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It's the Democracy, Stupid Full Episodes

It's the Democracy, Stupid Full Episodes

by WCPT 820

Latest episode
It's the Democracy, Stupid with Edwin Eisendrath | October 31, 2026

About this podcast

From Heartland Signal and WCPT AM 820 in Chicago, "The Big Picture with Edwin Eisendrath" is now "It's the Democracy, Stupid with Edwin Eisendrath."

Each week Edwin and his guests get specific about politics, government, campaigns, and the kind of country all this work is meant to build.

Join us live every Saturday from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Central to be part of the conversation.

About Edwin
Edwin Eisendrath served two terms in Chicago’s City Council before being appointed Midwest Region Director of HUD by President Bill Clinton. He was subsequently appointed Federal Receiver in charge of the takeover and turnaround of the Chicago Housing Authority.

Off the campaign trail, Edwin has worked in higher education and as a consultant to universities here and around the world. After the 2016 election cycle he knew he had to focus back home. He brought business and labor leaders together to rescue the Chicago Sun-Times and its subsidiary, the Chicago Reader. He ran the company as its CEO until both publications were saved.

Back in the 1990s Bill Clinton’s campaign slogan, "It’s the economy, stupid," captured the biggest concern of the era. Today American democracy itself is under attack. So Edwin launched an effort called, "It’s the democracy, stupid."

In addition to his radio show here on WCPT, Edwin has built a community around his political ideas on Substack, hosts a weekly show on Lincoln Square, and is a frequent guest on political shows. He remains deeply involved in democracy work.

He is a proud Chicagoan, married to the journalist Jennifer Schulze.

Episodes

The newest 20 of 100 episodes

  • It's the Democracy, Stupid with Edwin Eisendrath | October 31, 2026 · 2 h 39 minOn this week's show – Charlotte Clymer, activist and the writer of Charlotte’s Web Thoughts, a bestselling Substack blog on politics, religion, foreign policy, and culture – Ari…
  • It's the Democracy, Stupid with Edwin Eisendrath | October 24, 2026 · 2 h 37 minOn this week's show – Adam Parkhomenko and Sam Youngman of The Alt Media – J. Patrick Coolican, editor-in-chief of the Minnesota Reformer – Pat Kreitlow, founder and editor of Up…
  • It's the Democracy, Stupid with Edwin Eisendrath | October 17, 2026 · 2 h 39 minOn this week's show – G. Elliott Morris, data-driven journalist, pollster, author of the Substack newsletter “Strength In Numbers” and the book “Strength in Numbers: How Polls…
  • It's the Democracy, Stupid with Edwin Eisendrath | October 10, 2026 · 2 h 44 minOn this week's show – Jonathan Larsen, veteran journalist, TV news producer, and Substack content creator offering “adversarial journalism and commentary” – Zack Mooney, voter…
  • It's the Democracy, Stupid with Edwin Eisendrath | October 3, 2026 · 2 h 40 minOn this week's show – Mark Jacob, author of the Stop the Presses newsletter on Substack, former metro editor at the Chicago Tribune and Sunday editor at the Sun-Times, co-author…
  • It's the Democracy, Stupid | September 26, 2026 · 2 h 41 minOn this week's show – Aisha Down, global technology reporter for the Guardian; her latest article is “Your AI doomsday questions answered: ‘What, if anything, can people like me…
  • It's the Democracy, Stupid with Edwin Eisendrath | September 19, 2026 · 2 h 40 minOn this week's show – Laura Belin, publisher, editor, and reporter for Bleeding Heartland, a community website focused on Iowa politics – Chioma Chukwu, the executive director of…
  • It's the Democracy, Stupid | September 12, 2026 · 2 h 46 minOn this week's show – David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal editor-in-chief and opinion columnist – David Smith, Washington bureau chief for the Guardian – Kendall Scudder, chair of…
  • It's the Democracy, Stupid | September 5, 2026 · 2 h 34 minOn this week's show – Michael Mann, climatologist, geophysicist, and author of “Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces that Threaten Our World” – Perla…
  • It's the Democracy, Stupid | August 29, 2026 · 2 h 35 minOn this week's show – Adam Klasfeld, founder and editor-in-chief of All Rise News – Nicholas Grossman, teaching assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the…
  • It's the Democracy, Stupid | August 22, 2026 · 2 h 40 minOn this week's show Jill Wine-Banks fills in for Edwin and her guests are – Lynn Sweet, Chicago Sun-Times Washington bureau chief – Victor Shi, Gen Z activist/organizer…
  • It's the Democracy, Stupid | August 15, 2026 · 2 h 45 minOn this week's show – Eric Garcia, Washington bureau chief at The Independent – Brian Finucane, senior adviser with the U.S. Program at the International Crisis Group and a…
  • It's the Democracy Stupid | August 8, 2026 · 2 h 40 minEdwin Eisendrath is joined by – Ahmed Baba, independent journalist, political analyst, and founder of the best-selling Substack publication “Ahmed Baba News” – Rachel Cohen…
  • It's the Democracy, Stupid | Aug. 1, 2026 · 2 h 43 minOn this week's show – Tamar Jacoby, director of the New Ukraine Project at the Progressive Policy Institute and contributor to Washington Monthly; her most recent article is…
  • It's The Democracy, Stupid | July 25, 2026 · 2 h 44 minOn this week's show – Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones – Mark Jacob, author of the Stop the Presses newsletter on Substack, former metro editor…
  • It's the Democracy, Stupid | July 18, 2026 · 2 h 48 minOn today's show – Bill Scher, politics editor at Washington Monthly; his latest article is “The Platner Collapse Is a Cautionary Tale About Polling“ – Eesha Pendharkar, senior…
  • It's the Democracy, Stupid | July 11, 2026 · 2 h 48 minOn this week's show – Peter Gleick, water and climate scientist, author, and co-founder of The Pacific Institute – U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) – Alex Aronson, co-founder and…
  • It's the Democracy, Stupid with guest host Paul Chivari | July 4, 2026 · 2 h 46 minPaul Chivari fills in for Edwin Eisendrath and his guests are – William Muck, professor of political science at North Central College [Listen] – Kevin Schultz, professor of…
  • It's the Democracy, Stupid | June 27, 2026 · 2 h 48 minOn this week's show – Jen Bendery, senior politics reporter for HuffPost – Lisa Graves, founder and executive director of True North Research, legal scholar, and author of…
  • It's the Democracy, Stupid | June 20, 2026 · 2 h 33 minOn this week's show – Maya Kornberg, senior research fellow in the Elections and Government Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, and the author of “Stuck: How…

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