Wisconsin Students With Global Visions, Toy Safety, Chicago’s Transformation

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Rob Ferrett and Veronica Rueckert talk to the organizers of a program to introduce Wisconsin students to Nobel Prize-winning authors. Then they look at the toys on shelves this holiday season that could be dangerous, and talk to a guest about how the city of Chicago has changed since he was a student there.

Featured in this Show

  • Connecting Wisconsin Students With A World Of Literature

    This Monday, students from around Wisconsin will have a unique opportunity. They’ll meet with a Nobel Prize-winning novelist for a first-hand discussion of his book — a book they’re spending the school year analyzing.

    It’s part of the Great World Texts in Wisconsin program, organized by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for the Humanities. Now in its ninth year, the program offers lesson plans to high schools around the state based around challenging texts of world literature and brings hundreds of students to Madison for a college-style academic conference.

    This year, the book is “Snow” by Turkish author Orhan Pamuk. Pamuk will speak to students during the day on Monday and then give a public speech in the evening.

    Event organizer Gabriella Ekman said the opportunity to meet with the Nobel Prize-winning novelist is a unique educational moment.

    “It’s a really wonderful opportunity for students to engage with a great writer, to understand that on one hand he’s a great writer whose novelist whose book they’ve been talking about for many months, but also a human being,” Ekman said.

    Heather Dubois Bourenane has worked on the Great World Texts program for years, and she said part of the goal is to help get Wisconsin students in a college mindset.

    “It allows students to start to see themselves as part of an intellectual, academic discursive community in a meaningful way,” she said.

    And she said it can be a first step to getting students to plan for their college education.

    “The college conversation isn’t necessarily just a conversation they could someday be a part of — it’s a conversation they already are a part of,” she said.

    Teachers can access the lesson plans for the Great World Texts program at this website. The site also has information about Monday’s event with Pamuk.

  • Wisconsin Students, Global Visions

    Hundreds of Wisconsin high school students will have a unique opportunity–they’ll meet a Nobel Prize winning author. The organizers of Wisconsin program talk about the value of bringing kids and world literature together.

  • Report Calls Out Dangerous Toys On Store Shelves This Holiday Season

    As Black Friday approaches, millions of parents will descend on retailers to find the hottest toys. A consumer advocate talks about the hazardous toys that are on store shelves this holiday season.

  • The City Chicago Has Become

    Harper’s Magazine columnist Thomas Frank takes a look at the city Chicago has become since his years as a student there. He describes a once downtrodden “ugly” city, that has gentrified and become a city of extreme economic disparity.

Episode Credits

  • Rob Ferrett Host
  • Veronica Rueckert Host
  • Gabriella Ekman Guest
  • Heather DuBois Bourenane Guest
  • Bruce Speight Guest
  • Thomas Frank Guest
  • Chris Malina Producer
  • Galen Druke Producer