There’s a human cost to getting the materials that power your cell phone, laptop, and electric vehicle. Part of that human cost is the immense toll of mining cobalt, a mineral essential to rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

75% of the world’s supply of cobalt is produced by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Congolese miners work in often harsh and dangerous conditions.

Activist and researcher Siddharth Kara has been investigating these brutal mining practices. His new book Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives (St. Martin’s Press, January 2023) exposes the human cost of cobalt mining and in turn, the cost of our device-driven lifestyle.

Kara joins Esty Dinur on this edition of A Public Affair to tell us the stories of the Congolese miners – some of whom are children – to mine hundreds of thousands of tons of cobalt a year.

Siddharth Kara is an American author, activist, and expert on modern-day slavery and human trafficking, child labor, and related human rights issues. He’s an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and a Visiting Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health. He’s the author of three previous books: Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery (2009), Bonded Labor: Tackling the System of Slavery in South Asia (2012), and Modern Slavery: A Modern Perspective (2017). You can follow him on Twitter @siddharthkara. 

 

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Tuesday, Judge Protasiewicz won the supreme court seat in a very expensive race. Republican state Rep. Dan Knodl won the special election to represent the 8th District on the State Senate. What does this all mean? Joining us to understand the main takeaways is Wisconsin Democracy Campaign’s Matt Rothschild.

Matt Rothschild is executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. He was the senior editor of The Progressive magazine from 1994 to 2014. His latest book is 12 Ways to Save Democracy in Wisconsin (University of Wisconsin Press, 2021)

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

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Yesterday, Wisconsin voters elected Judge Janet Protasiewicz to the state supreme court. The liberal leaning judge secured the seat with 55% of the vote. The race received national attention, and set a record for campaign spending for a state Supreme Court Justice. While the election was technically non-partisan, the candidates represented two sides of the the abortion debate. Protasiewicz vocally supported abortion access while the opposing candidate Dan Kelly was endorsed by anti-abortion organizations.

On today’s show, we talk about what Protasiewicz’s win means as a mandate on abortion access from voters. Joining us for a round table discussion is Dr. Kristin Lyerly, an OBGYN who practices out of state following the overturn of Roe; Investigative Reporter Phoebe Petrovic, who has has been reporting for Wisconsin Watch on the intertwining of abortion access and the Supreme Court race; and Representative Lisa Subeck, a Democrat from Madison who introduced a bill to overturn the 1849 criminal abortion ban last year.

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

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It’s election day. If you haven’t voted yet–polls close at 8pm. Remember if you are in line at 8, stay in line! You can still vote.  To find out what is on your ballot and where your polling place is, go to myvote.wi.gov

Joining us to talk about voter access, election integrity, and importance of voting is  Debra Cronmiller from the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin. You can find the League’s voter resources, including candidate surveys here: https://my.lwv.org/wisconsin/voter-information/learn-more-about-candidates-issues

Debra Cronmiller is the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Chapter of League of Women Voters. The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization. They encourage informed, active participation in government and work to increase understanding of major public policy issues. They also influence public policy through both education and advocacy.

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

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Last month the EPA announced national guidelines for PFAS in drinking water. The current Wisconsin standard, which was adopted last year, is  70 part per trillion for PFOA and PFOS individually and combined. The proposed federal allowance is a fraction of that, at just 4 parts per trillion.

Joining us to interpret the new guidance, discuss the science behind PFAS, and offer solutions are Scott Laeser and Jorge Roman-Romero.

Scott Laeser is the Water Program Director at Clean Wisconsin. He leads the organization’s efforts to address agricultural pollution of Wisconsin’s water resources. He works with state and local officials, agricultural groups, and other environmental organizations to advance policies to improve water quality in the state’s water sources. Scott has served on Technical Advisory Committees for important rule-making efforts at the Department of Natural Resources.

Jorge Roman-Romero is an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Midwest Environmental Advocates. He uses legal and policy tools to advocate for disadvantaged communities facing disproportionate risks of harm from water pollution. Previously he worked as a clerk for the Environmental Advisory Counsel of the Attorney General of Ireland, the Oklahoma Court of Appeals, and Earthjustice.

