The Ben Joravsky Show

Trump’s Supreme Court soldiers do their MAGA thing. Ben riffs. Paul Nolley returns to talk about his campaign for Congress in the 16th district. He’s a Democrat and it’s a R +11 district, but he sees an upset victory in plain sight. Why? Cause the issues are on his side. Starting with health care. His opponent—incumbent Darin LaHood—is so nervous he agreed to debate. Usually, MAGA candidates...

A New York Times poll shows that the less voters know about Trump, the more they like him. Ben riffs. Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette talks waste and fraud. He’s spent his working life in pursuit of bi-partisan solutions to waste and fraud and what has he received for his efforts as of late? His recommendations get ignored by the Trump administration and he’s been vilified and maligned by Musk’s cultists,...

Why do hyphenated Americans—Mexican, Italian, Irish, Polish. Greek, you name it—root for the country on the left side of that hyphen? Ben riffs. Adolfo elaborates. And that leads them to the Supremes coming close—too close—to erasing the 14 amendment. So much for being textualists. Next thing you know, Ben & Adolfo are breaking down the meaning of Country Road. You know—“almost heaven, We...

Can the U.S. media objectively cover the U.S. soccer team? Ben riffs. Kevin Blackistone adds a riff of his own. And then they’re off. Talking soccer and colonialism, Caitlin Clark and MAGA, Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson’s take down of Clarence Thomas and Trump’s desecration of Kevin’s beloved hometown of Washington, DC. Kevin is a writer, TV commentator, and journalism professor. See Privacy Poli...

A listener gently chides Ben for not giving DSA enough credit for congressional wins in NYC—in other words, it wasn’t just Mamdani. Ben riffs. Mick Dumke explains the latest chapter in the Parking Meter Debacle. As Mayor Johnson looks into buying back the control of our streets that Mayor Daley foolishly sold for a relative pittance. Learn about the Investment Bros, the mayor’s “dream team” of adv...

As the World Cup comes to America, a judge makes Trump remove his name from the Kennedy Center. Ben riffs. Serena Mathews—soccer analyst extraordinaire—tells you everything you need to know about the politics of the World Cup. The imperialistic model of FIFA. How Infantino sucked up to Trump. How Trump stole FIFA’s soccer trophy. How soccer sportswashes the hate of MAGA. How some rich guys in the...

Chicago aldermen debate the latest parking-meter debacle. Ben riffs. Christian Mitchell, Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor, returns. Talking Supreme Court ruling in Haitian deportation case, state police in Broadview, Darren Bailey and abortion, JB’s possible presidential run, Bears stadium, lefties and centrists and more. A former state rep, Christian is Governor Pritzker’s running mat...

Just when you thought the Trumps couldn’t get any greedier, Jared and Ivanka invade Albania. Ben riffs. Rummana—aka, Chicago’s foremost authority on Mayor Mamdani—talks…Mayor Mamdani! He went 3 for 3 in Tuesday’s congressional primaries. What does that say about the future of American politics? Also, Rummana makes a prediction about the two sports known as football. Rummana is a columnist for the...

Trump’s wading-pool follies offer a needed laugh as the idiocy is high and the stakes are relatively low. Ben riffs. David Faris talks Trump’s War in Iran. Years of U.S. blundering and bullying and miscalculations leading to Trump’s inability to consider the consequences of bombing Iran. Finally, a few thoughts about George W. Bush, who has most definitely not earned a rehabilitation. David i...

The NBA champion NY Knicks have a choice—follow their Trump-loving billionaire owner to the White House or stay far away and let the world know what they think of Trump. Ben riffs. Sergio predicts they won’t go. Then he tells you what you need to know about how Trump uses the UFC and the UFC uses Trump. It’s not pretty. Learn about Dana White, Ari Emanuel, Josh Hokit and that end-of-the-empire spe...

The Supremes love reefer, though not as much as they love guns. Ben riffs. Attorney Jim Coogan updates us on the latest mis-justice of Trump’s “Justice” Department. Including…Broadview 6. IRS “settlement.” E Jean Carroll retribution. Also, Jim confronts the Bears question. Jim is managing partner Coogan Gallagher. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at htt...

A few days after Trump celebrates his birthday in a spasm of hate and violence, Barack Obama opens his presidential center on the south side. Ben riffs. Monroe talks Obama’s legacy. The reflecting pool debacle. Epstein’s suicide. The Iran “peace” deal. And Brian Urlacher, whose thoughts on immigrants raise the question: Why are so many white jocks MAGA men?  See Privacy Policy at https://art1...

