8 O'Clock Buzz

In the early 20th century, thousands of Ojibwe ponies roamed the northern United States and Canada, and had most likely been doing so for hundreds of years. It’s not accurate to say that by 1977 there were no Ojibwe ponies, because there were four. Just four of them. But today, community members have the rare opportunity to see the small but beautiful breed for themselves at “The Humble Horse.” The event will take place this afternoon on the UW-Madison Campus at Babcock Hall. Darcy Whitecrow, who is Ojibwe and Dakota and a member of the Seine River First Nation band in Northwestern Ontario, will share information from Ontario about the pony’s history, revival and connection to the Ojibwe people. On this edition of the Friday Buzz, Whitecrow and his partner Kimberly Campbell join host Andy Moore to talk about the unique history and nature of the ponies, as well as the role Whitecrow played in bringing them back to the Seine River.

Darcy Whitecrow and his partner Kimberly Campbell live in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Together, they founded Grey Raven Ranch, a non-profit after-school equine program for at-risk Seine River First Nation youth. Whitecrow also co-authored a picture book, “Runs with the Stars,” and plans to release another in 2025.

Photo courtesy of Second Story Press via their website

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Norm Stockwell, Publisher of the Progressive Magazine, joins the Thursday morning edition of the 8 O’Clock Buzz and hosts Tony Castañeda and Eli Wilz to talk about the recent settlement reached by Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems. Norm makes the point that the settlement is a clear admission of guilt by Fox News, but by not going to trial the opportunity to establish clear legal guidelines regarding First Amendment rights of news media have been avoided for the time being. In the 1964 defamation lawsuit against the New York Times the US Supreme Court ruled that news outlets could not be sued for defamation unless it could be established that the news media published information that they knowingly knew to be false and misleading. Information submitted for the lawsuit showed this unlawful intent by Fox News in this recent case, but ultra-conservatives in the US are wanting the opportunity to overturn that 1964 ruling.

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A new degreed program in Chican@ and Latin@ Studies will be available for students at the UW-Madison campus for the upcoming Fall semester, after years of being a certificate program. Rachelle Eilers, Senior Advisor, Chican@ and Latin@ Studies, UW-Madison, joins the 8 O’Clock Buzz and host Tony Castañeda to talk about the program and its history at the University. Interest and enrollment in the program have grown over the years to the point where it now is on track to receiving full departmental status at the University.

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April 25, 2023, is “Conservation Lobby Day” for Wisconsin Conservation Voters, and Government Affairs Manager, Peter Burress, joined Jan Miyasaki to talk about this non-profit and their activities. Highlighting Conservation Lobby Day will be discussions on clean water, clean energy, democracy for all, supporting local communities, and Evers’ efforts to support Manoomin (wild rice) restoration and public education in ceded territory waters. The meeting will run from 10:00AM to 5:00PM at Best Western Premier Park Hotel, 22 S Carroll Street Madison. Registration and more information here.

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With over $230 Billion in Donor-Advised Fund assets, these “charitable” funding tools take in one-fifth of individual charitable giving, according to Helen Flannery, researcher with the Charity Reform Initiative at the Institute for Policy Studies. Her recent paper shows that as wealth inequality increases, charities depend on fewer wealthy and influential donors, and Donor-Advised Funds are tax-deductable tool of choice — one with little transparency, little control, and no requirement to even give the money in their funds to charity.

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Today on the Tuesday 8:00 Buzz with Tara Wilhelmi and 1neofmani (Breyon Sommerville), The Capital Times’ metro reporter Nicholas Garton as well as Madison Alder and YWCA Housing Director Jael Currie and YWCA Operations Director Katey Nelson join us to talk about housing, particularly the “M block” Meadowland development as well as keeping housing decent and affordable in Madison.

More on the M block from Nicholas in The Cap Times: https://captimes.com/news/community/madison-m-block-housing-complex-declared-chronic-nuisance/article_c6ec9609-a382-5ac0-a17e-dcb2b4db3a81.html  

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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WORT 89.9FM Madison · Plants For The Apocalypse

Stories, movies, songs, religious sermons, and lately, United Nations climate reports, all speculate about how the world – or at least the world as we know it – will end.  Survivalist catalogs offer all manner of power generation, armaments and security systems.  But whether your apocalypse is religious, political or secular, few give much thought to what kind of plants you might want with you. Given how much all life depends on the stuff that grows in the ground, that seems like a crucial oversight.  A new exhibit at the UW seeks to fill that void with “Plants for the Apocalypse” happening later today, April 17th at the DC Smith Greenhouses on the University of Wisconsin campus.  Our next two guests are on the phone now to tell us more.  Liz Birkhauser MS Candidate, Pharmaceutical Science and co-lead organizer of the Borghesi-Mellon Psychedelic Past, Presents, and Futures Workshop and Reba Luiken, director of the Allen Centennial Garden.

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WORT 89.9FM Madison · What Now For Medication Abortions?

On April 7, federal Northern District of Texas judge Matthew Kacsmaryk overturned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 20-year old approval of the drug mifepristone for use as an abortion agent.  The same day, another federal judge, Thomas O. Rice in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Washington, came to the opposite conclusion, and ruled that sale of the drug in 18 states could continue.  The competing rulings set up a showdown in the same U.S. Supreme Court that overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.  Supreme Court Justice Ailito has signed an order temporarily restoring federal approval of the drug while the government files its appeal, but that’s not necessarily an indicator of how the Court might rule.  Joining us now to help sort this all out is Jenny Higgins, University of Wisconsin Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Director of the Collaborative for Reproductive Equality.

* UW Collaborative for Reproductive Equity statement on mifepristone rulings

* New report released on changes to abortion access post-Dobbs

* After Roe

 

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WORT 89.9FM Madison · Big Brothers / Big Sisters Looks For Mentors

Big Brothers Big Sisters has been matching grown up mentors with children for over a 100 years.  If you’ve ever thought you had something to offer a younger generation, and have two to four hours a month available, now’s your chance.  Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County are looking for volunteer mentors.  They’re also sponsoring a county-wide scavenger hunt to get people out and seeing their community.  Tracy Anderson, Community Outreach & and Volunteer Manager and Bethany Ordaz of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on April 17, 2023.

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In the face of ongoing persecution for their efforts in Russia on behalf of human rights and democracy, activists are fleeing the country to continue this work in places that offer safety and support. Thursday 8 O’Clock Buzz host Tony Casteñada spoke with Maria Charmast of the WOT Foundation which supports independent journalists, and initiates and implements educational activities that promote democratic values and intercultural dialogue. Charmast, a Russian émigré to Warsaw since 2000, is currently the Chair of the Board of the Poland-based WOT Foundation, which in 2022, was one of 12 organizations to be declared “undesirable” by the Russian Attorney General’s office on the grounds that they pose a threat to national security. The WOT provides support for Ukrainian refugees on the Polish-Ukrainian border, and in 2016 established a family community club in Warsaw called Zawarka which helps children and their families integrate into Polish society, preserving their language and identity.

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