Route 51

Thursday, March 2 at 10 a.m., Route 51 welcomes back Wausau native Dr. Anne Speckhard, one of the world’s top experts on international terrorism and the psychology of terrorists. Speckhard is the Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism, and is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Georgetown University. Her latest book, ISIS Defectors, Inside Stories of the Terrorist Caliphate, is a collaboration with Ahmet Yayla, who served as the Chief of Counterterrorism and Operations Division for the Turkish National Police. Glen Moberg will ask Speckhard about the effects of President Trump’s travel ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries, and the insight she gained from her more than 400 interviews with the family members, friends, close associates and hostages of terrorists and militant jihadi extremists.

Thursday, February 23 at 10 a.m., Route 51 looks ahead to the newly revamped Wisconsin Prairie Chicken Festival, which will take place April 8th at the Paul J. Olson Wildlife Area in Portage and Wood Counties. Glen Moberg will discuss the event and the effort to restore the prairie chicken to its original habitat with Sharon Schwab, Volunteer Coordinator for the festival; Dan O’Connell, Portage County Senior Conservation Technician; and Mary “Casey” Martin, an artist and writer who will discuss the influence of the late Dr. Frances Hamerstrom on conservation efforts in central Wisconsin.

Thursday, February 16 at 10 a.m., Route 51 features an hour with U.S. Congressman Ron Kind, a Democrat representing Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District. Glen Moberg will ask Kind about the top issues facing Congress, including the proposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the construction of a border wall with Mexico, the President’s cabinet picks, and the reaction to the travel ban. The program will also feature analysis by Robert Mentzer, Storytelling Editor for USA Today Network Wisconsin based in Wausau.

Thursday, February 9 at 10 am, Route 51 features an hour with Rabbi Dan Danson , who is stepping down after leading Wausau’s Mount Sinai Congregation for nearly 30 years. Glen Moberg will ask Danson about the history of the Jewish community in Wausau and North Central Wisconsin, the central role the Mount Sinai Congregation plays for the region, and his perspective on today’s religious and philosophical issues.

Thursday, February 2nd at 10am, Route 51 hosts a reporters’ roundtable looking at the big national, state and local stories, and their impact on North Central Wisconsin. Host Glen Moberg will moderate a discussion with Paul DeMain, CEO and Managing Editor of Indian Country Communications; Nora Hertel, Public Issues Investigator for USA Today Network-Wisconsin and the Wausau Daily Herald; Mark McPherson, News Anchor at WAOW-TV 9 Wausau; with a prerecorded interview with Brian Jopek, News Director and Reporter for the Lakeland Times. The program will also examine news philosophy, and the criteria used to determine the truth when covering a story.

Thursday, January 26 at 10 am, State Representatives Katrina Shankland (D-Stevens Point) and Pat Synder (R-Wausau) return to Wisconsin Public Radio’s Route 51 . Host Glen Moberg will moderate a discussion about the policies and politics of the new session of the state legislature in Madison. Shankland is beginning her third term representing Wisconsin’s 71st Assembly District. Snyder is beginning his first term representing Wisconsin’s 85th Assembly District.

Thursday, January 19 at 10 am, author Jerry Apps returns to Wisconsin Public Radio’s Route 51 to discuss his new book, Never Curse the Rain: A Farm Boy’s Reflections on Water. Host Glen Moberg will ask Apps about the importance of our water resources in north central Wisconsin to farmers and the public at large, and his thoughts on balancing its use for agriculture, drinking water, and maintaining the health of our lakes, rivers and streams. Apps, reflecting on his childhood, says “when it rained, it was cause for celebration. Indeed, if ever the Apps boys complained about a rainy day spoiling their plans, their father admonished, ‘Never curse the rain,’ for the family’s very livelihood depended on it.”

Thursday, January 12 at 10 am Wisconsin Public Radio’s Route 51 discusses race relations and the perceptions on diversity and social justice issues in North Central Wisconsin. Toward One Wausau is an ambitious new community project co-sponsored by Wisconsin Public Radio, the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service and the Wausau Daily Herald, aimed at building community relationships and avoiding problems seen nationally. Glen Moberg will moderate a conversation with Toward One Wausau board members; Tony Gonzalez, executive director of EAG Interpreters, Maysee Yang Herr, Assistant Professor of Education at UW-Stevens Point , Ben Bliven, Wausau’s Deputy Chief of Police, and Chris Norfleet, founder of People for the Power of Love . Toward One Wausau has been chosen to be profiled by USA TODAY NETWORK in its nationally distributed series I Am An American .

Thursday, January 5th at 10 am Wisconsin Public Radio’s Route 51 discusses the ongoing societal problem of violence against women, and its link to rape culture in North Central Wisconsin. Glen Moberg will moderate a conversation with Jane Graham Jennings, Executive Director of The Women’s Community in Wausau, and Paul Clarke, Faculty, Northcentral Technical College’s School of Public Safety. Clarke has been involved in the investigation of sexual assaults as a former deputy chief of police, detective sergeant, and patrol officer. The Women’s Community provides shelter and assistance to the victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking. The Women’s Center at Marshall University defines rape culture as “an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture.”

December 29th at 10 am Wisconsin Public Radio’s Route 51 features its annual Year In Review Show . Glen Moberg revisits the top interviews, feature stories, and musical moments that made 2016 special, including live in-studio performances by jazz violinist Randy Sabien , the Denise Sauter Jazz Band, the South Beach Chamber Ensemble , and members of two critically acclaimed central Wisconsin bluegrass groups, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades and Dig Deep . Due to the special nature of this program, we will not be taking calls from listeners.