Chicago politics with national alarm bells.
The Ben Joravsky Show works like a running argument about Chicago, Illinois, and the national emergency of the week. It moves from Rahm Emanuel, Brandon Johnson, and state maneuvering to Trump, Iran, basketball, bowling, and comedy without pretending politics stays in one lane.
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The Ben Joravsky Show treats politics as something happening at the kitchen table, in city hall, on the campaign trail, and inside the constitutional machinery all at once. It is brisk, guest-driven talk with Chicago muscle memory and a constant eye on national danger. The show can start with Rahm Emanuel hinting at a final race, then drift into school closings, mayoral vetoes, tipped wages, and aldermanic maneuvering. It can also snap toward Trump, Iran, the 25th Amendment, war powers, and the strange spectacle of Republican loyalty under pressure. The tone is rarely detached. It is argumentative, funny in a dry way, and often openly fed up. That does not make it narrow. Episodes make space for Cody Wilkins on comedy and work, Mark Wallace on Trumpism and political decline, Kam Buckner on Chicago and state politics, Monroe Anderson on removal fantasies and Republican ambition, and Miles Kampf-Lassin on escalation and foreign policy drift. Sports keep sneaking in, especially the Chicago Bulls. Bowling becomes a life metaphor. Local political names recur like characters in a long-running civic drama: Brandon Johnson, Chris Welch, Darren Bailey, J.B. Pritzker, Rahm Emanuel. The show’s rhythm is part setup, part rant, part interview, and part running bit. It often repeats a point until the pressure of it lands. The Chicago focus gives the national material a street-level texture. The national material gives the Chicago segments a sense of emergency. Producer Nate and DJ Nate surface around the edges, adding to the loose independent-show feel. Listeners should expect strong opinions rather than neutral summary. They should also expect side roads. A joke can sit next to a constitutional worry, and a basketball riff can become a civic analogy before the guest even gets settled. The result is political conversation that feels messy in the way real political obsession is messy. It is made for people who want the argument, not just the headline.
Made for: For listeners who follow Chicago and Illinois politics closely but also want the national stakes argued in plain language. It especially suits people who like guest-heavy political talk with humor, repetition, and strong points of view.
What sets it apart: The show’s edge is its ability to make city council fights, statehouse strategy, Trump-era crisis, sports, and personal riffs feel like parts of one civic argument. It sounds less like a polished briefing than a long-running political conversation with history, jokes, and urgency still attached.
Chicago journalist Ben Joravsky starts each show by riffing on the news of the day with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty. Then he talks politics with activists, elected officials, journalists and all sorts of political know-it-alls. We talk Chicago, Illinois, national (lots of national), international and lefty politics. Find The Ben Joravsky Show wherever you download podcasts.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Ben Joravsky turns Chicago-rooted political argument into lively conversations about institutions, elections, war, and presidential power.
Ben Joravsky starts with an animated response to the political moment, then brings a guest into a conversation that can move between Chicago government and national or international affairs.
Ben Joravsky turns a 25th Amendment argument into a crab-cake bet; you decide if that's company.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A sharp Illinois politics roundup about reinvention, records, wage fights, and the risk of a Trump break.
A week in Illinois politics plays as a tight study in political reinvention, opening with Rahm Emanuel guest-hosting Pivot and calling his next run his final race.
A job-title insult opens into a personal comedy story about identity and keeping the lights on.
Ben Jorofsky opens Expanding Universe Wednesday with a quick turn from Donald Trump and climate change to Cody Wilkins and Personality Hire. Wilkins says he did not realize at first that the phrase was derogatory, and the conversation uses that detail to widen into work in…
A brisk political argument that turns a joke into a wider case against Trumpism.
Mark Wallace joins Ben Joravsky for a brisk political conversation that starts with a joke and then settles into Trump, Pope Leo, and the broader strain running through American politics.
A dinner bet gives shape to a tense argument over the 25th Amendment, Trump's base, and whether an internal move against him could happen.
"Two Weeks of Peace Wednesday" turns a grim foreign-policy stretch into a constitutional argument about war, bombing in Iran, continued bombing in Lebanon, and the possibility of using the 25th Amendment against Trump.
A sharp political discussion about the danger of treating war like another deal to be managed.
The episode uses the Trump administration's deal-making language to test how empty it sounds against the realities of war. The host and guest track the distance between public messaging and practical responsibility: unclear objectives, no exit timeline, shifting signals framed…
Cam Buckner links today's fight over Chicago power to Springfield's history of weakening Harold Washington.
"Cam Buckner--Keep That Same Energy" puts Chicago's latest clash with Springfield inside a broader argument about who gets to govern the city.
War powers and Texas ballot mechanics collide, with turnout numbers making the November stakes harder to ignore.
The Ben Jarowski Show starts with a hard tension: bombing and killing in Iran alongside the insistence that the country is not formally at war.
Politics, war, media, and no patience.
Policy signals before they become consequences.
The host discusses the U.S.
Host Ben Jerofsky introduces candidate Bushra Amiwala to discuss the war in Iran and other issues, while reflecting on Skokie's significance as a symbol of the American dream for immigrants.
This episode discusses the causes and impacts of long airport security lines, linking them to political gridlock and funding issues affecting TSA workers.
Chicago journalist Ben Joravsky hosts State Representative Cam Buckner to discuss the tension between local Illinois politics and Donald Trump's national actions.
Ben Joravsky hosts Kina Collins, a candidate for Illinois' 7th Congressional District, on 'War Without War Thursday'.
["Rahm Emanuel's \"final race\" line and a Bloomberg report about an online gambling tax drive much of the early conversation on The Ben Joravsky Show.", "Ben Joravsky pushes back by tying Rahm to 50 Chicago school closures, Barbara Byrd-Bennett, and the city's corporate head tax fights.", "The episode then moves to Brandon Johnson, whose Sun-Times quote calls Rahm's mayoralty disqualifying because of school closures, privatization, and the Laquan McDonald cover-up.", "It ends with Darren Bailey telling Shia Kapos that he is \"not MAGA\" and criticizing Donald Trump's pope meme while trying to sound like a plain Republican."]
Ben Jorofsky opens on Expanding Universe Wednesday.
Ben opens with a joke and a bit of banter with Mark Wallace about Sweet Caroline before the conversation turns to the political insanity of the week, including Trump and Pope Leo.
Ben Jaroszka introduces a podcast episode with Alden Loury, promising to discuss property taxes but first diving into his personal obsession with the Chicago Bulls and making sports relevant to all listeners.
Host Ben Jarowski interviews Illinois State Representative Kam Buckner about Chicago and Springfield politics, contrasting local political norms with national turmoil under Donald Trump.
The host introduces "Two Weeks of Peace" while looking back at six weeks of war and bombing in Iran and Lebanon.
The host opens by calling the Trump administration hollow.
Host Ben Jorofsky introduces guest Denali Dasgupta and shares a personal bowling analogy about overcoming fear when facing difficult situations like picking up spares.
This episode discusses the constitutional and legal dimensions of the U.S.