Wisconsin Life

12/13/2024

In honor of the holiday season, we've curated a collection of some of our favorite holiday stories for you to binge during your travels, play while prepping your holiday meal, or just enjoy with the family.

Check it out on our website!

https://wisconsinlife.org/series/happy-holidays/

12/13/2024

Have you ever wondered what the biggest animals in Wisconsin are?
We'll give you a hint...one lives on a farm and the other in the northwoods.

A few years ago, when Alstan Van Overmeer was in fourth grade, he was thinking about animals. He wanted to know what the biggest animal you can find in Wisconsin […]

12/12/2024

“When people first step up, they’re pretty terrified, typically. I love seeing them walk away feeling very happy ... just overcoming that fear and trying something new.” - Glass artist Jason Mack, who created a community-made glass tree is at a holiday market at the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay.

Alongside the tree, which the artists claim is the tallest glass tree in the world, there’s a market with local vendors selling craft gifts, art exhibitions and classes, and a warm tent with food and beverages.

12/11/2024

Jesse Brookstein considers himself an "all-around meat geek." That's one reason he wrote a book on one of the meatiest of Wisconsin's snack, landjaeger.

Jesse Brookstein takes snacking seriously. The New York native has fond memories of his uncle sharing unique, flattened meat snacks with the whole family during the Upstate summer vacations of his childhood. When Brookstein relocated to Wisconsin a few years ago, he noticed those same meat snacks fr...

12/08/2024

Author Mark Blake took it upon himself to chronicle the band’s history in his latest book, “Dreams: The Many Lives of Fleetwood Mac.” WPR’s “BETA” was curious to find out the story of this remarkable band, so we sat down with Blake to get the story.

Author Mark Blake took it upon himself to chronicle the band's history in his latest book, "Dreams: The Many Lives of Fleetwood Mac."

12/07/2024

"This is something that Stevie Nicks has never tired of telling people over the last 50 years — that Fleetwood Mac never wanted her. They just wanted Lindsey. But he refused to join the band unless she came as well," author Mark Blake tells WPR's "BETA."

"I think the truth is somewhere in the middle of that. But it’s another one of those lucky, happy accidents. And that’s how they ended up finding those two."

Author Mark Blake took it upon himself to chronicle the band's history in his latest book, "Dreams: The Many Lives of Fleetwood Mac."

12/06/2024

While we wait for Wisconsin Life to return Thursday, Dec. 19, we invite you to revisit the third episode of this new season of Wisconsin Life!

Host Angela Fitzgerald discovers why Circus World made Wisconsin a nationally renowned historic site and where the Ringling Brothers began in 1884. The museum features daily performances under the billowing big top — with aerialists, acrobats, clowns, and animal acts — as well as the world's largest collection of circus artifacts.

To follow Wisconsin Life over this holiday break, please visit pbswisconsin.org/wilife, the free PBS app on all digital devices and smart TVs or right here on Facebook before weekly episodes resume 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19!

12/06/2024

“I have a ridiculous love affair with Regent Street. I think that Regent Street should be a phenomenal thoroughfare that welcomes you in from the west side into the downtown," business owner and long-time Madisonian Sam Brown told Wisconsin Life.

Madison’s Greenbush Neighborhood has a rich history that many people have forgotten. But as Maria Brunetta tells us, business owner and long-time Madisonian Sam Brown is working to preserve the legacy of the historic neighborhood. == Decades ago, the Greenbush neighborhood in Madison was ethnicall...

12/06/2024

In summer 2024, the Italian Workmen's Club in Madison was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It was around this time that the building's basement occupant, the Greenbush Bar, got a new owner: Sam Brown. His vision was to preserve the restaurant's history and recipes. It's part of Brown's bigger plan for the Greenbush neighborhood, to lean into what was once known as 'Spaghetti Corners.'
Hear more about the history of Greenbush and Brown's dreams for and on on .
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12/06/2024

Madison's Greenbush neighborhood was once home to a number of Italian delis and restaurants. Sam Brown is helping bring back -- a preserve -- that history one dish at a time.

