8 O'Clock Buzz

The primary goal of the nationwide census is to count the people in the U. S. every 10 years to assure their proper representation in the government. But the 2020 census was fraught with undercounts and overcounts in many states, according to the analysis of Kelly Percival, Senior Counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, and the co-author of the recent study “Improving the Census: Legal and Policy Reforms for a More Accurate, Equitable, and Legitimate Count.” The study not only analyzes the failures of the 2020 census (such as undercounting Blacks, LatinX, and American Indian peoples), but also lays out a blueprint to fix the census system and the inherent inequities in the current process to assure fair and equitable representation and allocation of government funding.

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here

Today on the Tuesday 8:00 Buzz with Liz DiNovella, Alicia joins us from Madison Abortion and Reproductive Rights Coalition for Health (MARRCH) to talk about their rally and the counter-rally last Sunday, and their next steps as they work to overcome the Wisconsin abortion ban, and the upcoming national march and day of action on October 8th.

More information on MARRCH and the October event: https://www.madisonmarrch.org/ 

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

Provided Photo

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here

Today on the Tuesday 8:00 Buzz with Liz DiNovella, Marcia and Jacob, hosts of Bread and Puppets join to talk about Bread and Puppets and preview the event tonight in Mazomanie!

More on Bread and Puppets https://breadandpuppet.org/

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 Walter S. Wantman

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here

Today on the Tuesday 8:00 Buzz with Liz DiNovella, Author and Journalist, Julie DiCaro from Deadspin joins us to talk sports and the hazards of being a woman in them.  Julie is the author of the book “Sidelined: Sports, Culture, and Being a Woman in America”.

More on Julie and the book at https://www.juliedicaro.com/ 

Follow her journalistic work at Deadspin: https://deadspin.com/author/julieadicaro

And follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JulieDiCaro 

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

Provided Photo

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here

WORT 89.9FM Madison · A Canoe From 1000 BC

3,000 years ago, in 1,000 BCE, the Kingdom of Israel and the Assyrian Empire began.  The Latins had just entered Italy.  The crossbow and the saddle hadn’t been invented yet in Europe.  And in North America, in what is now Wisconsin, someone left a dugout canoe on the shores of Lake Mendota.  Last week, that 3,000 year-old boat was found by archaeologist Tamara Thomsen.  Thomsen broke her own record for the oldest shipwreck discovery in Wisconsin – in 2021, Thomsen found a 1,200 year old canoe less than 100 yards from this latest, older find.  The boat confirms that indigenous Americans have settled in the area the Ho Chunk call De Jope for a very, very long time.  Tamara Thomsen, an underwater archaeologist with the Wisconsin Historical Society and Ho Chunk Nation Tribal Preservation Officer Bill Quackenbush joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on September 26, 2022.

Photo of 3,000 year-old dugout by Tamara Thomsen – Wisconsin Historical Society

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here

WORT 89.9FM Madison · School Lunches Go Downhill

At the peak of the pandemic, the U.S. government’s Seamless Summer Option provided waivers and additional funding for schools across the country to provide free lunches to all students, not just those deemed as “needy.”  The program was wildly successful – but in recent months, waivers have expired and funding has dried up.  To add insult to injury, with food suppliers struggling, school meals that are still available are unappetizing and of dubious quality.  In Madison, parents have complained about schools passing off Cheez-Its as lunch food.  In Milwaukee, Students with Youth Empowered in the Struggle or YES has held rallies protesting poorly cooked, low-quality, downright inedible food.  Erin Gretzinger has written several articles for Wisconsin Watch’s new series, Beyond Hunger, which looks at food issues around the state.

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here

As the war in Ukraine drags on, for many the greatest hazard is the occupation of several nuclear power plants by Russian forces, who are using the facilities as hide-outs. Radioactive Waste Watchdog at Beyond Nuclear, Kevin Kamps, talks about the potential disaster of direct missile damage or even interruptions in power to these facilities, which could be catastrophic on a global scale.

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here

Founder of the non-profit, LA-based Racial Solidarity Project, author Phil Allen, Jr. talks about his most recent book “The Prophetic Lens: The Camera and Black Moral Agency from MLK to Darnella Frazier”. In it, he analyzes how the use of video cameras and social media are affecting racial justice and uncovering violence in the U. S. He encourages people to become involved as “with-standers” instead of “by-standers”.

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here

Michael Li, Senior Counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, has recently co-authored a paper about their recent analysis of the upcoming mid-term elections in light of redistricting, and which, if either, party benefits. His paper, “After Redistricting, Here’s How Each Party Could Win the House“, can be found on the Brennan Center website. Result spoiler: it depends.

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here

WORT 89.9FM Madison · Black Women Artists Speak

The Madison art community continues to reel in the aftermath of a series of incidents involving black women artists at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.  In March of 2022, a white employee of the Overture Center verbally accosted and refused entry to artist Lilada Gee and museum events director Anik Dupaty as Gee was working on her installation.  Subsequently, Gee’s unfinished work was vandalized when museum staff left the work unattended.  In solidarity with Gee, half of the artists in the Wisconsin Triennial have withdrawn their works from MMOCA’s exhibit.  Under the banner, “Forward Truth,” protesting artists published an open letter claiming that Gee’s experience is symptomatic of a deep-seated and longstanding institutional racism.  On Tuesday, September 20, the Madison Arts Commission and Seein is Believin, LLC will host a panel discussion entitled Black Women Artists Speak.  The panel is the brainchild of Madison Arts Commission Grant Committee Chair, and former Madison Poet Laureate, Fabu Phillis-Carter.  Fabu and theater artist, owner of Creator’s Cottage and CEO of Ironer’s Press Ministries, Catrina Sparkman joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on September 19, 2022.

 

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here