Arts

Wisconsin Artist Creates 'Water Biography' To Remember Important Bodies Of Water

February 20, 2020 - 4:00pm

Are there bodies of water you visited in childhood or that are always in the background in your adult life? We talk with an artist and professor who is creating her "water biography," collecting water samples from the bodies of water that have been meaningful in her life.

The Portent

February 20, 2020 - 11:30am

Because it was politically sensitive, Giuseppe Verdi’s new opera Un ballo in maschera made the Italian censors nervous. They forced Verdi to change the action to someplace farther from home.

He chose seventeenth-century Boston. The King of Sweden became the Governor of Boston.

When Un ballo in maschera came to...

Is Psychedelic Therapy The Medicine Of The Future?

February 20, 2020 - 10:15am

After the excesses of the 1960s — and an ensuing moral panic — psychedelic research was outlawed by the United States government for decades. But today, the research is blossoming as a promising treatment for depression and anxiety....

Remnants of History: Milwaukee's Faded Advertisements And Ghost Signs

February 19, 2020 - 4:00pm

Fading Pate Oil ad discoved on Brady Street in 2017

Fading advertisements, often hand painted, are small relics of a city's history, and often overlooked. We talk with the author of a new book about his fascination with Milwaukee's ghost signs and the stories they tell.

Children’s Theater Tackles Grief, Accesibility and Representation

February 19, 2020 - 3:45pm

theater, play, autism, children, actor, acting

Mockingbird is the story of eleven-year-old Caitlin, an artist on the autism spectrum who has just lost her brother in a tragic school shooting. This week, Children’s Theater of Madison is bringing Caitlin’s story to the stage, starring an actress on the autism spectrum. We learn how the theater is committed to access and representation for those of all abilities.

Broken Windows

February 19, 2020 - 11:30am

On February 20, 1816, a combination of miscalculations and mishaps had brought about a disastrous debut for Rossini’s operaThe Barber of Seville. At the end of the contentious first act, Rossini sat at the piano and applauded the singers, but some in the audience thought he was praising his own opera, which made...

A Close Shave for the Barber

February 18, 2020 - 11:30am

Giovanni Paisiello had crafted a popular opera from a play by Beaumarchais in 1782, but in 1816 Gioachino Rossini went ahead and wrote his own version of The Barber of Seville. Some Roman opera-goers were partial to the Paisiello and considered young Rossini an upstart for thinking he could improve upon it. The...

Sticking With It

February 17, 2020 - 11:30am

At the age of twelve, Daniel Barenboim was a poised, accomplished pianist with three years of major concerts to his credit. In the summer of 1955, he was taking a conducting class at the Salzburg Mozarteum. The school had brought in a series of guest teachers, conductors who were working...

The Threats Facing Endangered Species Due To Fewer Hunters

February 14, 2020 - 3:30pm

Fewer and fewer people are going hunting in the U.S. We talk with the head of the National Wildlife Federation about why that means trouble for protecting endangered species.

Lover or Priest?

February 14, 2020 - 11:30am

The lover or the priest? An incident from early in the life of Franz Liszt suggests that even as a teenager he had the impulses of both.

By the age of sixteen Liszt had long since made a name for himself as one of Europe’s great pianists. In Paris he...

Do 10 Burpees And Call Me In The Morning

February 14, 2020 - 9:00am

Dr. Claudia Reardon says that specific exercises can actually act as effective treatments for specific mental illnesses.

I Have No Time!

February 13, 2020 - 11:30am

When Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s sister Nannerl chided him for not writing more often, he sent her a reply that explained where all his time had gone. He wrote on February 13, 1782:

Our father, when he has finished his duties in church, and you, when you’re through with your students,...

Sharing Eye-To-Eye Epiphanies With The Animal World

February 13, 2020 - 6:20am

Squirrels and pigeons share our sidewalks and park benches. Crows pick through our trash, rabbits munch on our lawns. They watch us; we ignore them. What would change if we actually met their eyes?

Why We Love Personality Tests, Even If They're Wrong

February 12, 2020 - 3:30pm

Many people like taking personality tests like the Myers-Briggs or Enneagram test, and enjoy reading and sharing the results even more. We talk with a professor who researches these personality tests about why some of these tests are bogus, and what better ways we have to measure personality.

There Is Just One King!

February 12, 2020 - 11:30am

On a bitingly cold morning on February 12, 1877, an orchestra of professional and amateur players waited in the dining room of the royal palace in Christiania. They were less than enthusiastic about the invitation to perform for Norway’s King Oscar II.

The king had recently heard about the success of the Symphony...

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Wisconsin Artist Creates 'Water Biography' To Remember Important Bodies Of Water

The Portent

Is Psychedelic Therapy The Medicine Of The Future?

Remnants of History: Milwaukee's Faded Advertisements And Ghost Signs

Children’s Theater Tackles Grief, Accesibility and Representation

Broken Windows

A Close Shave for the Barber

Sticking With It

The Threats Facing Endangered Species Due To Fewer Hunters

Lover or Priest?

Do 10 Burpees And Call Me In The Morning

I Have No Time!

Sharing Eye-To-Eye Epiphanies With The Animal World

Why We Love Personality Tests, Even If They're Wrong

There Is Just One King!

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