Madison’s Greenbush Neighborhood has a rich history that many people have forgotten. But as Maria Brunetta tells us, business owner and long-time Madisonian Sam Brown is working to preserve the legacy of the historic neighborhood. == Decades ago, the Greenbush neighborhood in Madison was ethnicall...

12/04/2024

Do you use catchphrases that came from your parents or grandparents? Ali Muldrow of Madison does, but she didn't necessarily want to say them all. So, she looked inward to find alternatives to help her daughters process their emotions.

One day, Ali Muldrow of Madison, Wisconsin realized she was using some of the same catchphrases on her daughters that her parents used on her. So Muldrow started to think about the kind of person she is versus the kind of person she wants her kids to be able to...

12/02/2024

In the second episode of the new season of Wisconsin Life, we met Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources bear researcher Jennifer Price Tack. She is leading Wisconsin's largest black bear study, investigating dens near Spooner. Her team is tracking more than 100 bears to study population dynamics, cub survival, and litter sizes. This research helps manage the state's expanding bear population and improves human-bear coexistence.

Track down more Wisconsin Life at pbswisconsin.org/wilife, the free PBS app on all digital devices and smart TVs or right here on Facebook before weekly episodes resume 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19!

11/29/2024

"Before Europeans, Christianity, colonization — two-spirit people were revered. It was believed we were given special gifts. We were given very high roles in our society. There was no such thing as coming out. It just was. It was believed that the creator made us and it was also considered to be gifted because we could understand both the masculine and the feminine side of things."

While Joseph Rey Torres of Oneida was on his path of self-discovery, something finally clicked for him. He realized he was two-spirit, which for him, meant embracing masculine and feminine identities. Torres talked about this with his adopted nephew and mentee Cory Carline of Green Bay during a Stor...

11/27/2024

What do GM, apple pie shots, bejeweled teeth and guitars all have in common?
Zoxx Social Club in Janesville, of course!
The "the island bar in a concrete ocean" used to serve GM workers before the plant shut down in 2009. Now, the dive bar has a steady stream of regulars who love the community created in the space. But, they fear the bar may have to go as the city decides what to do with the land that used to house the GM plant.
Hear the story behind on on .
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🔊📻Link to story in bio 🍻 🎸

11/27/2024

The old GM Assembly plant on the south side of Janesville is just 240 acres of rubble now. But the old GM worker's bar, Zoxx Social Club, is still there — and it's thriving. As city redevelopment plans are threatening its survival, hear from the bar's owners and regulars during open mic night to talk about why this bar matters to them.

It’s the island bar in a concrete ocean. That’s how Andy Wilson describes Zoxx Social Club, the Janesville, Wisconsin bar he owns and operates with his wife, Desiree Wilson. The concrete ocean is the gigantic vacant lot that once hosted General Motors’ Janesville Assembly Plant from 1919 to 20...

11/26/2024

Starting this week, Wisconsin Life is beginning a brief holiday break so we thought this would be a great time to start looking back at some of our favorite stories from the first seven episodes of its new season!

The Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra lays claim to being the oldest in the state. Meet its new conductor, Ernesto Estigarribia, who is from Paraguay but fell in love with the American Midwest.

You can keep up with Wisconsin Life at pbswisconsin.org/wilife, the free PBS app on all digital devices and smart TVs or right here on Facebook before weekly episodes resume 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19!

11/25/2024

The TV show is taking a break for the holidays...but don't worry! We'll be back with new episodes in the new year.

In the meantime, keep your eyes on PBS Wisconsin and Wisconsin Life social media for some incredible digital shorts, exclusive to our social media channels.

Or use the break to catch up on anything you've missed on the Wisconsin Life website! https://wisconsinlife.org/

11/25/2024

In case you missed the debut of the latest Wisconsin Life episode last night, we wanted to share one of our favorite segments from the program!

Mount Horeb golfer and golf coach Nolan Krentz teed off toward a world record by playing 18,018 holes of golf in 2022, setting an unofficial world record. Krentz played as many as 72 holes a day that year, completing a round of nine holes in just 45 minutes.

If you want to see more Wisconsin Life, visit pbswisconsin.org/wilife for other episodes and segments then keep an eye on our social media feeds for details about future broadcasts!