8 O'Clock Buzz

From masked federal agents arresting children, to the use of the Justice Department to punish enemies, to threats to silence media outlets, to talk of President Trump seeking a third term in office, signs abound of authoritarianism replacing American democracy.  Perhaps even more disturbing is that a sizeable portion of the electorate wants it that way.  How did we get here?  Author Katherine Stewart attempts to answer that question in her new book, “Money, Lies and God, Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy,” out now from Bloomsbury Press.  Katherine Stewart joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on October 27, 2025.

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When we last spoke with Votebeat reporter Alexander Shur, he told us about a Waukesha County Circuit court ruling that ordered the Wisconsin Elections Commission to check that all voters are, in fact, U.S. citizens.  The ruling threatens to overwhelm municipal clerks, already struggling under a variety of state voting mandates.  Alex Shur joined the Monday Buzz again on Monday, October 27.

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In a recent article on Inequality.org, “Can Democrats Win Back Rust Belt Voters?“, Director for Working Class Politics, Jared Abbott, posed the question to “working class” people (defined by education, occupation, and income, in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) “Given the same description, background, and economic policies of two imaginary candidates, one labeled “Democrat” and the other “Independent”, which would you vote for — the majority would vote for the Independent candidate. Abbott says that the history of Democratic neo-liberalism, free trade, and other factors have given the Democratic Party a toxic identity, regardless of the candidate’s qualifications and policies, and that a majority support creating an Independent Workers Political Association to back such efforts, with enthusiasm highest among non-college voters, young people, voters of color, and the economically insecure, and with meaningful support from independents and Republicans as well.

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Lindsay Koshgarian, Program Director of the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, discusses an October 7 article posted entitled “The Health Care Emergency Behind the Government Shutdown“. Koshgarian says that saving money isn’t the goal of the Republicans…decimating the Federal government is. She also talks about the costs of stationing the National Guard in Washington, D. C., with the goal to remove the homeless from the streets with no plans other than to move them, costs four times what it would to house these people. And ending the subsidies to the Affordable Care Act means that ten million people could be uninsured in the next 5 years.

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Today on the Too Turnt Up Tuesday 8:00 Buzz with Tara Wilhelmi and Antoine McNeail, Lesley Johnson, from Madison Herb Society (no!  Not that herb!) joins to talk herbs and herbal medicine and their upcoming Herbal Fair at Olbrich Gardens.

Check out the Herb Fair at Olbrich Gardens on November 1st from 10-4, more information at https://madisonherbsociety.org/annual-herb-fair.

More information on House of Healing Welness Store: https://www.h3w.store/ 

Join Tara and more on Friday, October 24th at 4245 W Beltline Highway for powerful stories and conversation with people who have experienced and risen above domestic violence from Ciara, Tara, Luis and Tonya;  Food from Mister 608 BBQ; and get and give support for those experiencing domestic violence.  More information on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruby.clay.16 

Check in with Urban League at https://ulgm.org/ for their workshops and information on Expungement, childcare assistance, computer skills, the Black men’s resource luncheon series, home ownership clinics, job seekers toolkit, marketplace every Saturday at The Hub, and much more! 

Come get a laugh with Antoine at the next Madison Comedy and Poetry Jam – The Ladies Turn – October 25th at Wil-Mar Center!

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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As part of its “Teejop and Beyond” program celebrating indigenous American heritage in what is now the Madison area, the Madison Public Library will host a storytelling and writing workshop on October 20.  Sherman Funmaker, a Ho Chunk Nation Elder, storyteller and writer, will host the event and he joined the Monday Buzz on October 20, 2025.

Featured image courtesy abearwritespoetry.org

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According to a 2022 U.S. Fish and Wildlife survey, almost 40% of all Americans engaged in birding, making observing those dinosaur descendants among the most popular outdoor activities in the nation.  That popularity extends across all racial, ethnic, gender and age groups.  Historically, however, people with mobility, visual, or auditory disabilities have largely been excluded from traditional birdwatching.  That’s starting to change, however, as more and more parks, nature groups and others offer more accessible opportunities to observe and learn about our feathered friends.  To kick off 2025 Birdability week on October 20, the Monday Buzz was joined by Cat Fribley, Executive Director of Birdability and Brenna Marsicek, Director of Outreach for the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance.

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The federal government shutdown marks its twentieth day this morning, the 3rd longest stoppage in history.  Democrats and Republicans in Congress remain far apart on a continuing resolution bill to reopen government, with Democrats insisting on restoration of Medicaid cuts and extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies.  Thousands of federal workers are either furloughed or working without pay, while thousands more face on-again, off-again layoffs.  Aryn Melton Backus, Deputy Director of National Public Health Coalition,  a member of Fired but Fighting  and a former employee at the Center for Disease Control and Nicole Cantello, an attorney with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Midwest Region, and President of AFGE Local 704 joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on October 20, 2025.

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Temporary relief has come to the people of Gaza as a new ceasefire has been implemented.  Regardless of actual motives, t’Rump was able to force his buddy Beezelbub in accepting a halt to the genocide being committed in Gaza, which was something beyond the capabilities of previous US administrations.  It’s apparent that this eventuality could have been realized months earlier, with the saving of thousands of innocent lives, but Beezelbub’s thirst for Palestinian blood was not adequately quenched.  Jennifer Loewenstein, former Middle East lecturer, joins Tony Castañeda to talk about the implementation of a ceasefire in Gaza as part of t’Rump’s peace-meal plan, which was developed with zero input from the community in Gaza.

Photo by Muhammed Ibrahim on Unsplash

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The infinitesimal, nearly massless and neutrally charged subatomic particles known as neutrinos ignore forces of the universe such as gravity and electromagnetic forces.  Streams of neutrinos travel through the universe at light speed, barreling unimpeded through planets, stars and galaxies.  Astronomers find that peculiar behavior tantalizing, as neutrinos can carry information from far parts of the universe.

The challenge, however, is capturing the little suckers.  Enter the Ice Cube project, which uses Antarctica’s vast ice sheet as a sort of neutrino trap.  Researchers at Ice Cube have just released their first neutrino astronomical map of the Milky Way Galaxy.  Francis Halzen is a physicist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the spokesperson for the Ice Cube project.  Francis Halzen joins us now by phone. 

Image by PayPal.me/FelixMittermeier from Pixabay

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