Mornings with Pat Kreitlow

A Wisconsin-based movie might be the feel-good film of the holiday season. We’ll talk about how actor Hugh Jackman is in Milwaukee for the premiere of “Song Sung Blue,” telling the story of a couple whose Neil Diamond tribute band was a bit of a local sensation in the 1980s and ‘90s. With a host whose mom raised him on a steady diet of Neil Diamond tunes, we’ll ask about your guilty musical pleasures. It’s okay, you can admit you still listen to a lot of the Carpenters — or worse, Nickelback!

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow is powered by UpNorthNews, and it airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Get more from Pat and UpNorthNews on their website and follow them on X, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast lineup. Follow the show on Facebook, X, and YouTube.

Dan Shafer will react to the news about an expanded Democratic field of candidates for governor. Pat also reacts to some of the pardons that president Trump has signed. Later, we begin our 12 days of kindness and talk to folks from Feeding America. We also talk a little Bucks as they slip and fall in Washington.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow is powered by UpNorthNews, and it airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Get more from Pat and UpNorthNews on their website and follow them on X, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast lineup. Follow the show on Facebook, X, and YouTube.

While there was some activity during the recent fall legislative session, there were plenty of matters that didn’t get addressed. That includes new restrictions on “wedding barns” and other special venues that could put them out of business at a time when the rural economy needs all the help it can get. We’ll talk to wedding barn owner Jean Bahn, farmer Hans Breitenmoser, and Sheila Everhart of the Wisconsin Agricultural Tourism Association.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow is powered by UpNorthNews, and it airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Get more from Pat and UpNorthNews on their website and follow them on X, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast lineup. Follow the show on Facebook, X, and YouTube.

This morning, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes formally announced his entry into the 2026 race to be Wisconsin’s next governor. He joins the current lieutenant governor, a county executive, a couple of legislators, and others running in the Democratic field. We’ll hear Barnes’ opening pitch to do things the “Wisconsin Way” rather than Donald Trump’s “Washington Way.”

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow is powered by UpNorthNews, and it airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Get more from Pat and UpNorthNews on their website and follow them on X, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast lineup. Follow the show on Facebook, X, and YouTube.

As much as we might want to put some troublesome history in our rearview mirror, the fact remains that America is still haunted by the events of 2020: an unchecked pandemic, a fiery public pushback against police violence, and a president willing to fan the flames. Few know the weight of local leadership during that time any better than Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride who underwent a baptism by fire as a newly-elected city leader that was a microcosm of American unrest. His new book provides a five-year look back at the events that put him under siege in his own home for nearly 100 days.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow is powered by UpNorthNews, and it airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Get more from Pat and UpNorthNews on their website and follow them on X, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast lineup. Follow the show on Facebook, X, and YouTube.

To slightly modify the lyrics from Wicked: “Donald, why couldn’t you have stayed calm for once?

Instead of flying off the handle!” The president loves to defy the rules of politics — not to mention basic human decency — but defying the gravity of current polling in next year’s midterms might be something even a wizard couldn’t pull off. We’ll talk to Craig Gilbert, longtime political writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, about what the latest Wisconsin polling shows for 2026.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow is powered by UpNorthNews, and it airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Get more from Pat and UpNorthNews on their website and follow them on X, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast lineup. Follow the show on Facebook, X, and YouTube.

It’s Cyber Monday, a date dedicated to online shopping for holiday gifts. But is that really a big deal anymore? Or Black Friday, for that matter? Don’t we all now shop online all year long? Or is there still some kind of novelty about these Thanksgiving weekend shopping dates? Also: the president goes on a Thanksgiving racist rant, winks at a war crime, pardons a billion-dollar money launderer after only 12 days in prison, and is about to pardon a former corrupt Central American leader responsible for 20 years worth of cocaine being brought to the US.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow is powered by UpNorthNews, and it airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Get more from Pat and UpNorthNews on their website and follow them on X, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast lineup. Follow the show on Facebook, X, and YouTube.

We spend some time with Dr. Kristin Lyerly as we wind down for the week. As we prepare hunker down for the winter we talk with author Laura Bird. She recommends reading as a good way to get through the cold snowy weather. To read she points to: “How to Winter” by Kari Leibowitz, “Aflame” by Pico Iyer, “Wintering” by Katherine May, “The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans, “Seasoning” by Angela Clutton, “Strata: Stories from Deep Time” by Laura Poppick, “Meditations for Mortals” by Oliver Burkeman and “Beyond Anxiety” by Martha Beck.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow is powered by UpNorthNews, and it airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Get more from Pat and UpNorthNews on their website and follow them on X, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast lineup. Follow the show on Facebook, X, and YouTube.

Our weekly panel of Mark Jacob, Jim Santelle and Joan Esposito discuss news from the week. They talk about the investigations that are pursuing Democrats who told soldiers not to follow illegal orders because, you know, it is illegal to follow illegal orders. Also: our Friday quiz with Dr. Kristin Lyerly and senior producer Frank Gargano.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow is powered by UpNorthNews, and it airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! Get more from Pat and UpNorthNews on their website and follow them on X, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast lineup. Follow the show on Facebook, X, and YouTube.