8 O'Clock Buzz

The “Clarity Act”, so-called regulations on crypto trading currently being considered by the Congress, will do little to protect consumers and will, in fact, appear to give crypto trading a Congressional seal of approval, according to Mark Hays, Americans for Financial Reform Associate Director, Cryptocurrency and Financial Technology.

The post Hays: Crypto Bill is Crafted by and for Crypto Billionaires appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Kristie GoForth, Executive Director of Bikes for Kids Wisconsin, stopped by the studio to talk about their “Community center wrapped in bicycles”. They have distributed, free of charge, over 16,000 bicycles, donated by the public and repaired and reconditioned by Bikes for Kids, to be used for recreation or transportation. A new program in conjunction with River Food Pantry, uses e-Cargo bikes to deliver needed food supplies to individuals. Their annual “Bike Drive” will be October 17th, 2026. For more on how to donate your bike, or volunteer, or how to get a bike, check out their website, bikesforkidswi.org/

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U.S. Highway 14 starts at Broadway and Foster Avenue in the City of Chicago, runs westward through Illinois, then curves north to Wisconsin, then through Madison, across Minnesota and South Dakota before terminating at the eastern entrance to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Formerly known as the “Black and Yellow Trail” in Minnesota and simply as the “northwestern highway” in Chicago, the road officially opened as U.S. Highway 14 in 1926.  Wisconsin native Nicole Gruter has spent most of her life along Highway 14, and joins us once again with more tales from the road.  Nicole joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing in the WORT studios, with a story from her return visit to Mankato, Minnesota.

The post Finding Home on Highway 14: Episode 10 Mankato Revisited appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Photographs and moving pictures are tricky things.  We grow up hearing that the “camera doesn’t lie,” but in fact manipulation of photographic images is as old as photography itself.  With recent gains in generative artificial intelligence technology, however, faked photos or movies have become easier to generate and more difficult to distinguish from undoctored images than ever before.  This has led to a rash of internet deep-fakes, depicting identifiable people in the nude or engaged in obscene behavior.  On August 1, despite a last-ditch lawsuit from Elon Musk, Minnesota became the first state in the country to enforce an “anti-nudification” law that fines website owners up to $500,000 per download of deep-faked nude images of identifiable people.  Minnesota State Senator Erin Maye Quade is the primary sponsor of the new law, and she joined the Monday Buzz on August 17, 2026.

Featured image: Seal of Minnesota

The post MN Enacts “Anti-Nudification” Law After Failed Musk Lawsuit appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Madison-based Ken Klippenstein has built a reputation as an aggressive newshound, investigative reporter and commentator.  He’s worked for the Young Turks, the Nation and the Intercept.  In 2024, Klippenstein defied the FBI by publishing a confidential dossier on vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance. Later that year, he was the only reporter to publish the manifesto of Luigi Mangione.  You can now read his work on kenklippenstein.com , where he’s been following the Wisconsin governor’s election and the rise of Democratic Socialist candidates such as Abdul El Sayed in Michigan and Francesca Hong in Wisconsin.  With the Wisconsin gubernatorial primary now finished, Ken Klippenstein joined Monday Buzz host, Brian Standing on August 17, 2026 with some insights on the recent election.

Featured image: Wisconsin Governor’s office (photo by Brian Standing)

The post Ken Klippenstein with Gubernatorial Primary Post-Mortem appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Tony Castañeda is back as host of the Thursday edition of the 8 O’Clock Buzz.  He’s joined by a fired-up Matt Rothschild, former Executive Director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, and Charley Preusser, editor of the Crawford County Independent, to talk about the recent Democratic primary in Wisconsin.

Tony’s guests think there was unfair meddling by the Democratic Party establishment with the defeat of Francesca Hong in the governor’s race and Emily Berge in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District.  But Hong herself seems committed to helping fellow Democrats in the upcoming election

Francesca’s grass-roots campaign and message of expanded healthcare for all, a moratorium on data centers, breaking up big Ag, and an economic justice bill of rights was appealing to voters across the state.  And her graciousness in an excruciatingly close defeat is to be admired.  Hopefully David Crowley, the winning Democratic candidate, has taken notes.  The most surprising result of the primary election wasn’t the razor-thin governor’s race, but that fact that hundreds of thousands of voters seem to think that Trump acolyte, Tom Tiffany, is qualified to be the next governor of Wisconsin.  Now that’s scary.

Image by Samilustrando from Pixabay

The post Lessons From the Democratic Primary appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Today on the Too Turnt Up Tuesday 8:00 Buzz with Tara Wilhelmi featuring Jackie Brodean, Miss LaVerne Buchanan joins us to talk health and her story, going deep on the community, all the way to what’s going on around town, and more!

Coming up next week in Penn Park, Ju-Ju’s (Julian Walters) 6th annual back to school Block Party Weekend 8/13-16, and FOSTER’s 18th annual Back to Skool Bash on Saturday (rain location, West High School): https://www.facebook.com/jujusblockparty/ and https://www.facebook.com/FosterDaneCounty 

And Thee Chakari Jamboree at High Noon on 8/20: https://high-noon.com/event/thee-chakari-daezhare-jamboree/ 

Get out for some R&B:

Check in with Urban League at https://ulgm.org/calendar/ and https://ulgmhub.org/calendar/  for info on resume and job seeking workshops, banking workshops, home ownership clinics, information on Expungement, childcare assistance, fatherhood support, healthcare administration, food safety and trades training, and more!

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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We all know, or maybe we’ve played in, a garage band.  Something about that large expanse of concrete and high ceilings just begs to be used for something more fun than parking a car.  If not a band stage, how about an art gallery? Texas transplants Abby Johnson and Austin Swearengin have done just that, periodically converting their apartment’s 5-car garage into R&D Galleries, a space for temporary exhibits of new works.   Their next exhibit “Hard Country, Fine Grain” goes up on Saturday August 15th and comes down the next day – so you only have this weekend to see it.  Abby Johnson and Austin Swearengin joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on August 10, 2026.

Featured image: R&D Galleries. (Photo courtesy R&D Galleries)

The post R&D Gallery Provides DIY Exhibition Space appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

At 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 4th, City of Madison workers began dismantling an ad hoc memorial encampment at the site of the July 22 shooting of Corey Ruiz by a Madison Police officer.  The action came as a surprise to protestors, since previous conversations with city officials left organizers with the impression that they had time to wind down the encampment.  Barricades were removed, personal items and food thrown into garbage trucks.  When people objected, police in riot gear moved in.  At least 22 people were arrested, and police injured Police Independent Monitor Airaemique Glass when she attempted to obtain an officer’s badge number.  Alan Robinson, racial equity activist and columnist for Madison 365 joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on August 10, 2026.

Featured image: Corey Ruiz Memorial (photo by Brian Standing)

The post Alan Robinson on Corey Ruiz Memorial Aftermath appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Follow the Money is a periodic deep dive into the campaign finance reports for candidates seeking office in Wisconsin.  On Friday, August 7, candidates for Wisconsin Governor filed the last of their campaign finance reports before the partisan primary on Tuesday, August 11.  Joining us once again with all the twists and turns is self-described campaign finance nerd Michelle Ellinger-Linley.

Featured image: pile of cash

The post Follow the Money: Primary Eve appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.