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with John Quinlan Airing Sundays from 7-9 pm CDT Live Stream, Archived Shows and Podcasts Contact Us at: On-Air Producer: Stephanie Woods Co-host/Blogmaster: Harry Waisbren Guest host/Correspondent: Laura Gutknecht ****NEW**** Studio Line: 608-321-1670 locally; |
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In our second hour, we'll be reflecting on Saturday's gathering of Iraq Veterans Against the War in Madison, the Winter Soldier Conference. And then we'll revisit this week's developments in the news: updates on the WI Atty. General's voter registration lawsuit, which critics label as voter suppression, the economic crisis, and the presidential race. |
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Links for recent shows: September 21st: Information about the ACLU Activist Conference, this Saturday, Sept. 27th, at Monona Terrace: aclu-wi.org
In our second hour, we presented highlights of speeches and interviews from Sept. 6th's Fighting Bob Fest, including Tammy Baldwin, Mike McCabe, Granny D, Ralph Nader, and Phil Donahue. Also, contributor Laura Gutknecht shares her one-on-one interview with Donahue. See The Fighting Bob blog. September 14th:
Rainbow Project. Learn more about this remarkable organization, which serves young children who have faced trauma and abuse, and their families. Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools, sponsor of the Oct. 11th Run/Walk, and the landmark exhibit, Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals, at the UW-Madison Memorial Library, mid-October through mid-December. Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945
Grand Opening on Saturday, October 18th at 5:00 p.m. at the Pyle Center (UW) Neal Guthrie, historian from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, will introduce the exhibition. Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin and Representative Mark Pocan will also speak. Adrienne Torf will be performing original music written specifically in response to the Hate to Hope theme of our programming. Proud Theater, A Madison-based youth theater group that focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues, will also perform original work. Throughout the run of the exhibit, there will be an extensive series of special presentations and films. See GSA for Safe Schools Website, Special Exhibition Page. |
   and Free Press Communications Director Craig Aaron. But as we kick off this Sunday's show, we'll begin by attempting to capture the excitement of the two major political conventions, just concluded. At 7pm, we're joined by Frances Huntley-Cooper and Jason Rae, who were Wisconsin delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. And we're also joined by phone from Washington by Craig Aaron, communications director for the media reform organization Free Press, with a behind-the-scenes look at the unprecedented arrests of countless journalists at the GOP convention just concluded, including Amy Goodman, in St. Paul. Craig will be providing practical advice on how you can respond to this outrageous example of disregard for First Amendment freedoms. Links to Amy Goodman's reporting on her own arrest, and those of her Democray Now colleagues (portions of which we'll be playing tonight), are directly below. Follow this link to the Thursday, Sept. 4th Daily Show where John Stewart satirizes the puzzling GOP disdain for community organizers. Frances Huntley-Cooper was born in North Carolina. She holds a degree in social services from North Carolina’s Agricultural and Technical State University, and a Master’s degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Frances has worked as a county social worker and a state foster care specialist, and is currently the Worker's Compensation Division administrator in the WI Dept. of Workforce Development. She is active in her community. Her volunteer work has included service on a National League of Cities steering committee; participation in the Jack and Jill program for African- American youth; service on the board of the Madison Urban League; and four years as President of the Madison branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). As an elected public official in Fitchburg, Huntley-Cooper served as District 1 Alderwoman for four years beginning in 1987, during which time she Chaired the Finance and Personnel Committees. Huntley-Cooper’s Common Council activity culminated in service as President of the Fitchburg City Council in 1990. Huntley-Cooper served as Fitchburg mayor from 1991 to 1993, and was the first African- American elected to lead a Wisconsin City. In addition to being a member of the Wisconsin delegation at the DNC, 21-year-old Marquette University senior Jason Rae (a native of Rice Lake, WI) is a superdelegate and, at the age of 17, was the youngest member ever elected to the Democratic National Committee. This is his second national convention. Because of his superdelegate status, Jason's support was being actively pursued by both Senators Clinton and Obama, and a wide array of their family members and other prominent supporters. He recently served an internship at the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, and last year came out as an openly gay man in the context of his membership in the DNC. By virtue of all of these reasons, Jason has become a media celebrity, having appeared repeatedly on numerous TV news outlets and web blogs (see photo collage immediately below), including the appearance earlier this spring on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, captured below on this featured video link. 
Then we're joined by three proud and accomplished leaders being recognized 10 days from now by Community Shares of Wisconsin, who proudly wear the title "community organizer," no matter what defamatory things certain members of the GOP have said about that particular job title. LGBT Community Leader Nikki Baumblatt, Homelessness Advocate Joe Lindstrom, and Latino community leader and domestic violence prevention advocate Rachel Rodriguez join us in studio for a thought-provoking discussion about what motivates them in their service to their communities. Community Shares' Annual Awards Event will be held on Wednesday, September 17, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at Monona Terrace. Follow this link for more information and awardee biographies.   
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WE'RE BACK.... WITH A GREAT NEW SEASON OF SHOWS On our special "Labor Day Weekend" August 31, 2008 show: * A Distinguished Panel of Local Labor Leaders Harry is off this week, and we're joined by guest host/longtime contributor Laura Gutknecht. At 7pm, we're joined by an accomplished panel of labor activists, including the South Central Federation of Labor's president Jim Cavanaugh, Dave Poklinkoski, president of IBEW Local 2304 (Madison Gas & Electric), and Anne Habel, currently a steward and formerly president of AFSCME Local 171 (UW-Madison). Anne will also give us an update on the immigrants' right/fair labor issues in Postville, Iowa.
Left: Madison's Aramark Industrial Laundry workers celebrate a recent wage renegotiation victory. Please go to the SCFL website for a complete listing of this weekend's LaborFest '08 events. Then at 8pm, it's a potpourri of previews of special events and reports about the week that was in the news. Next, we'll be speaking with Milwaukee-based longtime lesbian feminist activist, journalist and historian, Jamakaya, who will comment on this week's passing of much-respected lesbian activist Del Martin. Martin, who married her partner of 55 years, Phyllis Lyon, on June 16 in the first legal gay union in California helped found the pioneering lesbian-rights group the Daughters of Bilitis. She died Wednesday in San Francisco, at the age of 87. Please visit a Special Del Martin/Phyllis Lyon webpage on the Woman Vision website that chronicles the lives and activism of these two remarkable women, and contains links to information about the documentary film, "No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon." 
 
Our Thoughts and Prayers Go With You All!
Then we'll be opening up our discussion, interspersed with taped reports on the implications of Hurricane Gustav's impending landfall on many of the poor and disenfranchised residents of New Orleans, events surrounding the recent and upcoming political conventions, and special recorded reports and observations from John about his trip earlier this week to Atlanta and Selma, AL--seeking historic resonances with Barack Obama's historic presidential nomination and the experiences of veterans of the Voting Rights struggle. This includes an exclusive interview with Joanne Bland, a frequent visitor to Madison and activist/historian who is a veteran of the Montgomery to Selma civil rights march. For more information on Ms. Bland's newly-formed touring company, which traces the path of this important history, go to the website of Journeys For the Soul.  
