8 O'Clock Buzz

WORT 89.9FM Madison · 47th Annual Madison Juggling Fest Returns

The Madison Juggling Fest comes roaring back after a pandemic-induced lapse.  One of the hottest tickets in town for years, the fest brings jugglers from all over the country and culminates in a huge show at Madison’s Barrymore Theater on Saturday January 14.  Yoyo fiend Mark Hayward has served as the show’s master of ceremonies every year, and he joined the Monday Buzz on January 8th.

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WORT 89.9FM Madison · The Psychology Of Lying

In politics, boldfaced lies are the new normal.  According to the Washington Post, during his four years as President, Donald Trump uttered a total of over 30,000 demonstrable falsehoods — that’s 21 lies a day.  Newly elected New York 3rd District congressman George Santos may eclipse his Republican mentor for mendacity.  Santos has certainly told some whoppers.  He lied about being Jewish, attending prep school, graduating from Baruch College, working for Goldman Sachs, founding a charity for dogs and cats and that he lost four employees in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando.  Sadly, reporters didn’t catch on to his prevarications until after the election.  Timothy Levine is a Distinguished Professor and Chair of Communication Studies at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.  He has built a career on the study of deception, and is author of the book “Duped: Truth-Default Theory and the Social Science of Lying and Deception.”

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There was an American Indian Studies program at UW-Madison when Aaron Bird Bear was hired on campus back in 2002. But, as he remembers it, there was “hardly anything else related to American Indians.” He’s quoted in a UW press release as saying of the time, “I was totally appalled at the complete lack of infrastructure, the complete lack of commitment, to Indigenous people in any sincere way, shape or form.” In the following 22 years he set out to change that—and he succeeded. Having just begun his well-earned retirement from the university this week, Bird Bear joins host Andy Moore on the Friday 8 O'Clock Buzz to reflect on his more than two decades of service to the UW community.

Aaron Bird Bear is the newly retired Director of UW-Madison Tribal Relations, a role he had been in since its creation in 2019. He previously served as Assistant Dean of Student Diversity Programs in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Education. He is enrolled in the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota and is a citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Diné nations.

What do the city of Milwaukee and the country of Luxembourg have in common? Besides having populations that sit around the 600,000 mark, they have also hosted the same public servant: Tom Barrett. Elected Mayor of Milwaukee in 2004, he served until 2021, when he resigned to accept President Joe Biden’s appointment as Ambassador to Luxembourg. On this edition of the Friday 8 O'Clock Buzz, he joins host Andy Moore to reflect on his first year on the job.

Tom Barrett is a former member of the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate, a former U.S. Rep. from the state’s 5th Congressional District, and Milwaukee’s Mayor for 17 years. He now serves as President Biden’s appointed Ambassador to Luxembourg.

As the village of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, continues to see few, if any, of the promises made by Foxconn materialize, the company is still reaping benefits from the state in the form of tax credits. Mount Pleasant resident Kelly Gallaher joins Tony Castañeda on the 8 O’Clock Buzz with updates on the Scott Walker-era deal that displaced over 100 residents, promised upwards of 13,000 jobs and has cost the state, Racine County and the village of Mount Pleasant $750 million to date. Gallaher, spokesperson for A Better Mount Pleasant, a local watchdog group, is a long-time critic of the failed Foxconn development project and recently announced her candidacy for President of the village of Mount Pleasant.

Photo courtesy of Adi Goldstein on Unsplash.

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The new Israeli cabinet formed last week is the logical conclusion of decades of policies pushed by the radical right, and what it portends could be ugly for Palestinians in the region. This is the view of Jennifer Lowenstein, free-lance journalist, former lecturer at UW-Madison, and one of the founders of the Madison Rafah City Project, who joined the Thursday edition of the 8 O’clock Buzz and host Tony Castaneda to discuss the political situation in Israel. This new Israeli milieu was demonstrated by one of the ultranationalist cabinet ministers who shortly after joining the new administration seemed to be deliberately provoking the Arab minority with a controversial visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a revered Islamic holy site. This has drawn sharp rebukes from many countries including the U.S. but Ms. Lowenstein doesn’t see any U.S. policy changes in relations with Israel, at least in the short term. However, longer term relations could be impacted as most of the American Jewish community oppose the direction of the Israeli far right.

Photo courtesy of Raimond Klavins on Unsplash

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Liz and Emily talk with Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford, local comedian and founder of “Lady Laughs Comedy” about her goals in establishing a LGBTQ+ safe space for comedy. She also trains comedian hopefuls to refine their comedy skills and stage presence. And if that isn’t enough, she’s running for a position as a Madison District 15 alder — and she talks about her goals and hopes for working toward that goal of serving city residents.

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Hosts Liz DiNovella and Emily Mills talk with Jill Nagler, President of the Board of OutReach LGBTQ+ Community Center about their mission: a commitment to equity and quality of life for all LGBTQ+ people through community building, health and human services, and economic, social, and racial justice advocacy. They talk about the Trans Care Package Drive, with personal care items, gift cards, snacks, small gifts, and more, which are available now through January 20th. And, their Trans-Joy Event is in the works, which  promises family friendly fun for all ages.

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Today on the Tuesday 8:00 Buzz with with Tara Wilhelmi, this month’s Ninja Moving in Silence, social change agent and dope fierce woman, Dominique Christian, joins to talk about her story, what she’s got going on, and her new work on Odyssey Beyond Wars with UW Odyssey Project to bring humanities education to veterans.

More about Dominique from BRAVA magazine’s Women to Watch: https://bravamagazine.com/dominique-christian-youth-magazine/

More about Odyssey Beyond Wars and UW Odyssey Project: https://odyssey.wisc.edu/about/beyondwars/ 

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

Photo By Chali Pittman

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Today on the Tuesday 8 O’Clock Buzz, News Director Chali Pittman speaks with the new team for the show: host Tara Wilhelmi and producer Breyon Somerville. 

About the new crew: 

Tara Wilhelmi is an active community advocate and community wellness event organizer and Certified Peer Specialist who supports individuals navigating mental health, substance use and trauma recovery. She is a self-proclaimed “busybody” and entrepreneur, founder of Each One Teach One, LLC. She has over a decade of experience in area nonprofit and enjoys acting as a connector and “seed planter” in her community.

Breyon Somerville  co-runs the LessWork Lifestyles brand that’s dedicated to supporting local hip-hop artists succeed (follow on Facebook and Instagram, and read more at Madison365). He’s also  a local musician who goes by the artist name 1neofmani.