A Public Affair

On May 1st, the Mount Horeb community experienced a district wide lockdown when a student came to the Middle School with what appeared to be a rifle–it was later determined to be a pellet gun. That student did not make it into the school and was killed by police.

Madison 365’s Robert Chappell was on the scene minutes after receiving a text from his son informing him of the threat of a shooter. He joins host Ali Muldrow to reflect on that day and how the community of Mount Horeb is picking up the pieces. We also speak with David Riedman, founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database, about what we have learned about the student’s intentions and how it fits with the national trends of school shootings.

Further coverage: News Producer Faye Parks talked with Mount Horeb’s Superintendent Steve Salerno about the district’s response and continuing support efforts.

Image by Corey Coyle, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The post One Week Later: Mount Horeb Middle School’s Tragic Shooting Inci... appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

At the peak of the movement, about 30% of Americans were evangelical Christians. About a fourth of all Americans where white evangelicals–a term we hear a lot these days when discussing Trump’s base. National Political Correspondent Sarah McCammon says that people often talk about this demographic as if it is a fringe movement rather than a huge swath of Americans.

Today, we’re talking about the growing number former evangelicals who have untangled–or deconstructed–their belief system and parted from the church as it has become politicized. Many have found solace in online communities and some call themselves “exvangelicals.” In McCammon’s new book The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church, she mixes journalism and memoir to tell a story about these adults who were once a part of the subculture, but left as they came of age in a far more interconnected world.

A Public Affair host Sara Gabler is one of these millennials who was raised with an evangelical belief system and has since deconstructed. McCammon joins Gabler to talk about The Exvangelicals. They discuss purity culture, conservative childhoods, and the vast experiences of deconstruction.

Sarah McCammon is a National Political Correspondent for NPR and co-host of the NPR Politics Podcast. Her work focuses on political, social and cultural divides in America, including abortion policy and the intersections of politics and religion. She’s also a frequent guest host for NPR news programs.

Photo by Edwin Andrade on Unsplash

The post Deconstructing from the Evangelical Church with Sarah McCammon appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

The 2025 City of Madison operating budget, which funds the city’s daily operations, is facing at $27 million dollar deficit. The city is facing some tough choices as it balances the budget. Alders and city staff are hosting a number of citywide budget engagement sessions to share information about the budget and hear from residents.

A Public Affair host Douglas Haynes is joined in studio by Mayor’s Chief of Staff Sam Munger, Finance Director David Schmiedicke, and Alder Yannette Figueroa-Cole to begin to understand the budget issues, the limits of city’s power, and how much of your tax dollars truly go to the city.

The remaining session dates are as follows:

Westside – Thursday, May 16, 6pm at Vel Phillips Memorial High School

Photo by Chali Pittman/ WORT News

The post The City of Madison Want YOU to Engage with the Budget appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

All this week, students have been camped out on Library Mall to protest Israel’s war on Palestine. They join students nation-wide who are putting pressure theirs colleges and the US government to disinvest in the war and ultimate end the genocide in Gaza.

Wednesday morning, a combined police force attempted to remove the tents and protestors. Dozens of people were arrested and several sustained injuries. Since then, the police raids have stopped and  Chancellor Mnookin has met with faculty and staff. Protestors have said they will not remove the tents until their demands are met. 

Today Dahlia Saba, Lily Zyndorf Shell, and Abbie Klein join host Esty Dinur on the show. They are all University of Wisconsin-Madison grad students who have been participating in the encampment. They discuss the demands, their experience with the police raid, and the future of the encampment.

Dahlia Saba is a first year graduate student at the UW-Madison, and she is a member of the UW Madison chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. Her father is Palestinian and was born in Gaza. She had family members in Gaza until this past week, when they were fortunately able to evacuate to Egypt.

Lily Zyndorf Shell is a PhD student at UW-Madison who has been teaching undergraduate students there as a TA and lecturer for 6 years. She grew up in New York City and is the grandchild of holocaust survivors.

Abbie Klein is a first year PhD student at UW-Madison and a member of Students for Justice and other community and university organizations which are part of the encampment, where she has been since it was set up.  She is an anti Zionist Jew raised in a Zionist family.

Photo courtesy of WORT’s Chali Pittman

The post “Their Priority is Not Our Well Being”: Grad Students on t... appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

“We got out of the business of building new nuclear weapons and we haven’t done that in a generation, but all of that is coming back. This work is already underway.” That is W.J. Hennigan speaking with A Public Affair host Allen Ruff about the trillions of US dollars that are now being invested in nuclear weapons. Hennigan is the lead author of “At The Brink” series from the New York Times. The series explores the history of the world’s nuclear powers, breaks down the outdated Cold War safeguards, and imagines what world might emerge from a nuclear war.

W.J. Hennigan is a New York Times Opinion correspondent covering the U.S. military and national security issues from Washington, D.C. He writes about the U.S. military and national security issues in Washington, D.C. He has reported from more than two dozen countries across five continents, covering war, the arms trade, and the lives of U.S. service members.

