Battleground Wisconsin

Battleground Wisconsin is Citizen Action of Wisconsin’s weekly podcast that features the latest political news from the front lines in the embattled state of Wisconsin.

Battleground Wisconsin is a news podcast hosted by Brian Wooldridge, with 500 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Brian Wooldridge hosts Battleground Wisconsin, a news show with 500 episodes published.

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  Battleground Wisconsin

  Labor Day

  Sep 3, 202654 min

  We open with the tick report, including MAGA conspiracy theories about the supposed nefareous actors behind tick-bourn diseases that conveniently deflect attention from big oil and the fossil fuel utilities' responsibility in accelerating climate change. We discuss the We Energies rate hike media event and Public Service Commission (PSC) hearings this week in Milwaukee and how reining in the big for profit utilities is central to the fight against catastrophic climate change. We announce the latest round of Citizen Action endorsements for State Senate, State Assembly, and statewide office. It’s Labor Day Weekend and we encourage our listeners to attend a Labor Day Weekend event with organized labor, as more progressive Labor unions get behind David Crowley ahead of Labor Day.

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  Battleground Wisconsin

  Wisconsinites vs. Billionaires & G20

  Aug 27, 202652 min

  In our weekly Tick Report, we remind listeners that It may be the end of summer but don’t let your guard down on ticks and authoritarians. Robert updates us on authoritarian consolidation, as the U.S. Supreme Court left in place Trump’s flagrantly illegal and unconstitutional assaults on mail-in ballots. We highlight the great organizing by western Wisconsin community members and GROWW, that resulted in a judge striking down a CAFO permit from the Wisconsin DNR because it does not do enough to protect groundwater. We briefly review the new MU Law Poll, which unsurprisingly shows a tight rac for Governor. We push back on conventional punditry about the poll’s findings. Then we welcome Peter Rickman, president of the MASH union, to discuss why the richest nations in the world, the G20, are coming to Milwaukee in late September. We preview a rally on September 30th where Citizen Action will join with labor and civil society organizations outside the G20 meeting to call for a new trade model that creates good-paying jobs, raises wages, enforces worker rights, strengthens family farms, protects the environment, enables A.I. accountability and otherwise puts people over profits. Speaking of authoritarians, we close the show with State Representative Amaad Rivera-Wagner who lays out the clear case against Elon Musk for violating Wisconsin’s campaign finance laws, and the head-shaking decision of the LaCrosse County District Attorney to pass on prosecuting the powerful billionaire.

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  Battleground Wisconsin

  Embracing Commutations

  Aug 20, 202653 min

  This week we dig into the criminal justice reform most needed in the next legislation session with Mark Rice, WISDOM’s Transformational Justice Coordinator. Before we get to that vital topic, we provide the latest Tick Report which has surprising findings on the true origin of Lyme disease. We also dig into the first week of the general election campaign for Governor, where AI Data Centers have taken center stage and where MAGA Tom Tiffany is trying to label David Crowley as the lap dog of big tech. WISDOM’s Mark Rice discusses the historic day this Friday when for the first time in 25 years incarcerated Wisconsinites will receive commutation hearings. We dive deeper into what more can be done in 2027 to reduce the state’s prison population and discuss new polling showing a majority of Wisconsinites favor a form of clemency for some individuals. We debrief Wednesday evening’s $20 Minimum Wage Town Hall in Milwaukee where over 50 community members and leaders learned more about the legislation, and why it is needed in this moment in history and what it would mean to people who attended the town hall.

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  Battleground Wisconsin

  Primary Election: What happened & the roadmap forward

  Aug 13, 202656 min

  Following our weekly tick report, we do a deep dive into the stunning primary election outcome in the race for governor. We unpack why the Francesca Hong campaign was so successful, why it fell barely short, and a brief road map on how David Crowley can engage the progressive base that worked so hard for Hong. Read an excellent Wisconsin Examiner article by Ruth Conniff on what the Democratic primary for governor means for progressive politics?

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  Battleground Wisconsin

  Keeping the throttle twisted towards the primary election

  Aug 6, 202650 min

  Following the tick report where we learn, in the words of a CDC scientist, that “the ticks are winning,” we discuss a new study finding wildfire smoke is now the primary pollutant negatively affecting pregnancy. Climate change, including increased heat, extended drought, and a thirsty atmosphere, has been a key driver in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires and the spike in tick borne illnesses. In a rather surprising development, former disgraced New York City mayor Erick Adams shows up to central Wisconsin to shill for data centers, and is booed by local residents. Whose brilliant idea was it to hire the corrupt Adams as a pitchman for Big Tech’s AI binge? Investing in public education and phasing out the private voucher school program jumped onto center stage in the governor’s race this week. Francesca Hong’s commitment to wind down the voucher program which is draining resources from our public schools made headlines in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The newspaper also reports that Hong was the only candidate who agreed to discuss school funding plans in detail with reporters. Kudos to Hong for demonstrating her commitment to be open and honest with the public about her plans for the largest item in the state budget. We discuss the public debate in the 3rd Congressional District on if it is appropriate for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (the political arm of the House Democrats) to intervene in the primary elections on behalf of Rebecca Cooke, raising concerns of closed door decisions that disempower voters. Robert discusses parallel concerns about Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee and Senate Democratic Campaign Committee interventions in Assembly District 21 and Senate District 17 races. We also react to news that Tom Tiffany raised $4 million of his $5 million cash on hand from three billionaires. We close with a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation finding half of ICE flights conducted by Appleton-based Air Wisconsin are using Milwaukee Mitchell as its hub. Also, Robert tells us if it matters that two federal court decisions block the Trump Regime from rescinding billions in climate change grants. We urge our listeners in the Milwaukee area to attend our $20 Minimum Wage Town Hall, Wednesday, August 19th, 6pm.

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