A Public Affair is WORT’s daily hour-long talk program. It aims to engage listeners in a conversation on social, cultural, and political issues of importance. The guests range from local activists and scholars to notable national and international figures.
Listeners may call in to join the conversation and ask questions of the guests. Callers are asked to pose a question relevant to the subject at hand and refrain from calling more than once per week.
Host Schedule
- Monday Archive
- John Quinlan
- Tuesday Archive
- OPEN
- Wednesday Archive
- Karma Chavez and Tim Hansel
- Thursday Archive
- Allen Ruff
- Friday Archive
- Esty Dinur
Studio Call-in Phone #: (608) 256-2001
Toll-free Line: (866) 899-WORT
For booking questions, please contact Molly Stentz at (608) 256-2001 or newsflash@wort-fm.org
On Friday, May 17th, host Esty Dinur talked with investigative journalist Allan Nairn about U.S.-involvement in the Guatemalan genocide and Rios Montt’s crimes. Montt has recently been convicted for his crimes against humanity, but the involvement of many U.S. officials in the Reagan administration has yet to be recognized or prosecuted.
On Thursday, May 16th Allen Ruff talked with Ruth Conniff, Political Editor of the Progressive magazine, about the offensive against public schools and the push for school privatization.
On Wednesday, May 15th host Tim Hansel talked with Wisconsin DNR representative Kelly Kearns about invasive species across the state. Everyone knows invasive species are bad – but why? What’s their history? How do you identify them and what can you do about it if you see one? 
On Tuesday, May 14th, guest host Carousel Bayrd discussed the Plan B Pill controversy with guests Amanda Allen from the National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH) and Dr. Julie Fagan, a doctor with the UW-Madison Women’s Health Clinic.
On the Monday, May 13th A Public Affair, host John Quinlan discussed legislation now pending to give LGBT couples and families the same immigration rights as traditional couples and families. 
On Friday, May 10th, host Esty Dinur interviewed co-editors of the book “Beyond Belief: The Secret Lives of Women in Extreme Religions” Susan Tive and Cami Ostman. This book chronicles experiences of joining, living within, and leaving rigid, traditionalist, or extreme religions through a variety of women who chose to tell their true stories. 
On Thursday, May 9th, Allen Ruff discussed the ten-year anniversary and key legacies of the U.S. invasion of Iraq with Christopher Toensing, executive director of the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) and editor of their magazine the Middle East Reports. In the second half of the hour, Toensing and Ruff turned from Iraq specifically to the larger implications of the U.S. invasion on the region as a whole and retrospectively discussed the reasons for U.S. aggression. 
On Wednesday, May 8th host Karma Chavez interviewed Rinku Sen, the Executive Director of the Applied Research Center and publisher of Colorlines.com.The discussed the increasingly successful campaign by Colorlines to persuade media outlets to change the language they use about immigration – and drop the “I” word, illegal, as a term to refer to anyone who is not a US citizen or permanent resident.
On Tuesday, May 7th interim host John Quinlan spoke with filmmaker Joanie Juster, director of “Alaska Far Away”. Joanie Juster is known for her work in Madison through protests and rallies in the capital, and attributes this work to a love of the Midwest. Her film chronicles the history of the New Deal within the Midwest and the farm families who left this area to travel to Alaska.
On Monday, May 6th host John Quinlan talked about buying and investing locally with Colin Murray and Kay-Tee Franke, respectively executive director and president of Dane Buy Local. Joining the conversation was Tera Johnson with the Small Business Development Center at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. 