On today's show: - Kurt Hurner - Jon Barber, the Democratic candidate for Portage County (Ohio) sheriff, whose Republican incumbent opponent recently urged his Facebook followers to "write down all the addresses of the people who had Kamala Harris signs in their yards so that "when the Illegal human ‘Locust’ (which she supports!) need places to live we’ll already have the addresses of the their New families who supported their arrival!" Catch "Chew's Views" with Richard Chew weekdays from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820).

DWAYNE KENNEDY GUEST CO-HOST Tara Dabney (Development director, Housing Forward; @HousingForward) Gwen Levey (Nashville singer-songwriter)

Rick Wilson (Co-founder, The Lincoln Project; @TheRickWilson) Behnam Ben Taleblu (Senior fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies; @FDD) Andy Levin (Former U.S. representative from Michigan; @RepAndyLevin) Ali Simmons (Senior case and street outreach worker, Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness; @ChiHomeless) Patricia Nix-Hodes (Director of the law project, Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness; @pnixhodes) Grace Hauck (Investigative reporter, Illinois Answers Project; @grace_hauck)

Rick Wilson, co-founder of The Lincoln Project and host of "The Enemies List" and "The Breakdown with Rick Wilson," talks to Joan Esposito. He will be at Chicago's City Winery Sunday, September 22nd with Molly Jong-Fast for "Politics As Unusual." (Learn more: https://citywinery.com/chicago/events/politics-as-unusual-bhy50l) In the interview Wilson talks about his history in politics, which began in 1988 when he worked for George H.W. Bush and subsequently got involved in a series of high-profile Republican campaigns. In 2015, "when Donald Trump came down that escalator," Wilson said, "whatever part of my soul had been inactive flipped over and I said, 'I can't do this anymore; I cannot be a part of what I can see is going to happen when this guy takes power." Wilson then authored the books "Everything Trump Touches Dies" and "Running Against The Devil," and, in 2019, founded The Lincoln Project. Wilson also talked about the experience of being "swatted," which he called a "pretty terrifying experience, and that's part of what has become a real part of the MAGA culture is threats, intimidation, that kind of belief that they can do anything to anyone who opposes Trump and that it's OK and that people like me should be threatened with violence. That's the downside of working at The Lincoln Project is you've got to have a pretty thick skin because bad people are going to say terrible things, they're going to threaten your family. And it takes somebody tough to do it but I'm really proud to help lead a team of people who are going to stand on the front line against Trump until the very end." Wilson also talked about Donald Trump's "mastery" of projection, "assertively anti-intellectual populism," George W. Bush's silence in the 2024 presidential campaign, the value of political endorsements, and Senator J.D. Vance's role as Donald Trump's "meme candidate" running mate. Wilson said he knew Vance when Vance was anti-Trump and believes that the "gods of ambition are [now] so strong in [him] that he can't make himself be a truthful and honorable man." Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820).

Politics Girl Leigh McGowan joins Patti Vasquez and co-hosts Dwayne Kennedy and Rick Gieser to talk about her new book (her first), "A Return to Common Sense: How to Fix America Before We Really Blow It," out now (www.simonandschuster.com/books/A-Return-to-Common-Sense/Leigh-McGowan/9781668066430). The book, McGowan says, is built around "six fundamental American principles, six things we can all agree on, no matter where we sit on the political spectrum, that make America America," including freedom and voting rights. She said she named the book after Thomas Paine's 47-page pamphlet "Common Sense," which was printed and distributed in the 13 American colonies in 1775 and 1776. "People went bananas for it because this was this man writing in common sense-speak for the regular people to understand. And he was making the persuasive argument that we were at a nation at a crossroads. And I think that's where I see us today. We are once again a nation at a crossroads and we can go one of two ways. This time it's not monarchy or independence; it's retaining our democracy or doing some sort of Christian nationalist authoritarian road." McGowan first became known during the pandemic when she started making political explainer videos from her kitchen and shared them on TikTok. "I used to call them breakfast rants," she said, "because that's really what I was doing. I was ranting in the morning at breakfast and just my thoughts on the day. And it really appealed to people. And by the time we got up to 200,000 followers, I thought, jeez, I guess I should get dressed if I'm going to be doing this, and then I thought I guess I should put some mascara on." "I started this because I'm an immigrant who moved to this country and I loved it," said McGowan, who has dual Canadian and American citizenship. "I bought America hook, line and sinker. And then I lived here for a certain period of time and I thought, huh, we are not exactly living up to the values we tell the world we are, that we sell to the world." She added: "I'm not there to be famous, I'm not there to be loved, I'm not there so that you think I'm cool. I'm there to help this country that I moved to, had a child in, and still so wholeheartedly believe in. I really do believe this country needs people who believe in it and want to fight for it. And I happen to be one of those people, then I'm going to stick around and do what I can." Last month's Democratic National Convention brought McGowan to Chicago for the first time. "I absolutely thought that city was spectacular," she said. Catch "Driving It Home with Patti Vasquez" weekdays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820).

On today's show Richard is joined by Kurt Mullet of @ HoosierBlue63 fame. Catch "Chew's Views" with Richard Chew weekdays from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820).

Greg Glienna, writer, director, and star of the original "Meet The Parents," joins Patti Vasquez and guest hosts Dwayne Kennedy and Rick Gieser for a conversation about his work in comedy and film, including the 1992 original version of "Meet The Parents," which is screening this weekend at the Pickwick Theatre in Park Ridge (where Greg worked as a teenager). Get more information here: https://pickwicktheatre.com/movie/meet-the-parents Catch "Driving It Home with Patti Vasquez" weekdays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820).

Joan Esposito is at Duke's Inferno, 11671 Catalpa Lane in Woodstock, Illinois, for a special event with McHenry County Democrats; here she talks to Kristina Zahorik, member of the Democratic National Committee, State Democratic Central committeewoman for the 11th Congressional District, and former chair of the McHenry County Democratic Party. Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820).

- Guest co-host Dwayne Kennedy - Rick Gieser (Candidate for DuPage County Forest Preserve commissioner) - Leigh McGowan ("PoliticsGirl" YouTuber and author, "Return to Common Sense"; @IAmPoliticsGirl) - Greg Glienna, Director and Screenwriter

Joan Esposito is at Duke's Inferno, 11671 Catalpa Lane in Woodstock, Illinois, for a special event with McHenry County Democrats; here she talks to Mary Mahady, candidate for the Illinois House of Representatives, District 63. Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820).

Joan Esposito is at Duke's Inferno, 11671 Catalpa Lane in Woodstock, Illinois, for a special event with McHenry County Democrats; here she talks to Maria Peterson, candidate for the Illinois House of Representatives, District 52. Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820).