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Host John Quinlan was away on a trip Down South, interviewing leaders of the civil rights movement, for the last part of August. Laura Gutknecht and Harry Waisbren guest hosted on a show based on recent developments in the news on August 17th, and we ran a "Best of Forward Forum Show on Aug. 21st. John returned on Aug. 31st with the exciting show described above. For the latest in analysis and coverage of recent events, and a sneak preview of upcoming shows. visit |
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On our August 10th show: David Sirota, Author of "The Uprising,"
Deborah Stone, Author of "The Samaritan's Dilemma,"
Further background: David Sirota has just completed a 45 stop cross-country book tour, and joins us on the phone from his home base of Denver. Billed as "An All-Access Pass to the Populist Insurrection Brewing Across The Country," Sirota's book describes the myriad challenges facing the country that are inspiring citizens to lead a movement to take back their country: Job Outsourcing, Perpetual Busy Signals at Government Agencies, Slashed Paychecks, Stolen Elections, and a Miserably-Managed War Without End. Sirota's insightful analysis explores "whether this uprising can be transformed into a unified, lasting political movement." See www.davidsirota.com, for David's award-winning blog. At a time of economic challenge deeply resonant with the era of the Depression and the New Deal, when memories of government ineptitude in the face of Hurricane Katrina remain fresh, author and Dartmouth professor Deborah Stone asks tough questions about the role of government in today's world. Her book is receiving rave reviews, including this from Barbara Ehrenreich: "'The Samaritan's Dilemma' pinpoints the Orwellian perversion that is now our conventional wisdom -- that help for the needy is harmful and cruelty is a form of kindness. Thank you Deborah Stone for this powerful call to a moral awakening!" Follow this link, for more info on Deborah Stone. |
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On our August 3rd show: Sexuality and Talk Radio, We began our show with reports on South Madison's National Night Out Event, on Tuesday, Aug. 5th, and associated events with southside activist Leslie McAllister. For more info on this and other community-building efforts in south Madison, please go to the website of the South Madison Metro Planning Council. And then we received an update from organizer, trainer, and rider Jeanne Marshall on the August 7th-10th ACTRide 6 300 mile bike ride, in support of the programs at AIDS Network. There's still time to offer your support in the next month by traveling to the website, and pledging to support the inspriing efforts of hundreds of riders to make a difference in the lives of area residents living with AIDS and HIV, and to honor the legacy of loved ones lost.
On the eve of the Beijing Olympic Games, we're joined by an author Judy Polumbaum, describing her thought-provoking new book, "China Ink: The Changing Face of Chinese Journalism," based on interviews with 20 young Chinese journalists. Judy joins us at 8pm on the phone from the University of Iowa at Iowa City, where she is an affiliated faculty member in a number of international and interdisciplinary programs and centers at Iowa, including the Center for Asian and Pacific Studies and International Studies. Her research has focused on journalism and media in mainland China. She did her undergraduate work in East Asian studies at McGill University in Montreal, Canada and has a master’s from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a doctorate in communication from Stanford University. She’s worked as a newspaper reporter in Vermont, California and Oregon, and also has worked for English-language news organizations in China. She joined the University of Iowa faculty in 1989. Recent news describes a China not quite willing to open itself as completely as promised to outside eyes, as news spreads of selective Internet site blackouts and other examples of censorship. And yet Judy's book also describes a surprisingly robust new journalistic tradition in China, especially among younger journalists. Is this is a sign of things to come, or will these new freedoms be curtailed--and, in a world where the frontiers of Internet and press freedoms have implications for us all, what are the consequences for the rest of the world? As James Fallows of the Atlantic Monthly writes: "Journalists in China have the headaches shared by their counterparts around the world--plus their own unique set of challenges... In response some journalists become complete cynics, and some are just careerists. But a surprising and admirable number keep looking for ways to expand what the Chinese public can know about its own country and the outside world. China Ink is a fascinating window onto the environment in which these reporters operate. Among the book's most striking revelations is the wide variety of personalities, tactics, values, and aspirations with which China's journalists approach their task." |
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On our July 27th show: Progressive Radio's Nonstop Radio Conference * Progressive NonStop Radio Conference, this weekend in Madison
A Special Thanks to Madison native Sol Kelley-Jones--currently serving as an intern at Derechos Humanos--for her help in arranging and producing this segment. Be sure to visit the Derechos Humanos website to learn how you can help to counter the tactics of hatred and intimidation facing human rights activists and the people they're advocating for along the US border with Mexico. And we'll receive an update from Peace Activist Bonnie Block on ongoing efforts that have followed July's Town Meeting on Iran. For more info on how you can become involved, go to the website of The WI Network for Peace and Justice, and Forward Forum's exclusive archived audio coverage The Iran Town Hall Meeting, on a special page off of this site. On our July 20th show:
For more information on restorative justice programs locally, please visit the website of The Madison Area Urban Ministry. Be sure to visit our Forward Forum web archive, off of www.wtdy.com, to listen to the show, and then share your perceptions on our web blog at www.madprogress.com. Also, in our second hour, special reports on Madison's OutReach Community Awards dinner, LGBT pride celebrations and the recent Town Meeting on Iran (see immediately below for link to special Iran Town Meeting coverage). |
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Link to Our Full Archived Audio Coverage of this Event As Covered on this Week's Show: How Can We Keep Another War from Happening? Date/Time: Tuesday July 15 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Location: Lowell Hall, 610 Langdon Street, Room B1-A/D  
A town hall meeting is being planned in Madison to address the threat of military action against Iran by the U.S. and/or Israel. The purpose of the gathering is to educate and to mobilize. Five local experts will talk briefly, there will be an opportunity to ask questions, and then the group will focus on action steps to help prevent a war with Iran. Each member of the panel will focus on a specific issue that is fueling the crisis: * Joe Elder (UW faculty born in Iran ) will talk about the history of US policy toward Iran. Many members of the co-sponsoring organizations which include the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Madison Pledge of Resistance, United Nations Association-Dane County Chapter, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Health Writers, Madison-Rafah Sister City Project, Madison Area Peace Coalition, and The Clarence Kaillen Chapter of Veterans for Peace, are becoming extremely anxious about an imminent attack on Iran as Bush continues his rhetoric, stating "all options are on the table". In June Bush met with the Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert. After the meeting, Olmert, said, "George Bush understands the severity of the Iranian threat and the need to vanquish it, and intends to act on that matter before the end of his term in the White House." And now The House of Representatives is considering a resolution (H. Con. Res. 362) that could effectively demand a naval blockade against Iran – which is tantamount to an act of war. Rep. Steve Kagan (D. Green Bay) and Ron Kind (D. LaCrosse) have co-sponsored this resolution and it appears that Congress will vote on it before the August recess. That is why we, the people, must stand up and take action NOW! The consequences of a war with Iran would be devastating for the world, m ake oil prices sky-rocket, further waste U.S. resources on war instead of funding urgent domestic needs, and might well further endanger our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most importantly, many innocent children, women, and men would needlessly suffer and die. Those of us who want a peaceful world must educate ourselves and do everything we can to prevent our government from expanding its ineffective military adventures and instead focus on diplomacy and the rule of law to resolve this conflict. People around the country are starting to mobilize for action and Madisonians can join them by attending the Town Hall Meeting. |
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Among those we'll hearing from are representatives of "Team Torcaso," whose story is told above at left, in this excerpt from the website of ACTRide 4, and whose team is still riding strong two rides later. Many others also ride in memory of loved ones lost, including many who continue to honor the memory of longtime broadcast journalist and community leader Mike McKinney. Photos above are from previous ACT Rides.  
