Episodes

  • Remembering Jesse Jackson, Postpartum Medicaid victory, $20 Wage Legislation launch, and data centers public hearing

    Remembering Jesse Jackson, Postpartum Medicaid victory, $20 Wage Legislation launch, and data centers public hearing
    Feb 19 2026
    We remember Jesse Jackson for carrying the tourch for the multi-racial working class long after the hopes of the Civil Rights Era faded, his prophetic oratory which still speaks to us today, and his special connection to Wisconsin. We highlight the victory for health care access for mothers, children, and women with a higher risk of breast cancer, Boss Vos finally relents to significant pressure from the public and other Republicans and allows a vote on postpartum Medicaid and cost-free breast cancer screening bills. We welcome Peter Rickman, president of the MASH union to discuss the new $20 Wage bill that will be introduced next week, Tuesday, at 11AM, at the State Capitol, Senate Parlor. Robert educates us on an important lawsuit against Trump’s climate-denying EPA by health and climate groups over the dangerous repeal of rule supporting climate protections. We discuss an important public hearing held this week for four Data Center bills. Citizen Action members joined dozens of community leaders and data center activists who want a pause on new construction and sensible public accountability for future data centers.
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    52 mins
  • Bondi Bombast Boomerang

    Bondi Bombast Boomerang
    Feb 12 2026
    Holy Bondi! Following a recap of Attorney General Pam Bondi’s surreal Congressional hearing, we dive into this week in the Trump Regime, including: ICE agents are flowing into Western Wisconsin; Trump immigration officials testify before the U.S. Senate with a potential DHS shutdown looming; And, U.S. House approves Brian Steils’ “show your papers” voter suppression bill to cause chaos in the 2026 Elections. New research finds climate change is making the Great Lakes’ winters shorter, but future tracking will be harder as the Trump regime scrubs climate change data. We discuss packed PSC hearings where the vast majority of attendees asked them to reject a special electricity deal devised by We Energies for Data Centers. But will the PSC listen to the people? We also talk about a new Legislative Republican bill that would slow the revolving door between the PSC and big utilities. We close with a discussion of the negotiations between Governor Evers and Legislative Republican leaders on the $2.5 billion surplus.
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    48 mins
  • Governor candidates embrace a BadgerCare Public Option

    Governor candidates embrace a BadgerCare Public Option
    Feb 5 2026
    We discuss how Democratic candidates for Governor are competing with each other to embrace the BadgerCare Public Option bill, which will soon be introduced in the state legislature. We are joined by Citizen Action’s Healthcare Action Coordinator, Kristie Tweed, to discuss widespread public support for bold action on healthcare costs and coverage. Kristie tells us about town halls Citizen Action members are holding throughout the state and how you can get involved as we push for passage of BadgerCare Public Option. We expose the power flex by big business hacks at the Milwaukee Metropolitan Association of Commerce (MMAC) which has filed suit to block proposed Port Washington ordinance to give residents a vote on public subsidies in big economic development deals. The business lobby, which promoted Foxconn, has a history of challenging democratic decision making, believing big corporations have a right to our tax money. Trump doubles down on threats to seize control of state elections, as lackey Congressman Brian Steil introduces a shocking voter suppression bill that does the bidding of the would-be dictator in the White House. We discuss why Wisconsin will be ground zero for the attack on the 2026 election and what we can do about it. Also, we discuss the ICE kidnapping of a Madison area soccer player’s mom (who had legal status) at a soccer tournament, yet another example of the searing human toll of Trump’s lawless crackdown.
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    48 mins
  • The Bitter Fruits of Failing Democracy

    The Bitter Fruits of Failing Democracy
    Jan 29 2026
    This week we put the tragic events and courageous resistance to tyranny in the Twin Cities in the context of our failing democracy. A new report from the Urban Institute shows that Wisconsin has fallen behind other states in income over the past 50 years, especially compared to our neighbors in Minnesota and Illinois. How does the failure of Wisconsin's economic policy relate to the vulnerability of democracy? We assess the role of the Democratic Primary for Governor, and the active involvement of organized groups such as Citizen Action of Wisconsin, in charting a new policy course that truly addresses the income and affordability crisis. We also give a detailed update of the data center controversies across the state. We invite all Battleground Wisconsin listeners to attend Citizen Action's Governor Forums in La Crosse, Eau Claire, Wausau, Green Bay, and Milwaukee.
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    51 mins
  • Freddy Peralta trade, wage floors, and the politics of MLB

    Freddy Peralta trade, wage floors, and the politics of MLB
    Jan 22 2026
    The Milwaukee Brewers’ billionaire owner traded All-Star Freddy Peralta yesterday for prospects, leaving fans upset at the trade and the financing of Major League Baseball that created and normalized such a lopsided and unfair trade. We welcome Simon Rosenblum-Larson, a former minor league baseball player who helped organize a union for minor league players, to provide his perspective on the trade and take a deep dive into the financing and politics of MLB that enriches billionaires while extracting money from taxpayers. We close the show with Lisa Lucas the co-host of the Brewers Babes Podcast to get her take on the trade and MLB’s broken system.
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    50 mins
  • Greenleaf Data Center: Organized People Win!

    Greenleaf Data Center: Organized People Win!
    Jan 15 2026
    We applaud a victory for local democracy this week in little Greenleaf, Wisocnsin. When Big Tech came calling, local residents pushed back so quickly on a proposed data center that the developers immediately pulled out. We put the Greenleaf story in perspective, taking a deep dive into the details of bills from Legislative Republicans and Democrats, and commitments so far by candidates for Governor, to create a framework for regulating data centers. Are the current proposals enough to make sure the data center binge will not jack up already high utility rates, and prevent a response to global warming at the scale and urgency of the crisis? We also evaluate the first 2026 Affordable Care Act enrollment numbers in the aftermath of the end of enhanced affordability subsidies. Will the enrollment numbers get worse without meaningful action by Congress? We close with the ongoing attempt to criminalize dissent at the state Capitol.
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    49 mins
  • Venezuela, ICE shooting and taxing the rich to fund schools and public goods

    Venezuela, ICE shooting and taxing the rich to fund schools and public goods
    Jan 8 2026
    We lead off with Trump’s gun boat diplomacy in Venezuela and the shocking bloodshed perpetrated by ICE in Minneapolis. What does it mean and how is the resistance to authoritarianism responding so far? We welcome State Representative Ryan Clancy to discuss three game changing progressive tax bills that would transform how Wisconsin funds K-12 schools, local governments, and other public services. If enacted, Wisconsin would become the first state to fund K-12 schools primarily through a progressive income tax, leading to a 44% reduction in the median Wisconsin property tax bill. The two other bills restore Wisconsin’s estate tax for those valued higher than $15M, and create a new local option income tax on the ultra wealthy. We review new analysis by Wisconsin Watch that 46% of State’s private school students get public-financed vouchers and 96% are in religious schools. We close with the U.S. House revolt against Trump and Speaker Johnson on the expiring ACA affordability subsidies. Nine Republicans defied Trump and Johnson, forcing the vote, all from swing districts, but not Derrick Van Ordin. Does it have a chance in the U.S. Senate? At the state level, some legislative Republicans are advancing a bill requiring transparent hospital pricing for “shoppable services” that has split the big corporate business interests from the hospitals. Is there an opening among Republicans and corporate interests to rein in Wisconsin’s astronomical hospital prices, which are the highest in the Midwest and the 5th highest in the country? Robert also asks why Senator Chris Larson is the only Democrat co-sponsoring the legislation?
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    58 mins
  • Representative Cruz fights for promised public school funding

    Representative Cruz fights for promised public school funding
    Dec 18 2025
    We start with an analyis of the latest health care melodrama in D.C., where four House Republicans unexpectedly broke ranks, joining Democrats in forcing a vote on the renwal of ACA subsidies. Speaker Johnson will not hold the required vote until January. But even if it passes in the House, it will face an almost certain filibuster in the Senate. Meanwhile millions of Americans will lose healthcare coverage, and those who decide to pay skyrocketing premiums will be forced to cut back on other basics. We welcome State Representative Angelina Cruz to discuss the budget bait and switch on special education funding. The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) announced l that the state will fail to meet the 42% special education reimbursement promised in the recent state budget., and by elected leaders of both parties when they celebrated the budget "compromise." Rep. Cruz tells us about new legislation to ensure all schools get special education funding they were promised Following Rep. Cruz, we discuss a new three bill package that transforms how Wisconsin funds K-12 schools and other public goods in Wisconsin. If enacted, Wisconsin would become the first state to fund K-12 schools primarily through a progressive income tax, leading to a 44% reduction in the median Wisconsin property tax bill. Another bill restores Wisconsin’s estate tax for estates valued higher than $14M and creates a new local option income tax on people who make $1M a year or more. These tools provide new, fairer options to raise revenue at the state and local levels, and begin the long process of unwinding record levels of income and wealth inequality. We also talk about this week’s highly publicized trial of Judge Hannah Dugan Trial in Milwaukee, data center opponents launch a recall effort against Port Washington Mayor, and the "Monsters of the Midway" threaten to move to Indiana, the latest move in their failing (but on-going) campaign to shake down Illinois for unneeded public subsidies at the expense of schools, health care, and other public priorities. So far Illinois elected leaders are holding firm, in stark contrast to Wisconsin's bipartisan cave in to the Brewers billionaire owner last year.
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    50 mins