This week America met the “Benedict 8” – who pursued a craven, cynical, and ultimately unstrategic betrayal of the American public. We dive into how the “Benedict 8” and the leadership that enabled them exposes what’s wrong with Democratic leadership and how it fails to deliver on its goals. Does this low point provide a moment to break with failed policies of the past and craft a new vision for the Democratic Party rooted in fighting powerful wealthy interests and winning on issues that dramatically improve the lives of the American people.

We discuss the successful Citizen Action of Wisconsin Climate and Utility Justice Lobby Day this week at the Capitol where 150 citizen lobbyists from around the state met with legislators and attended a media event to announce the 2% of Income Utility Rate Cap Bill. We unpack why the new legislation is critical.

The U.S. Catholic Bishops overcome the ideological cleavage in the church to condemn Trump immigration policies. What are the implications for the gestapo-like tactics of ICE? We discuss the new campaign against AT&T, who is helping ICE identify and pursue people across the country. AT&T contracts with ICE, CBP, and DHS—the agencies running Trump’s deportation machine—and the terror that comes with it. We urge listeners to attend an event exposing AT&T in Illinois this Saturday.

With Matt under the weather, Robert goes solo with the help of podcast producer Mollee Albinger asking the questions. We dig into the aftermath of the Democratic sweep in the off year elections this week. What does it mean for the ending of the government shutdown and the fight to save liberal democracy? Meanwhile, still unwilling to negotiate with Democrats over health care costs, Trump doubles down on his calls on Senate Republicans to end the filibuster, and Ron Johnson flips to support the President. Is ending the filibuster one of the only good things for democracy Trump may accomplish? We also dig into the trumped up political scandal focused on the Department of Instruction's handling of teacher misconduct cases, more revelations on the massive environmental and economic costs of the Data Centers, plus Marathon County cooperation with ICE, and book banning in the Milwaukee burbs.

We take a deep dive into the on-going data center debate in Wisconsin for the entire show.

We welcome IUPAT District Council No. 7, Director of Governmental Affairs Office, Andy Buck to tell us why their union supports the current data centers that will be built union and how IUPAT members get work and sustain work.

Next, State Senator Chris Larson joins us to provide his political perspective and educate us on the state’s role in enabling the current dynamic and how we need to see the current organizing opportunity the data centers provide.

Finally, 620AM WTMJ’s Kristin Brey returns to the show to discuss her insightful observation that there is a unique coalition of political forces aligned against and for the new data centers and what does it say about the current political environment.

As Trump takes a bulldozer to the White House and liberal democracy, we take a deep dive into the devastating potential impact of the tech oligarchs here in Wisconsin. Foxconn 2.0: the Data Center Invasion, shows that as in the movies the sequel is even worse than the original. Robert tells us about economist Jerrod Bernstein’s forecast that there is an AI bubble that will pop the stock market and leave Wisconsinites holding the bag on huge new fossil fuel plants and infrastructure when AI goes bust. We review how state and local officials continue to ignore growing public public opposition and lavish the tech giants with generous state a local tax subsidies. In addition, opposition to the transmission lines for massive data centers is growing and producing unique new political alignments. Also on this week’s show: Congressman Brian Stiel’s bill that would cut funding to Milwaukee, other major transit systems; Flu vaccination rates plummet in Wisconsin in the wake of anti-vax disinformation from the top of government; and Wisconsin federal food assistance runs out in 8 days, leaving over 700,000 Wisconsinites in peril.

We are back after a week off! We welcome State Representative Vinnie Miresse to the show to discuss new legislation to protect the ‘rights of nature’ and reinstitute a state anti-mining law.

We take stock in the state of American democracy and why Saturday’s No Kings Rally 2.0 will communicate by the number of people who turnout widespread opposition to the authoritarian usurpations of the Trump Regime. We encourage our listeners to attend an event near you. Find No Kings Rallies here.

We look at a current Supreme Court case that could deal a death b low to America’s multiracial democracy by legalizing racial gerrymandering. Robert helps us understand why the United Healthcare and Ascension deal unintentionally lays bare the corruption of hospital and insurance pricing and why it’s long overdue for the hospital industry to be regulated in the public interest. We also discuss the toll of over a decade of austerity in Wisconsin, as a new report ranks Wisconsin 46th in the nation in public college affordability.

We close by highlighting the overwhelmingly approving by the state senate of a bill to require health insurers to cover all necessary breast cancer screenings, including women that are hard to diagnose, without co-pays and deductibles.The bill is named for a Neenah woman who died of breast cancer because of inadequate screenings. Outcome in the Assembly unclear, as the health insurance industry has killed the bill during the last two legislative sessions. But word in the Capitol is that Robin Vos will block it in the Assembly, just as he has done with postpartum care for women and their children.

We start with discussion of the new fighting spirit of Congressional Democrats, and the central role the health care cost crisis is playing in the impasse. Are Democrats finally learning how to resist an increasingly authoritarian president? We review the latest MU Law Poll and whether we agree with what veteran political journalist Craig Gilbert calls the Trump paradox, where despite low popularity, Trump 2.0 has been one of the most powerful presidencies in recent American history.

