ON AIR OCTOBER 2015

Just Mercy News Team Changes Fall Book Picks Book & Science Fests State of Black America

Featured Photo WPR is pleased to announce the winners of our Wisconsin Life Summer Life photo Wisconsin Survey Results Are in on Walker, contest. Five winning Presidential Candidates and More photos ---- including this image of the Cana Island Wisconsin Public Radio and the St. Norbert College Strategic Lighthouse in Baileys Research Institute, in partnership with Wisconsin Public Television, Harbor by K. Merrell ---- released the results of the semi-annual Wisconsin Survey today. The were selected from 15 Wisconsin Survey polled Wisconsin registered voters on elected finalists by an online vote. officials, the 2016 election cycle and the economy. See the winning images at WisconsinLife.org. The survey found that Gov. Scott Walker's approval rating has dipped to 39 percent while President 's approval rating is 51 percent. Sen. Tammy Baldwin's approval rating is 48 Sound Bites percent, and Sen. Ron Johnson's is 38 percent. Thanks for a Great Fall Respondents who said they are likely to vote in the Republican Membership Drive primary lean toward Ben Carson as their preferred candidate, Thank you to all who although the numbers are very close, with Carson at 20 percent and contributed during our Marco Rubio and Donald Trump tied at 18 percent each. Fall Membership Drive. More than 6,000 listeners Wisconsinites who said they would likely vote in the Democratic pledged, including nearly primary lean toward Hillary Clinton as their preferred candidate, with 2,000 sustaining pledges, 47 percent support versus 42 percent for Bernie Sanders. and we're pleased to welcome 1,700 new The Wisconsin Survey is a random telephone sample of 603 adult members to WPR! Wisconsin registered voters interviewed between October 14-17 with a margin for error of +/- 4 percent for the entire sample at the 95 percent confidence level. Explore Wisconsin Life Videos Online Tune in for analysis by Dr. Wendy Scattergood, assistant professor Take a spin in the Oscar of political science at St. Norbert College and associate at the Mayer Wienermobile, Strategic Research Institute, and other experts on the Ideas meet Darth Chief, and Network. ride the Books on the Bus school bus in Door Click here for complete survey results. County ---- these are just some of the stories you'll [Photo: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA, cropped from original] find on WisconsinLife.org from WPR and WPT. And tune in for new WPR's Chapter A Day television episodes on Features Go Big Read's WPT, Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption Great Thanksgiving explores the author's experiences Listen Focuses on the as a young lawyer and provides a Classroom StoryCorps is focusing on window into the lives of his clients ---- teachers and high school the poor, the wrongly condemned, students for this year's and women and children trapped in Great Thanksgiving the furthest reaches of our criminal Listen. Their free teacher justice system. toolkit will give you all you need to help your Chosen as the UW-Madison Go Big Read selection for 2015 by students participate in Chancellor Rebecca Blank, Just Mercy raises tough and important this national effort to questions about inequalities in the criminal justice system. The book preserve the voices of is being read on WPR's Chapter A Day now through November 6 by stories of an entire Cynthia Woodland (pictured) on WPR's Ideas Network stations generation of Americans. weekdays at 12:30 p.m. (repeating at 11 p.m.). It will also be available online at WPR.org. Click here to get the toolkit. "This book had a huge impact on me," Cynthia said. "When Jim Fleming asked me to read for Chapter A Day, I knew this was the Quick Links book I wanted to read," she said. "Stevenson presents the stories in an artful way that makes real the human lives behind the statistics of our current criminal justice system," she added. "What I really love WPR Online about this author is he continues to have hope and he encourages Donate Now people to care about one another," Cynthia concluded. NPR Online Click here for Central Time's interview with Cynthia on why she chose to read Just Mercy. Listen Live to Ideas Ideas Schedule Click here for a link to author 's interview on The Joy Cardin Show from November 13, 2014. Listen Live to News & Music BEHIND THE SCENES News & Music Schedule

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Exciting Changes in WPR's Newsroom

WPR is excited to welcome Parth Shah (pictured), a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as its newest Lee Ester Fellow. The nine-month news fellowship will allow Parth to build on his reporting, writing and editing skills while working among award- winning professionals in WPR's newsroom.

