A Public Affair

Last year there were no female Black students taking college-credit calculus in MMSD. Host Ali Muldrow says that gatekeeping opportunities like this at the high school level is a way to gatekeep future professional opportunities. So it's fitting that on the first day of the school term, Muldrow hosts a Black to School special with scholar, Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings. They discuss racial disparities in education and how society can take responsibility.  While educators and analysts often attribute the racial disparities in education to the “achievement gap” between white students and students of color, Dr. Ladson-Billings prefers to use the term “education debt.” The former term puts the onus on individual children, their families, and even teachers whereas, the latter term signals what society owes Black children. She says that our society owes a debt to Black children and should provide reparations in the form of free healthcare and college education.  Dr. Ladson-Billings is a proponent of an asset-based approach to teaching that centers students' capacities, talents, and culturally-specific experiences. This approach counters the idea that Black students need remediation. They also discuss testing for literacy and math, racial representation of educators, and how Black children are routinely criminalized at school. Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings is Professor Emerita and former Kellner Family Distinguished Professor in Urban Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a scholar of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Critical Race Theory, and Hip Hop Pedagogies. Featured image of a middle school history class via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).  Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post What Society Owes Black Students, with Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Over 23,000 people are incarcerated in Wisconsin's prisons, a record number reports Wisconsin Public Radio. For those who are in jail or prison, accessing necessary mental health services is too often out of reach. Three in five people do not receive the mental health treatment they need while they are in state and federal prisons, according to NAMI. To address the mental illness and the justice system, on today's show, host Dana Pellebon speaks with Linda Ketcham. Ketcham works at JustDane to support people who are newly released from jail and prison. JustDane offers peer support, traditional case management, employment and skills training, eviction prevention, and more. They also mentor kids whose parents are impacted by incarceration. No matter a person's conviction, they still deserve the opportunity to heal and grow, says Ketcham. She adds that she has come to see that the criminal justice system isn't broken, but operating exactly as it was intended.  They discuss the public discourse following the police killing of Corey Ruiz, namely how little empathy some people have toward people with histories of incarceration, especially knowing how difficult it is to come out of prison after years of incarceration;   If you are struggling, you can contact the 988 crisis line, 211 line run by the United Way of Dane County, or reach out to the Dane County Behavioral Resource Center.  Linda Ketcham is the Executive Director at JustDane. She is in recovery and has been working in human services for over 40 years. Linda has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in criminal justice and was a certified addiction counselor for 15 years in Illinois before moving to Wisconsin. Featured image of a door with light shining behind it via Anton Winaryo.  Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post When Mental Illness Intersects with the Justice System appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show, host Douglas Haynes speaks with Sasha Waters about her new documentary, Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World, that premiered last week on PBS's American Masters series. The film profiles the life and legacy of one of America's greatest poets who passed away in 2019. Waters says that the film has the structure of a musical, biographical insights interspersed with poetry readings by some of Oliver's greatest fans, including Stephen Colbert and Jason Reynolds. Waters sourced readers, in part, by looking through TikTok videos of people with wild geese tattoos. The numerous readers create a dialog with Oliver's vast catalog of poetry, both well-known and new. Making a documentary about Mary Oliver was a difficult task because Oliver was very private for much of her life. But in her later life, Oliver became more outspoken, making comments about climate change and revealing her childhood sexual abuse. They also discuss Oliver's attunement to vulnerability and politics of hope.  You can view the documentary on PBS Wisconsin. Sasha Waters has produced and directed nearly two dozen documentary, experimental, and short essay films, many of which originate in 16mm. She is also a Professor of Film at Virginia Commonwealth University's School of the Arts in Richmond, Virginia. Featured image of flying geese by Enoch Leung on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0) Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post New Documentary Pays Tribute to Poet Mary Oliver appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show, host Esty Dinur is joined by Amy Goodman and Tia Lessin to highlight their new documentary, Steal This Story, Please!. The film will screen at The Barrymore Theatre on Saturday, September 5 at 7:30 pm.  The film presents Goodman's career in journalism alongside touchpoints from Democracy Now!'s broadcast repertoire, like their early coverage of brutality in East Timor. The title Steal This Story, Please! comes from Goodman's desire for Democracy Now!'s reporting to travel far and wide. Lessin calls it a “plucky” title that also describes the public's right to truth and accountability. Over the years, the Democracy Now! team has seen their reporting lead to positive change, yet there have been times when it couldn't do so. They share memories of Dolly Parton and other musicians who have played on Democracy Now! over the years and how their family histories shape their work and values. Mainly, they discuss the importance of independent media. For Goodman and Lessin, amplifying voices, bearing witness, and mentoring other journalists make this work a moral practice. Goodman says that the media like Democracy Now! And WORT gives voice to the “silenced majority.” Amy Goodman is the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program airing on over 1,400 public television and radio stations worldwide. Tia Lessin is an Academy Award nominated filmmaker. Along with Carl Deal, she founded Elsewhere Films in 2007 to create documentary films of cultural relevance, social purpose and artistic integrity. Featured image of the documentary, Steal This Story, Please!.  Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Independent Media Gives Voice to the Silenced Majority appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

This week a Supreme Court decision has, in the dissenting words of Justice Ketanj Brown Jackson, contributed to “pre-election chaos” ahead of the Midterms. The decision upholds a March executive order that sought to limit mail-in voting and stoke fears about immigrants. However, Wisconsin election officials are moving ahead with their regular plan for administering the election. To make sense of the decision in historical context and how it could impact voters, host Bert Zipperer is joined by two local experts, TR Edwards and Kristin Hansen.  Edwards describes the context of the recent SCOTUS decision, going as far back as the 1965 Voting Rights Act that enshrined the ideal of a pluralistic democracy. In the last ~20 years, Edwards says that we've seen an increasing lack of confidence in elections and a backsliding of the Voting Rights Act, culminating in the Louisiana v. Callais case. Hansen says that voting early, voting by mail, and using drop boxes are more popular than ever. But conservatives are hard at work finding novel ways to disenfranchise voters, like using technology to gerrymander districts. In Wisconsin, elections are run at the municipal level, ensuring that they are secure and transparent. The rise of election denialism and outright conspiracies is nevertheless alarming, and at some point sowing chaos can turn into a form of voter suppression.  They also discuss the  issue of Wisconsin's Congressional maps and anti-competitive gerrymandering, the need for limits to direct campaign contributions, and more.  You can still order an absentee ballot in Wisconsin at myvote.wi.gov. Nothing has changed about Wisconsin election administration at this time and the state has joined 25 other states in challenging this week's SCOTUS ruling. TR Edwards is Staff Counsel at Law Forward, Wisconsin's only nonprofit, nonpartisan impact litigation firm focused on protecting democracy. A Milwaukee native and graduate of Marquette University Law School, TR began his career as a union organizer before becoming an attorney. He is also the proud father of three current college students. A former collegiate athlete, TR remains passionate about sports and competition, a competitive spirit he brings to his advocacy in and out of the courtroom. Kristin Hansen is a professional voting rights advocate and a member of the board for Common Cause Wisconsin. She lives in Waukesha. Featured image of a voter dropping a mail-in ballot into a drop box via Flickr (CC BY 2.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Wisconsin Leads in Election Security as SCOTUS Backslides appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show, host Ali Muldrow speaks with the new Co-CEO and Chief People Officer for the Overture Center, Victor Patterson. They discuss the role of the arts in shaping Madison's culture, how Patterson developed his philosophy of leadership, and the jazz music and gospel plays that shaped him. Patterson describes how his upbringing in Chicagoland set him on a path to community building. Supported by his loving extended family and inspired by music and sports, Patterson says that he now makes decisions in order to build a strong legacy.  Moving to Madison after decades working in corporate America, Patterson says that he stopped looking for bigger and bigger roles and instead chose Madison for the community. He says he's ready to make a splash in this smaller pond and focus on creating seats at the table in Madison's arts scene.  Inclusivity and diversity are authentic realities for Patterson who wants the Overture Center to be the “social heartbeat” for communities of color in Madison and see the venue become a regional player in the arts. They also discuss how leaders build strong teams, remain open to feedback, and refuse to see harm in failure.  Victor Patterson previously held senior human resources leadership roles with Lowe's, H.B. Fuller and The Home Depot, where he led workforce planning, succession strategy, leadership development and organizational effectiveness efforts across regional and global teams. At Overture, Patterson  oversees the People & Culture function, influencing business strategy and driving inclusion, access and belonging initiatives as well as overall organizational culture.  Featured image of Ali Muldrow and Victor Patterson courtesy of Sara Gabler/WORT.  Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post New Co-CEO hopes Overture becomes Madison's “Social Heartbeat” appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show, host Dana Pellebon speaks with Madison Police Chief John Patterson about the use of body-worn cameras in the Madison Police Department as well as how law enforcement can reduce bias in policing. The issue of body-worn cameras is again in the news following the police killing of Corey Ruiz in late July. Currently, body cameras are used by MPD but only in select units. Though some have called for the city to fund their widespread deployment, others say they cannot be treated as objective sources of information, citing studies of bias in juries who review body camera footage. Chief Patterson says that body cameras won't end racial disparities, but they can be a useful tool if they're accompanied by sound policy. He adds that body cameras can contribute to better transparency into first-person interactions between police officers and community members, greater opportunities for accountability related to individual performance and oversight, and improved training and professional development. As Chief Patterson comes up on the anniversary of his first year in this role, he says he'd like to see better “quality assurance” in the way MPD trains new officers and provides professional development and ultimately a police force that fulfills procedural justice. They also discuss Madison's district advisory boards, state statues around non-resident officers, the challenges of addressing conscious and unconscious bias in the police force, and the role of MPD in referring people to restorative courts.  John Patterson is a 28-year veteran of the Madison Police Department and currently serves as the Chief of Police. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a master's degree from Edgewood University. Chief Patterson has worked in every area and neighborhood of Madison. He has also been a member and held leadership positions on the Special Events Team and SWAT. Chief Patterson currently serves on the board of Safe Communities, is a member of the Rotary Club of Madison, and for many years served on the board of Madison Festivals, Inc.  Featured image of a Minneapolis police officer wearing a body-worn camera via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Madison Police Chief Says Body Cameras Are a Tool, Not a Solution appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show, host Douglas Haynes speaks with renowned botanist and teacher Robin Wall Kimmerer about her new movement, Plant Baby Plant. While giving a talk a few years back, Kimmerer coined the movement in order to turn people away from the extractive logic of Drill Baby Drill and “raise a garden-gloved middle finger” to the MAGA mantra. Instead, Plant Baby Plant initiates a new cultural story that asks participants to “raise a garden and raise a ruckus.” Kimmerer says that we need to “re-story” our relationship with plants, the land, and the rest of the non-human world. Plant Baby Plant seeks to catalyze restoration projects and revive and re-story the cultural imaginary. Kimmerer says that “the same forces degrading our natural environment are degrading our cultural environment. She wants people to trade the message of individualism we've been fed with one of common purpose. Plant Baby Plant promotes people taking direct, physical actions, even small ones like converting your yard into a biodiverse carbon sink with native plants. Kimmerer calls this resistance with shovels and seeds. Yet, small acts aren't enough. Kimmerer says we need to “raise a ruckus” by contributing to systemic change that moves away from extraction toward reciprocity. This work is urgent, and Kimmerer recommends “slowing down in our imagination and speeding up in our defense of the natural world,” following the example of organizations like The Understory Alliance. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, which has earned Kimmerer wide acclaim. Her first book, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing, and her other work has appeared in Orion, Whole Terrain, and numerous scientific journals. In 2022, Braiding Sweetgrass was adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith. This new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth's oldest teachers: the plants around us. Robin's newest book, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World (November 2024), is a bold and inspiring vision for how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community, based on the lessons of the natural world. Featured image of zinnia seedlings via BlueRidgeKitties on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).  Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Raise a Garden, Raise a Ruckus with Robin Wall Kimmerer appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

