8 O'Clock Buzz

Combining the relationship of life to running, Mylo Choy’s graphic novel, “Middle Distance”, relates Choy’s life experience as a non-binary person to their relationship with running. Choy will be a part of the Wisconsin Book Festival, and will talk about the book at the Madison Central Library on March 11, 2024, at 7pm.

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On March 7, the Holz Center for Science and Technology Studies will present Tech(k)nowledges in Dialog: Indigenous Wisdom and Global Productivity. This event will feature a screening of the documentary “Maya Land: Listening to the Bees,” about the role of beekeeping in Mayan farming and the revival of Mayan culture in the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, followed by a panel discussion.

The film, and the panel, features Mayan activist, radio producer, author, and commentator Bernardo Caamal Itzá, who joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing in the studio.  The panel will also feature representatives of the Menomonee and Hawaiian indigenous nations.

On March 5th, Bernardo will also lead an in-person and virtual presentation on his new book, Stories of Arux: Maya Community Resistance, at 206 Ingraham Hall on the UW campus.

Katarzyna Beilin, who directed the film and is the former director of the UW Department of Latin America, Caribbean and Iberian Studies, joined Bernardo to translate and comment.

Featured photo from film website. Photo of Bernardo and his book courtesy Nicholas Wootton, WORT-FM.

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UW professor Tracey Holloway, an expert on air quality, energy, and the environment, called in to the Monday 8 o’Clock Buzz to discuss the announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of new, tighter air quality standards. The EPA’s new rules set particles smaller than 2.5 microns – known as P2.5 – from twelve micrograms per cubic meter to nine.

Two weeks later, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case challenging 2015 regulations governing ozone emissions. Given the court’s conservative bent, most observers expect the court to overturn the EPA’s ruling.

Particulate air pollution, commonly known as soot, contributes to asthma and other chronic illnesses.

Tracey Holloway is the Jeff Rudd and Jeanne Bissell Professor of Energy Analysis and Policy at the University of Wisconsin Madison, jointly appointed in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the Department of Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences.

Photo of Tracey Holloway. Source: University of Wisconsin website.

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Aaron Bushnell, who was an active cyberdefense operations specialist for the US Air Force, lit himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy to protest that government’s assault on the people of Gaza and the US role in the genocide occurring there.  Matthew Hoh, Associate Director of the Eisenhower Media Network, and former captain in the USMC, speaks about the complicit role the US is playing in the conflict and how Bushnell may have arrived at the point where he felt compelled to make the ultimate sacrifice.  As Macbeth lamented, “All the oceans in the world wouldn’t be capable of washing the blood from my hands”.

Photo by Emad El Byad on Unsplash

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Community Shares of Wisconsin brings the community together with 70 nonprofits, raising funds for, and awareness of, the local social and environmental justice movement.  Megan Diaz-Ricks, Community Partnerships Director, joins the 8 O’Clock Buzz to let people know what the organization is providing for our community and to provide details of the Big Share event to take place on Tuesday, March 5.  This is a day-long telethon to be held at the Arts and Literature Lab, and the public is invited to join the in-person event or watch a livestream on thebigshare.org or YouTube. The Big Share Live will feature local entertainment, educational programming, and more from Community Shares’ member nonprofits. The public can enjoy the fun, make a donation, and help participating nonprofits win bonus cash prizes.  Show that you care and share.

Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash

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Wisconsin ranks last for funding of the arts compared to our neighbors which is a huge embarrassment for many in the state.  The Dane County Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission believes all societies leave a meaningful legacy, and arts and cultural are needed to express our common humanity.  Mark Fraire, Director of Dane Arts, joins the 8 O’Clock Buzz to talk about the upcoming Business of Arts Conference to be held March 7 – 9 at the Arts & Literature Laboratory.  This three-day conference is for artists, art administrators, and creatives of all types as a professional development opportunity with workshops, networking and a vision of connecting arts to the community.

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Today on the Tuesday 8:00 Buzz with Tara Wilhelmi, Antoine McNeail and Lolo Lature ..  It’s a pledge drive show, give some support!  Michelle Bozeman joins (after some laughs and technical difficulties) to talk about being a leader and leading our community, and what Black History Month means in Madison.

Catch Tara and Michelle and more for Karaoke at Forward Club in Breese Stevens Field on Thursday night at 7!

Next week, March 6th, memorialize Tony Robinson at the McPike Park on the 9th anniversary of his murder at the hands of Madison Police.

Listen in Madison at 89.9FM or online anywhere at wortfm.org.  Support your community radio with a donation online at wortfm.org!

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Never heard of Groundwork Collaborative? Their goal to change economic policy and narratives in order to build public power, break up concentrations of private power, and deliver true opportunity and prosperity for all is headed by LIndsay Owens, nationally renowned economic advisor. In her recent article, “Inflation Revelation: How Outsized Corporate Profits Drive Rising Costs” delves into how large corporations made money during the pandemic, and are still charging higher prices in the name of higher profits.

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With goals to fight systemic poverty, systemic racism, the war economy, environmental devastation, the denial of health care, and the false moral narrative of religious nationalism, the Wisconsin Poor People’s Campaign fights the fight. Organizer Megan Barry-Luglio talks about their activities and the upcoming “National Call for Moral Revival” Rally on March 2, 2024, starting at 10:30 at the State Street and Capitol Square, marching around the capitol, and assembly with speakers at noon. For more information, visit the Facebook page.

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With so much for Republicans and Democrats to clash over in this age of hyper-partisanship, there is one thing that they might just agree on: AI-generated deepfake political ads are a threat to robust political debate in an election season.

Two days before the 2024 New Hampshire primary, thousands of voters received calls from what sounded a lot like President Joe Biden, asking voters not to vote in the primary, and instead “save their vote” for the general election. On February 25th, veteran Democratic party operative Steve Kramer admitted to paying stage magician Paul Carpenter to use AI technology to create a replica of Biden’s voice.

Although Kramer was working for the Dean Phillips presidential campaign at the time, the Phillips campaign has denied any knowledge of the incident and has condemned the deception. In Kramer’s statement to NBC News, he called for more regulation to prevent people from doing exactly what he, himself, had just done.

This threat has inspired Wisconsin legislators from both sides of the aisle to propose Assembly Bill 664 that, if it becomes law, will require political ads to include a disclaimer if artificial intelligence is employed in the ad’s content. Veteran political reporter Jack Kelly of Wisconsin Watch has been following this issue and joined the Monday 8 o’Clock Buzz to talk about the issue.

Photo by Mojahid Mottakin on Unsplash

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