On our special Labor Day show we welcome Peter Rickman, President of MASH (Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Union), to discuss making work pay a living wage in every corner of Wisconsin with a $20/hour minimum wage. We also discuss the central role of organized labor in creating a fair and just economy, highlighting significant labor organizing in Wisconsin headed into Labor Day Weekend 2025. Also, we discuss the attempt to steal the 2026 election by re-gerrymandering Texas. Should the Democrats respond in kind?

Will the 1000 year flood in Southeast Wisconsin finally convince policymakers that the climate crisis is already impacting Wisconsin? The appropriate response would be to quickly enact the Climate Accountability Act, which requires Wisconsin for the first time to adopt an accountable climate action plan that cuts greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and maximizes the economic benefits especially for people in urban and rural areas currently locked out of economic opportunities. We encourage our listeners to contact their state legislators and urge them to support the new Climate Accountability Act

We get into the weeds of the scandalous news that Ascension Wisconsin will outsource its ICU Doctors, further imperiling care for patents. This is what happens when you put big profit-maximizing monopolies in charge of health care with virtually no oversight. Robert tells us about developing state legislation to re-regulate the hospital industry in the public interest.

Fair maps advocates are rightly appalled by the national gerrymandering fight instigated by President Trump and apparently matched by California Governor Gavin Newsom. But, is it realistic to ask Democrats to unilaterally disarm in the face of attempted authoritarian consolidation? Robert tells us that Ruth Conniff makes a strong case for holding onto the principle, but can progressives hold onto abstract norms in the face of the shredding of democratic norms by a would-be authoritarian movement? Robert argues that outcomes have moral consequences, and that pro-democracy forces must find a way to uphold the principles of democracy while being effective in preventing Trump and his MAGA allies from rigging the 2026 election.

We close with an honest conversation about the short-sighted state budget, which leaves a structural deficit for the next two year budget, potentially forcing cuts to critical services even if the Democrats win a trifecta, unless they are willing to reverse decades of regressive tax cuts dolled out to corporations and the wealthy.

Following Tony Evers photo op at a besieged free clinic in Eau Claire, we discuss the serious structural problems with our current healthcare delivery system. While hospital monopolies siphon off billions in profits, we pay some of the highest costs in the nation, and yet hospitals across the state are either closing or cutting vital services such as emergency care and birthing units, especially in rural areas and urban neighborhoods. The hospital monopolies are non profits in name only and are acting like highly regulated for-profit industries like Wall Street banks and fossil fuel utilities. It is long overdue for the hospital industry to lose its special protections and be regulated in the public interest

A new report finds Wisconsin is struggling to keep teachers who are leaving the state or profession. We make the direct connection to lack of state funding for more than a generation. It’s why we need candidates in 2026 who will fight for this funding and raise the revenue needed to meet our most pressing priorities.

We discuss contrasting town halls last week by Republican Congress members Brian Stiel and Tom Tiffany. While Stiel had the guts to stand in front of his constituents, unlike Tiffany and the infamous Derrick Van Ordin, the reaction of his constituents shows the growing public anger over Trump’s massive cuts to Medicaid and Food Shares. Meanwhile, Wisconsin legislators express phony outrage over Canadian forest fires and file faux complaints with an international body that requires cooperation not dictates from one country. If they really gave a darn about wild fires they would help address the cause of worsening global warming, the massive over burning of fossil fuels that could be replaced by clean renewable energy and energy efficiency measures.

We close with a briefing on some state labor movement news, including the ongoing strike by healthcare workers at Janesville’s MercyHealth East, workers at Pathfinders in Milwaukee announce organizing drive seeking employer recognition, and Wisconsin video game workers who were first to unionize at a major U.S. studio, now have their first contract.

In the aftermath of Tony Evers’ announcement that he will not seek re-election, we discuss the wide-open primary for the Democratic nomination. Who are the likely candidates and what should they run on? Is this an opportunity for progressives and everyone who craves a Democratic Party willing to fight? Robert tells us about an early attempt by Senator Chris Larson and our allies to lay out a 2026 agenda for candidates for Governor and state legislature. We talk about how the new report from the Center for Working-Class Politics shows there is a pathway to win in 2026 on an clear agenda that excites working people, including many who defected to Trump in 2024, and brings them back into the pro-democracy fold.

We start to tackle the state fiscal elephant in the room. The tax cuts in the just completed state budget, on top of years of tax giveaways to the wealthy and corporations, have set the state up for a fiscal deficit to start the next session. No candidate can promise full funding for public education, child care, and for the expansion of health care who is not serious about generating more revenue by rolling back past tax giveaways to the rich and most profitable corporations.

Finally, we also look at gerrymandering in Texas which threatens to rig the 2026 midterms in favor of Trump’s allies. From and pragmatic and ethical point of view, must the Democrats must respond in kind?

The 2026 Election is on! Following the recording of the show, Governor Tony Evers announced he will not run for a third term, setting up an epic battle for governance in Wisconsin in 2026.

We preview the huge opportunities for progressives in the State Senate in 2026.

We discuss whether “The Steal of 2028” has begun with the Trump DOJ demanding Wisconsin voting records and records from a number of other battleground states.

