WCPT 820 live
WCPT 820 at a glance
About WCPT 820
WCPT 820 is Chicago's progressive talk station. It broadcasts on 820 AM, is licensed to Willow Springs, Illinois, and serves the Chicago metropolitan area. The station is owned by Heartland Signal, and on this page you can listen to WCPT live online, free.
Progressive talk
WCPT is one of the few stations in the country devoted to progressive talk radio: hosts who discuss politics, policy and current events from a liberal point of view, alongside listener calls. National programs come from Westwood One and Pacifica Radio, and news comes from AP News and NBC News Radio.
The call letters
WCPT stands for "We're Chicago's Progressive Talk".
A century of history
The 820 AM station signed on in June 1923 as WCBD. In the 1930s its studios moved to Waukegan and later to Chicago, and its programming ranged from religious and ethnic shows to music. In 1937 its original transmitter was destroyed in a fire, and it moved to a new site in what is now Elmhurst. Over the decades it carried many call signs — WAIT for more than forty years, and briefly WSCR, the sports call letters now used elsewhere — before becoming WCPT.
Sister station
WCPT shares ownership with WSBC.
Listen online
Press play and WCPT starts in seconds — at your desk, at home or anywhere else.
How to listen
You can hear WCPT on the radio on 820 AM across Chicagoland, but you do not need a radio at all: this page plays the live stream in any browser, on a phone, tablet or computer. Press the play button at the top, wait a second or two for the stream to connect, and keep browsing while it plays — the player stays on as you move between pages. It is ideal for the morning talk or the evening shows, and it costs nothing: no account, no subscription and no app to install.
Below the player you will find WCPT's frequency and home city, the genres it plays, answers to common questions and a list of similar stations, so when you want a change you can jump to another station in the same format or the same area with one click.
- 100% free, no sign-up
- Live stream, 24 hours a day
- Listen from anywhere
- Works on phone and computer
How to listen to WCPT 820 live
In 3 simple steps, with nothing to install.
- 01Press play
Click the "Listen live" button at the top of this page.
- 02Wait a moment
The live stream starts loading within a few seconds.
- 03Enjoy
WCPT 820 plays right in your browser, with nothing to install.
Talk
Talk radio is America’s home of opinion and conversation: call-in shows, interviews and live debate on the stories everyone is talking about.
Frequently asked questions
Press play on this page to stream WCPT, free and with no app.
Progressive talk radio about politics and current events.
We're Chicago's Progressive Talk.
820 AM, licensed to Willow Springs and serving Chicago.
Yes. You can listen to WCPT 820 live for free here on Radio Stations Hub, 24 hours a day.
Yes. WCPT 820 plays in your phone’s browser on Android or iPhone — there is no app to install. Just open this page and press play.
Yes. Connect your phone to the car stereo by Bluetooth or cable, open WCPT 820 here on Radio Stations Hub and enjoy the live stream on the road.
If the stream does not load, wait a few seconds and press play again — some streams take a moment to connect. You can also refresh the page or try another Talk, News station meanwhile. Radio Stations Hub checks every stream automatically.