8 O'Clock Buzz

On Saturday, June 14, Women’s March and a score of other left-leaning activist organizations sponsored a “Kick Out the Clowns” rally in Madison.  Organizers planned the event to coincide not only with thousands of “No Kings” protests across the country, but also with the military parade in Washington, D.C. ordered by President Trump to commemorate the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary.  By most media accounts, the anti-Trump protests vastly outdrew the military march.  WORT was on the scene for the Madison rally, and here’s what we heard.

All photos and video by Brian Standing

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Ben Camacho is a freelance journalist and cofounder of The Southlander news cooperative based in the Los Angeles area.  Today he speaks with host Tony Castañeda about the ongoing protests in Los Angeles over ICE raids disrupting his community.  Masked ICE agents have shown up in schools, churches and places of business within targeted neighborhoods to randomly detain people they suspect of illegal activities.  Residents of these communities have had enough of these bullying tactics disrupting lives and tearing families apart resulting in widespread protests.  News coverage has tended to show the protests as violent, but Ben points out that most protesters are peacefully exercising their rights to protest against these perceived injustices.

Photo by Graphic Node on Unsplash

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Isn’t it rich (they are), aren’t we amused (no, we’re PO’d).  Saturday, June 14 will be a national day of mobilization and protest in response to the increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption from tRump and his billionaire allies.  A Women’s March rally, Kick Out the Clowns, is scheduled for noon that day starting at Library Mall, and a No Kings March is slated to begin at 2:00 PM with a subsequent march up State Street to the Capitol by all affiliated protest groups.  Cameron Lane-Flehinger of Indivisible 50501 and Tamika Middleton of Women’s March in Madison speak with 8 O’Clock Buzz host Tony Castañeda.  Say no to thrones, crowns and “kingdumbs”.

Photo by chris robert on Unsplash

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Jeanne Meier from “Hands off New Glarus” talks to Jan Miyasaki about being an activist in a small town, the origins of their group, how people are afraid to speak up, and how they can work together to bring change. Their protest is organized for Saturday, June 14, from noon to 1:30. See more on their Facebook page.

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“A genetic fire sale” — that’s the term used by J.B. Branch, Big Tech Accountability Advocate at Public Citizen, of the potential sale of the database of DNA of 15 million individuals involved in the bankruptcy sale of 23andMe. Twenty-seven state attorney generals are also trying to block this sale, which involves not only individuals, but potential use of the data in extended family trees of those who had their DNA analyzed.

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Today on the Pledge Drive Turnt Up Tuesday 8:00 Buzz with Tara Wilhelmi and Kiki Pollard, Talking about what’s new and coming up on the show and over the summer, high school graduation this weekend, what to do with the kids all summer, and a preview of Madison’s Juneteenth celebration coming up June 21st!

Information on high school graduations coming up this weekend: https://www.madison.k12.wi.us/graduation 

Summer camp guide from Madison Mom: https://madisonmom.com/

Youth programming and community development from City of Madison: https://www.cityofmadison.com/dpced/community-development/community-resources/youth-programming

Information on Madison’s Juneteenth on June 21st from Kujichagulia Madison Center for Self-Determination:

Music from today’s show: https://spinitron.com/WORT/pl/20777735/Tuesday-8-O-Clock-Buzz

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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Since the turn of the current century, Madison’s Encore Studio for the Performing Arts has served as Wisconsin’s only professional theater company for people with disabilities.  For their 25th anniversary season, Encore has a full slate of shows, and a brand new theater on Martin Street.  Artistic Director Heather Renken joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing in the studio to tell us more.

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On June 3, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources issued Air Quality alerts for the entire state of Wisconsin.  The agency advised all Wisconsin residents to minimize outdoor activities, to use protective gear if working outside, and to stay indoors with air conditioning on.  The culprit?  Not factories, or car traffic, but particulates and smoke from forest fires hundreds of miles away in Saskatchewan.  With climate change creating hotter, drier weather, is this now the new normal?  Craig Czarnecki is an Outreach Coordinator with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Air Quality Division, and he joined the Monday Buzz on June 9, 2025.

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On May 31, after a five-day walkout, nurses represented by SEIU Wisconsin announced a contract settlement with Madison’s Meriter hospital.  The new contract includes 8% raises for Meriter nurses, sets nurse-to-patient ratios and includes commitments to address widespread safety concerns.  A few blocks away, however, at healthcare and insurance provider Group Health Cooperative, workers have less to celebrate.  To date, GHC management has dug in their heels against workers’ attempts to form an SEIU-affiliated union, to the point that workers recently won an unfair labor practices ruling from the National Labor Relations Board.  Pat Raes is President of SEIU Wisconsin and has worked as a nurse at Meriter for over 36 years.  Marcia Bolles is a physician’s assistant at the GHC Sauk Trails Clinic.  They both joined Monday Buzz host on June 9, 2025.

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Angelina Cruz, Freshman State representative for Wisconsin’s 62nd Assembly District is Tony’s guest on the Thursday Buzz. She talks with Tony about the failed school funding negotiations between Republicans and Governor Evers, as well as the increasing privatization of Wisconsin schools and a push to decouple school funding from property taxes.

Representative Cruz, a former teacher and union leader is a freshman in the Assembly and serves on the Education Committee.

Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Hamilton on Unsplash.

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