Melissa Baldauff
2023 Special: Joe & Melissa Together
We normally talk to Melissa Baldauff on Wednesdays and Joe Zepecki on Thursdays. But this time our favorite married guests join us together to talk life and love in their world of political and policy strategy.
Still Wanted: One House Speaker (Hour 1)
We literally had to jump into this show description, delete the old version and start over after the Republicans’ latest candidate for Speaker of the House was nominated Tuesday morning—and pulled out of the race on Tuesday afternoon. We’ll try to keep up as GOP members keep rejecting their own until they’re left with… what?
Power Play? More Like a Tantrum (Hour 1)
In an unprecedented display of disdain for citizen service in Wisconsin, Republicans in the state Senate on Tuesday fired eight of Gov. Tony Evers’ appointees—leaving the Natural Resources Board without a quorum and dumping our Wednesday visitor Melissa Baldauff, a domestic abuse survivor, from the governor’s Council on Domestic Abuse. She tells us the sexism put on display by one senator, a former police chief.
The Kids Are Learning-Will the Adults? (Hour 1)
Our weekly Climate Check conversation looks at the ways that students are not only learning about the impact of changing climate, they’re leading conversations about it and challenging the grown-ups to get to work on reducing the damage and stop contributing to the problem. And Christina Lorey has The UpLift, some of the lighter stories you can find in our daily newsletter.
Planting a Crop pf Agrivoltaics (Hour 1)
We’re learning about a new way Wisconsin can lead the nation to a cleaner future: agrivoltaics, dual-use farmland that can grow crops and generate solar power. We’ll talk to Melissa Baldauff about how Wisconsin voices are trying to figure out the best ways to work the land, build the solar infrastructure, protect habitats, reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, and grow a bumper crop of new jobs in a variety of related fields. Also: Donald Trump is looking at the possibility of receiving the corporate version of the death penalty as the law finally catches up with years of fraud.
Ron Johnson Pours Gas on the Fire (Hour 1)
Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson is in the center of the push by right-wing extremists to force a government shutdown—by single-handedly blocking essential spending measures so that it’s easier to demand significant budget cuts that would hurt Americans who don’t share his multi-millionaire status. We’ll have the latest. And our Climate Check segment looks at how higher education research could help turn the climate crisis into solutions and opportunities, if only a certain group of politicians were so focused on tearing down public education.
An Epic and Disingenuous Flip-Flop (Hour 1)
For 12 years Republicans have drawn their own legislative districts and rejected every suggestion to reform the process that leads to gerrymandered maps. Now, facing a state Supreme Court under liberal control, GOP leaders say they’re ready to allow a nonpartisan group to draw maps for 2024. Also: House Republicans move closer to impeaching President Joe Biden—for reasons that remain mysterious. And our Climate Check segment looks at impacts on tourism.
Help Us Less (Hour 1)
There is a childcare crisis in Wisconsin. Good providers can’t afford to stay open. Parents can’t afford rising rates. Employers keep losing good workers who have to quit and stay home because they’ve lost a good childcare provider. There are possible solutions that could be very helpful. And then there’s the proposal from Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature. A new letter from childcare providers makes clear the GOP “help” would make things worse.
Hot Enough for Ya’? (Hour 1)
Extreme weather is an unwelcome guest arriving with increasing frequency all over the planet. We’ll talk to Melissa Baldauff in our weekly Climate Check segment about tropical storm rainfall stretching from the desert southwest to the mountains of Idaho, a nonstop lineup of Atlantic storms, a massive heat dome, flash floods, and the things we can start doing to make a difference.
A Cleaner World for Our Kids (Hour 1)
A Montana judge has ruled that its state government is violating the constitutional right of young people to have a healthy environment because of its actions supporting fossil fuels and obstacles to developing cleaner energy sources. Our weekly Climate Check segment includes a guest from the youth organization ACE, Action for the Climate Emergency, about how a new generation is fighting for a world cleaner than what’s currently being left to them.
