Mel & Floyd

On today’s Mel & Floyd Summer Replacement Show, Mel and Mr. Smarty Pants celebrate the 2025 Wisconsin Film Festival, which kicked off last night and runs through next Thursday, April 10.

This year, the film fest boasts more than 100 film screenings at seven different locations — the Bartell Theater, Chazen Museum of Art, UW Cinematheque, Music Hall, Union South, Barrymore Theater and Flix Brewhouse. You can find the full schedule in the March edition of Isthmus newspaper or online.

Today on the show we’re joined by a dizzying array of guests involved with the festival.

We speak with the Wisconsin Film Festival’s Ben Reiser, just before he’s set to introduce his first film. We’re happy to sustain him with a full box of Reese’s Pieces. Then Four Star Video Cooperative’s Lewis Peterson joins us by phone from the Bartell Theatre, ahead of a showing of Zodiac Killer Project. Lewis gives us some of his picks of the fest  — and you can read about more of his selections at Tone Madison here and here.

We also speak with filmmakers who have films showing at this year’s Wisconsin Film Festival.

Douglas Rosenberg is Professor in the UW-Madison Art Department, and the director and screenwriter behind The Sea, a black and white film screen dance staged against the landscape of the Baltic Sea. It makes its Midwest premiere this Sunday at 2pm at Music Hall. 

Grace Mitchell and Sofia Theodore-Pierce are the team behind Heart-Shaped, an epistolary short set in the various fantasy suites within the Don Q Inn in Dodgeville. It screens Friday at 6pm at the Chazen Museum as part of a series of a dozen or so experimental shorts.

Aidan Leary is the director behind Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round, a horror film that descends from the cheery world of puppets into a hellscape haunted by “The Freak.” It screens Friday at 8:30pm at the Marquee at Union South. Leary will be in attendance, along with the solo cast member Michael Gilio, producer Joe Swanberg, and several puppets. 

Sean Hanish is the director behind Just a Bit Outside: The Story of the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers, which screens Friday at 5:30 at Music Hall. Hanish is a  Brookfield native and UW-Madison alum.

The post Mel & Floyd’s Wisconsin Film Festival Spectacular appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

This week on Mel & Floyd: The return of ‘Pants; Tales from Vienna; A bullet deflecting beehive; Events in Brazil and Turkey; Corporate sponsorship at White House Easter egg roll; An epidemic of eating alone; Finland’s number one!; Unwelcome in Greenland; And other random topics; Subscribe to the Mel & Floyd Podcast on itunes and never miss another episode [Unless the power goes off again] – It’s FREE!; Passersby were amazed at the unusually large amounts of blood.

Photo courtesy Julia Koblitz on Unsplash

The post Will Science for Money appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

This week on Mel & Floyd: Floyd sits in while ‘Pants is on a sausage run; Alien abduction day celebration; Happiness in Finland; RFK Jr’s strategic neglect; Solving the egg problem; Putin’s old-school power move; More non-action from RFK; Monkey babysitting practices; And other random topics; Subscribe to the Mel & Floyd Podcast on itunes and never miss another episode [Unless the power goes off again] – It’s FREE!; Passersby were amazed at the unusually large amounts of blood.

Photo courtesy Leo_Visions on Unsplash

The post So Much Probing Involved! appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

This week on Mel & Floyd: Votive candles, indulgences & hearing confessions; Reminiscing about the Son of Sam; Ongoing election dirty tricks; US literally votes against Hope; Kudlow & Musk wait for an insect to come into range; Chinese navy’s provocative actions around Australia; And other random topics; Subscribe to the Mel & Floyd Podcast on itunes and never miss another episode [Unless the power goes off again] – It’s FREE!; Passersby were amazed at the unusually large amounts of blood.

Photo courtesy Jorgen Haland on Unsplash

The post We’ve Picked Evil Twice! appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

This week on Mel & Floyd: It’s pledge drive time, call 608-256-2001 or tappety-tap wortfm.org to donate; Visits from Esty, Ruby [who has a new job], Sarah, and a couple from Menomonee; Does SmartyPants dream of trump??; Elon’s AI pronounces trump to be a likely Russian asset; Woolly mice as a first step toward a mammoth; And other random topics; Subscribe to the Mel & Floyd Podcast on itunes and never miss another episode [Unless the power goes off again] – It’s FREE!; Passersby were amazed at the unusually large amounts of blood.

Photo courtesy Mindless Minion D-Cubed

The post Your Love Don’t Pay Our Bills appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

This week on Mel & Floyd: It’s pledge drive time; Get your Mel & Floyd crypto coins!; Auditioning prospects for the next big pandemic; German election results; trump’s man-date; Benefits of D & D; Potted meat update; Call 608-256-2001 or tappety-tap wortfm.org to donate; And other random topics; Subscribe to the Mel & Floyd Podcast on itunes and never miss another episode [Unless the power goes off again] – It’s FREE!; Passersby were amazed at the unusually large amounts of blood.

Photo courtesy Micah Williams on Unsplash

The post Watching Democracy Crumble appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

This week on Mel & Floyd: World’s largest metaphor to become reef; Opening the door to foreign interference in US elections; Indiana stiffing Dolly Parton; Mississippi stifles free speech; Ducks as DJs?; Monkey brings down power grid in Sri Lanka; And other random topics; Subscribe to the Mel & Floyd Podcast on itunes and never miss another episode [Unless the power goes off again] – It’s FREE!; Passersby were amazed at the unusually large amounts of blood.

Photo courtesy Aaron at WORT

The post The Gulf of Mel & Floyd appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

This week on Mel & Floyd: McKinley assassination update; Blue-eyed presidents; “Hang Vance” T-shirts coming?; Current political commentary; “Mein Pillow” guy infiltrates the DNC; Propaganda from the culture wars; Starbucks CEO’s big commute; We synergize disruption; And other random topics; Subscribe to the Mel & Floyd Podcast on itunes and never miss another episode [Unless the power goes off again] – It’s FREE!; Passersby were amazed at the unusually large amounts of blood.

Photo courtesy JC Gellidon on Unsplash

The post It’s Like Scientology appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

This week on Mel & Floyd: Mel’s triumphant return for “Elvis’ Death Day”; Press passes for Mel & ‘Pants!!!; Jury duty stories; Is Viktor Orban secretly writing talking points for J.D. Vance?; Delusional orange tweets; Beetle diversity [also eels, bats etc.]; Mel’s legendary flexibility & strong quads; And other random topics; Subscribe to the Mel & Floyd Podcast on itunes and never miss another episode [Unless the power goes off again] – It’s FREE!; Passersby were amazed at the unusually large amounts of blood.

Photo courtesy Daniel Lincoln on Unsplash

The post A Horrifying Vision of the Apocalypse appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

This week on Mel & Floyd: Pants returns to celebrate a happy anniversary; Covid’s first medal; Everything’s Better With Puppets; Inappropriate bonfire materials; Cows at a wedding?; Prehistory of Channel 89 and the Summer Replacement Show; RFK Jr’s bear story; And other random topics; Subscribe to the Mel & Floyd Podcast on itunes and never miss another episode [Unless the power goes off again] – It’s FREE!; Passersby were amazed at the unusually large amounts of blood.

Photo courtesy Brock Wegner on Unsplash

The post It’s All Fun & Games Until It’s YOUR Back Steps appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.