Dan Schumacher

If a powerful elected official announced he was a white supremacist and was going to bully educators into a sharp reduction of teaching about Black history and racism, you would expect media outlets to treat him as a racist, right? But as long as he doesn’t call himself a racist, some newsrooms would prefer to call him an “underdog” who’s “building his brand.” We’ll talk about the frustratingly slow pace of national journalists to recognize actual threats to democracy and American values.

Monday: 

• Carlene Bechen, Terry Bell, Kristin Lyerly

Did you have a space for “Proposing a Poll Tax” on your Wisconsin Legislature Bingo card? Fill it in because two Republican lawmakers are introducing the latest measure designed to restrict voting rights—something no other political party in the developed world is trying to do. Also, Joe Zepecki has analysis of President Biden’s State of the Union address and the benefits to Wisconsin from his proposals.

Monday: 

• Motherhood Monday
• Dr. Kristin Lyerly

It’s a lie that the Italian dictator actually made sure the trains out of Rome began running on time again, but the myth lives on. It’s a lesson to remember when the New York Times is running with headlines praising Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for “taking on the education establishment”—when he’s really trying to erase Black history from classrooms. We’ll talk to Mark Jacob about media coverage of this week’s top stories.

Monday: 

• George Penn of “United to Amend”

House Republicans created a new committee to investigate the “weaponization of the federal government,” which enables them to harass and undercut the people in law enforcement who helped the country learn more about the effort to overturn an election and launch a violent attack on Congress. Another new committee aims to undermine US relations with China. From Joseph McCarthy to Ron Johnson and Mike Gallagher, Wisconsin is at the front lines of actual government weaponization.

Monday: 

• The premiere of “Motherhood Mondays” with Kate Duffy and Nicole Slavin

State Assembly Rep. Lisa Subeck (D-Madison) explains how the Republican “flat tax” plan is nothing more than a massive tax cut for the super-wealthy, paid for on the backs of middle class and low-income families. We’ll also look ahead to next week’s State of the State address by Gov. Tony Evers.