It's the Democracy, Stupid Featured Interviews

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Jill Wine-Banks , legal analyst, former general counsel of the U.S. Army, author of "The Watergate Girl ," co-host of  #SistersInLaw , and host of  Just The Facts with Jill Wine-Banks . Wine-Banks criticized the FBI's mishandling of the Charlie Kirk shooting case and the broader distrust in government agencies, highlighted the Supreme Court's role in undermi...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Simon Rosenberg , Democratic strategist and author of the  Hopium Chronicles . Rosenberg discussed the rise of political violence on the right, citing the Charlie Kirk shooting and ideology on the right "that encourages violence," including the QAnon, whose end state, Rosenberg points out, is "the assassination and killing of Democratic leaders on the mall and th...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Samantha Tarazi , chief executive officer of  Voting Rights Lab . "We track and analyze voting and elections laws," Tarazi told WCPT, "and also propose changes to those laws via legislation in all 50 states. We look at and highlight how to strengthen our elections, and we also sound the alarm when election threats emerge. And I think there are a number of things...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Rep. Jesús "Chuy" García (D-IL). Catch “The Big Picture with Edwin Eisendrath” Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/the-big-picture). And find “The Big Picture (Full Episodes)” podcast on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , iHeartRadio , YouTube , Amazon and TuneIn . See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Jen Bendery , senior politics reporter for  HuffPost . Bendery discussed the significant reduction in the federal workforce, noting that 199,000 jobs have been cut since January, decimating the 2.3 million-strong workforce. She highlighted the role of Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought in driving the cuts.  Bendery also criticized the Tr...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Anne Applebaum , staff writer at  The Atlantic  and author of six critically acclaimed books, including “ Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World .” Catch “The Big Picture with Edwin Eisendrath” Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/the-big-picture).    And find...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Texas Democratic State  Rep. Trey Martinez-Fischer . "We are not a Republican state; we're a non-voting state," Martinez-Fischer told WCPT, offering a "Texas 101" primer on state legislative politics and President Donald Trump's mid-decade congressional redistricting scheme that Texas is trying to become the first state to adopt.  "We have the largest Africa...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Melissa Sanchez , Chicago-based immigration and labor reporter for ProPublica; her latest piece is a  profile  of Venezuelan men deported by the Trump administration who endured months of physical and mental abuse inside a Salvadoran prison Catch “The Big Picture with Edwin Eisendrath” Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsi...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Samuel Bagenstos , the Frank G. Millard Professor of Law at the University of Michigan; he specializes in civil rights, labor and employment law, health law, and governance.  Catch “The Big Picture with Edwin Eisendrath” Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/the-big-picture).    And find “T...

Filling in for Edwin Eisendrath, Professors William Muck and Joel Ostrow are joined by Rima Ziuraitas , certified TACMED instructor and medic in Ukraine.  Catch “The Big Picture with Edwin Eisendrath” Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/the-big-picture).    And find “The Big Picture (Full Episodes)” podcast on&n...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Ezra Levin , co-founder and co-executive director of  Indivisible .  Levin discussed the movement's multifaceted efforts to counteract Republican overreach, emphasizing the importance of local, group-based organizing, but conceded failure in stopping the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law July 4. "It is one of the least...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Andrea Pitzer ,  journalist and author of  One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps. Pitzer defined the concentration camp as mass civilian detention "without any real trial. So if there was a trial," she explained, "it was just a show trial, or a big group, 100 people getting sentenced at once, something like that, done on the basis of race o...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by David Nir , publisher of  The Downballot . Nir discussed the importance of local and state elections, highlighting the significant number of elected offices in the U.S. and their impact on democracy. He talked about the resurgence of interest in down-ballot races, citing Wisconsin's recent Supreme Court race as an example. He emphasized the role of independe...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Anderson Clayton , chair of the  North Carolina Democratic Party . Clayton talked about how North Carolina Republicans have, over the past 15 years, poisoned state politics with extreme partisanship. "I think it's really important to know that when Democrats had control of this state, the number one thing that they did was invest in public education. When Republi...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Allison LaCroix , the Robert Newton Reid Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School. LaCroix discussed the evolving nature of federalism and states' rights. She explained that federalism involves distributed power among national, state, and local governments, tracing its roots to the British Empire and the American colonial period. "What we have now, in...

Filling in for Edwin Eisendrath, Turi Ryder talks to  Audrey Francis , artistic director of Steppenwolf Theatre and director of Steppenwolf’s “ You Will Get Sick ,” playing through July 20. Catch “The Big Picture with Edwin Eisendrath” Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/the-big-picture).    And find &ldqu...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Tomás Kloosterman , national political director at  Swing Left . Catch “The Big Picture with Edwin Eisendrath” Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/the-big-picture).    And find “The Big Picture (Full Episodes)” podcast on  Spotify , Apple Podcasts , iHeartRadio , YouTube...

Edwin Eisendrath talks to  John Nichols , national affairs correspondent for  The Nation . Catch “The Big Picture with Edwin Eisendrath” Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/the-big-picture).    And find “The Big Picture (Full Episodes)” podcast on  Spotify , Apple Podcasts , iHeartRadio , YouTube , Ama...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Tom Bonier , CEO of the  TARA Group , and senior adviser for  Target Smart , a Democratic political data and data services firm. Catch “The Big Picture with Edwin Eisendrath” Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/the-big-picture).    And find “The Big Picture (Full Episodes)” pod...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Bobby Kogan , senior director of federal budget policy at the Center for American Progress.  Catch “The Big Picture with Edwin Eisendrath” Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/the-big-picture).    And find “The Big Picture (Full Episodes)” podcast on  Spotify , Apple Podcasts ,...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Amanda Zurawski , reproductive rights activist who was the lead plaintiff in the landmark Zurawski v. State of Texas case. Amanda was denied abortion care after she experienced preterm pre-labor rupture of membranes (PPROM) at 18 weeks of pregnancy. Because doctors could still detect the baby's heartbeat, they could not perform an abortion or provide care until Amanda...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Nancy MacLean , professor of History and Public Policy at Duke University. Catch “The Big Picture with Edwin Eisendrath” Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/the-big-picture).    And find “The Big Picture (Full Episodes)” podcast on  Spotify , Apple Podcasts , iHeartRadio , YouTube ,...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Congressman Mike Quigley (D-IL), who has represented the 5th District since 2009.  Catch “The Big Picture with Edwin Eisendrath” Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/the-big-picture).    And find “The Big Picture (Full Episodes)” podcast on  Spotify , Apple Podcasts , iHeartRadi...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Seth Cotlar , professor of history at Willamette University. He discussed the historical and contemporary dynamics of the right-wing political movement, highlighting the persistent conspiracy theories and alternative realities that have animated the right, dating back to figures like Sen. Joe McCarthy and lawyer Roy Cohn. Cotlar talked about the intertwined threads of...

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Ashton Pittman of the Mississippi Free Press.  He discussed a story about Kasper Eriksen, a Danish immigrant arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) due to a 2015 paperwork error. Ericksen, who has lived in Mississippi for well over a decade, has four children and another on the way. The story highlights the broader issue of ICE targeting immigrants...