 Over a decade ago, Stephen Hawkins wrote that “Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, it might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks.” On today's show, host Esty Dinur is joined by two AI researchers, Julie Derwinski and Kevin Lotto, to talk about the risks of AI and the need to stop the race for super intelligence. Derwinski explains how AI is grown, not programmed and how much of the process is not well understood. Other forms of AI, more rudimentary and programmed, have been with us for decades. But the rise of large language models created by for-profit corporations is poorly regulated in addition to being poorly understood. Derwinski and Lotto advocate against super intelligence and work toward greater levers of consent and accountability for AI developers.  Derwinski's recent article reveals an instance when a “swarm” of AI agents acted in ways their creators didn't anticipate by hacking into another company. She says that the chief danger of AI is its misuse, and this issue is front and center because of the “alignment problem.” Currently developers can't get AI to align with human values, but if they could, there is still the problem of whose values would be prioritized.  Lotto says that we're watching a massive human experiment by tech companies unfold, and their goal is to shore up their power and change the world in their image. Because AI companies have trained their models to be agreeable and persuasive, he says there's no better time than now to interact with other humans. ControlAI Wisconsin Action Group has created a simple tool that people can use to contact their lawmakers, and they're hosting their next meeting on August 26th at 6:00pm. You can also find the group at LaborFest and contact Julie Derwinski and Kevin Lotto on LinkedIn. Julie Derwinski served as a Senior Staff Attorney for the Wisconsin Court of Appeals for over two decades. She now conducts AI research and education focused on governmental systems and stopping superintelligence. Her work includes co-founding ControlAI Action Group Wisconsin, a grassroots group aimed at stopping superintelligence, and collaborating with Indigenous communities to create the Tribal AI Governance Toolkit. She also works with the National Center for State Courts AI Implementer’s Forum.  ​Kevin Lotto is an AI researcher and software engineer based in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. He earned his computer science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. ​His current focus is on AI safety and existential risk advocacy. Kevin is a public speaker and co-founded ControlAI Action Group Wisconsin with Julie Derwinski. He also volunteers for the Torchbearer Community as a digital communicator and trainer. Through these grassroots organizations, he drives legislative action and public awareness campaigns to prioritize human safety over the unchecked development of advanced artificial intelligence. Featured image of an imagined artificial intelligence via Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post The Chief Danger of AI Is Its Misuse appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show, Norman Stockwell speaks with journalist Dave Zirin about his new book, The People’s Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn. Zinn was at the center of some of the most pivotal moments of the twentieth century, including the Great Depression, Spanish Civil War, Civil Rights movement, Vietnam, and more. Zirin says that not only was Zinn an observer of these grand canvases, he also joined in the fray. Zinn's legacy is that of a historian who played a role in making history. He got his start as a bombardier in the Spanish Civil War; but motivated by equal rights and anti-fascism, he was horrified by the experience of dropping bombs on civilians. He went on to say “There's no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people,” after President Ronald Reagan bombed Tripoli.  Zirin shares personal stories of Zinn's life including that he was a Red Sox fan, that he gave an early draft of The People's History of the United States to Matt Damon's mother, and he describes the legacy of Zinn as an educator. Zirin responds to questions about how Zinn found hope amidst war and violence, saying that Zinn's hope was rooted in a sense of history and the knowledge that people will always do surprising, unexpected things, like the mass student uprising in India. Zirin will be participating in a celebration of the life of Howard Zinn in Madison on November 4 at 7pm at the Barrymore Theatre alongside Matt Rothschild, John Nichols, Norman Stockwell, and Maximilian Alvarez.  Dave Zirin writes about sports for The Nation and The Progressive and hosts the Edge of Sports podcast and “Edge of Sports with Dave Zirin” on The Real News. He is the author of The Kaepernick Effect: Taking a Knee, Changing the World and The People’s Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn. Featured image of the cover of The People’s Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Dave Zirin Remembers Howard Zinn's Legacy appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Restaurants are gathering places where culture is preserved, where entrepreneurs can chase their dreams, and where communities can celebrate and invest in one another. On today's show, guest host Enjoyiana Nururdin celebrates Black restaurateurs with Camille Carter, the president and CEO of the Madison Black Chamber of Commerce, and Nisa Carter, the owner of Sista's Chicken and Fish. They discuss what it's like to own and run a restaurant in Madison and celebrate Black Restaurant Week, which runs until Sunday, August 16.  Madison was the first city in the nation to host a Black Restaurant Week, and this year marks the 11th iteration highlighting the longstanding and new staples of the Black culinary scene. Camille Carter gives advice on how entrepreneurs can get started, practice patience, and channel their ambitions into strong, fair contracts. She says there's a need for greater access to capital and financial education for new Black entrepreneurs.  Nisa Carter describes how she started catering for church picnics and family get-togethers before she started a food truck during the pandemic. Now, her restaurant, Sista's Chicken and Fish, has a brick and mortar location on South Park Street. They specialize in soul food, but around Madison there's a diversity of Black restaurants who serve everything from hot dogs to fine dining. Nisa Carter says the future of Madison's Black culinary scene will be found in food trucks.  Featured image of the logo for Madison's Black Restaurant Week.  Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Come Hungry to Black Restaurant Week appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show, host Dana Pellebon is in conversation with Meghan Randolph and Isabel Nesseim about the new production of Trevor: The Musical. Randolph is the executive director of Music Theatre of Madison and Nesseim is an undergraduate studying musical performance and the actress playing Diana Ross in Trevor.  Music Theatre of Madison (MTM) is celebrating 20 years with the production of Trevor at the Overture Center. Randolph says they caught the theatre bug at a young age before starting MTM at 23. While most community theatre work is unpaid, Randolph made sure that changed with MTM. MTM chose Trevor: The Musical for this season because they wanted to center youth, especially LGBTQ+ youth. The play was inspired by The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis response line for LGBTQ+ youth. The lead character Trevor loves Diana Ross, experiences bullying and comes to love themselves, saying “What if weird is only different? What if different isn't wrong?”  Featured image from Trevor: The Musical. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post New Musical Centers LGBTQ+ Youth appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

