City Cast Madison

Today, we’re turning the tables on our host, Bianca Martin. We’re putting her on the other side of the mic. She was interviewed by Angela Russell, the host of the Black Oxygen podcast, about how she came to host City Cast Madison. We’re airing an excerpt of their conversation. You can find the full interview on the Black Oxygen podcast. Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter.

This Black History Month, we wondered: how do we find our OWN history?Depending on your family history, it can be hard to track down records. Black and indigenous families were often overlooked in official histories, not counted in early censuses and lack historical property records to draw upon. And DNA tests can throw you real curve balls. You never know what surprises might be in your family tree. So how do you even begin? Luckily, if you live in Madison, you have one of the country’s most extensive historical research centers in your backyard. Meet Lori Bessler, reference librarian at the Wisconsin Historical Society.🔎 Check out their upcoming free webinars and tips.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter.

It isn’t every day your city’s flag gets voted one of the best in the country. But that’s what happened when the North American Vexillological Association got together to rate the designs of a whopping 312 flags.Ted Kaye, the nation’s foremost authority on flag design and author of the NAVA booklet “‘Good’ Flag, ‘Bad’ Flag,” talks with host Bianca Martin about what makes a well-designed flag, why Madison’s flag is so strong (but our state flag … not so much), and how we would go about designing a City Cast Madison flag.Check out NAVA’s 2022 survey results to see which flags got an A grade, and which ones got an F.And here’s Roman Mars’ 2015 TED Talk about “why city flags may be the worst-designed thing you've never noticed.”Find out more about the Wisconsin Film Festival, including the First Look at the Fest event on March 8, here.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE

City Cast’s Dylan Brogan and Bianca Martin get you up to speed on this week’s Wisconsin primary results, the big things happening on Park Street, and the winners of Madison’s snowplow naming contest.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter.

Seven Acre Dairy is many things - a cafe, a restaurant, a hotel, a butter plant. 🧈But if you talk to founder Nic Mink, it’s also a place for restoration. He renovated a shuttered old butter plant in Paoli, Wisconsin, a small community about twenty minutes from downtown Madison. It’s drawing neighbors near and far to enjoy locally-made butter, soft serve ice cream and a farm-to-table restaurant. It sits along the banks of the Sugar River, nestled among a savanna with oak trees older than the state of Wisconsin. It aims to preserve a little slice of Wisconsin’s dairy heritage, in what is a rapidly changing dairy industry. 🧀 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 Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter.

You may not know his name, but you likely know his work. Michael Schultz forged a path at a time when there was little representation for Black directors or actors in Hollywood. His 1976 movie Car Wash was considered ahead of its time, with its social and cultural critique of the era. It was the first film by a Black director to compete for the prestigious awards at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won two awards. Its soundtrack won a Grammy. Schultz was also responsible for casting Denzel Washington and Samuel L. Jackson in their first feature films. He’s been directing for half a century, with more than a dozen movie credits to his name. Not to mention stints directing the TV series Blackish and All American.And where did he get his start? Right here in Madison, at the University of Wisconsin. 🎥 You can see Car Wash for free at the Chazen this Sunday, February 26th. It’s part of the UW Cinematheque’s spring film series. Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter.

Outdoor cats. They evoke strong feelings in the neighborhood. They fight, yowl, kill birds and other wildlife… and make more cats. But what do we do about Madison’s strays? If you call the city, animal control will attempt to trap them. But if these cats can’t find a home, they’ll likely be killed. Many cat-loving Madisonians are not making that call, leaving cats to roam free. 🐈 The Madison Cat Project has an idea: round up these kitties and spay or neuter them. Then release them back outside to help curb the population. The only problem? It’s not really legal. Dr. Adam Bauknecht explains. 🐾 Check out the Dane County Humane Society’s tips for what to do if you find a lost or stray animal.🇺🇸 And hey, it’s Election Day! Check myvote.wi.gov for info on how to vote. In Madison, we’re voting for City Council, Mayor and Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the morning newsletter from our friends at Madison Minutes.

Governor Evers has released his plan for the next state budget and the forecast is rosy: we’re sitting on the biggest surplus in state history. Evers is proposing more money for our K-12 schools, twelve weeks of paid family leave for Wisconsin workers, and a tax cut for the middle-class. But will the legislature go for it? Mitchell Schmidt, state politics reporter for The Wisconsin State Journal, joins Dylan and Bianca to unpack what’s inside the Governor’s plan. Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter.

“It’s fermented, cured, delicious, and often misunderstood and mispronounced.”So says Jesse Brookstein, author of A Perfect Pair: The History of Landjaeger in Green County, Wisconsin.They may look like beef jerky, but Jesse’s referring to the pairs of smoked, fermented sausages that hang in many bars around southern Wisconsin. The high-protein snack enjoyed by Swiss and German immigrants of the past century has found fans among many thirsty bar-hoppers in Madison today. Jesse’s here to tell us why this salty meat snack is showing up all over. (And yes, it’s LON-yay-grrr.)🍖 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 Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter.

There’s an election next week, one said to carry bigger policy stakes than ANY other contest in America this year. And that’s for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The court currently has four conservative justices and three liberal justices, so the balance of power is riding on this race. The right to abortion, control of the state’s political maps and how elections are conducted could be decided by this court. There are four candidates in the running - and we’ve invited them all on the show. Today, we’re speaking with Dane County Circuit Court Judge Everett Mitchell. The primary election is Tuesday, February 21st. The top two candidates will advance to the general election on April 4th. To look up where you vote - or what you need to do to register- check out My Vote Wisconsin.