With a board of directors that includes the CEOs of J.P. Morgan, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Cisco and AT&T, among others, the free-enterprise think tank Business Roundtable wields a considerable amount of influence on Capitol Hill and elsewhere.  In August of 2019, the Business Roundtable did a curious thing: they issued a new statement of purpose for corporations. The new purpose statement strayed from the longheld maxim that corporations owe only profits to their shareholders, it adds customers, employees, suppliers and community to the list of corporate stakeholders and talks about things like equity, diversity and environmental sustainability.  David O’Keefe is a senior at the University of Wisconsin Business School, and the President of the University of Wisconsin Social and Environmental Business Advocates. He recently published an opinion piece in the Daily Cardinal saying that it’s high time the UW School of Business changed it’s thinking. O’Keefe joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on November 25th.

In 1051, Benedictine Monk Peter Damian wrote “Liber Gommorihanus,” a screed against many practices of Catholic priests at the time.  Damian was particularly incensed at priests who made it a habit of having sexual relations with adolescent boys. Pope Leo IX praised Damian for his efforts, expressed dismay at the priests’ behavior, but did little to address the problem.  This will sound sadly familiar to more recent accusers of Catholic priests, as the church hierarchy’s pattern of public hand-wringing, but little substantial action continues to this day. The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism brings the Catholic sex abuse scandal home with its new series, “Catholic Clergy Abuse.”  WCIJ managing editor Dee Hall joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on November 25, 2019.

The bill “Nuclear Powers America Act”, estimated to bolster the aging nuclear industry with a 30% tax credit — a $33 Billion bailout, was recently defeated. But this subsidy proposal is expected to rise again in the next month, according to Lukas Ross, Senior Policy Analyst for the Friends of the Earth. Excelon, the leading nuclear industry player, has made multi-million dollar donations to politicians to make it so.

Kacy Zander, founder of ReCreate, and Krystal Bauman from Talent Jack Search stopped in to talk with Jan about an upcoming open mic & talent search event of Light-Sound-Vibration happening Friday from 7-11PM at the Social Justice Center. With a broad artistic range from painting to visual arts to music and more, this promises to be a judgement-free zone for all to enjoy.

Nearing their 30th anniversary, the Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger (CSWAB) remains active and vigilant to potential chemical contaminants in water surrounding the long shuttered munitions plant. Laura talks about what it’s been like to negotiate the red tape and legal processes to “Find the Truth” and make it public.

In 2018, a prototype autonomous vehicle owned by Uber killed a bicyclist. If a human being had done such a thing, we would have had no problem assigning moral responsibility for that action. We would ask was the driver was negligent, speeding, or drunk? Or did the bicyclist dart out in front of the car giving the driver insufficient time to stop?  The answers to these questions would help us decide whether the driver was responsible for the bicyclist’s death. But guilt, morality, or ethics don’t really apply to machines. Alan Rubel is an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin who works both in the School of Information Technology and the Law School. Alan joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on November 18, 2019.

What do we mean, when we say someone is “normal, “ or “insane?” Why if we call someone “mentally ill,” is it always a perjorative?  Denver-based interdisciplinary artist Megan Scheffer explores the concepts of mental illness and stigma in her work. Megan comes back to her hometown this month as the Madison Public Library’s artist-in-residence for November and December.  Megan joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on November 18, 2019.

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives began public impeachment hearings to determine whether President Donald Trump engaged in “high crimes and misdemeanors” by threatening to withhold international aid to Ukraine, unless the Ukrainians investigated former Vice-President Joe Biden.  House Democrats claim testimony from Deputy assistant secretary of state George Kent, diplomat Bill Taylor and former ambassador to Ukraine Maria Yovonavitch paint a picture of a corrupt administration seeking to extort foreign governments for domestic political gain. Republicans, however, say all of the testimony provided so far has been secondhand, and amounts to hearsay.  Nevertheless, Yovonavitch’s testimony provoked President Donald Trump to tweet insults as the ambassador was testifying, a move Democrats say amounts to witness tampering. Eleanor Neff Powell is a University of Wisconsin Political Science professor and author of the book, “Where Money Matters in Congress: A Window into How Parties Evolve.”  Eleanor Neff Powell joined the Monday 8 O’Clock Buzz on November 18, 2019.