The early education program, Head Start, serves roughly 12,000 children in Wisconsin and about 800 in Dane County. On today's show, host Douglas Haynes speaks with Jennifer Bailey, executive director of Reach Dane and president of the Wisconsin Head Start Association, about proposed federal cuts to and looming deregulation of this program.  Head Start is a comprehensive early childhood program that serves pregnant people and kids ages 0-5 years. It's unique because of its wraparound services, from mental and physical health to family services. Bailey says that when parents are doing well, kids will do well. So they support parents to reach their goals, like getting a GED, finding stable housing, or going back to school.  Head Start is a federal-to-local program that also serves the most vulnerable families, those at 100% of the poverty level. Bailey says that she's seen a rise of unhoused families in Madison and the kids who make it into Head Start “are living in trauma.” Reach Dane serves more unhoused children than any program in Wisconsin.  The Head Start program has faced other proposed cuts and challenges during the second Trump administration. About half of the regional offices have been closed, including one that served Wisconsin. And the recent proposed changes to the program would compromise the standards that have been put in place by many providers. New provisions would raise child-staff ratios and mandate English-only instruction, even though low child-staff ratios and multilingual education are supported by decades of research. They also discuss the broad-scale childcare crisis especially in rural areas, what Bailey envisions for a brighter future, and how people can leave comment on the proposed federal changes. Jennifer Bailey is the executive director of Reach Dane in Madison which provides early childhood services to over 800 underserved children in Dane and Green Counties. Featured image of children in a Head Start program via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Deregulating Head Start Will Harm Wisconsin Families appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show we're continuing our coverage of the police killing of Corey Ruiz. Producer Sara Gabler speaks with scholar and activist, Dr. Amadi Ozier. They talk about how the vigil at Baldwin and Willy Street served as a site of community and mutual aid, what leadership looks like in decentralized movements, how autonomous zones occupy space, and how people can get involved no matter their risk tolerance.  You can find Ozier's writings about the Corey Ruiz vigil and other community-led movements at her Substack. Amadi Ozier is an assistant professor of English at UW-Madison and a community builder with Madison Tenant Power in Madison, WI. She has previously worked with the Crown Heights Care Collective, which Ozier co-founded in 2022, and the Crown Heights Tenant Union in Brooklyn, NY. Their political priorities include housing and healthcare, including abortion access. Ozier's scholarly research explores black identity, humor, and the black middle class. Featured image from the vigil to Corey Ruiz, courtesy of Maria Segura/WORT. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post From the Corey Ruiz Autonomous Zone to Accountability appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On the 81st anniversary of the US's nuclear attack on Hiroshima, host Bert Zipperer is in conversation with Mari Faines of the Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists and Steve Leeper of Physicians for Social Responsibility. They discuss all the human, ecological, and moral harms perpetuated by powers committed to a nuclear status quo. Faines writes, “There is no question the nuclear status quo upheld since 1945 is rooted in colonial systems of power and White supremacy that started centuries ago. But nuclear security scholarship that explicitly makes this connection and examines the harm resulting from this socio-political, cultural, economic, and ecological history is still incredibly limited.” Faines draws connections between militarism and justice movements and says that our current moment requires an intersectional approach to crises, local and existential.  Leeper advocates for a “peace culture” as opposed to the “war culture” he sees as driving nuclear proliferation and Trump's MAGA movement. The path of peace, says Leeper, leads to universal health and well being, and that goes for all humanity and the non-human world. He will be speaking at a Lanterns for Peace event tonight, sponsored by Physicians for Social Responsibility. They also discuss the doomsday clock that is currently set to 85 seconds until midnight, how there's no such thing as a small nuclear weapon, nuclear power, and how to change the kitchen table conversation about nuclear weapons.  Mari Faines serves as a Board Fellow for the Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists. Just prior, Faines served as a strategic advisor and policy expert at the U.S. Department of State working on AUKUS, the trilateral security agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Prior to joining the State Department, she spent five years in the United Kingdom completing graduate work in Peace and Security studies, while working as a project manager for an international solutions corporation. Upon returning to the United States, she continued working at the intersection of nuclear nonproliferation policy and social justice issues. Faines has written for a multitude of publications and was a former podcast host. She remains engaged in global policy issues by volunteering with various advocacy organizations and has been recognized for many of these contributions over the past decade. Faines holds a Master's of Science (MSc) from SOAS University of London and a Bachelor's from Colgate University. Steve Leeper has spent about half of his 78 years in Japan. He began working as UN representative of Mayors for Peace in 2002. This led to his appointment in 2007 as chairman of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation. He stepped down in 2013 to be a professor at Hiroshima Jogakuin University. He shifted from professor to visiting professor in 2015. He is co-founder of Peace Culture Village in Hiroshima and PEAC Institute in Montclair, NJ, Detroit, MI, and Atlanta, GA. He is a recipient of the Academia Prize from Kyoto University, the Tanimoto Peace Prize (Hiroshima's highest peace award), and an honorary doctorate from Hiroshima Jogakuin University. His publications include Hiroshima Resolution (bilingual), Nihon ga Sekai wo Suku (Japanese), Hiroshima wo Tsutaetai America-jin (Japanese), and Kakuheiki Haizetsu e no Michi (Japanese). Featured image of the aerial view of the flash of light from the Able Day explosion over Bikini Lagoon in 1946 via National Archives. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post There's No Better Time to Abolish Nukes appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Many in Madison woke up to the news today that Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway ordered the removal of the encampment at Baldwin and Willy Street. On today's show, we hold space for the community to respond to this action as well as dispel misunderstandings about protests over the last week and a half. Host Dana Pellebon opens up the phone lines to hear from WORT listeners and then speaks with Myra McNair about how to heal in community.  Pellebon describes competing ways of looking at the situation, from those who view economic disruption as a movement tactic to those who view economic disruption as an attack. She clarifies several rumors, like one circulating that the city was financing the encampment, which it was not. Just like the Occupy movement changed the nation's conversation about wealth, so too can other movements move the needle on justice. One thing people can do is ask, why aren't there spaces for people to get the help they need? Myra McNair discusses how people can maintain their mental and physical health after facing personal and communal trauma. She encourages people to find an activity that brings them peace, whether that's being in nature or engaging in advocacy. In response to police violence, it's hard for people to find healing because responsibility and accountability aren't fully addressed by institutions and entities who cause harm. McNair says we need permanent monuments and memorials for Corey Ruiz and Tony Robinson. At the end of the day, McNair says “we heal in community.” You can reach out to your elected officials with concerns here.  Myra Renee McNair is the founder, owner, and visionary behind Anesis Therapy and host of the podcast Making Progress. Featured image of Willy Street from July 25, courtesy of Sara Gabler/WORT. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Holding Space for Healing in Community appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show, guest host Patty Peltekos is in conversation with Andrew Flachs, author of the new book, Feeding the World as if People Mattered: How Small Farms Produce Value Beyond Yields. They discuss the importance of small-scale diversified farming and how to get to a world where small farms matter. Globally, agriculture remains a sector where suicide is prevalent, says Flachs. That's because farming isn't just a profession; in many places around the world, including in Wisconsin, the family farm is a home, a place of generational ties. Flachs writes about India, where generations of farmers struggled for the right to land against legal codes that prevented them from owning their own.  In India, small family farms are threatened by the rise of genetically modified cotton seed, called Bt cotton. As the growth of this variety of cotton has spread and the imperative to increase production has ramped up, more and more small-scale farmers have stopped growing their own subsistence or trade gardens. The result has been a “cotton glut,” because overproduction has produced more cotton than can be spun into thread. Instead, Flachs advocates for diversified organic cotton farms.  Flachs also studies farming in Bosnia where he has seen people sustain their gardens, their farms, in the face of extreme violence. He says “if you want to know how to survive the end of the world, you have to talk to Bosnian grannies.” Food security is tied to biodiversity, and surviving isn't just about botany, but about preserving lifeways. Flachs says that there's a problem with a system that prioritizes an economic imperative to produce a single crop rather than to work to sustain and reproduce diverse lifeways.  Andrew Flachs is an associate professor of anthropology at Purdue University, a father of two children, and a semi-retired musician. His writing on sustainable farming has appeared in scientific venues including American Anthropologist, the Journal of Peasant Studies, and the Journal of Ethnobiology, as well as in public-facing venues like The Conversation, Salon, and National Geographic Magazine. His 2019 book Cultivating Knowledge discussed genetically modified and organic cotton farming in India. Featured image of the cover of Feeding the World as if People Mattered: How Small Farms Produce Value Beyond Yields by Andrew Flachs. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Small, Diversified Farms Should Be The Future appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Many folks value Wisconsin's scenic lakes and forests, and our state is known for its rich history of environmental stewardship. But we're facing unprecedented threats to our environment from climate change and folks are already feeling the painful effects. On today's show, guest host Isaia Ben-Ami speaks with Stephanie Robinson of 350 Wisconsin about the climate movement in the state.  Robinson says that climate change is an “everyone issue,” and she works to connect the big picture of global warming with peoples' everyday lives, like their energy bills. The Trump administration's rollback of environmental protections, like the repeal of the Endangerment Finding, are true threats to Wisconsin's environment. Robinson says that there's some good news in that the Wisconsin Public Service Commission has approved six new solar projects.  They also discuss how climate activism needs to include voting protections, new methane gas power plants planned to power hyperscale data centers, and how climate inaction will only create a more expensive future. Stephanie Robinson has been on staff at 350 Wisconsin since 2018 and has served as Executive Director for the past three. Stephanie holds a master’s degree in urban and environmental planning and prior to her time with 350 Wisconsin, she led major environmental studies and directed air quality and clean transportation projects for local governments and regional agencies across the U.S. Featured image of a solar farm in Wheatland, Wisconsin via Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post The Bricks that Build a Climate Movement in Wisconsin appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show, guest host Zoltán Grossman is in conversation with Stephen Zunes about the on-again, off-again US war with Iran. They discuss the status of the Strait of Hormuz, the US's nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, and the shifting public opinion in the US about the war. Despite the asymmetrical power of the US's aerial arsenal, Zunes says that Iranian drones have been very effective at creating tactical advantages in the war. Though there have been many attempts at a ceasefire deal, Zunes argues that any version would have to include some concessions to Iran's advantage. But he says that Trump would rather perpetuate the war than negotiate. They discuss the many rippling effects of the war including a decline in the world petroleum market, more insecurity for US allies in the Middle East, and the creation of nuclear apartheid as the US comes to a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia. These issues, in addition to human rights abuses, are causing massive shifts in public opinion about the war with Iran and Palestine with young people especially.  Zunes connects the war with Iran to other global conflicts, from Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara to Palestine. He says that the Palestine solidarity movement should include Western Sahara and that The Odyssey film has created a rare opportunity to bring attention to the occupation.  Stephen Zunes is a professor of Politics and Director of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco. He writes for The Progressive magazine, Truthout, Common Dreams, and other publications. His most recent book is Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution. Featured image of a satellite image of the Strait of Hormuz via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).  Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post The Forever War with Iran Inflames other Regional Conflicts appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show, Sabrina Madison, president of the Madison Common Council, is in conversation with local elected officials and organizers about the recent police killing of Corey Ruiz on Madison's Near-East side. She is joined by Dane County Supervisor Yogesh Chawla, community organizer Clyde Mayberry, and Madison Alder Davey Mayer. Supervisor Chawla and Alder Mayer represent the area of Williamson and Baldwin Streets where Ruiz was killed and where community members have constructed a memorial site and autonomous zone. They discuss their reactions to the police killing of Ruiz. Mayberry says he was shopping nearby when he saw a video on social media of officers attacking Ruiz. He dropped his groceries and began organizing, encouraging young people to “use your voice” in situations of injustice. Alder Mayer has been present at the memorial site every day and has knocked on residents doors to understand their reactions and needs. Supervisor Chawla reminds listeners that the police killed Paul Heenan and Tony Robinson in the same area and the DA has never charged an officer in these shootings. Supervisor Chawla says that “it's going to take pressing on the system” to keep this from happening again. He says he's working to respond to the situation the way the police should have, by providing support, services, and de-escalation. Pressing on the system looks like the DA waiving standard policies and procedures to press charges against the officer who killed Ruiz, says Mayberry. Alder Mayer and Supervisor Chawla say they'd like to see more counterbalances to policing, accountability, and justice. Alder Madison encourages more people to contact their state legislators and ask them to change the policies around how to fire police officers.  Issues of criminal justice are inseparable from public health, and the roundtable addresses how the city and county can better invest in mental health services and affordable housing. Mayberry is concerned that the city and county know the data–that Black people are disproportionately unhoused–but do not use this data to put money into Black households or Black-led organizations.  Featured image of a sign at the memorial site for Corey Ruiz at the corner of Baldwin and Willy Street, courtesy of Sara Gabler/WORT. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post This Time Must Be Different: Responses to the Killing of Corey Ruiz appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Just this morning, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who was in Washington DC for Lindsay Graham's funeral, met with President Trump. The meeting was not recorded, but President Zelensky posted to X that the result was positive and they were able to make a deal in which the US would supply Ukraine with anti-ballistic defense technology.  On today's show, guest host Yuri Rashkin is in conversation with James, an American in the Ukrainian National Guard who has been serving on the frontlines for nearly two years. He is head of the fiber optic and fixed-wing drone laboratory for his unit. He has family in Wisconsin and Minnesota and runs the YouTube channel Y Ukraine. James moved to Ukraine before the war and joined the military as a civilian. He says “the war came for me.”  He now works on drones using his background as an engineer and says that a significant portion of his lab, and military funding in general, is financed by donations. He discusses what it's like to source materials for his lab and how the situation changes week by week and sometimes day by day.  There's constant activity in the war with Russia, though some reports have described the situation as a “stalemate.” Lately Ukraine has focused on destroying Russia's oil reserves and energy infrastructure. James says there is no single weapon that will end the war, and that there will be peace when Russia is held accountable for its war crimes.  Featured image of a Ukrainian vampire drone via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Ukraine Is Bootstrapping Its War Victories appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

