A Public Affair Douglas Haynes, Ali Muldrow, Carousel Bayrd, Allen Ruff, & Esty Dinur

“What is the climate justice issue in Milwaukee? It’s not an issue of an of a sudden disaster. It’s not a flood. It’s about slow violence,” says Arjit Sen. “It’s something that has been happening historically over time, in which Black and brown communities in Milwaukee are not just segregated, but they’re seen as lacking value.” An exhibit currently showing at the Milwaukee County Historical Society and running through June 1st aims to shine a light on slow violence and the resilience of Milwaukee communities. It is a project of the Humanities Action Lab, a coalition of universities led by Rutgers University-Newark that creates traveling public projects on the past, present, and future of pressing social issues.

The show starts with the national exhibition “Climates of Inequality: Stories of Environmental Justice.” It is participatory public memory project that aims to share the histories of “frontline” communities who have contributed the least to the climate crisis but bear its heaviest burdens

The Milwaukee specific exhibit, “Unfinished Project,” features the work of the Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures (BLC) Field School, which has been an active partner in Milwaukee neighborhoods like Sherman Park, Midtown, Washington Park, and other areas. It is broken into to work up into three categories: Food Justice, Housing Justice, and urban guardians.

Arijit Sen joins host Douglas Haynes along with Camille Mays, founder of Peace Garden Project in Milwaukee and Wilmarie Medina-Cortes, exhibitions and program manager for the Humanities Action Lab. They discuss the significance of community gardens and public exhibits in addressing climate inequality and shared perspectives on community-led efforts for social justice, healing, and creating safe spaces in neighborhoods affected by violence.

 

 

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On today’s two-part show, host Esty Dinur is joined by translator Luke Leafgren and publisher Judith Gurewich to discuss Nasser Abu Srour’s book, The Tale of a Wall. Abu Srour is a Palestinian imprisoned in Israel. His book covers decades of imprisonment and the effect it had on his mind, body, and soul. It’s also a book about the history of Israeli occupation and the struggle of the Palestinian people told with great feeling, lyrical prose, and magical realism. 

In the second-half of the show, historian and journalist Rick Perlstein talks about his recent essay, “The New Anti-Antisemitism.” Perlstein is the author of a four-volume series on the history of America’s political and cultural divisions, and the rise of conservatism, from the 1950s to the election of Ronald Reagan

In his article, Perlstein responds to the requests he gets to make historical parallels between current student encampments in protest of the war on Gaza and student protests in 1968. Perlstein says comparing the current encampments to 1968 takes the focus away from the issue at hand and distracts from recent trends in higher education, such as ongoing erosion of liberal institutions by conservatives. He says a closer comparison would be 1980s anti-apartheid protests.

Image courtesy of Penguin Random House/Other Press.

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In an attempt to silence criticism of Israel, accusations of “anti-Semitism” have increasingly been leveled against those protesting Israel’s Gaza war. To discuss this trend, on today’s show, host Allen Ruff is joined by critic and essayist Abba Solomon. 

They talk about the history of Zionism from the nineteenth century on and how this movement had allies in anti-Semitic groups. Solomon shares his insight into strands of non-Jewish Zionism and how Zionism became such a hegemonic viewpoint in the US. Ruff and Solomon also discuss how younger generations of Jews in the US identify less with the state of Israel than older generations. 

Solomon also weighs in on the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which would outlaw criticism of Israel and contribute to an effort to smear and intimidate the oppositional movement on US campuses and elsewhere. This position is often based on the conflation of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism.

While certainly not new, the claim that criticisms of Zionism and Israel are anti-Semitic has reached new heights as growing numbers of dissenting Jewish individuals and organizations such as Jewish Voice for Peace have been dubbed “anti-Semitic.” 



Abba Solomon is a researcher of the history of American Jews and Zionism. He is the author of The Miasma of Unity: Jews and Israel and The Speech, and Its Context: Jacob Blaustein’s Speech “The Meaning of Palestine Partition to American Jews.” 

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Next month will mark 2 years since the Supreme Court stripped us of our federal right to abortion. What does reproductive autonomy mean without Roe? 

To answer this question, two scholar activists and editors, Krystale E. Littlejohn and Rickie Solinger, gather the strongest and most resilient voices in their recently published collection of essays, FIGHTING MAD: Resisting the End of Roe v. Wade. 

