A Public Affair

Douglas Haynes, Ali Muldrow, Carousel Bayrd, Allen Ruff, & Esty Dinur
  • 4.9 (13)
  • News
  • Updated Semiweekly

Listener Sponsored Community Radio in Madison, WI

  1. 5d ago

    Dying in Custody Has Become the New Capital Punishment

    Last week, Madison’s Office of the Independent Police Monitor released a new finding: that police violence played a role in the death of a man in custody in 2024, contrary to the county’s medical examiner’s autopsy report. To talk about the place of medical examiners in the criminal justice system, host Dana Pellebon is joined by scholar, Terence Keel, author of The Coroner’s Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence. Keel researches the relationships between medicine, science, race, and religion, with a focus on how the science of medicine in the US has been used to perpetuate racial injustice and inequity, especially when it comes to state monitoring and surveillance. He says that coroners are an overlooked piece in the criminal justice puzzle and that death investigation systems provide cover for violent state systems.  In 2013, the Death in Custody Reporting Act made it possible for Keel to look at the numbers. He found that in the twenty-year period after the Act, over 32,000 people were killed in police custody, leading him to argue that dying in custody has become the new capital punishment. They also talk about the history of the coroner role, one that dates back to the Colonial era, the rise of civilian oversight commissions, and the impact of coroner’s reports on Black and Brown communities. Terence Keel is a professor of human biology, society and African American studies at UCLA. His latest book is The Coroner’s Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence. Featured image of the cover of The Coroner’s Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post Dying in Custody Has Become the New Capital Punishment appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    53 min

  2. Jun 22

    You Can Make History with Make History Madison

    A group of local historians are hard at work unearthing and preserving the rich histories of Madison’s neighborhoods. Using maps and oral histories, Make History Madison is a crowd-sourced, place-based public history initiative that encourages people of all ages to contribute photos, research, testimonials, and observations about the places in Madison that matter to them. On today’s show, host Douglas Haynes speaks with four guests involved in the project, Martín Alvarado, James Levy, Angela Richardson, and John Wedge. As much as their work involves celebrating Madison’s vibrant history, they also tell the painful histories of dispossession and displacement that are part of our shared past. Alvarado discusses the displacement of African Americans from the Greenbush neighborhood to Madison’s South Side, and Richardson describes the experience of learning about the Shenk-Atwood neighborhood as a layer cake. You can learn about your building or block using archival tools at the Madison Public Library and their Living History collections. Alvarado says that small newspapers are a treasure trove of our ancestors’ oversharing. Richardson describes the process as “collective remembering” and this work is an “antidote” to the Trump Administration’s “airbrushed history,” says Wedge. As the contributions of Black, LGBTQ, and Indigenous peoples have been scrubbed from federal websites, the work of local historians to preserve the past is more important than ever. Ultimately, Make History Madison isn’t just about documenting the past, but about using the past to engage with the present and the future, says Levy.  On Tuesday, June 23, 2026, Make History Madison presents Music Venues We Have Loved at The High Noon Saloon in association with WORT 89.9 FM and Madison Public Library. Martín Alvarado is a Community Engagement Librarian at the Madison Public Library and host of Global Revolutions on WORT 89.9 FM. James Levy is the founder and Executive Director of the Race and Place Coalition and the Whose Land? public history project. A scholar trained in African American history and former Associate Professor of History at UW-Whitewater, his projects employ oral history and collaborative community research to foster public dialogue about the connections between race and geography. Dr. Levy’s current book project, forthcoming from the University of Wisconsin Press, is titled The Color of Farming in the Heartland: A History of Land and Race in Wisconsin since 1800. Angela Richardson is an artist, educator, and passionate “hyperlocal historian.” Her primary research focuses on the Schenk-Atwood neighborhood and Madison’s near east side. John Wedge is a historian, labor advocate, and public arts organizer. Originally from London, he has a Ph.D. in American History from the University of Illinois. He is Executive Director for WEAC Region 6, and singer, guitarist, and co-founder of northern soul/rock band The Periodicals. Prior to Whoseland.org and Make History Madison, he co-produced The Greatest War: World War I, Wisconsin, and Why it Still Matters. Featured image of the Make History Madison logo. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post You Can Make History with Make History Madison appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    54 min