The UK has a new prime minister, Andy Burnham, who replaced Keir Starmer after he resigned just two years due to general lack of support. On today's show, guest hosts, Adrienne Pagac and Pete Ramand, are in conversation with David Jamieson about British politics, the future of the Labour left, and how all this corresponds to US politics. Burnham promises to transform the UK economy, but he inherits all the same problems that plagued Starmer's time in office. Many consider Burnham to be on the “soft left” of the Labour Party, but there are concerns that Burnham and his new team will liquidate the welfare state and funnel state funds into the arms industry.  Where does this leave the Labour left? Jamieson says the Labour Party has become very centralized as neoliberalism and regional inequality fracture voters, potentially pushing the left out of the party or into the Green Party. Jamieson says that the treatment of democratic socialists by the US Democratic Party is similar to the treatment of Jeremy Corbyn in the UK. He's noticed a growing hysteria about democratic socialist candidates, but reflects that voters want authenticity and independent politicians. They also discuss the phenomena of New Labour under Tony Blair, Burnham's appointments like former defense secretary, John Healey, the US's interference in UK politics, figures on the far right, and more. David Jamieson is a journalist and socialist activist based in Scotland and co-editor of Conter. Featured image of 10 Downing Street via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Andy Burnham and the Shaky Future of the Labour Left appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Monster storms, too much rain, not enough rain, hail, and heat have become more prevalent in a political context made worse by a fossil-fuel cozy federal government. On today's show, host Esty Dinur speaks with Dr. Michael Mann about climate change, super El Niño, and the Trump administration's attacks on environmental protections.  Trump and Republican legislators have blamed Canada for the wildfire smoke that blanketed large areas of the US last week, but he and the vast majority of Republicans in Congress are taking large sums of money from fossil fuel interests. There was a time when Republicans passed climate legislation, but Mann says they've all moved to the anti-environment extreme.  Mann describes climate change's effect on the jet stream, including the proliferation of “resonance events.” If it's possible to find a silver lining in all the climate chaos, it's that El Niño years tend to result in less active Caribbean hurricane seasons, says Mann.  They also discuss the environmental costs of war, China's move toward “clean energy,” what could happen if Democrats gained control of Congress, and Mann's latest book with Peter J. Hotez called, Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces that Threaten Our World. Michael Mann is a Presidential Distinguished Professor of Earth & Environmental Science and Director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media at the University of Pennsylvania. His latest book, with Peter J. Hotez, is Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces that Threaten Our World. Featured image: a temperature map of El Niño from 2003. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Hail, Heat, and Forest Fires Under a Super El Niño appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

With the upcoming Midterm elections and the balance of power in Congress up for grabs, people are concerned that the Trump administration will meddle in election results. On today's show, guest host Tony Castañeda speaks with election expert Stephen Richer, who says we should have confidence in the free and fair elections process that our local election officials oversee.  In Richer's recent article for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, he reaffirms the 2020 presidential election results in Wisconsin. There were several post-election audits that found no cheating or mass fraud. But Richer's criticism of a Trump supporting group's audit of the 2020 Maricopa County election results earned him the ire of the President and MAGA supporters.  There are real concerns coming from the federal government, from Trump's executive orders on election administration that are held up in the courts to the scaling back of cyber security services that are provided to election administrators.  Richer says that the success and security of primary elections this year is a good sign, and he encourages listeners to get involved as temporary election workers, share facts with their friends and family, and reach out to election administrators if you have concerns. At the end of the day, election officials are your neighbors, and we should be concerned not only by the lack of trust in free and fair elections but by the lack of trust in our communities.  Stephen Richer is a Fellow and Lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School, Legal Fellow at the Cato Institute, former elected Republican in Maricopa County, and former lawyer. He's also on the board of the Democracy Defenders Action.  Featured image of a ballot machine via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Fear Election Narratives, not Election Administrators appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show, host Ali Muldrow is in conversation with Sophie Lewis about her new book, Femmephilia: Love Letters to Trans Mermaids, Queer Mothers, and Marilyn Monroe. Lewis describes her journey from being a “queer runaway” child to a professional writer as an adult. Her writing confronts the white, bourgeois feminist worldview and advocates for a radical embrace of “femme” and a future with abundance for all. In Femmephilia, Lewis challenges readers to take femme seriously because there's still a confusion about what femininity means, for anti-feminists and feminists alike. Lewis distinguishes femme from femininity, calling the former a verb and a practice in the service of anti-oppression and anti-fascism. In theorizing femme, Lewis unpacks class and capitalism, rape culture, racial supremacy, and coloniality. Lewis says we shouldn't turn away from “girly” things because in them we can find joy, pleasure, and excess.  They also discuss the invisibilized labor of care work, the ideology of the nuclear family, and Hilary Clinton and Kamala Harris's unsuccessful presidential bids. Lewis wants us to move away from anti-utopian compromise and believe that we can have bread and roses and hormones too.  Sophie Lewis is a self-described ex-academic and feminist writer living in Philadelphia. She is the author of Full Surrogacy Now: Feminism Against Family, Abolish the Family: A Manifesto for Care and Liberation, Enemy Feminisms, and finally Femmephilia, an essay collection which just came out a few weeks ago. Her next book is called The Liberation of Children, and will be out from Penguin in 2027.  Featured image of the cover of Femmephilia: Love Letters to Trans Mermaids, Queer Mothers, and Marilyn Monroe. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Putting the Femme in Feminism appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

For many, parasites elicit feelings of disgust or fear, but today's guest has developed an affection for these small and mighty creatures. Award winning entomologist and evolutionary biologist Dino Martins joins host Patty Peltekos to discuss his new book, Hidden Creatures: Luscious Leeches, Bashful Botflies, and the Wondrous, History-Shaping World of Parasites. Martins grew up in rural Kenya where he was surrounded by animal and insect life and cultivated a fascination with mango worms and bot flies. He says we humans are just one of the organisms on this planet and that there's plenty to learn from parasites because they hold the fabric of life together. They're present in all areas of the cycle of life, even in our microbiome. He says, “One must truly love and seek to understand all of nature or, alas, you will come to love or understand none of it.” They discuss the rise of ticks in Wisconsin and around the world, and how these vectors of disease pose serious health problems. Martins says that ticks are resilient and adaptive and they're simply taking advantage of growth opportunities that humans have created for them through habitat disruptions, loss of biodiversity, and climate change. Invertebrates and insects are in decline all over the world, but parasites are on the rise due to human interference in natural systems.  Martins has a fascination with the minimalist but deeply feeling tapeworm, and describes how some parasites manipulate their hosts and how others are mutualists. Storytelling and art go hand in hand with Martin's scientific work. He drew the art in Hidden Creatures and asks his students to draw insects when he takes them into the field.  Dino Martins is an award-winning entomologist and evolutionary biologist. A professor at Stony Brook University, he has served as the director of the Turkana Basin Institute in Kenya, founded by Dr. Richard Leakey, and previously as the director of the Mpala Research Centre. He holds a PhD in organismic and evolutionary biology from Harvard University. His research and writing have been featured in Smithsonian Magazine, The Guardian, TED, the BBC, Granta, and National Geographic. He lives on Long Island and in Malindi, Kenya. Featured image of the cover of Hidden Creatures: Luscious Leeches, Bashful Botflies, and the Wondrous, History-Shaping World of Parasites. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Parasites Hold the Fabric of Life Together appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

The hot summer months often mean full immersion in the natural world for those who grow their own food. On today's show, host Douglas Haynes speaks with master gardener and social media star, Toni Farmer, who has made it her life's work to educate people about the joys of gardening and solutions to the broken food system.  Farmer's work is deeply personal, and often her videos take place in her own backyard vegetable garden where she shares tips and tricks and invites viewers to commiserate about daily struggles with pests or the weather. Home gardens were once the norm, but went out fashion post WWII when Americans prioritized convenience. “All the skills of growing food went away in a single generation,” says Farmer.   But people want to regain that knowledge, and Farmer showed up at the right time with the right knowledge to feed that hunger. Her social media accounts went viral in January 2025 when the Trump administration first implemented tariffs. Now, her posts educate people about the immediate and long-impacts of policy decisions like tariffs and the war with Iran. Her recent series “The Plan” has garnered hundreds of thousands of views. In it, Farmer prepares her audience for the looming global food crisis and encourages them to work with their neighbors to build food security.  Farmer says she's alarmed by the possibility of price shocks in the fall and is concerned by a recent social media trend of conflating conventional and organic farming. She also discusses how regenerative agriculture is the antidote to the cruel and extractive aspects of commercial agriculture and how immersion in your home garden is an antidote to the isolation of our digital lives. At the end of the day, it shouldn't be a privilege to eat healthy food, says Farmer.  Toni Farmer is an adjunct professor at both the University of Pennsylvania and Rowan University in the department of Earth and Environmental Science. At Penn, she teaches Regenerative Agriculture and Integrated Pest Management and at Rowan she teaches The Future of Food, a class about the impact of climate change on agriculture. She holds a Masters of Environmental Science from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master Gardener certification from Rutgers. Toni provides the garden video content for SJMagMedia, winning “best of” for 2021. She appears every Tuesday on Fox29 Philadelphia at 3:30pm helping tri-state regional viewers with garden tips. Learning to grow food is a critical tool for healthy food access. You can find her on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook as ToniFarmersGarden. Featured image of a community garden via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post How a Thriving Garden Can Counteract a World on Fire appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show, host Esty Dinur speaks with Sasha Abramsky about his recent article for the Nation Magazine, “Trumpworld's Global War on Multiracial Democracy.” Sasha Abramsky is the Nation Magazine’s Authoritarian Watch columnist and a frequent feature writer for the magazine. His work has also been published in the Atlantic, New Republic, New York Review of Books, the Guardian, Rolling Stone and many other venues. He is the author of 11 books, including, most recently, American Carnage: how Trump, Musk, and DOGE Butchered the US Government. Abramsky teaches writing at UC Davis. Featured image of Sasha Abramsky from 2023 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Trump's Propaganda Masquerades as Policy appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Arcatao, El Salvador is a small town in the mountains on the border of El Salvador and Honduras. On today's show, host Bert Zipperer speaks with Barbara Alvarado, TJ Hinds, and Claudia Enz about the Madison Arcatao Sister City Project. They talk about the history of the organization and their upcoming 40th anniversary celebration. The Madison Arcatao Sister City Project was founded in 1986 during the Salvadoran Civil War by concerned Madisonians in defense of human rights. The relationship continued after the 1992 Chapultepec Peace Accords that ended the 12 year war during which an estimated 70,000 people were disappeared.  They discuss the US's role in the Salvadoran Civil War and how the people of El Salvador were brutally oppressed. The Sister City Project worked with Salvadoran churches that were steeped in liberation theology to support the people of El Salvador to rise up. Alvarado shares a Salvadoran saying, “solo el pueblo, salva el pueblo,” or only the people can save the people. The current president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, has revived the oppression of the Salvadoran people, under the rhetoric of being tough on crime. Alvarado, Hinds, and Enz discuss the lack of due process in El Salvador and how the Bukele is using taking political prisoners and creating industrial-scale prisons like CECOT.  Featured image of a sign outside a church in Arcatao, El Salvador via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).  Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post 40 Years of the Madison Arcatao Sister City Project appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

