is waging a campaign to change Illinois law that will allow survivor's to sue Boeing, the…

Political scientist David Faris set off a twitter fight with his tweet about relaxing COVID mandates. It got ugly. You don't want to be the "main character" on Twitter. The politics of mask mandates and COVID are changing as we head toward November's election. David explains. Also, the South Carol…

Riffing time! As Ben & Dr. D look back on the news. But first! Maya Dukmasova makes a surprise appearance to promote March 1 First Tuesdays. Then back to the news, including: MAGA's twisted, very twisted, adoration for Putin;...

It's not swearing day. Ben explains. State Rep. Lakesia Collins returns to talk about what happened last week on the floor of the General Assembly when she dared to tell Republicans to, please, put on your masks. And Miles Ka...