Knicks win. Ben tries to be gracious. Rossana Rodriguez joins the celebration. And then the conversation turns serious. As she makes the connection between fascists in the White House and conservatives in the city council. Her T-shirt says it all. Also, the promise of Mamdani. Pay attention, Chicago lefties. And more. Rossana is the alderwoman of the 33rd ward.  See Privacy Policy at https://...

Ben interrupts his road trip and Dr D puts down his newborn baby long enough to tell you what’s going on. Firstly…no one believes the Bears are going to Hammond and no one cares if they do. Susana Mendoza outflanks Vallas and Willie Wilson, locking up the MAGA vote in the mayor’s race. And Mayor Rahm breaks from bike riding in New Hampshire to watch his beloved Knicks. See Privacy Policy at https:...

Trump trolls Biden on the walls of the White House. Ben riffs. Heidi Henry—the Heartland Mama—talks about Trump’s professed love for inflation. Do liberals still think it was the cost of eggs that did in Kamala? The case against data centers. Can a nice guy win in Texas? Bill Gates explains why he was hanging with Epstein. To which Heidi advises—listen to Melinda. Heidi is a political activist and...

Mayor Rahm solidifies his 1 percent base by hanging with the rich guys in the courtside seats at the Knicks game. Ben riffs. Senator Rachel Ventura talks Bears stadium and data centers and AI and paying the state’s bills in face of Trump’s budget cuts. She closes with thoughts on the Democrat’s identity crisis. Are they the party of the courtside crew or the nosebleeds? Though even the nosebleed s...

Great news! Dr D is now Daddy D—again. Ben riffs. Pushkar Sharma pays tribute to Amisha Patel. And then explains why and how they put together a campaign to reject Raja in the Democratic primary for Senator. He also talks about Kash Patel and Vivek Ramaswamy and other members of the “white-adjacency” crowd, who look to protect their communities or advance their careers by embedding themselves in M...

The pope takes a stand against AI enslaving us. Ben riffs. Ishmael Reed joins the conversation from Oakland. Yes, that Ishmael Reed. One of America’s greatest writers—novelist, poet, essayist, playwright and song writer. And one of Ben’s heroes since like forever. The conversation flows from Musk to Thiel to Altman to Vance to Vivek, to Django to Lin Manual Miranda. Hamilton was no hero, people. F...

South Carolina Republican legislators defy Trump on congressional redistricting. Ben riffs. Mallory Dittmer fills in the details—46,000 Democratic voters had something to do with it. A Democratic candidate for Congress in the fifth district, Mallory analyzes the big issues that make South Carolina ripe for change. Education, health care, affordability and the degradation of democracy. If the...

The great Murakami tweaks his hamstring. Ben howls in pain. Miles and Gave assess the Sox and Cubs two months into the season. Sox fans will be delighted. Cubs fans not so much. Bottom line—if the Cubs were as tough on the Brewers as they are with a woman Sox fan, they’d still be in first place. Hey, don’t blame the messengers. Ben defends Jerry Reinsdorf. Gave and Miles try not to laugh. Much tal...

There’s hardly any money to get books from one library branch to the other, but $1.5 trillion for the military. Ben riffs. Rachel Hinton fills in the blanks, explicating on her recent article on why it takes so long to get those library books you ordered. Also, political talk. Why is Governor Pritzker irritated by Mayor Johnson? The politics of being tough on teen takeovers. And more. Rachel is an...

Maria Pappas speaks the truth about handouts to the Bears. Ben riffs. Karina Villa gives us the low down on her race for comptroller, the impact of Trump cuts on Illinois, the states’s misplaced budget priorities, the need to tax the rich and why she’s cautiously, very cautiously, optimistic about November’s midterms. Karina is the state senator from the 25th district.  See Privacy Policy at...

One last riff about Paul Singer and Thomas Massie. Take it away, Ben. Michael Rabbitt tells you everything you need to know about the ordeal he and his five co-defendants faced in the Orwellian legal charade known as The Broadview 6 prosecution. They did nothing wrong other than exercise their right to protest against Operation Midway Blitz. Which is not wrong at all—exercising their rights, that...

Trump diverts about $1.8 billion in taxpayers’s money to his cronies—just call him President Slush Fund. Ben riffs. Kevin Ryan talks about the lessons he learned from his recent Senate campaign. From there he covers everything from Hegseth in Kentucky to George Washington at Valley Forge. A shout out to Robin Kelly. A call for ranked-choice voting. A plea for a separation between church and state....

Ben and Dr D have all the news you need to know. The City Council stands up for rich people—again. Darren Bailey almost sorta blames Trump for rising gas prices. SDG takes on Michael Sacks and vice versa. And the “simmering feud” between Governor Pritzker and Mayor Johnson rises a few degrees as JB accuses Brandon of having no Bears plan. And Brandon says I’m the only one with a plan. See Privacy...