  3. Jun 19

    Celebrate Juneteenth, But Keep Working

    On today’s show, host Esty Dinur celebrates Juneteenth, “America’s second Independence Day,” with Dr. Timothy Golden. They talk about the symbolic importance of this federal holiday and how the US still struggles to make freedom meaningful for Black people. Juneteenth was made a federal holiday in 2021 after decades of campaigning by former teacher Opal Lee. Dr. Golden says that Juneteenth becomes “hollow” when we juxtapose the recognition of emancipation with Congress’s inability to pass meaningful police and voting rights reform. The spirit of celebration is “neutralized” by the treacherous and tragic reality that enslaved Black people in Texas were kept enslaved after emancipation and the bad faith of our federal institutions who will not pass legislation that would support symbolic celebrations like Juneteenth.  In the wake of emancipation, Dr. Golden says that we think of freedom too narrowly. He points to the work of Reconstruction that was ultimately undercut in the way that racial terror continued under state law. He says that full democratic participation continues to be deferred for Black Americans because of mass incarceration and voter suppression. They also discuss Dr. Golden’s experience as an actor, the “white gaze,” and the philosophy of Ida B. Wells.  Timothy J. Golden is Visiting Professor of Philosophy at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA. His areas of philosophical specialization are Africana Philosophy (African American Social and Political Thought, Critical Race Theory, and Black Male Studies), Philosophy of Religion, and 19th and 20th Century European Philosophy. His books include Frederick Douglass and the Philosophy of Religion: An Interpretation of Narrative, Art, and the Political (Lexington Books, 2022), and Racism and Resistance: Essays on Derrick Bell’s Racial Realism (State University of New York Press, 2022). He is also a lawyer with more than 20 years experience concentrating in criminal defense, and he is an actor in local theater with solo performances in the stage plays Thurgood (portraying Thurgood Marshall) and How I Learned What I Learned (portraying August Wilson), and performances in  Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice (Shylock), The Winter’s Tale (Leontes, King of Sicily), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Peter Quince).  Tim earned his Juris Doctor from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Memphis.  Featured image of a Juneteenth parade in Denver, CO via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post Celebrate Juneteenth, But Keep Working appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    54 min

  4. Jun 18

    Honoring Dairy Month with a Farmer Roundtable

    June is a high milk production month called “the flush” by dairy farmers. On today’s pre-recorded show, hosts Bert Zipperer and Pete Hardin of The Milkweed highlight the Dairy Month. They break down cheese consumption trends, the history of the dairy industry in the state, and hear from two Wisconsin dairy farmers, Jan Shepel and Adam Faust.  Shepel and Faust say they wish more people understood how hard they work. They share stories of the highs and lows–the droughts and floods–that they’ve seen over the years and how they’ve given names to their cows. The Wisconsin dairy industry contributes $50-55 billion to the economy annually but sits at a historic low of 5,000 dairy farms in the state.           They also dive into the role of cooperative creameries, the trend of cross-breeding beef and dairy cows, consumer demand for dairy protein in the form of whey and cottage cheese, and the rise of cheese prices.  Featured image of dairy cows in Vernon County, Wisconsin via Flickr (CC BY 2.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post Honoring Dairy Month with a Farmer Roundtable appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    56 min