When Black women mobilize, democracy wins, says Atima Omara. She's written a new book called The Instigators: How Black Women Have Been Essential to American Democracy (And What We Can Learn from Them) and joins host Ali Muldrow to talk about how Black women have fought against racism and sexism and instigated for a more just society. As voters prepare to cast their ballots in the upcoming state and federal elections, the future of our multi-racial democracy stands in the balance. Omara says it's important to work within the Democratic party in order to make it even more inclusive, like Fannie Lou Hamer did. She says the most effective politicians are the ones who stay focused on everyday people.  Omara wrote this book with other Black women and people of color in mind. She wanted to decenter the voices of people who are white, male, cis-gender, wealthy, raised in cultural centers on the coasts, etc. They also talk about the recent wave of democratic socialist candidates, white comfort and patriarchy, and how Black women are to thank for so many intellectual and cultural touchstones.  Atima Omara is the Founder and Chief Strategist of Omara Strategy Group—a progressive political and advocacy consulting firm—and the author of the new book The Instigators: How Black Women Are Essential to American Democracy (And What We Can Learn from Them). Featured image of the cover of The Instigators: How Black Women Are Essential to American Democracy (And What We Can Learn from Them). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post When Black Women Mobilize, Democracy Wins appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Because of the US's war with Iran, people around the world are experiencing food and price shocks. On today's show, guest host Patty Peltekos is in conversation with environmental historian Kate Brown, author of the new book Tiny Gardens Everywhere: The Past, Present, and Future of the Self-Provisioning City, to talk about how people living in cities can contribute to their own food sovereignty.  Modern zoning laws too often prevent people from creating gardens in cities. Brown talks about how it once was: people farming the commons using what we would now call regenerative agriculture. That was before the invention of private property, consumer culture, and the enclosure movement in Europe that transformed land and labor. But people are pursuing tiny gardens as an antidote to industrial agriculture. From Washington, DC to Berlin, Brown profiles the ingenious ways people are growing tomatoes instead of turf grass, defying unjust laws, and sharing their bounty with neighbors. And states as different as Maine and Florida are creating legislation to make it easier for people to create their own tiny gardens.  If you want to start gardening, Brown says the first thing to do is find a friend to garden with. They also talk about migrant labor in the US, how Brown decolonized her research, and how industrial equipment, fertilizers, and insecticides are waging war on the environment. Kate Brown is the Thomas M. Siebel Distinguished Professor in the History of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is the author of several prize-winning histories, including Plutopia: Nuclear Families in Atomic Cities and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters (Oxford 2013) and A Biography of No Place: From Ethnic Borderland to Soviet Heartland (Harvard 2004). Manual for Survival: A Chernobyl Guide to the Future (Norton/Penguin Lane, 2019), translated into eight languages, won the Marshall Shulman and Reginald Zelnik Prizes for the best book in East European History, plus the Silver Medal for Laura Shannon Book Prize. It was also a finalist for the 2020 National Book Critics Circle Award, the Pushkin House Award and the Ryszard Kapuściński Award for Literary Reportage. Brown was a Guggenheim Fellow in 2009, a Carnegie Fellow and winner of the American Academy's Berlin Prize in 2016. Her latest book, Tiny Gardens Everywhere: The Past and Present of Urban Self-Provisioning was published by Norton in February 2026. Brown's work on Tiny Gardens has been supported by fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies. She has published a short segments from this work in the New Yorker, Mother Jones and Lithub. Featured image of the cover of Tiny Gardens Everywhere: The Past, Present, and Future of the Self-Provisioning City. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post What If Urban Gardeners Could Feed Us? appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show, host Douglas Haynes highlights a unique Wisconsin education program called the Driftless Field School at Thoreau College. He speaks with two educators, Benjamin Bernard-Herman and Margot Higgins about how their program engages the most pressing questions of our time, like climate change and inequality, and teaches students to revitalize their relationships to land and communities. The Driftless Field School is a five-and-a-half week long summer immersion program that offers place-based environmental education. They focus on the “bioregion” of the Driftless, the unique area of the Midwest that was never glaciated. Rather than imagining places as defined by state boundaries or urban centers, bioregions emphasize biological, geological, and cultural similarities. In the Driftless, this means engaging students on issues of energy and ethanol, issues that are deeply rooted in the region but are equally global environmental issues. They also talk about how their courses engage students in developing ecological literacy, the ability to notice the world around them. Students learn to sleep outside, take care of sheep, grow their own food, and more, all with an eye toward reciprocity. They also learn how to conduct oral histories, sing, and be a citizen in a place no matter where they go. Benjamin Bernard-Herman is a PhD candidate in the department of anthropology at the University of Illinois, Chicago. His research is based in Wisconsin’s Driftless Region, and focuses on the values that sustain small-scale farmers in conditions of economic and environmental precarity. He earned an MA in the social sciences, with a concentration in anthropology, from the University of Chicago, and a BA in sociology and anthropology from Swarthmore College. He was the 2023-24 scholar-in-residence at Thoreau College, and has returned to Thoreau College to teach every year since; this is his third year teaching for the college’s Driftless Field School program. Dr. Margot Higgins is a professor in the Sustainability and Environmental Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, where she instructs courses on topics including Environmental Justice, Food Politics, Political Ecology, and Environmental History. She earned an MA in Human Development and a PhD in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from the University of California-Berkeley, as well as an MS in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana, and a BA in American Studies and Art from Colby College in Maine. In addition to her focus on the Driftless Region, Margot's research and teaching have taken her from Norway and California to Montana and Alaska, where she first started teaching college students in a backcountry field program in 2005. This is her second summer teaching the summer field course at Thoreau. Featured image of students at the Driftless Field School. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Teaching Eco-Literacy in the Driftless Bioregion appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show, host Esty Dinur is in conversation with two guests, Dr. Feroze Sidhwa and Emmaia Gelman.  Sidhwa discusses the condition of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a pediatrician and neonatologist, who has been imprisoned and tortured by Israel for the past 18 months. Abu Safiya is not alone; the Israeli prison system under Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir commonly uses torture and starvation, says Sidhwa. Israel has targeted healthcare workers at an alarming rate and the healthcare system in Gaza is completely broken. A petition to free Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya is circulating online. Closer to home, Gelman says the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has been a “chief weapon against the anti-genocide movement in the US.” Gelman's new book, The Anti-Defamation League and the Racial State, looks at how this organization has facilitated the movement of capital and weapons from the US to Israel and how the ADL has been successful at positioning itself as a defender of democracy and civil rights, but is actually using claims of antiracism to do conservative work. Gelman says that US imperialism and Zionism are shared projects and that we shouldn’t be surprised about the ADL's collusion with the government given their history of spying on other groups.  Emmaia Gelman is the author of The Anti-Defamation League and the Racial State, a critical history of the Anti-Defamation League as a Cold War neoconservative institution (UC Press, 2026). She is the founding director of the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism, and co-hosts the podcast Unpacking Zionism.  Feroze Sidhwa is a trauma surgeon in California who volunteered in Gaza twice and was blocked from going a third time in November.  Featured image of the cover of The Anti-Defamation League and the Racial State by Emmaia Gelman.  Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post The Realities of Gaza and How the ADL is Implicated appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show, former A Public Affair host, Zoltán Grossman, is back behind the mic in conversation with political anthropologist, David Vine. They talk about the on-again-off-again war between the US and Iran, the proliferation of US military bases around the world, and the scale of the US military budget. Vine's scholarship shows how US military bases are the linchpin of the expansion of the US empire, creating the conditions for perpetual war. Gulf States have hosted US bases for decades, making them targets in the US war with Iran. US bases encircle the globe and more are planned for construction in the Philippines. Contrary to the claims that these bases protect US democracy, in reality, they ramp up geopolitical tensions and harm the local communities they impose on. With an erratic and dangerous president at home, Vine says that we need to start closing down these bases because they continue to operate as launch pads for unjust wars. Close the bases, bring the troops home, and build up diplomacy, says Vine. With the $100 billion the US spends on these bases, Vine says we could be funding universal healthcare and free college education.  David Vine is a political anthropologist and author of a trilogy of books about war and peace, including The United States of War: A Global History of America's Endless Conflicts, from Columbus to the Islamic State, Base Nation: How U.S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World, and Island of Shame: The Secret History of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia. Vine was a professor of anthropology at American University in Washington, DC from 2006 to 2024. He recently co-authored the Project On Government Oversight report The True Total U.S. Military Budget.  Featured image of a map of US military bases in the Middle East via Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post The Network of US Military Bases Provoke Endless Wars appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

