This week on Forward Lookout, hosts Brenda Konkel and Rebecca Kemble run down the week's meetings. A Dane County board will receive a presentation from a diversified vegetable farm educator, the City of Madison will work through how to go about hiring a new police chief, and Madison alders may revisit some of the committee changes they made at their last meeting.

Citizens Speak out at an “Empty Chair” Town Hall for Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson. An estimated 650 people filled the seats at Madison’s First Congregational United Church of Christ on Friday, March 21st for a chance to speak to their Senator, Ron Johnson, who was absent. An empty chair with a sign illustrated his absence. The event was organized by Indivisible Madison East and Indivisible Dane County and supported by a number of progressive groups.

Image courtesy: Sam Breidenbach

On today’s show, Carlos Dávalos is joined by two atmospheric scientists, Mayra Oyola-Merced and Ángel F. Adames Corraliza from the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They discuss how weather systems differ across tropical and mid-latitude regions, how meteorological data is in question under the Trump presidency, and the politicization of weather agencies.

Featured image of Ángel F. Adames Corraliza, Mayra Oyola-Merced, and Carlos Dávalos courtesy of Sara Gabler/WORT.

This week on Mel & Floyd: Floyd sits in while ‘Pants is on a sausage run; Alien abduction day celebration; Happiness in Finland; RFK Jr’s strategic neglect; Solving the egg problem; Putin’s old-school power move; More non-action from RFK; Monkey babysitting practices; And other random topics; Subscribe to the Mel & Floyd Podcast on itunes and never miss another episode [Unless the power goes off again] – It’s FREE!; Passersby were amazed at the unusually large amounts of blood.

Photo courtesy Leo_Visions on Unsplash

Phil Saunders from Madison’s 511 Alano Society discusses AA meetings, Wisconsin’s binge drinking culture, and the path to sobriety on the Friday Buzz.

Photo by Vinicius "amnx" Amano on Unsplash

Indivisible’s Erin Johansen and Cameron Lane-Flehinger preview tonight’s “Where’s Ro-Jo?” town hall, calling attention to Sen. Ron Johnson’s absence from constituent events.

UW-Madison hosts a Screenwriters’ Symposium on April 4. Organizers discuss what makes a great script and what attendees can expect on the Friday Buzz.

Photo by Myke Simon on Unsplash

Arcatao, El Salvador and Madison, WI is our oldest sister city relationship.

The Madison Arcatao Sister City Project dates from 1986. You can read about it here: http://www.madisonlivinghistory.org/collections/madison-arcatao-sister-city-project

Gil Halsted talked with Madison Arcatao Sister City member and Salvadoran-American Madison resident, Marco Aguirre, who wanted to make our listeners aware of what’s happening in El Salvador. He doesn’t feel as though most Americans know the real situation there since it’s not very well portrayed in the news we get.

Also, El Salvador and its president Nayib Bukele have become more prominent since Bukele invited US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to send deportees from the US of any nationality, including violent American criminals now imprisoned in the United States, to prisons in El Salvador.

Rubio said, "He's also offered to do the same for dangerous criminals currently in custody and serving their sentence in the United States even though they're U.S. citizens or legal residents."

Marcos Aguirre thinks we should know more about the prisons and also about how Bukele has made his reputation for creating safer streets as the “cool dictator” of El Salvador – not the public relations version, but how it really is for Salvadorans.

More on Madison Arcatao Sister City Project: www.mascp.org

Planning the first delegation to Arcatao after the pandemic: https://www.wortfm.org/delegation-to-arcatao-el-salvador-in-june/

Madison-Arcatao Collaboration: https://www.wortfm.org/past-present-and-future-madison-el-salvador-collaboration/

The Madison Arcatao Sister City Project (MASCP), the U.S.-El Salvador Sister Cities delegation and the Association for the Development of El Salvador (CRIPDES) visit 2024: https://www.wortfm.org/our-shared-struggle-mascp/

US-Salvadoran ties on the 8 O'Clock Buzz March 24, 2025: https://www.wortfm.org/el-salvador-and-u-s-governments-have-old-sordid-ties/

Photo: 2025 Madison Arcatao Sister City Delegation from Madison, WI

Once again, we find ourselves in a situation that calls for a palate cleanser. And by palate, I mean brain.

We all could use a bit of chill right now.

In this archival episode of Radio Chipstone, contributor Gianofer (JON nah fer) Fields brings you the soothing voice of Historical Farmer Dirk Hildebrandt and his amazing Rope Machine.

Close your eyes and breathe deeply.

Madison’s Neil Young tribute band Shakey plays Stoughton Opera House on March 29. Band members discuss their favorite Young songs on the Friday Buzz.