* Co-host Harry Waisbren continues his reports on the fusion between national movements for social change and UW-Madison activism. Harry is just back from a week in Washington, DC, where he attended the "Campus Progress" conference, and he's got some incredible stories to tell about the student-led aspect of the larger movement for change sweeping through our country. Be sure to read Harry's latest illuminating and insight-filled blog entries at madprogress.com. * As always, a potpourri of upcoming local events, and thought-provoking discussions drawn from the week's headlines, including your chance to tell us about the events and issues that matter to you. |
   
Highlights: In our 7pm hour: As we experience a time of farm crises and economic downturn in the here and now, we'll learn how the little-known Federal Theater Project provided relief to Americans--on many different levels--during the Great Depression. We're joined by Susan Quinn, author of "Furious Improvisation: How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art out of Desperate Times" In our 8 pm hour: PFLAG Midwest Representative Kay Heggestad helps us bring you up-to-date on developments in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, rights, in this month of LGBT Pride And, throughout our show, a potpourri of other events and developments regarding groups working for civil rights and social justice SATURDAY, JULY 12TH UNITED NATIONS SEMINAR FOCUSES ON HUMAN RIGHTS Edgewood College and the United Nations Association, Wisconsin Division are sponsoring a UN Institute on Saturday, July 12, 2008 in Predolin Hall of the Edgewood Campus (9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.). The institute will be an experience in remembering what the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was important to us in 1945 and why in 2008 it is still relevant and radical. The experience will be one where you share your opinions and ask your questions. Registration is $25.00 per person. This includes background materials, lunch, and the costs related to providing speakers. Call 441-1944 or write to unitednationsassociationwisc@tds.net. Speakers include nationally-renowned human rights and foreign policy expert Barbara Crosette, author of 2008 Great Decision edition on "Foreign Aid, New Players, New Goals?" TUESDAY, JULY 15TH IRAN POLICY TOWN MEETING
As the disaster in Iraq continues and torture continues to be talked about as something up for "debate," these pieces have a lot to say about the behavior of language in our political environment. While this is their first performance in Madison, the three members of the Nonsense Company make their home here in Madison. (Two of the three also comprise the political satirical folk music troupe, The Prince Myshkins.) These plays have won "best of festival" awards at recent theater festivals from San Francisco to New York. Members of the troupe join us in our first hour, and in our discussions with author Susan Quinn, conveying the ongoing presence of thought-provoking and entertaining theater that is a catalyst for social change. forwardforum.net/nonsense.html .
FEDERALLY-SPONSORED DRAMA TROUPE SPREAD HOPE AND STRONG SOCIAL JUSTICE MESSAGES--WHILE PRODUCING TRULY OUTSTANDING AND INNOVATIVE THEATER-- Susan Quinn, author of "Furious Improvisation: How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art out of Desperate Times," joins us for most of our 7 pm hour to describe her chronicle of the great federally-sponsored theater that arose out of a New Deal drama-based initiative, a favorite project of Harry Hopkins and Eleanor Roosevelt, until the era of blacklisting eventually shut it down. Studs Terkel writes: "Susan Quinn has gifted us with a key moment in the history of F.D.R.'s New Deal. Especially thrilling and revelatory is the work of the Arts Project of the WPA. Not only were there rakes and shovels, jobs and food for family, there was exhilarating and hopeful theatre, music, and painting, lifting our spirits. They gave us all hope." As reported by the editors of Publishers Weekly: Author Susan Quinn does a superb job of recounting the rise and fall of the Federal Theatre Project, a wing of FDR's New Deal-era Works Progress Administration (or WPA). The project was meant to employ playwrights and actors while providing diversion and inspiration for Depression-ravaged Americans. Quinn shows how, under the management of the irrepressible Hallie Flanagan, the left-leaning FTP facilitated such controversial masterpieces as "Triple-A Plowed Under" and "The Cradle Will Rock" while unintentionally setting the stage for the House Un-American Activities Committee and much of the red-baiting and blacklisting of the 1940s and '50s when The Daily Worker applauded FTP projects such as a dramatization of Sinclair Lewis's antifascist novel, "It Can't Happen Here." Among the actors, directors and writers sponsored by the program were John Houseman, Orson Welles, Will Geer and Meyer Levin. Experimentation thrived: Welles oversaw an all-black production of a voodoo version of Macbeth that played Broadway and toured nationwide. All of this Quinn describes eloquently and artfully, summoning a not-so-distant time when a nation bled and great artists rushed as healers into the countryside.... See also FuriousImprovisation.com. OVERVIEW OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER RIGHTS NATIONAL AND MADISON PFLAG Throughout the hour, we also hope to hear from a variety of LGBT community leaders about events upcoming in mid-July, including: PERFECT HARMONY BENEFIT FOR MADISON PFLAG THIS THURSDAY 
GREEN BAY PRIDE OUTREACH AWARDS DINNER MADISON PRIDE Pride Celebration 2008 Pride heads back to basics. Look for a scaled-back event as Madison. Pride rebuilds and prepares for its anniversary next year. Come celebrate community and visibility over a magic weekend that returns the idea of pride to its roots with an old-fashioned picnic in the park. It is an old fashioned picnic, bring your own food and drink its a PRIDE picnic. So bring your rainbow flags, blankets, garb, and your PRIDE! Congratulations to this year's
