8 O'Clock Buzz

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.

On March 3, 2020, Super Tuesday, 15 U.S. States and Territories cast their primary ballots for President of the United States.   For the Democrats, one thousand three hundred and forty four delegates are up for grabs, more than a third of all the delegates in the primary contest.  Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders enters the crucial day as the frontrunner, and with a strong showing on March 3, could almost, but not quite, sew up the Democratic nomination.  It’s been a long strange trip for the Independent, self-declared democratic socialist, who at 78 years old, finds his strongest support among the youngest members of the electorate. Award-winning political cartoonist Ted Rall first published his graphic biography, “Bernie” back in 2016.  Rall has now updated his book, “Bernie” for a new edition, complete with new, up to date material. In addition, Rall is on the verge of releasing his latest book, “Political Suicide: The Democratic National Committee and the Fight for the Soul of the Democratic Party, A Graphic History,” due out from Seven Stories Press this June.  Ted Rall joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on March 2, 2020.

Human beings are not alone on this planet.  We share the earth with a wide variety of critters, some winged, some on four feet, some so small that gravity is essentially meaningless, some that weigh more than a heavy duty pick-up truck.  As human settlements encroach on formerly wild areas and both wildlife and human populations expand, animals and humans are more and more likely to interact — usually, but not always peacefully.  So, what to do, if you are confronted by, say a mountain lion, roaming in the suburbs? Or a wild turkey charging down the bike path at you? Or something smaller, like a louse, a cockroach or a bedbug?  Journalist Rachel Levin has got you covered. Her book “Look Big, And Other Tips for Surviving Animal Encounters of all Kinds,” is a readable, often humorous guide that might just save your life, and maybe your furry, feathery or scaly antagonist’s, too.  Rachel Levin joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on March 2, 2020.

The fight against climate change starts with fracking — according to Food and Water Watch Policy Director Mitch Jones. In his interview with Jan Miyasaki, he discusses the “Fracking Ban Act” proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

William Lazonick, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts, talks about his most recent book “Predatory Value Extraction: How the Looting of the Business Corporation Became the US Norm and How Sustainable Prosperity Can Be Restored”, which keys on how money is directed to shareholders and does nothing for business growth.

The phrase “coming out” has its origins in the debutante balls “or coming out parties” aristocratic young women traditionally held to announce their entrance into high society and their eligibility for marriage.  But, starting at the turn of the twentieth century, gay subcultures began appropriating the term, and now the idea of “coming out” to family and friends not only holds a central place in the LGBTQ rights movement, but is now finding its way into other movements. Abigail C. Saguy, Professor of Sociology at the University of California – Los Angeles, is the author of a new book, “Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are.”

In August of 2014, Ferguson, Missouri Police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed 18-year old Michael Brown in the middle of Ferguson’s Canfield Street.  Although Wilson stated that Brown attempted to steal Wilson’s gun, witnesses at the scene stated that Brown had his hands in the air when Wilson shot him six times.  Eight months later, in Baltimore, Maryland, 25-year old Freddie Gray died from spinal injuries received while in custody of the Baltimore Police Department. The two incidents, coming on the heels of a rash of other police-involved deaths of black citizens, touched off waves of protests in Missouri, Maryland and nationwide, and ultimately led to the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement.  Five years after Brown and Gray’s death, Michigan State University Criminologist Jennifer Cobbina has published “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot: Why The Protests in Ferguson and Baltimore Matter and How they Changed America.”