Happy weekend, recombobulators!

Before we get to the usual end-of-the-week roundup of all radio and livestream appearances — it’s like a bunch of podcasts delivered to you all at once! — a couple quick things for you.

First, we launched a brand new email newsletter this week. It’s called and it is a free publication, right here on Substack, that will feature a daily bulletin and roundup of the news we’re covering at Civic Media, links to podcasts and livestreams from all of your favorite Civic Media shows, and a whole lot more. On any given day, we produce a tremendous amount of content across the Civic Media network, and this is going to be the best way to connect with all of it, and stay up to speed on all things Wisconsin. If you’ve come to enjoy these “Recombobulating on the radio” roundups, the format will look quite similar; we’re bringing some Recombobulation Area flavor to the Civic Media extended universe.

Do subscribe. It’s free (no paywalls!). We’re really excited about it.

Go here to explore this week’s newsletters, and be sure to subscribe:

Also this week, I had the honor of being part of a terrific event at Lion’s Tooth book store in Bay View in Milwaukee for a special edition of the Milwaukee Record Music Book Club, with Sahan Jayasuriya, author of the new book “Don’t Say Please: The Oral History of Die Kreuzen,” and Keith Brammer, bassist of Die Kreuzen.

This band, Die Kreuzen, was a quietly (but not at all quiet) legendary underground band from Milwaukee, that had a huge influence on the music of the era. The band was active from 1981 to 1992, and in many ways, served as a sort of connective tissue between the the punk and hardcore of the early ‘80s to the grunge and alternative of the early 90s. Sahan Jayasuriya does a phenomenal job of telling the story of this band, its evolution, and its impact.

And this event was a fun throwback, because Sahan and I worked together at a small independent arts and culture publication called ThirdCoast Digest (IYKYK!), where he wrote (and I edited) an oral history feature story on the band from 2012. The story still lives on (mostly, no photos) in the Urban Milwaukee archives (see it here).

It was also just really terrific to be talking about not-politics for once. If you ever want me to come on your music podcast, I’d be more than happy to join (especially if it’s about Alternative Rock).

Oh, and the book is PHENOMENAL and you should go buy it online here or at great local bookstores like Boswell Books and Lion’s Tooth.

diekreuzenbook

A post shared by @diekreuzenbook

OK, on to the roundup…

On Friday, I joined “Matenaer On Air” (Jane is back!) to talk about the gubernatorial campaign launches from State Sen. Kelda Roys and State Rep. Francesca Hong, discussed the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel, and more. Listen here.

Share

On Tuesday, I joined “Mornings with Pat Kreitlow” to talk about the governor’s race, Ron Johnson’s latest conspiracy-fueled effort, how Tim Walz previewed his re-election announcement at CapTimes Idea Fest in Madison last week, and more.

On Monday, I joined “The Maggie Daun Show” to talk about some big topics, along with Milwaukee County Board Supervisor Jack Eckblad. Listen here.

Share The Recombobulation Area

Dan Shafer is a journalist from Milwaukee who writes and publishes The Recombobulation Area. In 2024, he became the Political Editor of Civic Media. He’s written for The New York Times, The Daily Beast, Heartland Signal, Belt Magazine, WisPolitics, and Milwaukee Record. He previously worked at Seattle Magazine, Seattle Business Magazine, the Milwaukee Business Journal, Milwaukee Magazine, and BizTimes Milwaukee. He’s won 23 Milwaukee Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards. He’s on Twitter at @DanRShafer.

Subscribe to The Recombobulation newsletter here and follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @ therecombobulationarea.

Already subscribe? Get a gift subscription for a friend.

Give a gift subscription

Part of a group who might want to subscribe together? Get a group subscription for 30% off!

Get 30% off a group subscription

Follow Dan Shafer on Twitter at @DanRShafer and at BlueSky at @danshafer.bsky.social.

Want More Local News?

Civic Media

The Civic Media App