In an oppressive and hateful society, joy is an audacious form of resistance. Today on the show, we're celebrating Pride in July. Host Ali Muldrow is joined by two guests in the studio, Alexandria Delcourt and Sean O'Brien. They tell stories about LGBTQ Wisconsin, what's hopeful and harmful in our political moment, and how not to let fascism rain on your Pride parade. They reflect on Pride events last month, including the state's first two spirit pow wow that Delacourt profiled for Our Lives magazine. O'Brien says that he's seen a growth in Pride festivals in small towns all over Wisconsin, debunking the idea that queer folks aren't welcome except in metropolitan areas. Meanwhile, policies related to healthcare and education make it hard for people just to be people in Wisconsin. Some hospitals aren't providing gender affirming care right now, due to a Trump administration change in funding. Just this spring, the Watertown school board canceled a student performance of “A Mother of a Revolution,” an instrumental song that pays tribute to trans activist Marsha P. Johnson. A lack of education and understanding drives hate, and the antidote is advocacy and representation. There are three LGBTQ+ candidates running for state office this season. Alexandria Delcourt is a writer and editor based in Madison. She earned her MFA in fiction in 2014, taught English and Creative Writing at UW-Whitewater, co-produced the Moth StorySLAM, and now works as an editor for Our Lives. Sean O'Brien is the Policy and Advocacy Director at Fair Wisconsin, the state's only LGBTQ+ civil rights and political advocacy organization. He is also serving his first term on the Madison Common Council. Featured image of a Pride memorial outside The Stonewall Inn Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post We're Celebrating Pride All Year appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show, host Dana Pellebon is in conversation with Lindsay Christians about local food and culture and her recent article for the Cap Times about local public art.  Christians reported on the Madison Public Art Project–an independent nonprofit–after a number of artists “expressed varying levels of frustration with the nonprofit, citing issues with micromanagement, condescending communication, poorly written contracts, lack of credit for their work and payment complications.” Conversations about equity, access, and pay can be hard for artists to have because they often are slow to raise issues out of fear that they won't get work. Christians also talks about the evolution of her writing and editing career and how food journalism is a positive and hopeful way to tell the stories of the diverse people in our community. Christians has watched the food cart culture in Madison expand beyond Campus Mall and sees it as a way for small-scale entrepreneurs to work out ideas.  Lindsay Christians is the food and culture editor at the Cap Times. She has been covering the arts in Madison since 2008. She currently writes a weekly food and culture newsletter with restaurant news, book recommendations and tips on what to do each week around the city.  Featured image of the public art project Cows on Parade in Madison via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Stand Up for Public Art appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Last week, Madison's Office of the Independent Police Monitor released a new finding: that police violence played a role in the death of a man in custody in 2024, contrary to the county's medical examiner's autopsy report. To talk about the place of medical examiners in the criminal justice system, host Dana Pellebon is joined by scholar, Terence Keel, author of The Coroner’s Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence. Keel researches the relationships between medicine, science, race, and religion, with a focus on how the science of medicine in the US has been used to perpetuate racial injustice and inequity, especially when it comes to state monitoring and surveillance. He says that coroners are an overlooked piece in the criminal justice puzzle and that death investigation systems provide cover for violent state systems.  In 2013, the Death in Custody Reporting Act made it possible for Keel to look at the numbers. He found that in the twenty-year period after the Act, over 32,000 people were killed in police custody, leading him to argue that dying in custody has become the new capital punishment. They also talk about the history of the coroner role, one that dates back to the Colonial era, the rise of civilian oversight commissions, and the impact of coroner's reports on Black and Brown communities. Terence Keel is a professor of human biology, society and African American studies at UCLA. His latest book is The Coroner's Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence. Featured image of the cover of The Coroner’s Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Dying in Custody Has Become the New Capital Punishment appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

A group of local historians are hard at work unearthing and preserving the rich histories of Madison's neighborhoods. Using maps and oral histories, Make History Madison is a crowd-sourced, place-based public history initiative that encourages people of all ages to contribute photos, research, testimonials, and observations about the places in Madison that matter to them. On today's show, host Douglas Haynes speaks with four guests involved in the project, Martín Alvarado, James Levy, Angela Richardson, and John Wedge. As much as their work involves celebrating Madison's vibrant history, they also tell the painful histories of dispossession and displacement that are part of our shared past. Alvarado discusses the displacement of African Americans from the Greenbush neighborhood to Madison's South Side, and Richardson describes the experience of learning about the Shenk-Atwood neighborhood as a layer cake. You can learn about your building or block using archival tools at the Madison Public Library and their Living History collections. Alvarado says that small newspapers are a treasure trove of our ancestors' oversharing. Richardson describes the process as “collective remembering” and this work is an “antidote” to the Trump Administration's “airbrushed history,” says Wedge. As the contributions of Black, LGBTQ, and Indigenous peoples have been scrubbed from federal websites, the work of local historians to preserve the past is more important than ever. Ultimately, Make History Madison isn't just about documenting the past, but about using the past to engage with the present and the future, says Levy.  On Tuesday, June 23, 2026, Make History Madison presents Music Venues We Have Loved at The High Noon Saloon in association with WORT 89.9 FM and Madison Public Library. Martín Alvarado is a Community Engagement Librarian at the Madison Public Library and host of Global Revolutions on WORT 89.9 FM. James Levy is the founder and Executive Director of the Race and Place Coalition and the Whose Land? public history project. A scholar trained in African American history and former Associate Professor of History at UW-Whitewater, his projects employ oral history and collaborative community research to foster public dialogue about the connections between race and geography. Dr. Levy's current book project, forthcoming from the University of Wisconsin Press, is titled The Color of Farming in the Heartland: A History of Land and Race in Wisconsin since 1800. Angela Richardson is an artist, educator, and passionate “hyperlocal historian.” Her primary research focuses on the Schenk-Atwood neighborhood and Madison’s near east side. John Wedge is a historian, labor advocate, and public arts organizer. Originally from London, he has a Ph.D. in American History from the University of Illinois. He is Executive Director for WEAC Region 6, and singer, guitarist, and co-founder of northern soul/rock band The Periodicals. Prior to Whoseland.org and Make History Madison, he co-produced The Greatest War: World War I, Wisconsin, and Why it Still Matters. Featured image of the Make History Madison logo. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post You Can Make History with Make History Madison appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show, host Esty Dinur celebrates Juneteenth, “America's second Independence Day,” with Dr. Timothy Golden. They talk about the symbolic importance of this federal holiday and how the US still struggles to make freedom meaningful for Black people. Juneteenth was made a federal holiday in 2021 after decades of campaigning by former teacher Opal Lee. Dr. Golden says that Juneteenth becomes “hollow” when we juxtapose the recognition of emancipation with Congress's inability to pass meaningful police and voting rights reform. The spirit of celebration is “neutralized” by the treacherous and tragic reality that enslaved Black people in Texas were kept enslaved after emancipation and the bad faith of our federal institutions who will not pass legislation that would support symbolic celebrations like Juneteenth.  In the wake of emancipation, Dr. Golden says that we think of freedom too narrowly. He points to the work of Reconstruction that was ultimately undercut in the way that racial terror continued under state law. He says that full democratic participation continues to be deferred for Black Americans because of mass incarceration and voter suppression. They also discuss Dr. Golden's experience as an actor, the “white gaze,” and the philosophy of Ida B. Wells.  Timothy J. Golden is Visiting Professor of Philosophy at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA. His areas of philosophical specialization are Africana Philosophy (African American Social and Political Thought, Critical Race Theory, and Black Male Studies), Philosophy of Religion, and 19th and 20th Century European Philosophy. His books include Frederick Douglass and the Philosophy of Religion: An Interpretation of Narrative, Art, and the Political (Lexington Books, 2022), and Racism and Resistance: Essays on Derrick Bell’s Racial Realism (State University of New York Press, 2022). He is also a lawyer with more than 20 years experience concentrating in criminal defense, and he is an actor in local theater with solo performances in the stage plays Thurgood (portraying Thurgood Marshall) and How I Learned What I Learned (portraying August Wilson), and performances in  Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice (Shylock), The Winter’s Tale (Leontes, King of Sicily), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Peter Quince).  Tim earned his Juris Doctor from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Memphis.  Featured image of a Juneteenth parade in Denver, CO via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Celebrate Juneteenth, But Keep Working appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

June is a high milk production month called “the flush” by dairy farmers. On today's pre-recorded show, hosts Bert Zipperer and Pete Hardin of The Milkweed highlight the Dairy Month. They break down cheese consumption trends, the history of the dairy industry in the state, and hear from two Wisconsin dairy farmers, Jan Shepel and Adam Faust.  Shepel and Faust say they wish more people understood how hard they work. They share stories of the highs and lows–the droughts and floods–that they've seen over the years and how they've given names to their cows. The Wisconsin dairy industry contributes $50-55 billion to the economy annually but sits at a historic low of 5,000 dairy farms in the state.           They also dive into the role of cooperative creameries, the trend of cross-breeding beef and dairy cows, consumer demand for dairy protein in the form of whey and cottage cheese, and the rise of cheese prices.  Featured image of dairy cows in Vernon County, Wisconsin via Flickr (CC BY 2.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Honoring Dairy Month with a Farmer Roundtable appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

