Natalie Hopkinson--The Criminal In Chief

Ben and Dr D have so much to discuss. The Sky. The Jackal’s Mistress. What movie made Dennis cry? Hint—it starts with an R but it’s not Rocky. Brendan takes on Toni. Meet Scotty G, the Antioch Republican. Not to be confused with Teddy D, the Wilmette Republican. Why DB will beat them both to win the Republican nomination to face JB. Also, could Kevin Ryan be Ben’s Daiber? Finally, a shoutout to Kenny D’s shoutout to the late Bruce Dumont. It took a conservative Republican to put an anti-Daley leftie on the mic.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

MAGA ties itself into knots trying to dislodge Trump from Epsteingate. Ben riffs Monroe talks Epstein, Biden, Kamala and Roger Taney. Who? He’s the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who wrote the opinion that slavery is legal. Is the current Supreme Court worse? Monroe advances that argument. How For the Love of Money by the O’Jays is misunderstood. And why its theme applies to the Bears. In the middle of our recording, word breaks from Utah that Charlie Kirk has been shot. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Supremes say its okay to round up people for no crime other than the crime of being Hispanic, which is no crime at all. Ben riffs. Then Natalie Hopkinson connects the dots, so to speak. How Trump manipulates our stereotypes and prejudices to scare people into cheering or at least tolerating authoritarianism. And how the media helps him, frightening white America with sensational images of Black people. Also, the parallels between Smollettgate and Big Balls' story. Funny, Trump didn't send the guard to Chicago after Jussie said he was mugged by white guys in MAGA hats. A few words about Trump as an FBI informant. And Mayor Bowser's predicament. Natalie is an associate professor of Media, Democracy and Society at American University.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dennis decided to start collecting comedy albums and Ben was kind enough to join him to talk all about it. It’s the first episode of I Find That Funny. Stick around for Marlon—one of Dennis’s oldest friends—to make his debut.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Clever investors devise a scheme to make money off of tariffs--oh, those capitalists. Ben riffs. Meredith Shiner picks up where she left off with her latest essay in The New Republic--Trump's war on cities. Especially D.C. You know, real people live in D.C. As always Dems left their most dedicated voters hanging by allowing the District to be used as a bargaining chip. A few words about MAGA's hatred of government. And Chicago as an avatar. Meredith writes for The New Republic. She covered Capitol Hill for years.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben and Dr D take on all the issues, including…The new alliance between Mayor Johnson and Governor Pritzker to stand up against Trump’s invasion. And the governor talks about his weight. And all the latest local updates.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Boss Donnie and his baby boys make big bucks off of Crypto. Ben riffs. State Senator Rachel Ventura explains why she's recording today's show in her car--in contrast to the Trumps flaunting their disdain for ethics and propriety. Rachel offers one riff after another on AI, crypto, the need for progressive taxation, the impact of tariffs on farmers, the five to eight ratio and more--like why she doesn't take corporate PAC donations. Rachel is the state senator from the 43rd district in and around Joliet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As Trump prepares to invade Chicago, a federal judge rules that the invasion of Cali was unconstitutional. Ben riffs. Nick Uniejewski makes his show debut. He’s running against Senator Sara Feigenholtz, an entrenched incumbent in a North Side district that’s not had a contested Democratic primary since—get ready for this—Ben was in high school. In short, a long time ago. Why he’s running. What are his issues. And what he learned from his old boss, Congresswoman Marie Newman. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After experimenting with making nice to MAGA, Gavin Newsom goes for the jugular. Ben riffs. Jack White talks fascism, Trump, racism and the military occupations. Also, a conversation about the MAGA attempt to deny the existence of the trans-Atlantic slave trade elicits this confession from Jack: "I don't know how to combat stupid." But he goes on to do a good job at it, nonetheless. Jack is a former columnist and editor for Time, among other publications. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben and Dr D have a week’s worth of news to discuss. But first! Ben apologizes to Cameron Maine for calling him British. He’s Australian. Cameron explains how he turned a passion for gaming into a career covering Illinois politics for WMBD in Peoria. Then back to the beat for B and D…News on Pritzker, Trump, Alderman Sposato, Darren Bailey and more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.