2008 OutReach Award Winners!!
Courage Award: Felicia Melton-Smythe
Woman of the Year: Bonnie Augusta
Man of the Year: Brian Wild
Allies of the Year: Linda & Bill Keys
Organization of the Year: Diverse and Resilient
Volunteer of the Year: Wayne Gathright
Special Recognition Award: Jasmine Christian
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* At 7pm, we'll be joined by Paul Fisher, author of "House of Wits: An Intimate Portrait of the James Family." * In our 8 pm hour, we'll be joined by James W. Douglass, author of "JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters." * As always, we'll also take time to examine recent developments in the news from a Madison perspective. "Forward Forum" airs Sunday evenings from 7-9 pm on WTDY, 1670 AM, and streams live and podcasts at www.wtdy.com. Join in the pre and post-show dialogue on our blog at http://madprogress.com/. Show website: www.forwardforum.net . Please join in our discussion by calling 321-1670, or toll free *123 for US Cellular users, and 1-877-867-1670 toll free, if calling from further afield. More on this week's guests: 7pm 8pm Douglass's reference to "The Unspeakable" evokes the identities and motivations of those mysterious powers-that-be behind the scenes who had a vested interest in ending the Kennedy presidency. At the same time, his book is also a deep analysis on a psychological level of the changes in philosophy that occurred in a young president who assumed office simultaneous to his becoming a father. One of the most poignant and prescient passages in his book describes how the birth and death of Kennedy's premature infant son affected him deeply--opening up a deep empathy in him for the suffering of the world's children, and the potential loss of life represented by nuclear war. At a time of profound political change, there are deep resonances and myriad lessons contained in Douglass's books about the nature of those who oppose positive social change because it threatens the realm of the ruling elite. Please join us for a fascinating discussion of the Kennedy era--a period often romanticized, but seldom understood--an era whose lessons have multiple implications for today. The end of June is a time of year when Forward Forum traditionally covers two overarching themes: the anniversary of the history-making 1969 Stonewall Rebellion, and its impact on the LGBT rights movement, and the multi-layered meanings behind patriotism, as we mark Independence Day. (LGBT Pride is traditionally celebrated in Madison during the third weekend of July, and next weekend will be the week we use to mark Independence Day.) Look for our exploration of these and other themes next week, and in weeks to come throughout July on Forward Forum. |
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Many thanks to Laura Gutknecht, longtime community journalist/activist and Forward Forum contributor, who filled in as co-host of our June 22nd show. Our topics included efforts to counter individual rights to privacy, the growing income gap in Wisconsin, and a panel discussion/report featuring UW campus and national activists on the movement for social change represented by the Barack Obama campaign, and MoveOn.org . Many thanks to Laura Gutknecht, longtime community journalist/activist and Forward Forum contributor, who filled in as co-host.   
To listen to these and other past shows, please follow the link to "podcasts" off of our station's main web page at www.wtdy.com. Further show background on the Sunday evening, June 22nd Forward Forum: 7:00 hour - Chris Ahmuty, Executive Director of the ACLU of Wisconsin, recently back from Washington where he was lobbying against the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (the Foreign Intelligence Service Act), will talk about the act and its passage in the House. The discussion will include issues of privacy and of retroactive immunity for major US telecoms, who have shown a willingness to compromise the confidentiality of thousands of their customers. 8:00 hour - A brief interview (recorded) of Joel Rogers, Director of Center on Wisconsin Strategy (aka "COWS"), on a report they issued this week with the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families about the growing income inequality in Wisconsin. As part of our ongoing coverage of the presidential race, and UW students' role in national political organizing, co-host Harry Waisbren brings us a discussion about the Obama organizing activities in Wisconsin and how people can get involved, followed by a report on upcoming activities in the state of MoveOn.org . |
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* Author Jonathan Mooney on his fascinating book (just out in paperback), The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal * Activist/Advocate Selwyn Swe on furthering understandings about autism, and also, with an update on recent developments in Burma, the land of his birth * A Father's Day tribute to the men in our lives who epitomize the values of respect, compassion, and responsibility, as part of a special project by UNIDOS Against Domestic Violence, with local Latino community leaders Fernando Cano Ospina and David Duran * The Salvation Army's Ruth Ann Schoer on local relief efforts for people affected by this week's flooding * The week's political events, and more highlights from last weekend's National Conference on Media Reform
With the publication of his first book, Learning Outside the Lines, Jonathan established himself as one of the foremost leaders in LD/ADHD, disabilities, and alternative education. This is also a book that offered great encouragement and support to students enrolled in special ed, and other programs, as a means of overcoming the marginalization and stigmas that often surround that experience. Jonathan's newest book "The Short Bus," alludes to the derogatory title that kids often apply to the bus that brings kids enrolled in special ed to school. His book describes another journey--one he took as a man in his late 20s--in which he traveled the country in a short bus, seeking out the stories of young people also striving to transcend the stigmas inherent to special ed, and to realize their full potential. It's an inspiring tale, one with lessons for all of us who find ourselves marching to the call of a different drummer. The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal is now available in paparback. For more details, see www.jonathanmooney.com .
Last fall, Selwyn also joined us for a show describing the resurgent democracy movement in Burma. In 1973, at the age of 2, Selwyn and his family escaped from the military regime by fleeing overland into Thailand--a journey chronicled in a best-selling novel by a family friend. A visit to Selwyn's website www.selwyn.org--which is divided into sections on Burma, autism, and special events for families celebrating cultural diversity--showcases this remarkable young man's overarching mission in life, which is to spread understandings and promote appreciation for difference. In addition to his participation in our conversation with Jonathan, Selwyn will return in our second hour with reports from Burma on the military regime's shameful response to the recent crisis triggered by a typhoon. At 8 pm, in addition to Selwyn, we'll be visiting with Ruth Ann Schoer from the Salvation Army of Dane County, learning how we can support that organization's relief efforts for people affected by this week's extraordianry floods. We also hope to revisit an inspiring topic of our show from two weeks ago--efforts by UNIDOS Against Domestic Violence to involve men and boys in their important work, by offering the chance to support this program in honor of the outstanding men in our lives--David Duran and Fernando Cano Ospina are our guests. The organizat6ion is asking everyone in the community to honor their father and other significant men in their lives with a contribution to this important initiative. Lastly, time permitting, we'll be revisiting highlights from last weeks' Conference for Media Refom (see below), and developments in the presidential campaign.
Also, as part of the Race and Media Forums, be sure to check out Patty Loew's Monday night lecture at Edgewood College at 7pm -- "Way of the Warrior" documentary Screening and Discussion. The film uses personal stories of heroes and soldiers to examine why Native Americans volunteered to serve in the U.S. military in record numbers in WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all affected by the week's flooding!