If you have ever been asked “What's your sign?” you have Linda Goodman to thank—or blame. She was America's first New Age celebrity, and today host Ali Muldrow is joined by her biographer, Courtney Ann LaFaive, to talk about her legacy. They discuss LaFaive's new book, Follow the Signs: Searching for Linda Goodman, America’s Forgotten Astrology Queen. Linda Goodman was a literary celebrity publishing accessible books on astrology and relationships, like Love Signs, a massive volume about heterosexual coupling. LaFaive discovered Goodman's books as a teenager, decades after Goodman was popular, and found in them a way to “decode the mysteries of adulthood.” She learned to understand how people have different relationships to their inner world and how to understand intimacy and connection. She also gained a language for compatibility in relationships and a feminine knowledge counter to patriarchy. Through the language of cycles, LaFaive says you can find a more feminine way of thinking about how life unfolds, returning to face challenges again and again.  LaFaive says that astrology is both scientific and quasi-religious: it's something that can be seen scientifically through astronomy and people relate to it through faith. It's also political and Goodman's story is a cautionary tale for how our society deals with misinformation and illusion. In writing this book, LaFaive fell out of love with Linda Goodman but still strove to tell a compassionate story.  LaFaive will give a reading next Tuesday, June 23 at 6pm at A Room of One's Own.  Courtney Ann LaFaive is the author of Follow the Signs: Searching for Linda Goodman, America’s Forgotten Astrology Queen published by the University of Iowa Press in May 2026. She is a native of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and teaches creative writing at the University of North Dakota. Featured image of the cover of Follow the Signs: Searching for Linda Goodman, America’s Forgotten Astrology Queen. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Decoding the Mysteries of Adulthood through Astrology appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's show, host Dana Pellebon is in conversation with Dr. Mary Fariba Afsari about her new memoir, Labor: One Woman’s Work. Dr. Afsari is a child of Iranian immigrants, a working mother, and the founder of a mobile health clinic, bringing reproductive healthcare to rural patients in the Pacific Northwest. In 2015, Dr. Afsari literally mobilized her practice to meet women where they are. Her clinic on wheels–FemForward Health–travels throughout rural Oregon because too many of these communities lack full-scale OB-GYN services. Dr. Afsari says that people have started driving to find her because they've been recommended by word of mouth. It's a sign of how broken the healthcare system is that a mobile RV clinic is providing better care than industrial medicine to women of color and rural women. Post Dobbs, Dr. Afsari says the fight for reproductive justice is more important than ever.  Dr. Afsari's memoir chronicles her career serving women like her grandmother who died of a pregnancy related complication. She says she wants readers to get a sense of the range of experiences she has from obstetric emergencies to joyous births. They also discuss Dr. Afsari's philosophy of meeting patients with curiosity, how race plays a central role in whether a woman will survive a pregnancy, the lack of gender-affirming care, and the criminalization of OB-GYNs post Dobbs.  Residents of Dane County may be aware of a similar service providing  mobile forensic nurse exams. Mary Fariba Afsari, DO, is a board-certified OB-GYN and the founder of FemForward Health, a mobile women’s health clinic in Portland, Oregon. She completed her medical school at Touro University college of Osteopathic Medicine, her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and holds an MS in Health Communication from the Tufts University/Emerson College joint program. Dr. Afsari is a passionate advocate for healthcare equity and reproductive justice. She speaks widely on the intersections of medicine, identity, and systemic healthcare reform. Her debut memoir, Labor: One Woman’s Work, was published by Avid Reader Press in April.  Featured image of the cover of Labor: One Woman’s Work. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post One Mobile Clinic Practices Reproductive Justice in Rural Areas appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Last night Russia killed 11 civilians and attacked a historic cathedral in Kiev. On today's show, guest host Yuri Rashkin is in conversation with journalists Zarina Zabrisky and Jason Jay Smart, as well as politician Lev Parnas to talk about Russia's ongoing war on Ukraine and the status of support for Ukraine in the US. Zabrisky is a war correspondent currently living in Kherson, a city with more than 250,000 people located in an active “red zone.” She documents the phenomena of “human safari” drone strikes in which Russian troops use small drones equipped with cameras to identify targets. Zabrisky says that even though the people of Kherson experience violence on a daily basis since the start of the war, the city is still their home and they have complex reasons for staying. The people of Kherson have responded to Russia's use of fiber optic drones by covering parts of the city in fishing lines.  Smart says that Russia's attacks on churches, like the one bombed last night in Kiev, is a strategy of destroying symbols of the shared history between Russia and Ukraine. He's noticed that Russia has shifted its language around Ukraine from being a place that has “gone astray” to one that is full of “heathens.” This religious rhetoric is helping Moscow attract far-Right US agitators like Candace Owens and perpetuate an idea of Russia as a Christian nation upholding the faith. Zabrisky and Smart say that Ukraine is far from achieving peace and safety. But Smart predicts a paradigm shift in Russia in the near term.  Parnas joins the conversation to discuss the “love fest” between Washington and Moscow and the status of support for Ukraine within the Trump administration. He also discusses his role during the first Trump administration and what he predicts from Todd Blanche as Attorney General. Featured image of a street in Kherson destroyed in a Russian attack in 2024 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).  Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post A Kaleidoscopic View of Ukraine at War appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Donald Trump continues to boast that he will bring about the fall of Cuba, and Marco Rubio continues to assert that Cuba poses a national security threat. On today's show, host Esty Dinur is in conversation with Marc Becker about the latest signs of US aggression toward Cuba.  Becker says that Trump is “turning the screws” on Cuba via more blockades on petroleum and more sanctions on select members of the Cuban government. This leads pundits to say that a US military attack on Cuba is inevitable, but Becker says the conclusion is not inevitable. On the ground, the US blockades are causing diesel fuel shortages leading to lack of sanitation services. There's also mass hunger and energy shortages and the infant mortality rate is rising. This is all adding up to a crisis point.  They also discuss tourism apartheid, humanitarian flotillas, and China's increasing influence in Cuba. Becker says that the crisis raises a fundamental question: how much of the revolutionary aspirations do Cubans give up for the revolution to survive? And if you've given up everything that the revolution promised, do you give up on it? Marc Becker is professor of history at Truman State University. He studies the Latin American left with a particular interest in race, class, and gender within popular movements in the South American Andes. Among other works, he is the author of Contemporary Latin American Revolutions (Rowman and Littlefield, 2022); The CIA in Ecuador (Duke University Press, 2020); The FBI in Latin America: The Ecuador Files (Duke University Press, 2017); and Indians and Leftists in the Making of Ecuador’s Modern Indigenous Movements (Duke University Press, 2008. He has served on the executive committees and has been web editor of the Peace History Society (PHS) and Historians for Peace and Democracy (H-Pad). Becker is currently working on a project on Philip Agee and the CIA in Ecuador in the early 1960s. Featured image of a map of the 1962 US blockade of Cuba via Wikimedia Commons. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post The Crisis in Cuba Jeopardizes Revolutionary Aspirations appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Today is the first day of the largest FIFA World Cup in history. And this weekend, the UFC is staging a cage match on the White House lawn to celebrate President Trump's birthday. Guest host Norman Stockwell takes a close look at these two events with sports writers Dave Zirin and Adam Szetela.  Zirin's latest article for The Progressive chronicles Donald Trump's influence on the World Cup tournament. He argues that the World Cup is no stranger to authoritarian governments, from Russia to Qatar and that Trump is using the event to stage his own authoritarianism. From travel advisories, Trump's threats against Iranian players, $5700 tickets, and the climate of ICE abductions, Zirin says that this World Cup is a “joyless” one. Szetela discusses how Donald Trump championed the UFC in the early 2000s such that now the sport has become synonymous with right-wing politics. One of the things that makes the UFC different from other sports leagues is that the fighters aren't unionized, meaning that many UFC athletes make as little as $3000 a match. Though it might be tempting to say that mixed martial arts appeal exclusively to the raw and ruthless violence of the MAGA crowd, Szetela says that the sport has a wider popularity. Zirin and Szetela also discuss their latest book projects.  Adam Szetela earned his Ph.D. in English from the Department of Literatures at Cornell University. Before that, he was a visiting fellow in the Department of History at Harvard University. He is the author of That Book Is Dangerous! (MIT Press) and writes for The Washington Post, The Guardian, Newsweek, and other publications. Dave Zirin writes about sports for The Nation and The Progressive and hosts the Edge of Sports podcast and “Edge of Sports with Dave Zirin” on The Real News. He is the author of The Kaepernick Effect: Taking a Knee, Changing the World and the forthcoming The People’s Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn. Featured image of an MMA cage via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Blood Sports on the White House Lawn appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

WORT 89.9FM Madison · The Line Between Recreation and Medication is Finer than You Think Today Professor Nicholas Powers joins Ali Muldrow in a conversation about his new book, Black Psychedelic Revolution. Psychedelics such as LSD and ketamine are beginning to gain popularity as increasing evidence supports promising treatments of psychological conditions, trauma, and changing one's autobiographical narrative. They also heard from callers who shared transformational personal experiences while using psychedelics. What is the difference between recreation and medication? Powers suggests that the line may be finer than you think. The idea is that recreational activities like art, poetry, or even psychedelic drugs can be healing. Powers also noted that the most safe way to have a psychological experience is in a controlled and safe environment with a guide. If a person is in a state of trauma or depression, the chemicals from these drugs might lead to a further inability to cope once the trip is over, and that is when these drugs can become addictive. However, Powers emphasized that it's the prior state of trauma that creates the addiction rather than the drug itself. Powers said that the way these psychedelic drugs work is by inhibiting the ego, which leads to questioning core beliefs and the stories you were told about your life. This is why after a psychedelic trip, people often change their previously held beliefs. It is also why people tend to change their beliefs the most during college. During the transition period between being reliant on your parents and becoming an independent adult, young people question the stories that they were told. Powers encourages this kind of discussion in his college classrooms and asks his students to try to find the truth in their experiences. Additionally, there is a surge in the glamorization of drugs and removing the stigma associated with them. Drugs such as ritalin or adderall are given to children at younger ages reducing the stigma for using drugs to treat mental health, but there is still a sense that they are necessary. Powers says there is a delicate balance between maintaining a healthy skepticism about the medical industry without denying its benefits entirely. He encourages people to always think about who is profiting, whether from criminalizing marijuana or giving ritalin to four year olds. The discussion ended with the positive experiences that can come from having a controlled psychedelic experience. Some examples included helping alcohol addiction, understanding the core reasons why a marriage ended, finding peace and answers within the counterculture of the 1960s, and becoming a more compassionate person.  Nicholas Powers is an Associate Professor of English at SUNY Old Westbury. Powers has presented talks and reports from the Psychedelic Renaissance since 2017. He has written for numerous psychedelic publications from Lucid News to Double Blind. Alongside published articles, he has given talks at Naropa University and Chacruna. Powers has published three books with Upset Press. The first is a book of poetry, the second a mix of reportage from disaster zones, protests, and Burning Man. The third is a political vampire novel. He regularly attends Wild Seeds Writers Retreat and Cave Canem Black poetry workshops. Powers lives in Brooklyn with his son. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post The Line Between Recreation and Medication is Finer than You Think appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