We welcome John Miyasato, the president of the Center on Civic Engagement (COCE), to discuss the historic role of community organizing in building a more equitable and just society but its centrality in any strategy to fight authoritarianism and rebuild a more just and equitable America. John tells us about COCE’s New and Intermediate Organizer Training they are hosting in Brookfield, Wisconsin, Monday, August 4th to Friday, August 8th.

We discuss quadriplegic Carl Schulze’s epic 92 mile ride to the Capitol in Madison in his wheelchair to protest Medicaid cuts and support increases to caregiver wages. His individual act of protest helps keep the pressure on elected officials who are failing to meet the moment. We continue our analysis of the recently completed State Budget, analyzing its shortcomings on public education, child care, corrections, and health care. This all leads naturally to the big question hanging over Wisconsin politics, will Governor Evers run for re-election? We also blast news that the GOP State Legislature majority paid $26 million to right-wing law firms for litigation legalized by the Lame Duck session of 2018, causing former Republican State Senator Dale Schultz to respond: “$26 million could have bought a lot of child care, could have bought a lot of health care, could have bought a lot of education.” We close with review of federal activity including the U.S. Senate rescinding over $1 billion already appropriated for PBS and NPR. Also, Trump is planning on bypassing the Baldwin-Johnson judicial nominating commission in seeking replacement for retiring Federal Appeals Court Justice Dianne Sykes, and of course the biggest non-story of the week, the Epstein files.

We discuss the tragic, climate change fueled Texas floods and the perils of gutting the government. Wisconsin congressman Derrick Van Orden who is still hiding from his constituents claimed credit for Wisconsin’s extra Medicaid dollars after voting to cut the healthcare program, prompting Congressman Mark Pocan to compare him to an arsonist who gives advice to his victims.

We continue our autopsy of the recently signed state budget, a missed opportunity for Wisconsin. We talk about the debilitating nature of the current Democratic leadership style that cedes power and demobilizes the public in the face of an increasingly authoritarian opponent. We dissected the last second hospital medicaid tax increase that gave more money with no strings attached to monopolistic health systems. The disgraceful education funding details in the budget are coming home to roost this week as school districts like Green Bay declare they will need to go to referendum and make cuts.

We close with a preview of the upcoming State Legislative session and exciting new legislation we will be organizing support for ahead of the 2026 election.

We record the morning after the state budget deal was signed by Governor Evers in the wee hours of the night. We do a full budget postmortem with State Representative Francesca Hong and Heather DuBois Bourenane, Executive Director of Wisconsin Public Education Network (WPEN). How bad was the state budget for education, health care, child care, and other top priorities? Did Democrats leave power on the table that could have been used to win a better budget? What is the path forward for grassroots progressives to reverse Wisconsin's disinvestment in vital public services?

With Matt on vacation this week, Robert is the solo host. On this week's episode we dig deeper into the state budget battle with three well positioned guests. First we welcome Peegy Wirtz-Olsen, the President of WEAC, to discuss the devastating consequences of proposed GOP cuts to public education and why her union and organizing groups such as Citizen Action are calling on the Governor to veto a bad budget.. Next, we are joined by Senator Kelda Roys, a member of the powerful Joint Finance Committee with an inside view of the process, to explain the stakes in this year's budget battle and why Republicans abruptly stopped work on the budget last week. Finally, Senator Chris Larson joins Kelda and Robert to discuss how the combination of the Governor's veto power and the new leverage Senate Democrats have with a divided Republican Senate Caucus to win a better state budget on health care, education, child care, and criminal justice reform.

This week we dig into the federal and state budget battles, and the question of a 3rd term for Governor Tony Evers, with special guests Dan Shafer of the Recombobulation Area and Civic Media, and Steven Webb from Planned Parenthood.

We open with a discussion of the critical importance of Juneteenth this year, as DEI is under attack by the Trump Administration, and some cities and businesses pull back from supporting local celebrations.

Robert provides a simple explanation of how the new U.S. Senate budget bill is even worse on Medicaid than the House budget bill, and it particularly damages rural hospitals.

We update listeners on the latest State Budget news, including Speaker Vos’ continuing crusade to force Governor Evers’ hand with slashing cuts to UW System funding. The plot thickens because Senate Republicans can’t pass a budget without UW cuts or they will lose the most right-wing members of their caucus, Senators Kapanga & Nass.

In addition, to serious tactical disagreements with the governor on how to win his state budget priorities the public supports by huge margins, like properly funding public schools, expanding BadgerCare, funding child care and closing Green Bay, their is now a serious discussion about whether it is time for Governor Evers to lead by a timely passing of the torch to the next generation of Democratic leaders and not running for Governor in 2026. We welcome award winning Milwaukee area journalist, Dan Shafer, founder of The Recombobulation Area and now part of the Civic Media network, who makes the case that it's time to pass the Torch and Tony Evers should not run for a third term as governor. He argues Wisconsin's governor needs to do what so many other Democrats have failed to do and step aside when the time is right.

We close the show with Citizen Action board member, Steven Webb, who is the executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, to discuss the devastating cuts to healthcare in the federal Budget bills that will damage Planned Parenthood's ability to provide vital frontline healthcare to Wisconsinites. Steve tells us how you can also get involved in organizing with PPAWI to fight back.