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Experience a very special edition of Forward Forum: Join John, Stephanie, Harry and Laura for highlights from the National Conference for Media Reform just concluded in Minneapolis   Arianna Huffington (photo by John Quinlan)  Dan Rather (photo by John Quinlan) Also, help us mark this historic week when Barack Obama achieved the votes necessary to become the Democratic Party's nomination for the presidency. We'll be reaching out to our good friend, Joanne Bland, a veteran of the Selma to Montgomery March for Voting Rights, live on the phone from Selma.   |
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On the June 1st Forward Forum: HOMBRES Y JOVENES UNIDOS CONTRA LA VIOLENCIA At 7pm, we’ll be joined by Rachel Rodriguez, and community leader David Duran, who will talk about an exciting new educational initiative aimed at dispelling gender-based stereotypes and fighting domestic violence in the context of greater Madison’s Latino communities. The initiative is designed to bring awareness to our Latino community about the importance of men joining in the movement to end domestic violence. According to Rodriguez, Exec. Director of UNIDOS Against Domestic Violence, “We want to bring the message to the larger community to start creating awareness and breaking the stereotype that Latino culture promotes the image of ‘macho violent male’....We want people to hear the message that ‘violence is not part of our culture’ and that most Latino men (just like most other men) are not violent.” AUTHOR AND MEDIA REFORMER ROBERT McCHESNEY In our 8 pm hour, we’ll be discussing Robert McChesney’s newly-published landmark book, “The Political Economy of Media: Enduring Issues, Emerging Dilemmas.” Says McChesney: “This volume culminates the research in my career to date, and includes my latest thinking on journalism, the Internet, global political economy, and the burgeoning media reform movement and our broader changing political climate. The editors at Monthly Review Press have done a brilliant job with this book. The Political Economy of Media includes the best writing I have done and provides a comprehensive overview of my work.” POP CULTURE, CORPORATIONS AND COMMUNITY Also--Early in our 8 pm hour, we’ll also be interviewing UW instructor Mark Anthony Rolo, who will preview upcoming an outstanding public lecture series open to the public at the UW, entitled, "Pop Culture, Corporations and Community." The lectures will be presented on successive Tuesday and Thursday evenings through June 19th, from 7-9 pm in Room 1100 of Granger Hall, located on the UW campus on University Ave. between Park and Brooks Streets. Please join Forward Forum host John Quinlan in attending this series; many of the speakers will also be future guests on our show. Upcoming speakers include: · Tuesday, June 3 -- “Fine Tuning Local News,” with Tom Bier, Vice President and Station Manager of WISC-TV, the CBS affiliate in Madison. He has spent a career in broadcast news as a reporter and news director. Tom has been actively involved in local community initiatives including the Race and Media dialogue series here in Madison. · Thursday, June 5 -- “C.R.E.A.M. (Corporate Cash Rules Everything Around Me): Marketing the Hip-Hop Movement” with Arthur Richardson, who works extensively in Madison with after-school programs for diverse youth helping to empower them through hi-hop and theater. · Tuesday, June 10 -- “The Gospel of Hollywood,” with Mark Anthony Rolo, who will explain the view of many leading sociologists in suggesting that in today’s America the new “church”, the center of community is the local movie theater. Mark Anthony Rolo teaches community leadership skills through journalism at the UW School of Human Ecology. He has worked as a journalist covering American Indian news and arts, has written book and movie reviews, is also a playwright and alum of the 1997 Sundance Screenwriter’s Workshop. · Thursday, June 12 -- “New Immigrants, New Consumers,” with Sal Carranza, president of Latinos United for Change and Advancement, a Madison-based advocacy group for Latinos throughout Wisconsin, and an executive committee member of Madison’s civil rights coalition, Communities United. A frequent guest on Forward Forum, Carranza works for the UW System’s Office of Academic and Student Services, is the UW System’s liaison to the Hispanic Community, and is a member of UW-Madison’s Latino Faculty and Staff Association. · Tuesday, June 17 -- “Through a Cultural Lens,” with Patty Loew. In the summer of 2007 a group of students at the Lac Courte Oreilles Indian reservation in northern Wisconsin stood behind video cameras and sat at editing stations exploring new ways to tell their stories, and discover tribal values. Patty Loew shares significant cultural insights into perspectives on science and identity. Patty Loew is an associate professor in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at UW-Madison, where she teaches Native American Environmental Issues and the Media and Digital Video production. She also produces documentary segments and hosts In Wisconsin, a statewide news and public affairs for Wisconsin Public Television. An enrolled member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, Loew has produced more than a dozen award-winning documentaries on Native American topics. Her newest documentary, Way of the Warrior, aired on PBS in 2007. · Thursday, June 19 -- “Creating in Our Own Image,” with Erica Halverson. While initial research on youth and media focused on youth as consumers of popular media, a new wave of scholarship focuses on the productive enterprises youth engage in as they use media to tell stories and convey messages about their lives. The advent of digital video recording and computer-based editing software has made making films an accessible enterprise for many youth, including those who have traditionally been marginalized in mainstream institutions. But what are youth making films about? How do they understand the filmmaking process? How does this process help them to manage the challenges they face in adolescence? Erica Rosenfeld Halverson (PhD) is an Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology at UW-Madison. Her research focuses on youth media production, specifically how marginalized youth address the challenges of identity development through their participation in media arts organization. FORWARD FORUM’S SPECIAL COVERAGE All of us from Forward Forum will be traveling to the National Conference on Media Reform in Minneapolis during the weekend of June 6-8, along with dozens of other Madisonians. We’ll be sharing this experience with dozens of nationally-known journalists and progressive leaders, at an event attended by thousands of activists on the cutting edge of social change. As of press time, headliners include Dan Rather, Amy Goodman, and Bill Moyers—along with Madison’s own John Nichols and Bob McChesney. See www.freepress.net/conference for more details. Look for our exclusive coverage next Sunday evening, June 8th, with continuing coverage throughout the summer in weeks to come. |
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* Suzanne Gordon, author of "Safety In Numbers: Nurse-to-Patient Ratios and the Future of Health Care" NURSING SHORTAGE
Gordon is a popular lecturer and past commentator for CBS Radio and Public Radio International’s "Marketplace" program. She is Visiting Professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing and Assistant, Adjunct Professor at the the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing. She has also co-authored, with Lisa Hayes, a play entitled Bedside Manners, that deals with nurse/doctor relationship. In her latest book, "Safety In Numbers: Nurse-to-Patient Ratios and the Future of Health Care," Gordon argues that nurse-patient ratios are a crucial component of making nursing a sustainable career choice, and a primary determiner of the overall quality of patient care. If the current nursing shortage goes unaddressed, the US will be short about 1 million nurses by 2020. MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND SATURDAY RALLY
Erik Leaver is the Carol and Ed Newman Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and the policy outreach director for the Foreign Policy In Focus project. JUNE 6TH-8TH NATIONAL MEDIA REFORM CONFERENCE
