The new detention center in the Florida Everglades is called “Alligator Alcatraz.” Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis worked with the federal government to create the tent-based camp that can hold a projected 3,000 detained migrants at the price tag of $450 million a year. Today host Allen Ruff is joined by journalist Joan Walsh to talk about her recent piece in The Nation, “The Abominable Sadism of Alligator Auschwitz,” in which she draws the comparison between the new camp and the Holocaust.

Featured image of an ICE agent in uniform from the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service.

Justifiable Genocide by WORT 89.9FM Madison

Justifiable Genocide by WORT 89.9FM Madison

Big Repulsive Bill by WORT 89.9FM Madison

Gregg Potter & guest Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford's Master Class in Transformation by WORT 89.9FM Madison

Interview with Maggie Siddiqi on the role of faith groups in protecting democracy. Aired on WORT's WORT's How to Stand Up for Democracy

City staff and private consultants are soliciting feedback on the first phase of the Madison LakeWay project, which seeks to reimagine the Lake Monona shoreline.

A public information meeting Monday saw massive turnout, with many of the participants questioning a controversial vote last week in the city council.

Image courtesy: Madison LakeWay via their website.

Senator Tammy Baldwin has introduced legislation that aims to cut costs in three key areas: housing, childcare, and household goods. The senator detailed the legislation’s benefits in a press conference today.

Image courtesy: Erik Schwerdtfeger / WORT News.

Extreme weather, declining ice cover, toxic algae blooms – the Great Lakes region is already feeling the effects of climate change. Leading university researchers teamed up in 2019 to outline current and projected impacts, in an assessment published by the Environmental Law and Policy Center.

The center released earlier this month their 2025 update to that assessment. The twenty-page document outlines what’s changed in the last six years and predicts yet more significant changes for the region. Donald Wuebbles, Emeritus Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois and a distinguished research scientist for the Discovery Partners Institute, is one of the authors on the report.

He joined WORT reporter Dane Buelow to go over what could be happening in our near future.

Image courtesy: ELPC via their website.

Today, host Ali Muldrow is joined by comedian Andrew Wegleitner to talk about how comedy is more important than ever. Wegleitner has been doing stand up for 15 years and got his start right here in Madison, WI. He’s coming back to town to record his debut comedy special on August 3 at the Bur Oak.

Wegleitner talks about how he got his start in comedy, doing stand up at The Pub and Comedy on State. He says that Madison has a very welcoming scene for new comedians. Nevertheless it’s challenging to get a room of people to laugh and to make a living doing it. Wegleitner says that comedy needs risk taking and edge, even if it’s not overtly controversial. But these days the news can feel just as much like satire as it is our reality.

Featured image: photo of Andrew Wegleitner.