"Parth has only been here a month, but he's already covered an eclectic mix of news. In the coming months, he will be spending some time at the Capitol and working on current news and features for the WPR news team," said News Director Noah Ovshinsky.

Parth is ready for the adventure. "When I was nine, I got a radio for my birthday. I would fall asleep listening to music and wake up to listen to the morning show on the local top 40s station. I was obsessed with DJs. Now that I'm here, I'm enjoying Madison and can't wait to see where this year takes me," he said.

The Lee Ester Fellowship is possible thanks to a $250,000 gift from Leota Ester, formerly of Appleton. The gift honors her late husband, Lee, who died in 2006 of Alzheimer's disease. He was a dedicated journalist and avid WPR listener, and he served on the WPRA board from 1992-1998.

Hope Kirwan also joins the news team this fall as WPR's new La Crosse bureau reporter. Hope comes to Wisconsin from Mizzou and KBIA, where she was the health and wellness reporter. And we will soon be announcing the hiring of the Mike Simonson investigative news fellow, a new fellowship for early career journalists made possible by Mike Simonson memorial funds.

What's on Our Bookshelves This Fall

With book festivals around the state and cooler weather on the horizon, fall can be a great time for reading. We asked what our staff can't put down this fall!

Director Mike Crane "I'm reading The Cherry Harvest by Lucy Sanna. It's a historical novel inspired by the true, but mostly forgotten, fact that Wisconsin hosted thousands of German World War II prisoners of war."

Host/Chapter A Day Reader Jim Fleming "It is true in actual fact that the book I recommend to everyone lately is the book which will start in two weeks on Chapter A Day. It's All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. It takes place during WWII, but it's not a 'war book.' It's a compelling story of two young people."

Audience Services Representative Lori Peppard "I just finished Delicious! by Ruth Reichl. The descriptions of food, NYC, and the characters make this a very enjoyable read and a nice break from some of the heavy and heart-rending books we often read at my book club."

Wausau Bureau Reporter Glen Moberg "If Kennedy Lived by Jeff Greenfield. The book looks at what would have happened had President Kennedy survived the assassination attempt in Dallas. I find it to be a fascinating and plausible scenario based on one turn of events: It rained in Dallas the morning of the assassination, causing Kennedy's car to be covered with a Plexiglas shield."

Development Director Rebecca Dopart "Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. A personal growth deep dive that will leave you thrilled and exhausted ... and changed."

AROUND WISCONSIN

Come See Us at the Wisconsin Book Festival and Science Festival - October 22 to 25

Wisconsin Public Radio is proud to sponsor the Wisconsin Book Festival and the Wisconsin Science Festival, both occurring October 22-25. It's going to be a busy weekend with lots to see and do at events in Madison and around Wisconsin.

From Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay to the Hamilton Wood Type Museum in Two Rivers, from UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences to Ashland High School, scientific exploration is happening all across Wisconsin. Check the Science Festival website for events and activities in your area!

Meet WPR hosts and staff including Anne Strainchamps, Rob Ferret, Steve Paulson, Maureen McCollum and Jim Fleming, among others, at Wisconsin Book Festival events being held in the Madison area. Public radio favorites, including This American Life contributor Sarah Vowell and David Crabb of The Moth (pictured), and literary stars like actor Jesse Eisenberg and Reading Lolita in Tehran author Azar Nafisi are just a few of the writers appearing at more than 70 free events during the festival!

Click here for a link that includes WPR audio archives of featured guests appearing at festival events, including Bryan Stevenson, author of the Go Big Read selection, Just Mercy, and journalist/author Timothy Egan, who is presenting in conjunction with the Midwest Environmental Education Conference.

Get a complete list of WPR host and staff appearances at the Wisconsin Book Festival here.

State of Black America Forum in Appleton, October 29

As race relations dominate national news headlines, African Heritage, Inc. hosts Appleton's first State of Black America forum, at 6:30 p.m. on October 29 at the Radisson Paper Valley. Political commentator Dr. Julianne Malveaux (pictured) and civil rights leader Joe Madison will lead the discussion. The event is free and open to the public.

Click here for all the details.

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