April 2020

ON AIR & ONLINE Keep Up With WPR's Latest On COVID-19

While COVID-19 dominates the news, WPR's reporters are bringing you diverse perspectives and unexpected stories. We brought you the voices of people across the state who ventured out to cast ballots in person on April 7, as our state’s election made national and even international news. Our Mike Simonson Investigative Reporting Fellow Bram Sable-Smith uncovered a surprising angle on healthcare, finding that Wisconsinites have been sued for medical debt even in the midst of the pandemic. And you’ve heard moments of joy, too, like this "Central Time" conversation with a Milwaukee doctor who’s recovered from COVID-19 and is donating his plasma, and a first-ever kids' edition of “The Morning Show.”

This health crisis touches education, politics, religion, race and social equity, music and the arts, food, technology, and so much more. Keep listening to WPR, and visit wpr.org as well, for the latest news, and for these deeper and far-reaching stories about the people of Wisconsin in these challenging times.

You can find a complete listing of our COVID-19 stories here.

Photo courtesy of NPR Enjoy Live Virtual Concerts Curated By NPR Music

We’ve heard from many listeners about how music has consoled you during this difficult time. You can still find NPR’s popular Tiny Desk Concerts, with musicians now broadcasting from their own homes (including rapper Black Thought, pictured above). The classical show about young musicians, “From the Top,” is promoting "Daily Joy," a series of brief live concerts on Facebook and other social platforms. And every day NPR’s music hosts update a lively list of virtual concerts you can stream from a couch of your own. They’ve got everything from Radiohead to the Metropolitan Opera. There’s plenty of new music to discover, as well as old favorites to soothe and uplift you.

Find live concerts you can stream here.

D. Gerber BEHIND THE SCENES Meet New Education Reporter Madeline Fox

You may have noticed a new voice on our airwaves this month. That’s Milwaukee-based education reporter Madeline Fox. Madeline comes to us from WLRN, a public radio station in South Florida, and she previously covered child welfare in Kansas. Her new beat for WPR lets her examine the resources Wisconsin puts into its kids, and the choices the state makes about its youngest residents. She’ll cover not only straight-up school issues, but other factors that impact education, like mental health and access to opportunities. This is undoubtedly a difficult time to start a new job. “Building a beat usually involves a lot of in-person things that are off the table right now,” she says, “meeting people for coffee, showing up at public meetings, spending time in classrooms, all that good stuff.” Madeline loves building relationships with sources, and social distancing has slowed that process down. Nevertheless, she's gotten right to work, and like all our reporters, she’s finding creative ways to make connections.

Read Madeline's piece on "Drop-Offs, Drive-Ups and Digital Classrooms."

P. Matushek We're Here For You, Whatever It Takes

Listeners have described WPR as a lifeline of information during this unsettling time. We’ve made a slew of technical changes behind the scenes so that when you press that button or turn that dial, the same WPR you’re used to fills your ears. Our Director of Engineering and Operations Britny Williams has been dropping off gear on front porches of our staff all over Madison, and shipping equipment to regional staff around the state. “Just when you’d think there’s nothing left we can do and things start to calm down,” she says, “we come up with a different way to get even more people out of the station.” Our reporters and hosts are in many cases working from home, with equipment that may be unfamiliar to them. We’re finding new ways to connect with sources and guests.

Our hope is that you haven’t noticed any of our scrambling, improvising, and learning on the fly. Our technology might have adapted to the occasion, but our commitment to provide you with news, talk and music hasn’t altered.

If you need stories of generosity, kindness and endurance more than ever, you can be sure we’re finding ways to get them to you.

Pictured: Maureen McCollum, host and producer of “Wisconsin Life,” at the window of her home studio.

Photos courtesy of C. Czerwonka AROUND WISCONSIN Upgrade Your Home Cooking Routine With Chef C's Pandemic Cooking School

From cooking with what’s already in your cupboard to bonding over the results as a family, “safer-at-home" has brought us more home cooking and a whole lot of opportunities to be creative. On April 17, chef Christian Czerwonka (pictured) joins Shereen Siewert, host of WPR's central Wisconsin regional show “Route 51," for a safer-at-home cooking primer. "Chef C” is a well-known central Wisconsin chef whose restaurants emphasize seasonal, local food.

Find recipes here as well as Chef C’s tips for both beginners and experienced foodies on “Route 51: Pandemic Cooking School.”

SOUNDBITES Free Audio Books From “Chapter A Day”

You can listen to some recently aired books on “Chapter A Day” in their entirety in a special unlimited streaming offering, available to you through June 1. More books are being added, and in the meantime there's lots you can happily binge!

"Portraits Of A Pandemic" Photo Essay

Our friends at the nonprofit newsroom Wisconsin Watch were in Milwaukee on April 7 taking pictures of voters who made it out to the polls. See the photo project “Portraits of a Pandemic” here.

Swing State Brings You Stories Of A Divided Wisconsin

WPR’s statewide news team continues to bring you in-depth stories of the electoral landscape as Wisconsin plays a key role in the presidential election. Go to wpr.org/swingstate for the ongoing series.

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