Free Press is sponsoring the National Conference for Media Reform in Minneapolis during the weekend of June 6-8, and all of us from Forward Forum will be in attendance, along with dozens of other Madisonians. Amazing speakers, great skills-building, exceptional networking--all in one place, it's an event you won't want to miss--and it all began 5 years ago right here in Madison. Look for us on "Radio Row," and be sure to stop by to share your experiences of the conference. For more info, go to www.freepress.net/conference. More details on Saturday's Peace Rally: MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND RALLY CONTACT: Robin at (608) 245-3390 or Allen at (608) 257-6050 Call to Action!: Honor Soldiers & Civilians by Surging Against War and Occupation! 10 a.m.: Gather at the Federal Court House, 120 N. Henry Street (behind the
Overture Center) Speakers at the Federal Court House and Orpheum Stage Door include: Erik Leaver, Institute for Policy Studies, Washington D.C.; John Stauber, Center for Media and Democracy; the "Raging Grannies;" Jason Moon, Iraq veteran; Jennifer Lowenstein, Madison-Rafah Sister City Project; Cecila Zarate Laun, Colombia Support Network; Dave Nack, UW professor at the School for Workers; Will Guy and Will Williams, veterans. The Madison Area Peace Coalition has organized this event on May 24th to speak out against illegal and immoral wars with numerous peace organizations including Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace. Who will be remembered on Memorial Day? Will we march in parades to honor our soldiers and ignore the Afghan and Iraqi civilians who are also dead? True patriotism requires the courage to speak the whole truth. The truth is that countless people have died and been wounded in the “war on terror,” while military contractors reap huge profits. The truth is that the majority of Americans want the war to end, and yet there is no end in sight. The truth is that the surge of U.S. troops has escalated the violence in the Middle East and created more turmoil. It has been five years since George Bush celebrated the accomplishment of our Iraqi "mission." This so called accomplishment drags on at a cost of four billion dollars every week, while the economy at home worsens and people lose their jobs and their homes. Yet our policymakers are still blinded with imperial delusions. The blame for our Iraqi fiasco is now being shifted to Iran. Once again we are told to fear nuclear-armed Muslim madmen. We're less secure as a nation than we were five years ago. In the name of national security American citizens have been spied upon, arrested without charge and held for years without trial. Prisoners in American custody have been routinely tortured. Even the right of habeas corpus is under threat. U.S. support for oppressive regimes in Latin America and the Middle East only exacerbates anti-American resentments. With this country still mired in an illegal war and with another Memorial Day approaching, what better moment can there be to protest? ********
Pictured at left, the 2007 troupe, in a photo by Callen Harty. What: Proud Theater: Loud and Clear, a fun and exciting evening of theater, music, poetry and dance When: May 29 and 30, 2008 at 7:30 pm May 31, 2008 at 2:30 and 7:30 pm Where: In the Evjue at Bartell Theatre, 113 E. Mifflin Street, Madison, WI Watch for ticket pricing and availability. More info: Call Brian Wild - 1-608-469-6685 or write to proudtheater@gmail.com, or visit the Proud Theater website. |
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* GSA for Safe Schools Honors Courageous Young People, Educators, and other Allies * Speakers on peace efforts in Palestine in Madison this week
Then at 8 pm, we'll be previewing some extraordinary opportunities to hear some inspiring speakers telling about projects underway to bring about peace for the people of Palestine and Israel. First we'll hear from Christa Bruhn on Fair Trade for Palestine, then Joan Deming will tell us about this Wednesday's visit by Palestinian-born Archbishop Chakour of the Melkite Catholic Church (3 time Nobel Peace Prize nominee), and Judith Siers-Poisson will tell us about an interesting Madison-based initiative now underway to build playgrounds for the children of the West Bank. Details on events, and sponsoring organizations:
Tuesday, May 13: Christa Bruhn speaks on Fair Trade for Palestine at the monthly meeting of the United Nations Association-USA/Dane County chapter, 7:15 pm in the auditorium at the Capitol Lakes retirement center (formerly Meriter Main Gate), 333 W. Main St. Free parking is available in the ramp across the street. For more info, go to: UNA-USA Dane County.
Sunday, May 18: Benefit dinner for Playgrounds for Palestine-Madison. 6-8 pm, King of Falafel restaurant, 453 W. Gilman Street, Madison. 
Enjoy a tempting buffet of Middle Eastern delicacies at King of Falafel, and learn about the children of Jenin Refugee Camp for whom we are raising funds to build a playground. (Click here for more information on the project.) We will also have fair trade olive oil and olive oil soap for sale. $20 for adults, $10 for children 6 - 10, and kids 5 and under free! Space is limited -- email pfpmadison@gmail.com to reserve your place TODAY, and bring along family and friends for a fun and delicious evening! http://pfpmadison.blogpsot.com Playgrounds for Palestine - Madison Chapter ********
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Please join us on Sunday, May 4th for a review of Friday's "True Cost of the War in Iraq" Rally and a Look at the Political Week in Review--specific guests still pending as of press time, but including lots of room for your calls on open phones. Details on Friday's event, proudly co-sponsored by Forward Forum. See MadProgress.blogspot.com.
Friday, May 2, 4:00 PM GROUP CALLS ON LOCAL CITIZENS TO DECIDE Madison – This Friday, May 2nd, beginning at 4:00 P.M., Campus Progress and MoveOn members will host the “True Cost of the War” event beginning with a live band performance, then a parade to Capitol Square, while handing out Bush Bucks to the crowd, and ending with a street theater event with surprise guests. 4:00 - 4:30 PM Music: Adam Isaac and the People EVENT DETAILS: The True Cost of the War Event [Madison]: Who: Campus Progress and MoveOn members in Madison For more info, contact CONTACT: Patty Zahler; 608-274-6398
For further details and updates, go to our new blog at madprogress.blogspot.com. |
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Please join us this Sunday night on Forward Forum for a potpourri of topics on the cutting edge of social change... including LGBT rights, Supreme Court campaign reform, the National Media Reform conference, and the current backlash against homeless people in Madison.... and much, much more. 
ON THE APRIL 13, 2008 FORWARD FORUM: In our 7pm hour * Our weekly update on this month's Out And About Events on the UW-Madison campus, with Cory Schultz, Communications Director for the LGBT Campus Center. Great speakers, music and an array of other events are planned this week and through the end of the month. For more info: www.wisc.edu/lgbt/ * An interview with Mike McCabe of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, with a focus on what you can do to prevent the hijacking of future Wisconsin Supreme Court elections by corporate-funded special interest groups. See www.wisdc.org . * This week's review of the week that was in politics, the media and other topics in the news with co-host and Forward Forum blogmeister Harry Waisbren. And do be sure to check out our new blog at madprogress.blogspot.com! * A preview of this year's National Media Reform Conference in Minneapolis, June 6-8, with conference organizer, Yolanda Hippensteele, on the phone from California. (This event began in Madison five years ago; 200 attendees were expected, almost 2000 came. The event, and the movement behind it have grown by leaps and bounds ever since, and dozens of Madisonians are expected to attend this year's event. See www.freepress.net .) Yolanda Hippensteele is outreach director of Free Press, the national, nonpartisan media reform group. She directs the group’s National Conference for Media Reform. Prior to joining Free Press, Yolanda worked at the Independent Media Institute in San Francisco and with the D.C. public affairs firm Bass & Howes to advocate for women's rights and progressive health care policy.
