The front page of Sunday’s New York Times featured a list of one thousand names of Americans who have died from coronavirus. At the time of publication, the COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. was just over 96,000, which the Times described as “an incalculable loss.” The acts of remembering, of witnessing suffering, of sitting […]
Pandemics Spur Civic Innovation
In 1793, a Yellow Fever outbreak in Philadelphia led to the creation of the city’s first garbage collection service. In 1853, the New York City Board of Health authorized the creation of a reservoir system, and New York’s Central Park, in response to a cholera epidemic. And here in Wisconsin, a 1909 typhoid surge led […]
Madison Gets Serious About Historic Preservation
Humans have inhabited the area where Madison now sits for at least 12,000 years. Over a thousand years ago, the Woodland Culture people built the highest density of effigy mounds of anywhere on the globe. By 1800, the area had become the homeland of the Ho-Chunk, who called the area Taychopera, which means “land of […]
Who Owns Outer Space?
Most science fiction espouses one of two very different visions of the future. In the utopian visions of classic “golden age” sci-fi, humanity grows wiser over the years to come, with social, political and economic advances keeping pace with technological change. In the dystopian vein of more recent sci-fi, humanity may still have cooler tech, […]
The Dangers of the Radical Right in America
The recent armed protests at state capitol buildings around the country remind us of the dangers of the radical right in America. Today, we sit down with journalist David Neiwert to talk about the situation in Michigan, the rise of right-wing authoritarianism, the spread of conspiracy theories, and his broader work reporting on the American […]
Masculinity During a Pandemic: How Haircuts and Face Masks Got Politic...
Look at the photos from the recent demonstrations at state capitols protesting stay-at-home orders. Amid all the signs warning against government tyranny or demanding that the economy reopen, you’ll often see another kind of sign: “I want a haircut!” or “I need a haircut!” And we have to ask: What are haircare signs doing at […]
