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Green card pause, Invasive sea lamprey, Skunk and Badger book series

Air Date:
Heard On Wisconsin Today
A person wearing white gloves holds a lamprey over a metal grate above water.
In this photo taken July 16, 2010, a scientist with the Hammond Bay Biological Station near Huron Beach, Mich., holds a female sea lamprey. The lamprey uses its disk-shaped mouth and sharp teeth to fasten onto fish and suck out their bodily fluids. Proposed cutbacks in federal spending could wipe out years of progress toward controlling sea lampreys in the Great Lakes and restoring fish species devastated by the parasitic invaders, officials say. John Flesher/AP Photo

An Afghan refugee and the head of an aid organization weigh in on the U.S. decision to pause immigration from 19 countries. Then, we learn about efforts to stop a vampiric fish species in the Great Lakes. And a Wisconsin author shares the latest from her trilogy about unlikely friends.

Featured in this Episode

  • Trump administration pauses citizenship, green card applications

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    Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced that it would pause reviewing all pending applications for asylum, citizenship or green cards from immigrants from 19 “countries of concern.” The head of a Wisconsin humanitarian organization and an Afghan refugee discuss the impact.

  • The comeback of the vampire fish?

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    The sea lamprey is a parasitic fish found in the Great Lakes that feeds off other fish by stabbing its tongue through scales and sucking out innards. It decimated fish populations in the 1940s. We talk to a journalist about how federal budget cuts are affecting efforts to control the lamprey.

  • Wisconsin Life

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    Producer Tyler Ditter brings us a story about two Appleton sisters and their love of reading. The sisters talked with one another about that experience as part of a StoryCorps mobile tour stop in Green Bay.

  • Wisconsin author pens a read-aloud series on the adventures of two unlikely roomates

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    “Rock Paper Incisors” is the newest installment of the Skunk and Badger trilogy, a series for young readers that explores the complexity of friendship and the meaning of family. We talk to the author about creating the world of Skunk and Badger and their odd-couple friendship.

Episode Credits

  • Rob Ferrett Host
  • Kate Archer Kent Host
  • Zabi Sahibzada Guest
  • Gail Cornelius Guest
  • Katie Thornton Guest
  • Amy Timberlake Guest
  • Trevor Hook Producer
  • Mackenzie Krumme Producer
  • Kate Archer Kent Producer
  • Sarah Hopefl Technical Director
  • Tyler Ditter Technical Director
  • Dean Knetter Executive Producer
  • Tim Peterson Executive Producer

Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2025, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.

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