Photo by Artem Zhukov on Unsplash

The post A Modern Nuclear Threat with W.J. Hennigan appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission announced a ban to noncompete agreements. Under the rule, most existing noncompetes would not be enforceable.  The ban was almost immediately challenged by U.S. Chamber of Commerce. They argue that the FTC overstepped it’s authority with the ruling.

Joining us on today’s show is Assistant Professor Evan Starr from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. Starr’s research includes the use and impacts of noncompete agreements and their enforceability. He talks with host Yuri Rashkin about what the ban could mean for workers and employers.

The post May Day: The FTC Bans Noncompete Agreements appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Today we spend the hour talking about wealth and income disparities with folks who are working on a solution. That solution? Putting cash in the hands of people who need it. Blake Roberts, Kathrine Cagat and Gina Stilp join host Ali Muldrow to break down the differences of universal basic income, guaranteed income and unconditional cash programs. They discuss the realities of living in poverty, the impact of having a safety net, and the truth of government subsidies.

Blake Roberts is the Program Manager for Madison Forward Fund. The Madison Forward Fund is a guaranteed income program that gives a monthly, non-strings attached payment to households for one year. 

Kathrine Cagat is the Research and Program Manager for Mayors for Guaranteed Income (MGI) and Counties for a Guaranteed Income (CGI). MGI is a network of mayors advocating for a guaranteed income to ensure that all Americans have an income floor.

Gina Stilp is Executive Director of the Zilber Family Foundation. The foundation is a private, independent grantmaking institution. They are now accepting applications for Milwaukee’s first unconditional cash program: The Bridge Project.

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

The post Most of us Can’t Afford a $500 Emergency: Do Guaranteed Income P... appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Cap Times food editor and arts reporter Lindsay Christians, was on set as a diner and a dishwasher during the filming of season 21 of Top Chef . Now that the show is airing, she’s impressed with how well we come off on tv. “I’ve been talking a lot about the B roll of Madison and Milwaukee: just these beautiful like a drone shots coming into the city. It just it kind of made my heart swell the first time I saw it. I thought, ‘oh my god, it’s so beautiful.’ It’s just gorgeous,” she tells A Public Affair host Douglas Haynes.

This season of the hit reality television series is set at some of our own favorite restaurants and local landmarks. So far the chefs have been challenged to showcase Wisconsin hops, cheeses, and produce from the Dane County Farmers Market. We kick off today’s show with Top Chef producer Diana Schmedeman and co-executive producer Thi Nguyen about the process of scouting in Wisconsin and the work that goes on behind the scenes.

Then we turn to our in-studio guests Lindsay Christians and The Harvey House creative director and co-owner Shaina Papach. Shaina talks us about the experience of having an elimination challenge take place in her restaurant during the supper club episode. Lindsay is currently hosting a Top Chef companion podcast called “Corner Table: Top Chef Wisconsin.” You can learn more here and subscribe wherever you listen. 

Top Chef airs on Wednesdays at 8pm CT on Bravo and can be streamed on Peacock

The post Top Chef in Madison: “We Look Really Beautiful” appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Today, journalist Jacob Kushner joins host Esty Dinur to talk about his forth coming book, Look Away: A True Story of Murders, Bombings, and a Far-Right Campaign to Rid Germany of Immigrants. The book, which comes out May 7th, explains how of a group of young, radicalized Germans carried out a shocking spree of white supremacist violence and uncovers the way their actions went uncheck by the German government and it’s citizens.

Jacob will be giving talks in Wisconsin in mid-May. On Tuesday May 14th at 6pm, he’ll be at A Room of One’s Own in Madison. On Thursday, May 16th at 6:30pm, he’ll be at Boswell Books in Milwaukee.

Jacob Kushner is a foreign correspondent who writes magazine and other longform articles from Africa, Germany, and the Caribbean. His writing has appeared in dozens of publications, including the New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Economist, National Geographic, The Atavist, The Nation, Foreign Policy and The Guardian. 

He is the author of China’s Congo Plan, which was favorably reviewed in the New York Review of Books. A Fulbright-Germany scholar and Logan Nonfiction Fellow, he was a finalist for the Livingston Award in International Reporting. He teaches and advises ambitious, young journalists at the Pulitzer Center, the Overseas Press Club, and several universities.

The post Jacob Kushner on Germany’s National Socialist Underground appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

A hundred years ago, Wisconsin’s U.S. Senator, Robert M. La Follette made his mark on national politics by running as an independent third party candidate for the White House. He captured a record breaking one-sixth of the popular vote. Historian Richard Drake joins host Allen Ruff to talk about “Fighting Bob” La Follette’s campaign and the legacy it left behind.

Richard Drake is the Lucile Speer Research Chair in Politics and History at the University of Montana. In addition to his book on Bob La Follette, Drake is the author of Charles Austin Beard: The Return of the Master Historian of American Imperialism.

The post Bob La Follette’s 1924 Bid for President with Historian Richard ... appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.