We welcome Heather DuBois Bourenane and Chris Hambach-Boyle from Wisconsin Public Education Network (WPEN) to discuss how the growing private, voucher school program is defunding Wisconsin’s public schools and how their Voucher Transparency Project is exposing the scheme and organizing people in defense of our public schools.

We start with the on-going invasion of many Wisconsin communities by energy and water sucking data centers. While profiting Silicon Valley, Wall Street, and Big Utilities these projects threaten to accelerate runaway climate change and spike already unaffordable utility prices. While state and local economic development boosters, including the Evers Administration, throw public money at data centers without considering the massive environmental costs and limited economic impact, a few brave communities are standing up in places such as Menomonie and Caledonia. We need to refocus public policy on addressing the climate crisis, not economical development boondogles that light the planet on fire. We encourage people to attend this Sunday’s Climate March at the Capitol in Madison at Noon.

Meanwhile Trump, Vance, and their minions rush to politicize the violent attack on ICE office in Dallas before the facts are in, blaming Democratic and left wing truth-telling about the abuses of Trump's immigration crackdown. There is a problem with political incendiary language, that it come from the President, Vice President, and MAGA, not elected progressives and mainline Democrats. We talk about the potential of a government shutdown, and the Trump Regime impact in Wisconsin this week, including Derrick Van Ordin’s demand to cut off federal dollars to the City of Eau Claire, Ellsworth, and Mayo Clinic in retaliation for social media posts.

Citizen Action Board member and former state Representative Sandy Pasch joins us to warn our listeners about a terrible new bill in Madison that restricts free speech in the name of fighting antisemitism by making legitimate and First Amendement protected cricism of Israel into hate speech. The bill is yet another authoritarian attempt to empower governmet crackdowns against civil society groups and free speech. Sandy calls for our listeners to reach out to their state representative and senators to oppose AB 446, and support alternative legislation that meaningfully addresses antisemitism.

Finally, we welcome Chris Gooding, Theology professor and union leader at Marquette University, to update our listeners on the Jesuit university’s union busting in the name of God. We discussed how this anti-union strategy spread this month to Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where the university walked away from negotiations with their workers, prompting outrage on campus and a strike vote.

On this week's show Robert Kraig is joined by special guest co-host State Senator Chris Larson. Robert & Chris discuss the shameful effort of the Trump Regime to use the brutal murder of Charlie Kirk as a pretext to unleash the full force of the federal government to crack down on progressive groups, celebrities such as Jimmy Kimmel, and millions of everyday Americans exercising their First Amendment rights on social media. Next, we preview the 2026 elections in WIsconsin where governing power is in play. Does this consolidation of authoritarian power call for different kinds of candidates and a new politics in the Democratic Party? Finally, Chris & Robert dig in on the latest state news, including the Evers Administration's efforts to protect access to COVID vaccines, and the decline of an alternative to predatory corporate health insurance.

We discuss the murder of Charlie Kirk this week and how despite the shooter still being at large (as of our tapping of the show), many in the MAGA movement rush to make political hay, including Wisconsin’s Derrick Van Orden, with some even calling for retribution against progressives and the news media when the killers motives are still unknown. This is both dangerous, and distracts attention from lack of gun laws and mental health interventions to make the public safer.

Turning to much better news, we focus on the organized fight back against factory farm pollution in Western Wisconsin by local residents with the support of (GROWW) Grassroots Organizing Western Wisconsin. We talk about the critical role this authentic brand of community organizing can play in rebuilding our democratic institutions.

We announce Citizen Action’s involvement in a Climate March at the State Capitol, Sunday, September 28th @ 12 Noon, which is to national climate actions around the country. Robert updates us on Caledonia residents pushing back against another data center and the politics behind it. We also discuss a federal court blocking enforcement of EPA Ozone Standards in Southeast Wisconsin. Why is a Democratic AG siding with the business lobby?

We take an early sneak peek at the 2026 elections, where more Democratic candidates have entered in the last month. Finally, the controversy continues on charges that Senate Democrats are picking primary candidates and trying to squelch competitive primaries.

RSVP for the Climate March, Sunday, September 28th, Noon >> https://secure.everyaction.com/nVZ3Fxvm60idMFKwBjoEsA2

“The State of Working Wisconsin” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast

We welcome Laura Dresser from the High Road Strategy Center, a think-and-do tank, based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Laura is the lead author of the 2025 State of Working Wisconsin report which presents the Wisconsin workers’ perspective on the economy including, what’s going on with work and jobs, who is winning in this economy, and who is being left behind. We discuss the report’s key findings, including the role a $20/hour minimum wage in Wisconsin could play in improving the lives of Wisconsin working families.

We debrief Labor Day 2025, and take a deep dive into Wisconsin’s brewing AI Data Center Scandal that could threaten the Great Lakes water supply and accelerate the state’s carbon emissions at a time they must be dramatically slashed to head off runaway climate change. In addition to the environmental impact, they are a terrible economic development investment on a par with the Foxconn boondoggle.

We also review the scandalous last couple weeks at Ascension Wisconsin which wants to charges such high prices that even United Healthcare is threatening to cut them off. The ongoing implosion of Ascension continues to highlight the need for the Hospital Accountability Act we are developing with state Senator Jeff Smith.