Even in the digital age, the art of creating physical DIY magazines, known as zines, continues to flourish around the country.  Here in Madison, the seventh annual Print and Resist Zine Fest recently fell victim to the Coronavirus Pandemic ban on large assembly events, but hopes to have a new life later this year.  In order to comply with Madison / Dane County Public Health orders banning assembly events of more than 50 people, organizers have postponed this year’s Print and Resist fest, but hope to have a new life later this year.  Carlee Latimer, Madison Public Library Bubbler Program Assistant and Jennifer Bastian, Arts Program Manager for Communication.

In August of 2018, an unheard-of 13 inches of rain fell just west of Madison in less than 24 hours.  That deluge shattered all rainfall records in the State of Wisconsin, causing flash floods that filled city streets, swept away cars, bridges and trees and, after filling up Lake Mendota, threatened to overtop the Tenney Dam and inundate the Madison isthmus.  Clearly, none of the public stormwater and other infrastructure was designed to cope with such a storm — before that year, no one thought such a storm was even possible. But one of the lessons of climate change is that past history is not a good predictor of what is to come.  As the earth heats up and the atmosphere becomes more turbulent, what if storms like the August 2018 storm become not just more frequent, but commonplace? Steve Vavrus — a former WORT volunteer — now sits as the co-chair of the Wisconsin Institute for Climate Change Impacts, which is working with local communities, including Madison, to help make Madison a climate-ready city.

 

Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution requires the federal government to conduct an “actual enumeration” of all people residing in the nation every ten years.  The logistical operation that is the U.S. Census is a formidable endeavor. The Census Bureau staffs up every ten years, hoping to leave no stone unturned in finding and counting everyone where they live as of April 1.  Even with all that effort, however, the Census has historically undercounted certain populations. People without a fixed abode, people who move often, children, people who don’t speak or read English and people who distrust and fear the federal government have always been notoriously difficult to count.  Because census numbers determine not only congressional representation, but also the allocation of billions of dollars in federal grants, aids and other expenditures, local communities have an incentive to make sure none of their residents are left out. Sheila Stubbs represents Assembly District 77 in the Wisconsin Legislature, and she is the Chair of Madison’s Census Complete Count Committee.

Controversy continues over centralized storage of “spent” nuclear fuel or hardened on-site storage. Kevin Kamps from “Beyond Nuclear” talks about the potential issues related to transportation of these materials on our highways, rails, and water to centralized “interim” storage facilities.

Firefighting foam, once thought to be a safe means to control jet fuel fires, has now been strongly linked to PFAS contamination of water in Madison and other areas. Lance Green from “Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin” talks to Jan about the PFAS issues linked to the Air National Guard and the subject of the film “Dark Waters”.

Robert Reuschlein, from the Real Economy Institute, talked about his 100-year analysis of military spending, and how military spending is inversely proportional to economic growth, transfers tax resources unequally among states, and causes social decay. He will be presenting his theories at the Central Library, Room 104, at 6:30 on 3/12/20.

From February 1 to April 19, the Chazen Museum of Art will host “Speaking of Book Arts: Oral Histories from UW-Madison.”  As an interactive, all ages-friendly, companion to the oral history exhibit, the Museum will also offer a bookish Art-Spin, featuring practitioners from the Bone Folders Guild.   Adrienne Rich is the Assistant Curator for Education for the Chazen Museum, and she joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on March 9, 2020.

Imagine going to a city council meeting, and at the beginning of the meeting, hearing the following convocation:

“Let us stand now, unbowed and unfettered by arcane doctrines born of fearful minds in darkened times. Let us embrace the Luciferian impulse to eat of the Tree of Knowledge and dissipate our blissful and comforting delusions of old.”

That nearly happened, in Scottsdale Arizona, after the Temple of Satan sought the same access to city council invocations as was granted to other religious groups.  Started as a trolling prank against the George W. Bush Administration’s Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, the Satanic Temple recently received “church” status from the Internal Revenue Service.  Joseph Laycock is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Texas State University, and he is the author of the book, “Speak of the Devil,” which documents the history and practice of the Satanic Temple.  Joseph Laycock joins us now by phone.

Barbara Knox, head of the Child Protective Unit at Madison’s American Family Children’s Hospital abruptly resigned in 2019 after being placed on administrative leave amidst allegations of intimidation and harassment of her colleagues.  The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism has also uncovered evidence that Knox falsified records and misrepresented her own credentials in an effort to pin child abuse charges on one Wisconsin family. The incidents call into question many of the diagnostic techniques used by medical professionals to detect child abuse.  Managing Editor for the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, Dee Hall, joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on March 9, 2020.

Not enough women realize the potential for a career in the trades: electrician, plumbing, carpentry, and more. The IBEW Local 159 union is sponsoring a “Women in the Trades Event” on Saturday, March 14th. Jan talks with representative Lisa Goodman about the trades and about the open house and more local options for women and kids.