Unemployment Issues, Wisconsin’s Vaccine Rollout, Texting The Dead

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Syringes containing the COVID-19 vaccine are displayed
In this Jan. 6, 2021, photo, syringes containing the COVID-19 vaccine are displayed in Pompano Beach, Fla. The nation’s biggest immunization rollout in history is facing pushback from an unlikely source: health care workers who witnessed COVID-19′s devastation firsthand but are refusing shots in surprising numbers. Wilfredo Lee/AP Photos

Governor Evers is calling for changes to Wisconsin’s unemployment system after delays in providing benefits during the pandemic. We talk with the head of the state’s workforce department about the issue. We also check in on Wisconsin’s vaccine rollout and hear about a program for sending text messages to the deceased.

Featured in this Show

  • Wisconsin's DWD Secretary On Preventing Another Unemployment Insurance Backlog

    Gov. Tony Evers plans to call a special legislative session to overhaul Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance system. We talk with Dept. of Workforce Development secretary-designee Amy Pechacek about what she says needs to be done to prevent another backlog of unemployment insurance claims.

  • 'Text Our Dead' Project Lets Living Connect With Dead Through A Favorite Medium, Texting

    For the last 10 months, traditional ways of mourning like funerals and gatherings have been disrupted. We talk with a writer who’s own losses and mourning led him to create a phone line in which the living can send text messages to the dead, inspired by Japanese garden designer Itaru Sasaki’s ‘Wind Phone’.

  • Assessing Wisconsin's Vaccine Rollout

    We look at the state of Wisconsin’s rollout of vaccine — both how it’s going and the challenges with getting more people vaccinated.

Episode Credits

  • Rob Ferrett Host
  • Bill Martens Producer
  • Jana Rose Schleis Producer
  • Natalie Guyette Producer
  • Tim Peterson Producer
  • Amy Pechacek Guest
  • Eric LeMay Guest
  • Dr. Jonathan Temte Guest
  • Michele Gerard Good Technical Director