Littlejohn and Solinger discuss the criminalization of abortion care, the responses by religious leaders on the issue of bodily autonomy, the problems with codifying people’s religious faith into law, and the rage and hope fueling their work.

Pick up a copy of the book to read more about the vigorous resistance contributors are putting up and the multi-faceted impacts of the Dobbs decision, which has disproportionately affected poor people and people of color.



Krystale E. Littlejohn is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Oregon and author of Just Get on the Pill: The Uneven Burden of Reproductive Politics. She is a series editor of the Reproductive Justice book series from University of California Press.

Rickie Solinger is a historian, curator, and author or editor of many books about reproductive politics, including, with Loretta Ross, Reproductive Justice: An Introduction. She is the senior editor of the Reproductive Justice book series from University of California Press.

Image courtesy of University of California Press.

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The bus system is one of the most visible aspects of city infrastructure, and it’s one of the most rapidly changing aspects of life in Madison. On today’s show, WORT News Director Chali Pittman talks with two representatives of Madison Metro Transit as we near the 1 year anniversary of the system redesign.

Mick Rusch and Jessy Stammer reflect on some of the hiccups with the network redesign, including the removal of the transfer point system. And they celebrate the advancements that will give us the Bus Rapid Transit system starting in the fall. Once the bus charging stations are ready (sometime in July) Madison Metro Transit will announce an official launch date for the BRT.

Rusch and Stammer preview some of the changes that will come with the BRT. Riders can expect new automatic ticket machines and 62 new all electric articulated buses. Some of these buses are being tested on the roads, and drivers say they’re easier to drive because they take turns better. The new buses will be able to carry 120 persons (including standing room) compared to the current 80 passenger capacity per bus. 

Rush and Stammer also dive into the nitty gritty of gaps in Northside service, where you can store your bike on the new articulated buses (in the back of the bus!), better signage for upcoming rides, and the new GPS tracking platform. Overall, they say ridership is up, and in April Metro Transit served 954,000 riders!



Mick Rusch is the Chief Development Officer at Madison Metro Transit, and Jessy Stammer is Metro Transit’s Marketing and Customer Service Manager. 

Find out more about the BRT upgrades at mymetrobus.com and send your questions and comments to mymetrobus@cityofmadison.com 

Photo courtesy of Chali Pittman/WORT.

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MMoCA’s new Director, Paul Baker Prindle has Madison roots. He worked at the museum store 25 years ago and attended both Edgewood College and UW–Madison. Now, as he steps into his new role at MMoCA, he joins host Douglas Haynes to talk about how to find joy in the experience of contemporary art. 

During Baker Prindle’s first few weeks on the job, he’s been thinking about what it means “to museum.” He says that museums are buildings that have a community, and MMoCA has an important role to play in Madison’s vibrant downtown life. Baker Prindle and other museum staff believe it’s their responsibility to make sure that MMoCA is an inclusive, community oriented space and a resource for Wisconsin artists. 

For some folks, art museums are still rarified spaces. But Baker Prindle says that all are welcome at MMoCA. He advises that you don’t have to see all the art in one visit. Rather, take your time, look for patterns and repetitions, and trust your instincts on what you like and enjoy.

Currently on view at MMoCA is Entering the Unconscious, an exhibit curated by the eleven high school students that make up the Teen Forum. This program offers mentoring and training to young people so they can gain the professional skills to access museum work and the art world. Baker Prindle says he’s looking forward to this year’s Art Fair on the Square, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, July 13 and 14. Like MMoCA’s exhibits, the fair is free to attend. 



Paul Baker Prindle is the Gabriele Haberland Director of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. Prior to starting this job, Baker Prindle was the Director of the Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum at California State University, Long Beach. Baker Prindle’s photography is even featured at MMoCA.

The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art is always admission-free. Its vision is to be an organization that fosters the exchange of ideas and creates experiences that will inspire a wide audience; be a nexus for the work of emerging and established regional, national, and international artists; serve as a catalyst for the continued development of a vigorous community of artists; and provide a forum that will encourage people to be challenged by, reflect on, and make connections between art and the world around them. 

Photo courtesy of Chali Pittman/WORT.

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