Jorge will be speaking more on the EPA guidelines on Friday, April 14th at 12pm. You can find more information on Facebook or register for the event here.

Image by David Mark from Pixabay

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Candace Fujikane joins us on A Public Affair to explain how mapping abundance is a profoundly decolonial act, and how much is to be learned from Kanaka Maoli (native Hawaiians) in the face of climate change. 

Candace Fujikane is Professor of English at the University of Hawaiʻi. She is a Japanese settler ally who stands for the protection of lands and waters in Hawaiʻi while supporting Hawaiian political independence. In 2020, she was awarded the Engaged Scholar Award by the Association for Asian American Studies. She has published Mapping Abundance for a Planetary Future: Kanaka Maoli and Critical Settler Cartographies in Hawaiʻi in 2021. She is working on her new book, Elemental Cartographies for a Changing Earth.

She’ll be giving the keynote address tonight at the GAFIS Symposium 2023, Living the Land: Global and Local (Trans)Formations.

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In a recent New York Magazine article Dan Kaufman writes about the “increasingly acrimonious” race for Wisconsin’s Supreme Court. He joins us on A Public Affair to talk how the outcome of the April 4th election could change the course of the entire country.

Dan Kaufman is a journalist who has written for The New York Times Magazine and The New Yorker. He is the author of the book The Fall of Wisconsin: The Conservative Conquest of a Progressive Bastion and the Future of American Politics.

Photo courtesy of Chali Pittman

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There are two seats open on the Madison Metropolitan School Board. Incumbent Nicki Vander Meulen is running unopposed for Seat 7, and there is a competitive race for Seat 6. We speak with both candidates for that seat on today’s A Public Affair.

First, we talk with Badri Lankella about his decision to run and what he sees a the board’s biggest hurdles.

Badri Lankella works as a computer engineer at the Department of Natural Resources, and holds a Masters in Business Administration at UW-Madison. He’s the father of two kids enrolled at Vel Phillips Memorial High School. He’s served on a variety of organizational and governmental boards. He’s running for Seat 6 on the MMSD Board of Education. You can find more about his campaign here: https://badrilankella.com/ 

Then, we are joined by Blair Mosner Feltham who tells us about her campaign and what she would bring to the table if elected to the school board. 

Blair Mosner Feltham is a former Madison Metropolitan School District teacher with 12 years of experience in public schools. She worked in MMSD for 7 years, as a teacher, coordinator, and coach at West High School. Before that she worked in in two districts in California. Now, she works in a public school in a neighboring district and is running for Seat 6 on the MMSD Board of Education. You can find out more about her campaign here: http://bmf4mmsd.com/ 

Election day is Tuesday, April 4th. Early voting is happening now. You can preview your ballot at myvote.wi.gov

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Kadjata Bah has been named Wisconsin’s Journalist of the Year by Wisconsin Journalism Education Association (WisJEA). The award is open to high school seniors with student media experience. Kadjata has that and more. She is an education reporter and teen editor for the Simpson Street Free Press, which is where she got her start when she was 11. She has served as editor for East’s school newspaper and literary magazine.

She has also completed internships with The Cap Times and Madison Magazine, and he has written for the Eastside News.

Kadjata joins us on A Public Affair to tell us about being a young journalist and the joy of telling stories.

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Pulitzer on the Road is coming to the Overture Center tomorrow, Tuesday, March 28th at 7pm. The panel discussion will focus on the role of local journalism to keep residents and workers safe. Joining us on A Public Affair ahead the event is panelist and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Raquel Rutledge. Rutlege is a 2010 Pultizer Prize in Local Reporting winner for her reporting on the fraud and abuse uncovered in a child-care program.

Her 2021 investigation “Wires and Fires,” (co-reported with John Diedrich and Daphne Chen) was a 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist. The series uncovers how electrical code violations and fatal fires are rampant in the Milwaukee’s poorest neighborhoods. Rutledge joins us to talk to us about that reporting and the importance of local reporting.

Raquel Rutledge is a public service investigative reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She is the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting winner.

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

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