  5. Jun 17

    Decoding the Mysteries of Adulthood through Astrology

    If you have ever been asked “What’s your sign?” you have Linda Goodman to thank—or blame. She was America’s first New Age celebrity, and today host Ali Muldrow is joined by her biographer, Courtney Ann LaFaive, to talk about her legacy. They discuss LaFaive’s new book, Follow the Signs: Searching for Linda Goodman, America’s Forgotten Astrology Queen. Linda Goodman was a literary celebrity publishing accessible books on astrology and relationships, like Love Signs, a massive volume about heterosexual coupling. LaFaive discovered Goodman’s books as a teenager, decades after Goodman was popular, and found in them a way to “decode the mysteries of adulthood.” She learned to understand how people have different relationships to their inner world and how to understand intimacy and connection. She also gained a language for compatibility in relationships and a feminine knowledge counter to patriarchy. Through the language of cycles, LaFaive says you can find a more feminine way of thinking about how life unfolds, returning to face challenges again and again.  LaFaive says that astrology is both scientific and quasi-religious: it’s something that can be seen scientifically through astronomy and people relate to it through faith. It’s also political and Goodman’s story is a cautionary tale for how our society deals with misinformation and illusion. In writing this book, LaFaive fell out of love with Linda Goodman but still strove to tell a compassionate story.  LaFaive will give a reading next Tuesday, June 23 at 6pm at A Room of One’s Own.  Courtney Ann LaFaive is the author of Follow the Signs: Searching for Linda Goodman, America’s Forgotten Astrology Queen published by the University of Iowa Press in May 2026. She is a native of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and teaches creative writing at the University of North Dakota. Featured image of the cover of Follow the Signs: Searching for Linda Goodman, America’s Forgotten Astrology Queen. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post Decoding the Mysteries of Adulthood through Astrology appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    54 min

  6. Jun 16

    One Mobile Clinic Practices Reproductive Justice in Rural Areas

    On today’s show, host Dana Pellebon is in conversation with Dr. Mary Fariba Afsari about her new memoir, Labor: One Woman’s Work. Dr. Afsari is a child of Iranian immigrants, a working mother, and the founder of a mobile health clinic, bringing reproductive healthcare to rural patients in the Pacific Northwest. In 2015, Dr. Afsari literally mobilized her practice to meet women where they are. Her clinic on wheels–FemForward Health–travels throughout rural Oregon because too many of these communities lack full-scale OB-GYN services. Dr. Afsari says that people have started driving to find her because they’ve been recommended by word of mouth. It’s a sign of how broken the healthcare system is that a mobile RV clinic is providing better care than industrial medicine to women of color and rural women. Post Dobbs, Dr. Afsari says the fight for reproductive justice is more important than ever.  Dr. Afsari’s memoir chronicles her career serving women like her grandmother who died of a pregnancy related complication. She says she wants readers to get a sense of the range of experiences she has from obstetric emergencies to joyous births. They also discuss Dr. Afsari’s philosophy of meeting patients with curiosity, how race plays a central role in whether a woman will survive a pregnancy, the lack of gender-affirming care, and the criminalization of OB-GYNs post Dobbs.  Residents of Dane County may be aware of a similar service providing  mobile forensic nurse exams. Mary Fariba Afsari, DO, is a board-certified OB-GYN and the founder of FemForward Health, a mobile women’s health clinic in Portland, Oregon. She completed her medical school at Touro University college of Osteopathic Medicine, her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and holds an MS in Health Communication from the Tufts University/Emerson College joint program. Dr. Afsari is a passionate advocate for healthcare equity and reproductive justice. She speaks widely on the intersections of medicine, identity, and systemic healthcare reform. Her debut memoir, Labor: One Woman’s Work, was published by Avid Reader Press in April.  Featured image of the cover of Labor: One Woman’s Work. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post One Mobile Clinic Practices Reproductive Justice in Rural Areas appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    55 min

  7. Jun 15

    A Kaleidoscopic View of Ukraine at War

    Last night Russia killed 11 civilians and attacked a historic cathedral in Kiev. On today’s show, guest host Yuri Rashkin is in conversation with journalists Zarina Zabrisky and Jason Jay Smart, as well as politician Lev Parnas to talk about Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine and the status of support for Ukraine in the US. Zabrisky is a war correspondent currently living in Kherson, a city with more than 250,000 people located in an active “red zone.” She documents the phenomena of “human safari” drone strikes in which Russian troops use small drones equipped with cameras to identify targets. Zabrisky says that even though the people of Kherson experience violence on a daily basis since the start of the war, the city is still their home and they have complex reasons for staying. The people of Kherson have responded to Russia’s use of fiber optic drones by covering parts of the city in fishing lines.  Smart says that Russia’s attacks on churches, like the one bombed last night in Kiev, is a strategy of destroying symbols of the shared history between Russia and Ukraine. He’s noticed that Russia has shifted its language around Ukraine from being a place that has “gone astray” to one that is full of “heathens.” This religious rhetoric is helping Moscow attract far-Right US agitators like Candace Owens and perpetuate an idea of Russia as a Christian nation upholding the faith. Zabrisky and Smart say that Ukraine is far from achieving peace and safety. But Smart predicts a paradigm shift in Russia in the near term.  Parnas joins the conversation to discuss the “love fest” between Washington and Moscow and the status of support for Ukraine within the Trump administration. He also discusses his role during the first Trump administration and what he predicts from Todd Blanche as Attorney General. Featured image of a street in Kherson destroyed in a Russian attack in 2024 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).  Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post A Kaleidoscopic View of Ukraine at War appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    55 min

  8. Jun 12

    The Crisis in Cuba Jeopardizes Revolutionary Aspirations

    Donald Trump continues to boast that he will bring about the fall of Cuba, and Marco Rubio continues to assert that Cuba poses a national security threat. On today’s show, host Esty Dinur is in conversation with Marc Becker about the latest signs of US aggression toward Cuba.  Becker says that Trump is “turning the screws” on Cuba via more blockades on petroleum and more sanctions on select members of the Cuban government. This leads pundits to say that a US military attack on Cuba is inevitable, but Becker says the conclusion is not inevitable. On the ground, the US blockades are causing diesel fuel shortages leading to lack of sanitation services. There’s also mass hunger and energy shortages and the infant mortality rate is rising. This is all adding up to a crisis point.  They also discuss tourism apartheid, humanitarian flotillas, and China’s increasing influence in Cuba. Becker says that the crisis raises a fundamental question: how much of the revolutionary aspirations do Cubans give up for the revolution to survive? And if you’ve given up everything that the revolution promised, do you give up on it? Marc Becker is professor of history at Truman State University. He studies the Latin American left with a particular interest in race, class, and gender within popular movements in the South American Andes. Among other works, he is the author of Contemporary Latin American Revolutions (Rowman and Littlefield, 2022); The CIA in Ecuador (Duke University Press, 2020); The FBI in Latin America: The Ecuador Files (Duke University Press, 2017); and Indians and Leftists in the Making of Ecuador’s Modern Indigenous Movements (Duke University Press, 2008. He has served on the executive committees and has been web editor of the Peace History Society (PHS) and Historians for Peace and Democracy (H-Pad). Becker is currently working on a project on Philip Agee and the CIA in Ecuador in the early 1960s. Featured image of a map of the 1962 US blockade of Cuba via Wikimedia Commons. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post The Crisis in Cuba Jeopardizes Revolutionary Aspirations appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    54 min

