The Ben Joravsky Show

Facebook melts down. Ben riffs. Or tries to. Marlon Chamberlain from Fully Free joins Lisa Soloman to talk restorative justice. And state Senator Robert Peters returns to discuss dog whistles, Ken Griffin. Bears looking for handouts and the hypocrisy of "free marketers". See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Sun-Times editor/columnist Rummana Hussain riffs on the sleazy Cuomo brothers of New York City; Tucker Carlson and white replacement theory; and cancel culture as a political tool of people whose culture almost never gets cancelled. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Benji the Bookie returns and gets a little political about anti-vaxxers in the NBA. Then he gets down to the business of prognostication, regarding Ben's beloved Bulls. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

June 13, 2019: A Mayor Lightfoot city council meeting number 2 in review and TIF talk with Casey Toner of The Better Government Association. Union Man Ed Maher returns and it's the 10th Ward Alderwoman Sue Sadlowski Garza. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Ben & Dr. D do their riffing thing. Including riffs on the Bears, WBEZ/Sun-Times, and our big scoop. Hint, we owe it all to Scott Waguespack, Dan Mihalopoulos and Linda Paul. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Crain's asks who's going to pay for a new Bears stadium in Arlington Heights. Ben answers. Chinyere Farr talks Reader fundraising. And Jacob & Dan, the Illinois Political Know it Alls, return to talk politics from Chicago to Springfield to D.C. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Alderwoman Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez returns to talk policing, budgets, mayoral fibbing and the different rules for mayoral allies and independents in the city council. Also, it looks as though former alderman Richard Mell is teaming up with former Governor Blago, his Trump-loving son-in-law, to run someone against her. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice...

The Bears buy property in Arlington Heights. Ben says—good riddance. Monroe Anderson talks LeBron and vaccines. And south side activist Dixon Romeo talks Obama Center and gentrification. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Ben sets up shop in Cali. Nothing goes right. And Alderman Scott Waguespack, chair of the finance committee, talks budgets, mayors, Burke, Gardiner and why Mike Kelly had got to go. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Political scientist David Faris returns to talk about the California recall election and the lunacy of hard-core anti-mandate Republicans. It's enough to make him almost optimistic about the future. Also, he riffs on France's upset over Australia, the U.S.A. and submarines. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-inf...

June 4, 2019: Trump in the U.K. and Burke pleads not guilty. Lightfoot's new School Board and where on earth will Chicago put a casino? Maya Dukmasova of The Chicago Reader weighs in on Burke vs Lightfoot and Anthony Clarke talks his Congressional race against Danny K. Davis. Chicago Sun-Times Business Writer David Roeder talks his latest work and helps answer the casino question. See Privacy Poli...

Victoria Williams, CEO of ACC of Illinois, and Vincent E. Norment, owner of the Marijuana Hall of Fame, return to talk Bears. Victoria gives Vincent grief for not having enough faith in her beloved Bears. Vincent says Victoria has too much faith. Ben rants about the Bears not drafting Patrick Mahomes. And somehow they get around to talking about the upcoming game against the Browns. See Privacy Po...

There's a week's worth of news for Ben & Dr. D to riff about. Including, Mayor Lightfoot's budget address, and her budget games, and a new candidate for assessor, and the love aldermen have for Mayor Rahm, and the love Chicagoans have for President Obama and much more. Including the latest Jesse "Sully" Sullivan news. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notic...

Words of wisdom about Nicki Minaj from an enlightened millennial. Andy Fox, from the city's office of Labor Standards, talks workers rights. And Dave Glowacz of Inside Chicago Politics returns for another segment of A City Council Synopsis. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Historian Adam Carston talks about Mr. Kelly's the super cool Rush Street nightclub back in the `50s & `60s--when the small club drew Richard Pryor, Lenny Bruce, Barbra Streisand and other stars. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Word breaks that Mayor Rahm's made over $13 million since leaving office. Ben riffs. And Monroe Anderson on border security whipping Haitian refugees. Also, Miles Kampf-Lassin from In These Times talks about Biden's budget options and the cynical behavior of mainstream Dems. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-in...

Bill Horberg wins an Emmy! Ben pretends his show got one, too. And Nicole Cantello, president of the local EPA union, talks vaccine mandates. Also, Terry Cosgrove, CEO of Personal PAC, talks Texas abortion law. If Dems don't wake up, this could be the future... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Demographer Rob Paral goes over the early census reports to see what they say about what Chicago was, is and will be. One obvious conclusion is that Republicans are full of…well, let’s let Rob explain… See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Sun-Times editor/columnist Rummana Hussain takes the deep dive on The White Lotus. A show in which white people look really, really bad. No spoilers--as we are disciplined conversationalists--so you can listen even if you haven't watched the show. Also, the latest on Smollettgate, which keeps getting weirder. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://...

May 22, 2019: Legendary Chicago Journalist Monroe Anderson and Former Chicago Sun-Times City Hall Reporter Ray Hanania talk Trump, Pelosi, the great cover up of 2019 and the first 100 days of Chicago Mayors past. Download Wednesday's Ben Joravsky Show! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Investigative journalist and former Bernie Sanders speechwriter, David Sirota returns to talk Mayor Rahm. Specifically, why are Dems rewarding Rahm after he, among other things, buried evidence of murder? You can read David's work at The Daily Poster. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Keith Forsyth was a 20-year-old "freak" back in 1971, when he and other anti-war activists broke into the FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania and made off with various reports. That enabled them to eventually expose the secrets the FBI didn't want you to know--like COINTELPRO. He tells his story. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/priva...

MAGA loves Nicki Minaj because of her cousin's friend's swollen testicles. Or something like that. Ben riffs. Also, Monroe Anderson takes a victory lap for correctly predicting the California recall election. And Sergio Mims--co-founder of the Black Harvest Film Festival--offers his opinions on everything from Larry Elder to Jordan Peele. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Califor...

Ben talks about the life and times of Veronica Wolski, who went from Bernie to QAon. Also, state Rep. Kelly Cassidy returns to talk about her counter attack against the anti-choicers. Also, a word or two about Republican "moderates". And David Weiss--AKA, Mr. Facebook--our correspondent in L.A., talks about the California recall election. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Califor...

President of the Chicago Principals Association Troy LaRaviere returns to talk about the opening of school. Or, Chicago's abysmal lack of preparation. Also, he offers advice to Los Angeles principals. And his thoughts on anti-vaxers. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .