Milfred and Hands assess the GOP field seeking their party's nomination for governor against Democratic incumbent Tony Evers this fall. Former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch is ahead in the polls, thanks to a big advantage in name recognition. But most voters don't know who any of these three are. That means Kevin Nicholson, who lost a bid for the party's nomination for U.S. Senate in 2018, and state Rep. Timothy Ramthun still have time. And could former Gov. Tommy Thompson still jump in? Kleefisch is the establishment candidate, even if she doesn't want to admit it. Nicholson is trying to fill the anti-establishment lane, while Ramthun is the conspiracist's friend, according to our political podcasters. They play clips of the candidates in public and wish Ramthun a happy birthday while complimenting, sort of, his Easter-colored suits.  

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Milfred and Hands endorse a new way of electing School Board members in Madison that will increase competition and voter choice while improving the dialog between candidates. Joining them is Wayne Strong, a member of the State Journal's community editorial board who narrowly lost a bid for School Board. Instead of pitting individual city-wide candidates against one another in specific seats -- an odd process that may be unique to Madison in Wisconsin -- our political podcasters advocate for lumping all candidates into the same pool with the top vote-getters winning the available number of seats.

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Milfred and Hands won't defend state Rep. Elijah Behnke, R-Oconto Falls, for saying on hidden video that his party needs to "cheat like the Democrats or bend the rules." When the rookie lawmaker joked about wanting to punch the governor, who is 30-plus years his senior, it smacked of elder abuse. This self-described "redneck from the North Woods" appears solidly in the Trump wing of Wisconsin's Republican Party as a disrupter willing to entertain conspiracy theories. He'll never land the Wisconsin State Journal editorial board's endorsement. Yet Behnke repeatedly tells a group of right-wing activists -- one of whom recorded his words on a smartphone -- lots of things they didn't want (but needed) to hear. Behnke defers to the courts to settle election disputes (which they have, in favor of President Joe Biden). He repeatedly asks for evidence of fraud from the activists and sounds frustrated when they offer no specifics. Behnke's "swamp creature" putdown of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos isn't too far off, given the top Republican's long and checkered tenure clinging to power. Behnke sounds like a guy who wants to move past the 2020 election, even if Trump's staunchest supporters never will. In a way, despite all Behnke's baggage, that's reassuring for our democracy. Behnke seems to take his job seriously, even if he has a lot to learn about state government and representing the public.

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Milfred and Hands interview Dr. Patrick Remington, a UW-Madison expert on the spread of disease, for the third time since the pandemic began two years ago. Remington, who worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and who teaches the public health experts of the future, says science has learned a lot about COVID-19, including the omicron variant, which is spreading fast in Wisconsin. The novel coronavirus isn't going away. But it could go in a variety of different directions, depending in large part on what we humans do. Remington gives advice for going to the Badgers game, for seeing Grandpa and Grandma and living your life while being a responsible citizen who cares about others to limit exposure. Milfred and Hands also seek his opinion on creating a State Street promenade in Downtown Madison, given that al fresco dining slows the spread of disease.

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Milfred and Hands sing political lyrics set to holiday songs, including "God Rest Ye, Merry Gableman," "Hark! It's time to diss Beijing" and "Good King Rodgers." For the "Hallelujah Chorus," our political podcasters sing "Gerrymander!" -- forever, and ever. Hands tries to convince a skeptical Santa Claus to get a vaccine. Who knew that Kris Kringle was an anti-vaxxer? Joining Milfred and Hands (to help improve the singing) is Koffi Amuzu-Gassou from the newspaper's mailroom. With occasional three-part harmony that's occasionally in tune, they sing Rick Ho-Ho-Horowitz' lyrics, which will appear in Sunday's Wisconsin State Journal. Grab the lyrics from the newspaper or Madison.com and sing them yourself. 

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Milfred and Hands take the pulse of Madison's most famous street with Downtown dynamo Susan Schmitz. The Madison City Council narrowly failed to advance the cause of turning State Street into a pedestrian mall without buses recently. But the long-held dream of creating a grand promenade without motorized vehicles all the way from the UW-Madison campus to the state Capitol lives on. Schmitz, who led a Downtown business group for nearly two decades and sold clothing at Hilldale Shopping Mall before that, says pedestrians are already taking over more of the street. Hands says State Street is in the worst shape he's seen in 15 years. Milfred touts the importance of the 2023 city elections in determining its fate. Both of our political podcasters pine for an IPA at Empire Brewery, a long ago State Street business run by Schmitz' great uncle.

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Milfred and Hands offer chilling commentary on the most frightening things about politics on the left and the right in Madison, across Wisconsin and in our nation's capital. Incivility -- including dead rats on a school board member's lawn -- terrifies Milfred. Hands' face turned pale when he saw the 9% increase in his Madison property tax bill. Our political podcasters worry that all the moderates and statesmen are being (politically) killed off. And Milfred tells a spooky story from a long, long time ago about U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman.

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Madison is growing fast. It's attracting lots of young talent. It's economy is poised to rebound quickly from the pandemic. That's not just good for the capital city, it benefits the entire state -- and Zach Brandon, president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, has the data to prove it. Yet politics keeps getting in the way of Madison and Wisconsin working more together and recognizing they're on the same team. On this week's podcast, Milfred and Hands play clips from and comment on the State Journal editorial board's recent meeting with Brandon. They asked him about his efforts to sell Madison to the rest of the state.

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Milfred and Hands urge school officials not to panic at the first outbreak of a COVID variant. Our political podcasters celebrate the return to five full days of classes a week in the Madison School District and elsewhere across most of Wisconsin this fall. Following a lost year of learning during the pandemic last year, schools should mask up -- as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends -- and require teachers to be vaccinated to help keep the schoolhouse doors open. After all, teachers are essential workers who are in close contact with the only population that isn't yet eligible for shots -- kids younger than 12. Though more contagious strains of COVID are concerning, none of Wisconsin's more than 7,600 deaths from COVID were younger than 10. And only three were younger than 20. So Madison shouldn't overreact -- something it's done in the past -- if cases rise in some school buildings. At the same time, rural schools with more conservative leaders shouldn't ignore responsible science-based precautions. "The areas that need the restrictions most aren't getting them, and vice versa," Milfred says. Hands predicts YouTube and Fortnite will be the biggest losers as school returns because kids will have to pay attention in class, rather than sitting on their phones at home.

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Milfred and Hands assess the crowded field of 11 Democrats hoping to win the party's nomination to take on U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, in next year's election. Wisconsin's Senate seat is one of three toss-up Senate races across the country. That means voters here could decide who controls the U.S. Senate. Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes is the front-runner in the Democratic primary, though he's hardly invincible, our political podcasters agree. They play audio clips from the top Democrats touting their bids, while assessing the broader political ramifications.

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