WORT 89.9FM Madison · We Need Nutrition Security, Not Just Food Security Today host Douglas Haynes is joined by Kris Tazelaa of Second Harvest Food Bank, and Melissa Bublitz professor of human ecology at UW Madison. Second Harvest Food Bank of Southern Wisconsin distributes 26 million pounds of food to over 300 partners and programs, including local food pantries, mobile food pantries, youth programs, and many more.  The language around access to food centers on “food insecurity,” but the conversation often omits the need for healthy food. Bublitz highlights the importance of nutrition security, an effort to provide communities with not just food to survive, but the food necessary to thrive. One of the ways Second Harvest is addressing nutrition security is by partnering with local farmers to provide fresh, local and nutritious food. The majority of the 16 counties that Second Harvest serves are rural, so Second Harvest Food Bank buys excess food from farmers to make sure the local producers also have the support they need. The fresh food is often distributed the very next day. For a lot of families, there is a patchwork of sources necessary to get the food they need. Rather than going to the grocery store for everything, they rely on state programs, local food pantries, and FoodShare (SNAP) benefits. Although SNAP is a critical lifeline for many people, it is intended to be supplemental, and has not kept up with the rate of inflation. The program is not enough to provide everything, but Bublitz and Tazelaa said it is still the most efficient way to address food insecurity while also improving the local economy. For every SNAP dollar spent, $1.60 is created in the local community.   There are myriad sources of mental and physical stress on families without food security. There is still a stigma attached to swiping the green SNAP card at the grocery store and shopping at local food pantries. Many people in small communities travel 20-30 miles away to avoid being recognized by neighbors at their local pantries. There is the added stress of government paperwork and figuring out eligibility for food programs. Bublitz and Tazelaa reference feeling “hangry,” emphasizing the importance of being fed to increase your quality of life and reach your highest potential, and how nutritious food will make a world of difference. Kris Tazelaa is a Wisconsin native who has been with Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin for nearly 15 years, currently serving as the organization’s Media and Public Relations Manager. Melissa G. Bublitz, Ph.D. is the Liz Kramer Professor of Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focuses on understanding and influencing consumer behavior to promote the well-being of individuals and families as well as in the communities where they live and work. Her research studies food and nutrition access, social entrepreneurship, sustainability,  and public policy to increase consumer well-being. Utilizing qualitative and participatory research methods, her research is characterized by a strong commitment to creating real-world impact and is often conducted in partnership with social impact organizations. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post We Need Nutrition Security, Not Just Food Security appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's pledge drive edition of A Public Affair, host Esty Dinur is in conversation with former host, Zoltán Grossman about grassroots resistance to creeping dictatorship in the US and the resilience of Indigenous communities around the world. They dedicate the program to the memory of Dr. Al Geddicks, who Grossman calls “the quintessential scholar-activist.” He was the driving force behind the anti-mining movement and author of Resource Rebels.  They discuss where Grossman finds hope, including in the backlash against ICE raids and detention centers. He says that there is a growing break in the longstanding bipartisan consensus for military and intelligence spending, even though the Senate passed the ~$70 billion budget reconciliation package for immigration enforcement. He calls this “anti-weaponization” fund another form of “internal repression” that will fund paramilitary militias.  Grossman is also optimistic about ecological and Indigenous resilience in Western Washington where he lives and teaches. He describes the wins for resource co-management and resistance to US military interventions, and why these actions seem more possible in Washington than they do in Wisconsin. They also discuss Palestine, Grossman's Hungarian lineage, and the fall of Viktor Orbán. Note: This pledge drive interview was edited to remove parts of the show dedicated to station fundraising. We thank our listeners for their generous support. Zoltán Grossman has since 2005 been a Professor in Geography and Native American ​ Indigenous Studies at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and previously taught at UW-Eau Claire.  He earned his Ph.D. in Geography and Graduate Minor in American Indian Studies at UW-Madison in 2002. He is a longtime antiwar, antiracist, and environmental organizer, and was a co-founder of the Midwest Treaty Network in Wisconsin.  He is a past co-chair of the Indigenous Peoples Specialty Group of the American Association of Geographers. He was co-editor of Asserting Native Resilience: Pacific Rim Indigenous Nations Face the Climate Crisis (Oregon State University Press, 2012). He is author of Unlikely Alliances: Native Nations and White Communities Join to Defend Rural Lands (University of Washington Press, 2017). Featured image if the removed Glines Canyon Dam in Washington via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).  Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Grassroots Organizing Works with Zoltán Grossman appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

From the first Piggly Wiggly to automated self-checkout machines, the supermarket is a microcosm of modern food systems, labor, and the idea of convenience. On today's pledge drive edition of A Public Affair, host Bert Zipperer speaks with Ann Larson about her book, Cleanup on Aisle Five: Essential Work, Poverty Wages, and the View from Behind the Supermarket Register. Larson got a job at a supermarket at the outset of the COVID pandemic after spending a few years on the margins of the professional class in New York City. She worked for over a year at a grocery store before leaving and writing her book. Her main takeaway from that experience is that there is no such thing as unskilled labor. Supermarket cashiers, like herself, need patience, technical and communication skills, product knowledge, and more. They're also likely to develop repetitive stress and muscular-skeletal disorders, workplace injuries that increasingly go un-investigated due to cuts to OSHA. The second lesson of Larson's book is that all laborers have dignity. When workers–like cashiers–are underpaid, they become devalued. In our culture, status is tied to pay, but Larson wants to bust the myth that so-called “low-skilled” workers deserve low pay. She says that unfortunately we seemed to have quickly forgotten the lessons about essential work that the pandemic taught us.  From her time cashiering, Larson saw the supermarket function as a community space where people could escape from the heat or cold, for example. But it's also a place of precarious labor. On top of that, the shift to self-checkout machines in the name of “convenience” shifted labor from their employees to their customers. They also discuss the issue of Piggly Wiggly, the lack of unionization among retail workers, and the need to enforce anti-trust laws.  Note: This pledge drive interview was edited to remove parts of the show dedicated to station fundraising. We thank our listeners for their generous support. Ann Larson's writing on education, debt, and low-wage work has appeared in The New Republic, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Fast Company, and The Nation, among other publications. She is coauthor of Can't Pay Won't Pay: The Case for Economic Disobedience and Debt Abolition and is a fellow with the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. She lives in Salt Lake City, UT. Featured image of the cover of Cleanup on Aisle Five: Essential Work, Poverty Wages, and the View from Behind the Supermarket Register. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post There's No Such Thing As Unskilled Labor appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's pledge drive edition of A Public Affair, host Ali Muldrow is in conversation with scholar Tara Mulder about her new book, A Womb of One’s Own: Lost Histories of Childbirth in Ancient Rome. Mulder tells the story of birth from pre-conception to post-partum based around women's stories of trying to get pregnant, of being pregnant, of terminating pregnancies, and beyond. Her book is an alternative history of Rome–which is typically centered around war, death, and sex–through childbirth. Mulder combed through primary texts for pieces of birthing stories and investigated funerary inscriptions, medical tools, and magical amulets to form a composite story of birth in ancient Rome. She found that abortion isn't a modern phenomena but a part of the reproductive experience common in the ancient world. Yet it was during this period that the narrative that women are wicked or vain for having an abortion emerged, and the same language that is deployed today. Prior to this point, pregnancy was seen as healthful and the domain of women, and afterward pregnancy was medicalized under the purview of men.  Though at the population level, birth has gotten better since ancient times, it would be wrong to attribute that progress to tools. Instead, improvements in medical care non-specific to childbirth have revolutionized healthcare broadly, from germ theory to the regular use of antiseptics. And still, Milwaukee has one of the worst maternal and infant mortality rates in the world. They also talk about the role of capitalism and private equity in determining how hospitals treat pregnancies and the safety of homebirths and midwifery. Note: This pledge drive interview was edited to remove parts of the show dedicated to station fundraising. We thank our listeners for their generous support. Tara Mulder is Assistant Professor of Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies with affiliation in Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As the daughter of a homebirth midwife, she has assisted in more than two dozen births. Featured image of the cover of Tara Mulder's book, A Womb of One’s Own: Lost Histories of Childbirth in Ancient Rome. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post The Story of the Roman Empire through Childbirth appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today's pledge drive edition of A Public Affair, host Dana Pellebon is in conversation with Rev. Staci Marrese-Wheeler and Rev. Tim Schaefer about the phenomena of white Christian nationalism and how their congregations are choosing to follow a table-flipping Jesus. Rev. Schaefer is part of a coalition of clergy in Wisconsin working against Christian nationalism. He says that this political ideology gets framed in theological terms by a small group of people who interpret scripture in a narrow way in order to uphold their power and control. Rooted in white supremacy, Christian nationalism threatens democratic norms and threatens churches because it doesn't allow for pluralism in either space, says Schaefer. Rev. Marrese-Wheeler says that this ideology is rooted in fear and a scarcity mindset, but she follows Christian teachings of abundance. She pastors a small, progressive congregation where people have been exposed to justice-framed understandings of the Gospel. “Patriarchy is baked into church DNA,” says Marrese-Wheeler, though there have been denominations that ordain female clergy. Schaefer says that he brings feminist, womanist, and queer theologies into his sermons, following the model of a social-justice, table-flipping Jesus.  “More and more, faithful people are being asked to create more power and more wealth for people who don't follow Jesus,” says Marrese-Wheeler. Instead, she looks to Christian traditions in Central America and Africa that preach community instead of individualism. Note: This pledge drive interview was edited to remove parts of the show dedicated to station fundraising. We thank our listeners for their generous support. Rev. Staci Marrese-Wheeler (She/Her) is Pastor at Common Grace. Staci is an ordained pastor of the Moravian Church of North America. Staci has an undergraduate degree in Education and a Masters of Divinity from Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem, PA. She has served on the eastside of Madison for 17 of her 33 years in ministry. Staci’s role at Common Grace is  called “Community Development Pastor.” She also serves as Co-Director of the Eastmorland Community Center on the east side of Madison. Rev. Tim Schaefer has served as pastor of First Baptist Church since November 2020. Prior to relocating to Wisconsin, he served as Minister to Youth at Royal Lane Baptist Church in Dallas, TX, where he was ordained in early 2019. Tim holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Boston University and a Master of Divinity degree, as well as, a degree certificate in Gender and Sexual Justice from Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University. In addition to his pastoral role, Tim co-founded and continues to co-lead the Wisconsin Coalition for Religious Freedom, a broad collective of Wisconsinites dedicated to disrupting the rise of white Christian nationalism in our state. Featured image: of Christian LGBTQ pride flag with cross hanging in a Metropolitan Community Church via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).  Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Following a Social-Justice, Table-Flipping Jesus appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.