City Cast Madison

The City Cast team is here to round up the news of the week. Bianca Martin, Hayley Sperling and Molly Stentz recap the mysterious hold-up of state money for drug treatment and prevention programs. Plus, we discuss the creative proposal to build new affordable housing on East Wash in exchange for student housing on campus. And part of State Street’s going pedestrian-only starting May 8th. That’s why the flamingoes are everywhere. 🦩Mentioned on the show:💊Opioid treatment money stalled by anonymous Wisconsin legislator [Cap Times]🏗️Porchlight, developer partner to build student and homeless housing [Wisconsin State Journal] 🦩Hundreds help paint State Street; Pedestrian Mall Experiment to launch May 8 [City of Madison]Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you had to make a list of Madison’s essential restaurants, what would be on it? Which restaurants feel most iconic to the city? Which do you find yourself most recommending to visitors? Cap Times Food Editor Lindsay Christians joins Molly Stentz to wax poetic about Madison’s classics. And check out Kyle Nabilcy’s list in Eater Chicago. Do you agree?  Join us every Thursday as we explore Madison's food culture, from the brewers and bakers to the chefs and cheesemakers.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kosa Spa in the Garver Feed Mill on Madison’s east side, offers meditation, massage, hot stone saunas, an aromatherapy steam room, nourishing meals and more. Owner Shilpa Sankaran says they’re the only Ayurvedic spa in the country. Bianca Martin talks to Shilpa about ways you can take care of yourself this spring in the Ayurvedic tradition.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You may have heard the phrase, “Not In My Backyard,” or NIMBY. It’s often used – negatively – to describe neighbors who don’t want development in their neighborhood, whether it’s a new apartment building or affordable housing. Meaning that many of us support changes in principle, until it potentially affects our own neighborhood. Some Madisonians are worried that Madison is growing and changing too fast, and their neighborhoods will become too crowded or full of traffic. But Will Ochowicz says that more Madisonians should say YIMBY, or “Yes In My Backyard” in order to help ease the city’s housing crisis. As in: Yes, we want more development. Yes, we want more housing to be built. He’s started a grassroots group called Madison is for People to rally for changes to Madison’s zoning laws.Dylan Brogan sat down with Will to learn what’s motivating him.Editor’s Note: After we recorded this interview, the Madison City Council voted to change its zoning code to allow for more housing density. You can now build an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) on lots with small apartment buildings, and not just single-family homes. This can mean creating additional living space within an existing building – like a garage, attic, or basement – or building a separate structure on the same lot. ADUs are limited to 900 square feet and no more than two bedrooms.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Madison City Attorney Michael Haas is no stranger to elections. He used to be the administrator for the Wisconsin Elections Commission, the state agency that administers Wisconsin’s election laws. And he’s sounding the alarm about two new Constitutional amendments that Wisconsin voters approved this April. He says the amendments were written so vaguely that it’s unclear how local clerks, who run our elections, should carry them out. This could lead to messy lawsuits, which could undermine public trust in the elections they were intended to bolster.Dylan Brogan speaks with Attorney Haas about the dilemma and what it means for the November Presidential election. Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The City Cast team is here to round up the news of the week. Bianca Martin and Molly Stentz recap the latest in the ongoing quest to build a grocery store on South Park street to replace the Pick ‘n Save. Should the city spend another million? Plus, more Madison Police officers will now wear body cameras. And Marshfield Clinic wants your ticks. Seriously.Mentioned on the show:🥫Additional $1 million in city funds would move Park Street grocery forward, says owner Kristie Maurer [Isthmus]🚓MPD body-worn camera pilot program gets underway [Channel 3000]📸Madison Police Chief Wants Body Cams 🎧[City Cast Madison]🪵Get your own tick kit:  Call Marshfield Clinic Research Institute at 715-389-7796 Ext. 16462 or email tics@marshfieldclinic.org.  The research study is called the Tick Inventory via Citizen Science (TICS). [Marshfield Clinic Research Institute] Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever been curious about the Jewish tradition of seders, ceremonial dinners held on the first nights of Passover? Maybe you’ve been invited to one and don’t know what to bring! Perhaps you’re away from home and looking for a celebration to join here in Madison? We’ve got you! Bianca Martin talks to Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman of Shaarei Shamayim about the most important food holiday in the Jewish tradition and what’s on her seder plate. Shaarei Shamayim’s community seder is Tuesday, April 23, 2024. If you’d like to attend, email Rabbi Laurie in advance to check if there’s space at: office@shamayim.org. Join us every Thursday as we explore Madison's food culture, from the brewers and bakers to the chefs and cheesemakers.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Poet, essayist, educator and playwright Charles Payne has a lot of feelings about the American public school system. His new play called When the Classroom Ain’t Enuf opens at Broom Street Theater this Friday, April 19th, and draws on his own experience as a math and science teacher. The play is a series of vignettes about the Black and Brown experience in American public schools, performed by a local cast of Madison community members.  It’s set to original music and was influenced by Ntosake Shange’s 1976 play for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf.  Bianca Martin catches up with Charles to learn more about the innovative production and ideas for diversifying local community theater.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve all been watching the new Bus Rapid Transit stations getting built along East Washington Ave and Mineral Point Road in Madison. And we’ve been wondering: how are these new buses and routes gonna work? We asked what’s on YOUR mind about the biggest upgrade to Madison’s public transit system in decades. And then we put it to the man who knows. Dylan Brogan gets your questions answered by Mick Rusch, Madison Metro’s interim chief development officer.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jury duty. America’s founders loved it. Many Americans try to avoid it. But what’s it really like to serve on a jury? Do people actually get a jury “of their peers” here in Dane County? And if juries are so important, why do we have so few of them?Bianca Martin speaks with Dane County Judge Nicholas McNamara about what really goes on during jury duty.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices