8 O'Clock Buzz

Today on the Tuesday 8:00 Buzz with Dr. Damita Brown…

Melissa Kesling and Caitlyn Schuchardt from the Madison Chapter of Feminist Bird Club join us to talk birding, feminism, inclusivity and the environment.  Feminist Bird Club is an inclusive club of bird watchers dedicated to creating a welcoming and safe environment for everybody to enjoy nature and are committed to social justice.  They meet monthly to go birding in the Madison area.

Their next event is birding at Nine Springs 9-11AM on August 21st: https://fb.me/e/1Fp2HWrmL 

More information on Feminist Bird Club: https://www.feministbirdclub.org/

More information and to join the Madison chapter: https://www.facebook.com/FeministBirdClubWI/

More information on Bird Names for Birds: https://birdnamesforbirds.wordpress.com/ 

Photo by Caitlyn Schuchhardt

WORT 89.9FM Madison · Madison Circus Space is Offering A German Wheel Class For Beginners

Madison Circus Space is a home for circus arts in Madison and this Sunday they are offering a class for the German Wheel discipline. German Wheel Day for Newbies, taking place Sunday, Aug. 15th.

Carly Schuna and Amanda Gatewood join Friday Buzz host, Ankur Malhotra, to talk about the new space and about the upcoming class. Carly is a five-time national champion in wheel gymnastics and a certified coach through the USA Wheel Gymnastics Federation. She is a founder and executive board member of the Madison Circus Space and Amanda is a certified USA Wheel Gymnastics coach, has been practicing German wheel for four years, and has also been a member of MCS for two years.

 

 

(Image courtesy of Amanda Gatewood and Carly Schuna)

WORT 89.9FM Madison · Competition-Based Docuseries Begins Filming In Madison

Make48 is a nationwide, invention-based competition and docuseries that is currently filming here in Madison at The Bodgery. The competition gives teams 48 hours to create a prototype, promotional video, sales sheet, and a presentation to display their idea to a panel of judges. Teams will have access to a makerspace and numerous Tool Techs that can help them make almost anything to allow everyone a level playing field.

Tom Gray, CEO and Co-Creator of Make48, joins Friday Buzz host, Ankur Malhotra, to talk more about the competition.

 

 

(Images courtesy of Make48)

WORT 89.9FM Madison · Alice in Dairyland Is At The State Fair

The Wisconsin State Fair comes to an end this weekend and as one of the most recognizable spokespersons of Wisconsin agriculture — Alice in Dairyland, Julia Nunes, is hard at work educating Wisconsinites on the impact and importance of our state’s diverse agriculture industry in our daily lives.

Julia joins Friday Buzz host Ankur Malhotra, to discuss the position Alice in Dairyland and the duties it entails.

 

 

(Image courtesy of Julia Nunes)

The bi-partisan infrastructure bill just passed by the U.S. Senate has allotted $50 billion over the next 10 years to bolster the dying nuclear power industry, according to Hannah Smay, Digital Organizer of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service. And the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill promises even more, fails to create jobs, reduce carbon, and the Band-Aid approach interferes with the transition to clean energy.

John Cavanagh, Senior Advisor at the Institute for Policy Studies, talks about the life and career of Richard Trumka, mineworker, labor-leader, and former head of the AFL-CIO, following his recent death on August 5th.

On July 31, 2021, the Point Beach Nuclear Power Reactor experienced a number of valve and computer monitoring failures which could have been catastrophic, had it not been for manual overrides performed. Hannah Mortenson, Executive Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility WI, talks about the poorly publicized incident involving the 50-year-old complex (which was designed for a 40 year service period), and their request to the NRC to send an inspection team to the reactor site.

President Biden has the opportunity to appoint a commissioner to the FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a little-publicized federal group that regulates pipelines, natural gas, electricity, and other energy needs of the country. 466 environmental groups have written a letter to Biden, urging him to fill that position with someone who will be an environmental, energy justice champion — as opposed to Trump’s appointments of industry insiders. Drew Hudson, Senior National Organizer at Friends of the Earth, talks about their recommendations for the job.

Back in December, Jimmie Joshua broke his hip in an altercation with Sheriff’s Deputies while he was incarcerated in the Dane County Jail.  Five months later, Joshua’s fiancee Allison Davidson is still seeking justice.

On December 23, 2020, Jimmie Joshua, a detainee at the Dane County Jail, got into an argument with Dane County Sheriff’s deputies.  As the argument escalated, the altercation became physical.  Surveillance camera footage of the incident shows deputies attempting to pick up Joshua, then crashing to the ground after losing their balance.  Joshua suffered a broken hip, then was stripped naked and restrained in an isolation cell for 16 hours before receiving medical treatment.  Joshua filed a civil complaint, which he withdrew in March, then asked to have reinstated in May of this year.  Eight months after the incident, Joshua’s fiancee, Allison Davidson, is calling for Joshua’s release and the firing of the deputies who injured him.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases its sixth Assessment Report.  The news is not good. Environmental geographer Stephanie Spera from the University of Richmond joined the Monday Buzz.

August 9th, the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change released the Physical Science installment of its Sixth Climate Assessment.  The news is dire and the blame unequivocal: massive climate change is already upon us, and the blame lies squarely with human activity.  Even if every nation on earth hits its Paris Accord carbon targets, the earth will likely warm by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, or more than 2 degrees Celsius if current trends continue.  The Arctic ocean could be ice-free every year, sea levels could rise as high as 2 meters or more, and droughts and wildfires such as those experienced in Western North America and the Greek Islands will become commonplace.  Joining us with a reaction is Professor of Geography and the Environment at the University of Richmond, Stephanie Spera.