As we approach the holidays, we’ll talk about the importance of found family — especially for people who are LGBTQ, and might be estranged from blood relations. Plus, the anxiety afflicting members of the community, especially people who are trans, anticipating the new administration in Washington.

Elon Musk excercised the kind of power past tycoons could only dream of, single-handedly bullying elected members of Congress into dropping a deal to keep the federal government operating into the new year. Republicans and Democrats were left scrambling, and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson was left with an even more complicated fiscal puzzle and the whiff of an impending sell-by date on his time in leadership. IPM's Washington correspondent, Linda Kenyon, breaks it down.

Veteran state politics reporters Dave McKinney and Amanda Vinicky join Brian Mackey to talk through the biggest story of the year in Illinois government and politics: the corruption trial of former House Speaker Michael Madigan.

The contest to redo the Illinois state flag is down to 10 finalists. We’ll review them with Ted Kaye, secretary of the North American Vexillological Association and one of the world’s foremost experts on flag design.

President-elect Donald Trump has selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Among Kennedy's targets is corn syrup and other products of American agribusiness. That could pit him against companies such as ADM — and the many Trump voters who work for ADM here in Illinois.