In our 8 pm hour * A panel discussion with advocates for people who are homeless, discussing community responses to recent backlash against the homeless. As we've reported, multi-millionaire developer Fred Mohs began the recent "dialogue" about homelessness by pulling his support for free parking for a downtown church that offers shelter services. Recently, Isthmus Daily Page blogger Dave Blaska wrote a widely-read incendiary piece calling for a return to workhouses and other Dickensian punishments for homelessness and poverty--that may or may not have been tongue in cheek--which through innuendo and without substantive facts suggested that homeless people as a class of people were vicious vagrants who were likely behind recent murders in Madison. (As Mayor Cieslewicz said in a response to a question I asked at Downtown Madison Rotary on Wednesday, "We need to slow down here. There has been no evidence to suggest such a link, and homeless people as a group should not be blamed.") On Thursday, a broadly-based group of community leaders came together at the Community Action Coalition's office to speak out against the hate-filled rhetoric being hurled at people who happen currently experiencing the trauma of homelessness. (See www.cacscw.org.) Our guests will include some of the event's organizers, including Linda Ketcham (executive director of the Madison Urban Ministry--www.emum.org), community activist Lisa Subeck, and Joe Lindstrom of the Homeless Consortium of Dane County. |
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See www.crimesomonstrous.com for more about Ben's book, and information on how you can become part of the worldwide fight to end modern slavery.
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for a thoughtful, mature and authentic panel discussion about the role that race, gender and religion are playing in the presidential campaign. 
and Understanding about Race, Gender, and Religion in the Midst of a Heated Presidential Campaign We'll be seeking common ground and placing into historical context recent events in ways that seek to recapture the excitement that so many have felt about the current campaign, despite recent events that seem to have left us mired in divisiveness and politics-as-usual. We believe, as do our panelists, that we can transcend these dynamics, and realize the potential of the politics of a new movement sweeping this country. But before we can do that, we need to move beyond denial and demagoguery to an authentic national discussion about these issues that are central to our lives. It's a show you won't want to miss!  Rev. Gregory Armstrong, Helen Marks Dicks, Rev. Phil Haslanger, Abha Thakkar Recent weeks have seen growing turmoil and controversy centered around oft-repeated out-of-context sound bytes taken from the sermons of Sen. Barack Obama's longtime pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. At the same time, recurring messages surface implying that Sen. Hillary Clinton is too controversial and polarizing a figure to win election to the presidency. By association, Sen. Obama has been declared by the mainstream media as potentially too hot to handle by white voters, and Sen. Clinton has been caught in a "damned if she does, and damned if she doesn't" Catch-22 dilemma by the contradictory double bind expectations facing her as a female candidate for high office. On this week's show, we try to move beyond the hype, and to lower the volume, as we examine the sermons of Rev. Wright in the context of the historical and rhetorical traditions of the Black pulpit, and by letting you the listener hear for yourselves the almost-never-reported full context of his messages, beyond the soundbytes. And we look at how decades-old tactics by her far right wing critics to make Hillary Clinton into a polarizing figure have been uncritically perpetuated by the mainstream media--and how this reflects America's remaining ambivalent and impossible-to-satisfy expectations for women in positions in power. Two months ago, millions of Americans and Wisconsinites were revelling in the possibilities inherent in the breakthrough candidacies of the first viable presidential candidacies by an African-American man and a woman. In recent weeks, the campaign has turned ugly, which has delighted opponents of political reform and meaningful social change, but left many of us feeling suddenly disempowered and discouraged, our high expectations dashed for the moment by an incendiary, self-destructive campaign for the Democratic nomination. Two months from now, of course, this may all change. Regardless, despite the sports-narrative-like, dronelike, totally-off-target reporting of the mainstream media... this is a year when poltical change is in the air, and for this, we all should be giving thanks. Much more than this--many believe that the presidential primary season seems to have given birth to a social movement. Our panelists will help us put this all in perspective. Though there are legitimate reasons for supporters of each candidate to resent some of the recent behaviors of the opposing campaigns--the reality remains that many of the objections to either candidate are firmly rooted in the need for our nation to continue down the path toward much deeper racial understandings and toward building a world where equal opportunities for women are no longer denied. If there's one thing that can be said about the current campaign season--it's that the conventional wisdom has been consistently wrong. We hope to do much to uncover and discredit the racially insensitive messages and sexist assumptions that underlie both the reporting and the reality of recent political events. And we seek to discover the deeper wisdom that lies not so far beneath the surface, as a means of realizing the great potential that lies in supporters of both landmark candidacies finding a way to come together in common cause. Our guests include:
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Jeff Chester is the founder and director of the 
ACLU of Wisconsin Associate Director Renee Crawford joined us on the phone from Milwaukee to preview this Saturday's conference, then changes hats, to tell us about a life devoted to political activism, and to share highlights from her thought-provoking blog. As a child she and her parents marched with Father Groppi in Milwaukee, for women's rights, for civil equality and spoke on behalf of Children's Outing Association and Harambee Community School to major donors. As a young teenager, she marched for Ernest Lacy, and as a college student, participated in the sit-ins and built a shantytown at Cornell University for divestment in South Africa. Recently, she co-founded Grassroots Northshore, one of the largest Progressive volunteer organizations in the Milwaukee Metro area.
Be sure to visit Renee Crawford's fascinating blog: 
Visit lesbian community leader Kate Clinton's entertaining and enlightening website at 
Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools is proud to host the exhibition, Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945, from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The General Library System at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is co-sponsoring the traveling exhibition, coming to Wisconsin for the first time!
The exhibition is made up of more than 200 reproductions of photographs, documents, and artwork that examine the Nazi regime’s efforts to eradicate homosexuality and the devastating effects the regime had on the gay community. The exhibition includes the Nazi racial and social ideals that were the basis for the persecution.
Presented at UW Memorial Library at 728 State Street. in Madison from October 10th to December 10th (Grand Opening on October 18th). The exhibition is free to the public during library hours (bring driver’s license or other photo ID).
