8 O'Clock Buzz

Brian Standing, Haywood Simmons & Michelle Naff, Jan Miyasaki, Tony Castaneda, & Jonathan Zarov
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Listener Sponsored Community Radio in Madison, WI

  1. 22H AGO

    Children’s Museum Celebrates Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage...

    WORT 89.9FM Madison · Childrens Museum Celebrates Asian / Pacific Islander Heritage Month May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and the Madison Children’s Museum is throwing one hell of a party to celebrate.  On Thursday, May 21, the Museum will feature dancing, food, storytelling and artwork from Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Hmong cultures.  Junko Yamauchi, an Early Learning Program Specialist with the Madison Children’s Museum and Charlotte Cummins, MCM’s Director of Education and Community Partnerships joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on May 18, 2026. Charlotte Cummins (Photo courtesy Madison Children’s Museum) Junko Yamauchi and Brian Standing in the WORT studios. (Photo by Junko Yamauchi) Featured image: Lion dance (photo courtesy Madison Children’s Museum) Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post Children’s Museum Celebrates Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage... appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    11 min

  2. 22H AGO

    Feds Remove Protections for Boundary Waters, Roadless Areas

    WORT 89.9FM Madison · Feds Remove Protections for Boundary Waters, Roadless Areas Jamie Ervin (photo courtesy Outdoor Alliance) On April 16, the U.S. Senate voted 50-49 to approve House Joint Resolution 140, stripping federal protections against metal mining in the watershed of the U.S. Forest Service’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park. The vote fell mostly along party lines, with all Democrats voting against the resolution.  Republican Thom Tillis of North Carolina crossed the aisle to vote against the measure, while Missouri Republican Josh Hawley did not vote.  The move comes in response to a proposed copper sulfide mine to be operated by Chilean-based Twin Metals.  Permitting for the mine now falls to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.  Meanwhile, on April 21, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers wrote to Brooke Rollins, secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to oppose the U.S. Forest Service’s proposed rescission of the 2001 Roadless Rule, which includes wilderness protections for some 70,000 acres of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Northern Wisconsin.  Jamie Ervin is the Senior Policy Manager of the Outdoor Alliance, a coalition of outdoor recreation and conservation groups, and he joined the Monday Buzz on May 18, 2026. Featured image: Section Twelve Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Superior National Forest. (Photo by Daniel Ziegler, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons) Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post Feds Remove Protections for Boundary Waters, Roadless Areas appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    11 min

  3. 22H AGO

    SCOTUS Unleashes Gerrymandering Arms Race

    WORT 89.9FM Madison · SCOTUS Unleashes Gerrymandering Arms Race David Canon (Photo courtesy University of Wisconsin-Madison) After the defeat of the Confederacy in the U.S. Civil War, Congress proposed and the states ratified the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution to end slavery, ensure citizenship to anyone born in the United States, ensure equal protection and protect voting rights for racial minorities and former slaves.  Over the next 100 years, enforcement of the amendments was haphazard at best, with the U.S. Supreme Court repeatedly knocking down Congressional attempts to regulate against racially discriminatory Jim Crow laws.  In 1965, after tireless advocacy and protest from Civil Rights leaders, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act.  On signing the act, President Lyndon Baines Johnson declared it “a triumph for freedom as great as any victory on the battlefield.”  On April 29, in a decision reminiscent of the court’s long discredited Reconstruction era rulings, the Roberts-led U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in Louisiana v. Callais that gutted the last remaining provisions of the Voting Rights Act.  The ruling has touched off an arms race of gerrymandering efforts by States in anticipation of the 2026 midterm elections.  David Canon is a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin’s La Follette School of Public Affairs, who has specialized in legislative redistricting and representation.  David Canon joined the Monday Buzz on May 18, 2026. Featured image: Map of Louisiana 6th Congressional District overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in Louisiana v. Callais. (Image by Twotwofourtysix, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons) Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post SCOTUS Unleashes Gerrymandering Arms Race appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    15 min

  4. 4D AGO

    Ya Got Trouble

    Right there in the river city, Watertown, Wisconsin.  In one of the most audacious decisions by a local school board since the enlightened members of the River City school board tried to prevent the spread of pool playing in their community, the Watertown Board voted to protect their vulnerable high school students from political indoctrination by a lyricless song.  Despite the protestations of the young musicians who’ve been practicing for months, and many parents who were supporting the students, the Board decided they knew what was be best for the corruptible youth of their fair city.  The 8 O’Clock Buzz explores the school board decision with the assistance of a former Watertown alumnus.  The Mother of a Revolution lives on! Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post Ya Got Trouble appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    19 min

