This week on “Madison Mixology,” feature contributor Charlie Belawski starts up another shots special with fellow bartender Riley Kappel.

They’re kicking things off with the Jelly Donut shot, a sweet concoction that features a raspberry liqueur with a long history.

Photo courtesy of Neetu Laddha and Unsplash

Kristina Amelong on her memoir What My Brother Knew by WORT 89.9FM Madison

Professor Julie Klinger joins host Ryan Coogan to discuss rare earth elements, their role in the green energy transition, and the complex geopolitics and supply chains behind them.

The news is gut-wrenching. Over the weekend UNICEF said that more than 5,800 children were diagnosed with malnutrition in Gaza in June and the number is rising. Drinkable water is almost non-existent. Disease and infections are rampant.

Last year local residents who refused to give in despair pondered what they could do to help. They came up with events to raise money for food and humanitarian aid to Gazans. Then they worked with the Middle East Children’s Alliance or MECA, their long-time partner in providing for Gaza, to deliver help with the money they raised.

This year despite being astounded that the killing and suffering continues and grows in Gaza, these people, along with new partners, persist in offering ways our community can resist feeling powerless and offer what we have to help Gazan families.

The Summer Silent Auction for Gaza Aid July 11th- 20th

On offer is art and handmade items from local artists and artisans, Madison area gift certificates for food, massage, pickleball lessons, books, Tatreez, olive oil, kufiyah, jewelry, a thobe, a vacation get-away, a pool party, Badger tickets – and more.

There’s also an artist meet and greet at Java Cat Coffee at 4221 Lien Road on July 17th from 4:00 to 6:30 PM to talk to artists and see the art.

The auction has begun, it’s linked at madisonrafah.org and will run through Sunday July 20th at 11:00 PM.

Big Ride For Palestine

Everyone is welcome on this ride on Sunday, July 20th. It begins in Olin Park at 10:00 AM, along Lake Monona on the Capital City Bike Path to BB Clarke Beach and then back to Olin Park, just over 6 miles. Register by July 15th and get a T shirt.

All money collected will go directly to MECA, the long-time reliable organization providing help for Gazans.

This is a national ride for MECA, with 50 groups across the country riding to help Gazans.

Find the link to the ride at Madison Rafah Sister City Project http://madisonrafah.org/

MECA http://www.mecaforpeace.org/

Since Governor Evers signed off on the new state budget, childcare advocates have voiced alarm at the lack of support for childcare in the budget. Though the state budget allocated over $360 million to help address the childcare crisis, the organizan Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Needed (WECAN) says that “we were asking for the bare minimum, and somehow we got less.” Less than one-third of the allocated funds will go directly to keep childcare providers operating, and this funding will only last for one year.

This is a topic we’ve been following on this program, so on today’s show, we learn about how one state made an investment in universal childcare and changed the state’s entire economy. In 1997 in the Canadian province of Quebec, lawmakers created a universal childcare system, charging only $7/day for up to 10 hours of care plus homemade, locally sourced meals, and so much more. Journalist, Isabeau Doucet, writes about this program and the overwhelmingly positive results of the universal childcare system in a recent article in The Guardian.

Featured image: photo of a childcare center by Gautam Arora via Unsplash.

Forecast from Monday, 7-14-25 by WORT 89.9FM Madison

This Saturday, July 19th is the anniversary of the birth of George McGovern in Avon, South Dakota. McGovern was most famous for the one of the worst Presidential election losses in US history in 1972. But McGovern’s more lasting impact may well be as a lifelong advocate for anti-hunger programs in the US and overseas. Feature contributor Harry Richardson has the story.

From the feminist movement, to AIDS, to opioids, to prison reform and television news, artists working collectively have spearheaded many of the social justice movements of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. We’ll talk with Lauren O’Neill Butler, author of the new book “The War of Art.”

With hospitals closing, an aging population and difficulty recruiting medical professionals, communities in rural Wisconsin face a growing healthcare crisis. The University of Wisconsin’s School for Public Health’s Orion Initiative seeks to reverse that trend. We’ll talk with Orion Initiative CEO Amy Kind and geriatric care physician Christie Bartels.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court rules that a 176-year-old state law doesn’t prohibit abortion. But, even if legal, access to abortion services in Wisconsin is far from easy. Obstetrician, gynecologist and head of the U.W.’s Collaborative for Reproductive Equity Jenny Higgins joins us once again to explain.