We look forward to seeing you all at 
As we begin our 8 pm hour, we'll speak with Executive Director Sharyl Kato, of the Rainbow Project, a local nonprofit that serves the needs of young children and their families touched by issues of trauma and abuse. She'll be previewing their popular Fourth Annual 
Jamakaya is president of CLARITY Writing & Research and the author of "Like Our Sisters Before Us: Women of Wisconsin Labor" (1998, Wisconsin Labor History Society) and editor of "A Celebration of Caregiving: Portraits & Stories" (2007, IndependenceFirst Press). Please visit her fascinating politcal and social commentary blog at 
We had an engaging and entertaining visit with Dr. Roger Libby (in attendance at this weekend's Nonstop Radio Conference), an internationally recognized sexologist, social psychologist, sociologist and a board certified sex therapist, and author of textbooks and popular books on human sexuality. In the 1990s, he hosted a top-rated radio talk show"The Pleasure Dome" on 99X (the largest alternative rock station in the America) in Atlanta, and is negotiating to restart the show nationally. Roger has lived a varied and interesting life. He'll explain how that brought him into active correspondence with Woody Allen and George Carlin. And he'll offer his observations about how extreme right wing efforts to stifle the national dialogue around sexuality hurt everyone, especially young people.
Four-term Dane County Supervisor 
Courageous immigrants' rights activist Isabel Garcia, board president of the Tucson-based human-rights focused organization, 
We spoke with Terry Aladjem of Harvard U., author of 
* A Dynamic Panel of Riders from the 
* Tom Brown, of the WI Division of the United Nations Association, USA, joins us to describe a fascinating seminar, "The UN and the Evolution of Global Ethics," on Saturday, July 12th at Edgewood College . 
“THE NONSENSE COMPANY” PERFORMS THEIR AWARD-WINNING PLAY “GREAT HYMN OF THANKSGIVING/CONVERSATION STORM” THIS WEDNESDAY, JULY 9TH, NOTTINGHAM CO-OP 
At 7pm, we're joined by Jonathan Mooney, one of our all-time favorite guests, who first appeared on our show last year. Jonathan's life story is fascinating and inspiring, and the lessons he's learned along the way hold great meaning. Armed with an irreverent wit and an inspiring message, Jonathan is now a nationally-known expert and much-sought-after speaker on issues of educational reform. Diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, at the age of 12, Jonathan was still learning to read. Barely a decade later, at the age of 22, he had graduated from prestigious Brown University with honors in English Literature. How he describes his journey is even more fascinating, however. He's careful to explain that he did not overcome or move beyond the person who his teenage self--it was in rejecting the messages given to him by educators that he was somehow "less than" his peers, and instead learning to embrace and accept the young man that he was at the core, that placed him in a position to excel. Put another way--Jonathan says his problem was not so much "dyslexia," as it was "dysteachia." Jonathan is an advocate for the concept of "cognitive diversity," the acknowledgement that one-size-fits-all teaching methods serve no one well, and that we must learn to meet children on their own terms, rather than molding them into someone different than who they are.
Throughout our two hours, we'll also be joined by another one of our favorite guests, Selwyn Swe. In this context, Selwyn joins us in his role as a local advocate for children with autism, drawn out of his own experiences with his pre-teenage son. (See 
Please revisit links below for information about the fascinating public lecture series, University Summer Forum 2008: "Pop Culture, Corporations and Community" --which has its final two lectures on Tuesday and Thursday night at 7pm. Tuesday's lecture by Patty Loew is entitled "Through a Cultural Lens," and details the story, in the summer of 2007 of a group of students at the Lac Courte Oreilles Indian reservation in northern Wisconsin who stood behind video cameras and sat at editing stations exploring new ways to tell their stories, and discover tribal values. Thursday's lecture, "Creating in Our Own Image," with Erica Halverson, has resonant themes. While initial research on youth and media focused on youth as consumers of popular media, a new wave of scholarship focuses on the productive enterprises youth engage in as they use media to tell stories and convey messages about their lives.
Local Activist/Historian/Author Allen Ruff and national foreign policy expert Erik Leaver join us to discuss the upcoming Memorial Day rally: Call to Action!: Honor Soldiers & Civilians by Surging Against War and Occupation!, which will be held on Saturday, May 24, 2008 (further details below).
Josh Silver is the executive director of the media reform organization 
Also, coming soon, one of our other favorite events of the year: Proud Theater Productions, in conjunction with Stage Q, Outreach, Inc., and The New Harvest Foundation presents 'Proud Theater: Loud and Clear', a fun and exciting evening of theater, music, poetry and dance written by and starring the talented youth of Proud Theater, Madison's very own LGBTQ youth theater troupe.
At 7pm, during a preview of this Saturday's "Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools" Annual Dinner, we'll meet some courageous young people who are working to end harassment, violence, and other forms of discrimina g people on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. Two of the four young people being honored with awards this weekend will join us by phone from Evansville and River Falls, and we'll be joined in studio by GSAFE staff person Tim Michael (himself a 1998 award winner). This show--and the event it promotes, featuring keynote speeches by Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin and CUNA's Steve Goldberg--are among my favorites each year. The stories told by these young people are moving and compelling beyond description. For information on how you can attend this important event, call the GSA for Safe Schools office here in Madison at 661-4141 or go to the website of 
Palestine Fair Trade Association (PFTA) is
a Palestinian national union of fair trade producing
cooperatives, processors, and exporters. It was founded in 2004 and is based
in the city of Jenin in the Northern West Bank.
The PFTA's mission is to provide marginalized
Palestinian communities with the means for social
and economic empowerment through the concept
or fair trade. See 
Wednesday, May 14: Archbishop Elias Chacour will speak on "What are the Things that Make for Peace?" Building Peace in the Midst of the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict at 7:00 pm at First United Methodist Church, 203 Wisconsin Avenue, Madison. A Palestinian citizen of Israel, Archbishop Chacour is leader of the Melkite Catholic Church of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and the Galilee. He is a 3-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee & author of two books, Blood Brothers and We Belong to the Land: The Story of a Palestinian Israeli who Lives for Peace and Reconciliation. Both books will be available for signing at the talk. Sponsored by Pilgrims of Ibillin, for more information, contact Joan Deming at 608-241-9281 or cell 608-235-1046, or visit the 
Also, Forward Forum is traveling to the National Conference on Media Reform in Minneapolis during the weekend of June 6-8, along with dozens of other Madisonians. Amazing speakers, great skills-building, exceptional networking--all in one place, it's an event you won't want to miss--and it all began 5 years ago right here in Madison. Look for us on "Radio Row," and be sure to stop by to share your experiences of the conference. For more info, go to 
Also, please visit our archives at 
Also, visit the archives for an outstanding potpourri of social justice programming featured on our April 20th show. (See also the podcast link at 
* In our 7 pm hour, Jose Garcia, co-author of Up to Our Eyeballs, How Shady Lenders and Failed Economic Policies Are Drowning America in Debt (with special guest/guest co-host, local financial expert Niel Moser)
* In our 8 pm hour, E. Benjamin Skinner, Native Madisonian and author of the landmark book based on his four continent investigative reporting: A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-Day Slavery
Our thanks, as well, to Forward Forum Intern/Correspondent Harry Waisbren, for his part in initiating the theme of this week's show and providing major production assistance--while also working simultaneously to launch our new