  5. MAY 11

    Front Lines: A Lifetime of Drawing Resistance

    WORT 89.9FM Madison · Front Lines: A Lifetime 0f Drawing Resistance Susan Simensky Bietila (Photo courtesy Arts and Literature Laboratory) From protesting New York City bridal fashion shows in the 1960s with the Women’s International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell (or W.I.T.C.H.), to using giant puppets to protest a proposed copper mine in Crandon, Wisconsin in the 1990s, to her more recent work as an illustrator for WW3 Illustrated, Susan Simensky Bietila has been at the vanguard of creative grassroots resistance movements.  Now, Bietila, who now lives in Milwaukee, has written her memoir, FRONT LINES: A Lifetime of Drawing Resistance, out now from PM Press. Susan Simensky Bietila joined the Monday 8 O’Clock Buzz’s Brian  Standing on May 11, 2026. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post Front Lines: A Lifetime of Drawing Resistance appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    9 min

  6. MAY 11

    UW Space Place Shuts Down

    James Lattis (Photo courtesy University of Wisconsin-Madison) Since its founding in 1990, the UW Space Place has welcomed thousands of schoolchildren into its doors.  Educators came to rely on the outreach arm of the University of Wisconsin’s Astronomy Department for its exhibits and hands-on workshops. Meanwhile, local media turned to Space Place for information about astronomical events, such as eclipses or meteor showers. In April, the University of Wisconsin announced that the Space Place would shut down at the end of June, the victim of University-wide budget cuts. James Lattis co-founded Space Place and has served as its Director for the entirety of the center’s 26 years of operation.  Jim Lattis joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on May 11, 2026. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post UW Space Place Shuts Down appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    13 min

  7. MAY 4

    Finding Home on Highway 14: Episode Seven

    WORT 89.9FM Madison · Finding Home on Highway 14 : Episode Seven Nicole Gruter (photo courtesy Nicole Gruter) Once a month, we check in with Monday Buzz roving reporter Nicole Gruter, who has been exploring the communities and chatting with people who live along the historic U.S. Route 14.  This month, Nicole finds out that even the dead face the consequences of extreme weather.  Nicole joined the Monday Buzz on May 4, 2026.  You can also read Nicole’s article on Substack. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post Finding Home on Highway 14: Episode Seven appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    8 min

  8. MAY 4

    Digital Voter Suppression Disturbingly Effective

    WORT 89.9FM Madison · Digital_Voter_Supression_Ads_Disturbingly_Effective Young Mie Kim (Photo courtesy University of Wisconsin-Madison) Election propaganda has grown more sophisticated with social media.  A recent study from researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism has shown that microtargeted, anonymously sourced, ads urging potential voters to boycott elections was surprisingly effective at depressing voter turnout.  Young Mie Kim is the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and is the primary author of the report.  Young Mie Kim joined the Monday Buzz on May 2, 2026. An example of voter suppression ads on Facebook: Don’t Go to Vote. This ad later turned out to be part of the Russian Election Interference Campaigns. Also available at the US House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, “Social Media Content” advertisement archive (AD 3026) for “Exposing Russia’s Effort to Sow Discord Online: The Internet Research Agency and Advertisements.” Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post Digital Voter Suppression Disturbingly Effective appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    14 min

  9. MAY 4

    Remembering Daniel Bice

    WORT 89.9FM Madison · Remembering Daniel Bice Greg Borowski (Photo courtesy Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and jsonline.com) In 1992, a young journalist from West Virginia considered two job offers from competing Wisconsin newspapers.  One, the Milwaukee Journal, offered him a feature-writing gig.  The other, the Milwaukee Sentinel, offered him a job covering the governor’s office.  The reporter chose the political beat at the Sentinel.  In response, the Editor of the Journal wrote back saying, he had made the worst career decision of his life.  That reporter was Daniel Bice who went on to a 33-year career as Wisconsin’s most celebrated – and most feared –political  reporter.  Daniel Bice died on April 21, 2026 from complications arising from esophageal cancer.  He was 62.  Greg Borowski, Executive Editor of the (now-merged) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on May 4, 2026. Featured image: Daniel Bice, courtesy Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and jsonline.com Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post Remembering Daniel Bice appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    15 min

  10. APR 30

    In Total Harmony

    The Harmony Bar and Grill on Atwood Avenue is the recipient of a Dane County Climate Champion award for 2025 for their work on decreasing their reliance on fossil fuels and electricity.  The Climate Champions program recognizes local entities that are leading on climate action.  Mike Barrett, owner of The Harmony Bar, has installed technology and infrastructure that captures waste heat from refrigeration compressors, stores it, and then utilizes the captured energy to provide the majority of their energy needs of their hot water heater.  Before implementing these changes, Mike was getting complaints about the room temperature being too warm in the summer months.  Now, customers can relax in comfort while sampling the famous Harmony burger, and enjoying some of the live music on tap, including bands like Chuck Lorenzo. Photo by Niranjan Borah on Unsplash Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post In Total Harmony appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    9 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Listener Sponsored Community Radio in Madison, WI

Information

  • Creator
    Brian Standing, Haywood Simmons & Michelle Naff, Jan Miyasaki, Tony Castaneda, & Jonathan Zarov
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2026
  • Episodes
    11
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Back Porch Broadcasting, Inc.
  • Show Website
    8 O'Clock Buzz

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