  9. Jun 11

    Blood Sports on the White House Lawn

    Today is the first day of the largest FIFA World Cup in history. And this weekend, the UFC is staging a cage match on the White House lawn to celebrate President Trump’s birthday. Guest host Norman Stockwell takes a close look at these two events with sports writers Dave Zirin and Adam Szetela.  Zirin’s latest article for The Progressive chronicles Donald Trump’s influence on the World Cup tournament. He argues that the World Cup is no stranger to authoritarian governments, from Russia to Qatar and that Trump is using the event to stage his own authoritarianism. From travel advisories, Trump’s threats against Iranian players, $5700 tickets, and the climate of ICE abductions, Zirin says that this World Cup is a “joyless” one. Szetela discusses how Donald Trump championed the UFC in the early 2000s such that now the sport has become synonymous with right-wing politics. One of the things that makes the UFC different from other sports leagues is that the fighters aren’t unionized, meaning that many UFC athletes make as little as $3000 a match. Though it might be tempting to say that mixed martial arts appeal exclusively to the raw and ruthless violence of the MAGA crowd, Szetela says that the sport has a wider popularity. Zirin and Szetela also discuss their latest book projects.  Adam Szetela earned his Ph.D. in English from the Department of Literatures at Cornell University. Before that, he was a visiting fellow in the Department of History at Harvard University. He is the author of That Book Is Dangerous! (MIT Press) and writes for The Washington Post, The Guardian, Newsweek, and other publications. Dave Zirin writes about sports for The Nation and The Progressive and hosts the Edge of Sports podcast and “Edge of Sports with Dave Zirin” on The Real News. He is the author of The Kaepernick Effect: Taking a Knee, Changing the World and the forthcoming The People’s Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn. Featured image of an MMA cage via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post Blood Sports on the White House Lawn appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    54 min

  10. Jun 10

    The Line Between Recreation and Medication is Finer than You Think

    WORT 89.9FM Madison · The Line Between Recreation and Medication is Finer than You Think Today Professor Nicholas Powers joins Ali Muldrow in a conversation about his new book, Black Psychedelic Revolution. Psychedelics such as LSD and ketamine are beginning to gain popularity as increasing evidence supports promising treatments of psychological conditions, trauma, and changing one’s autobiographical narrative. They also heard from callers who shared transformational personal experiences while using psychedelics. What is the difference between recreation and medication? Powers suggests that the line may be finer than you think. The idea is that recreational activities like art, poetry, or even psychedelic drugs can be healing. Powers also noted that the most safe way to have a psychological experience is in a controlled and safe environment with a guide. If a person is in a state of trauma or depression, the chemicals from these drugs might lead to a further inability to cope once the trip is over, and that is when these drugs can become addictive. However, Powers emphasized that it’s the prior state of trauma that creates the addiction rather than the drug itself. Powers said that the way these psychedelic drugs work is by inhibiting the ego, which leads to questioning core beliefs and the stories you were told about your life. This is why after a psychedelic trip, people often change their previously held beliefs. It is also why people tend to change their beliefs the most during college. During the transition period between being reliant on your parents and becoming an independent adult, young people question the stories that they were told. Powers encourages this kind of discussion in his college classrooms and asks his students to try to find the truth in their experiences. Additionally, there is a surge in the glamorization of drugs and removing the stigma associated with them. Drugs such as ritalin or adderall are given to children at younger ages reducing the stigma for using drugs to treat mental health, but there is still a sense that they are necessary. Powers says there is a delicate balance between maintaining a healthy skepticism about the medical industry without denying its benefits entirely. He encourages people to always think about who is profiting, whether from criminalizing marijuana or giving ritalin to four year olds. The discussion ended with the positive experiences that can come from having a controlled psychedelic experience. Some examples included helping alcohol addiction, understanding the core reasons why a marriage ended, finding peace and answers within the counterculture of the 1960s, and becoming a more compassionate person.  Nicholas Powers is an Associate Professor of English at SUNY Old Westbury. Powers has presented talks and reports from the Psychedelic Renaissance since 2017. He has written for numerous psychedelic publications from Lucid News to Double Blind. Alongside published articles, he has given talks at Naropa University and Chacruna. Powers has published three books with Upset Press. The first is a book of poetry, the second a mix of reportage from disaster zones, protests, and Burning Man. The third is a political vampire novel. He regularly attends Wild Seeds Writers Retreat and Cave Canem Black poetry workshops. Powers lives in Brooklyn with his son. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post The Line Between Recreation and Medication is Finer than You Think appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

    55 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.9
out of 5
13 Ratings

About

Listener Sponsored Community Radio in Madison, WI

Information

  • Creator
    Douglas Haynes, Ali Muldrow, Carousel Bayrd, Allen Ruff, & Esty Dinur
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2026
  • Episodes
    12
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Back Porch Broadcasting, Inc.
  • Show Website
    A Public Affair

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