On April 28, known as Worker’s Memorial Day, the South Central Federation of Labor held a commemoration event at Madison’s Labor Temple.

Forecast from Monday, 5-5-25 by WORT 89.9FM Madison

Forecast from Monday, 5-5-25 by WORT 89.9FM Madison

The Kickapoo River Valley is one of Wisconsin’s most beloved landscapes. On today’s show, host Douglas Haynes speaks with author Tamara Dean about this magical region and the miraculous, disastrous, and difficult changes she observed while living on the land. Her new book, Shelter and Storm: At Home in the Driftless, is a collection of essays about what she learned from moving to this area in the early 200os.

Featured image: cover of Shelter and Storm.

Madison Public Theatre presents Tennessee Williams’ seldom seen, last play, “A House Not Meant to Stand” a dark, Southern gothic fit for our times. We’ll speak with director Julia Houck and actors Stephanie Monday and Karl Stoll.

Democrats in the Wisconsin Legislature introduce the Abortion Rights Restoration Act. Can the minority party make any headway in the state house, or is this just setting the stage for the 2026 election?. Senator Kelda Roys joins us with more.

The Children’s Theater of Madison is taking adults to task in its latest show, “The Trials.” In a not-so-distant future, a climate emergency has wracked the planet. Snow is a quaint memory. Plane travel is all but outlawed. And older humans are on trial for their lives for their individual role in the disaster. Their jurors are teenagers. Some determined to mete out justice; others seemingly bent on revenge. Jess Miller went to the show’s last dress rehearsal to learn more.

Image courtesy: Jess Miller / WORT News

This Tuesday, May 6th is the anniversary of the signing of the executive order creating the Works Progress Administration in 1933. Created in the height of the Great Depression, its goal was to put Americans back to work. It employed eight and a half million people and built or improved schools, hospitals, dams, roads, libraries, and more across the country, in addition to supporting numerous cultural and artistic projects. Harry Richardson has the story.

Image shows a WPA road development project. Image Source: National Archives and Records Administration,

This week on Forward Lookout, Host Brenda Konkel has calculated the total dollar amount for the change orders for the Dane County Jail consolidation project, and it's not nothing. It's especially striking considering the update the City of Madison's Community Development Authority will receive on the Federal Housing and Urban Development budget. Brenda and producer Christina Lieffring will talk more about that plus run through the rest of this week's meetings.

EconomicEquityNow2025-04-30 by WORT 89.9FM Madison