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WPR Reports

65 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 months ago - ★★★★★ - 61 ratings

"WPR Reports" features in-depth investigations from Wisconsin Public Radio. The current project is an audio documentary, "How We Got Here: Abortion in Wisconsin Since 1849," which examines Wisconsin's abortion ban, how it came to be and how Wisconsinites have lived with and without it since.

Government History wisconsin supreme court abortion redistricting electoral maps gerrymandering partisan cuba cuban fort mccoy
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Episodes

How We Got Here: Abortion in Wisconsin Since 1849

January 30, 2024 22:47 - 28 minutes - 1.69 KB

A challenge to Wisconsin’s abortion ban could already be making its way to the state Supreme Court. The law was first passed in 1849 and went back into effect last June when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. In our half-hour special “How We Got Here: Abortion in Wisconsin Since 1849,” Bridgit Bowden […]

Coming Soon – How We Got Here: Abortion in Wisconsin Since 1849

January 30, 2024 22:43 - 2 minutes - 122 Bytes

A challenge to Wisconsin’s abortion ban could already be making its way to the state Supreme Court. The law was first passed in 1849 and went back into effect last June when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. In our half-hour special “How We Got Here: Abortion in Wisconsin Since 1849,” Bridgit Bowden […]

Bonus: Citizen Erne

November 03, 2023 15:00 - 4 minutes - 120 Bytes

In fall 2023, the moment Ernesto Rodriguez of La Crosse had been waiting decades for had arrived. He finally became a U.S. citizen, more than 40 years after arriving in Wisconsin following the Mariel boatlift.

How We Got Here: Abortion in Wisconsin since 1849

September 09, 2023 15:00 - 28 minutes - 120 Bytes

A challenge to Wisconsin's abortion ban could already be making its way to the state Supreme Court. The law was first passed in 1849 and went back into effect last June when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. In our special "How We Got Here: Abortion in Wisconsin since 1849," WPR reporters explore how the ban came to be and how Wisconsinites have lived with and without it since. See more at wpr.org/1849.

Coming Soon - How We Got Here: Abortion in Wisconsin since 1849

September 01, 2023 22:00 - 2 minutes - 120 Bytes

A challenge to Wisconsin's abortion ban could already be making its way to the state Supreme Court. The law was first passed in 1849 and went back into effect last June when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. In our special "How We Got Here: Abortion in Wisconsin since 1849," WPR reporters explore how the ban came to be and how Wisconsinites have lived with and without it since.

How the Cuban revolution eventually led to 15K refugees in Wisconsin

October 12, 2022 11:09

Youth Lost to a Revolution

The mass exoduses that followed the Cuban Revolution

October 12, 2022 11:08

Failed Dreams and Embassy Breaks

Cuban refugees stuck in limbo in Wisconsin

October 12, 2022 11:06

A New Home at Fort McCoy

Mariel refugees find their way in the Midwest

October 12, 2022 11:05

Becoming a Wisconsinite

Uprooted, Ep. 8: Cuba is Calling

October 12, 2022 06:35 - 61.7 MB

The Cuban exiles who arrived in Wisconsin in 1980 as part of the Mariel Boatlift have become family to one another. They are Wisconsinites. But their hearts remain in Cuba, and they want to visit their homeland one more time - if they can find a way.

Uprooted, Ep. 7: Crime and Adversity

October 12, 2022 06:30 - 67.1 MB

Some Mariel refugees made questionable decisions while adjusting to life in the Midwest in the 1980s. They've all faced discrimination. And all of them have tried to move forward as their pasts continue to haunt them.

Uprooted, Ep. 6: Becoming a Wisconsinite

October 12, 2022 06:25 - 67.7 MB

The Cubans who immigrated to the United States during the Mariel Boatlift have left Fort McCoy. Some found homes in Wisconsin and got jobs. Some started families. But first, they had to find sponsors.

Uprooted, Ep. 5: A New Home at Fort McCoy

October 12, 2022 06:20 - 75.4 MB

Fort McCoy was one of four U.S. military installations that housed Cuban refugees after the Mariel Boatlift in 1980. Almost 15,000 Cubans lived there that summer and fall while waiting to connect with family members or find sponsors.

Uprooted, Ep. 4: The Mariel Boatlift

October 12, 2022 06:15 - 61.1 MB

People who left Cuba to come to the United States as part of the Mariel Boatlift in 1980 share their experiences of traveling across the sea and their first memories stepping ashore in Florida.

Uprooted, Ep. 3: Failed Dreams and Embassy Breaks

October 12, 2022 06:10 - 47.4 MB

The Cuban revolution promised people a better life: free health care, schools and subsidized housing for everyone. But this came at a cost - and some weren't willing to pay the price. So they began leaving the country in the 1960s, and it all came to a head in 1980.

Uprooted, Ep. 2: Youth Lost to a Revolution

October 12, 2022 06:05 - 41.9 MB

When Fidel Castro took control of Cuba in 1959, some feared the shift to communism and left almost right away. Decades later, the changes brought on by the revolution would also lead to almost 15,000 Cuban refugees coming to Wisconsin as part of the Mariel Boatlift of 1980.

Uprooted, Ep. 1: From Cuba to Oktoberfest

October 12, 2022 06:00 - 51.9 MB

Enrique More has roots in La Crosse. He's been a part of the city's music scene for decades, most notably playing with Mr. Blink. Wisconsin is his home. But it didn't feel much like home when he first got here, when he was one of a handful of Cubans to settle in La Crosse after arriving in 1980 as part of the Mariel Boatlift.

Introducing: Uprooted

October 05, 2022 17:00 - 5 minutes - 6.87 MB

In 1980, nearly 15,000 Cuban refugees were sent to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. They left their homes as part of the Mariel boatlift mass exodus. In this podcast, meet the Cubans who stayed in Wisconsin and find out what their lives have been like as they live in legal limbo.

A new podcast from WPR about Cubans in Wisconsin

October 05, 2022 11:00

Introducing: Uprooted

Mapped Out, Ep. 8: The Final Map

June 01, 2022 11:00 - 33.6 MB

When people look back at Wisconsin's redistricting cycle of 2021, they might wonder how the Republican-led Legislature came out on top again, despite repeated and significant setbacks.

Mapped Out Ep. 8:The Final Map

June 01, 2022 11:00

When people look back at Wisconsin's redistricting cycle of 2021, they might wonder how the Republican-led Legislature came out on top again, despite repeated and significant setbacks.

Mapped Out, Ep. 7: Least Changes

December 09, 2021 12:00 - 26 MB

The new redistricting maps proposed by Republican leaders in the state Legislature are based on the old maps approved in 2011. And while it may have been obscured by the partisan bickering that greeted the proposal, an important question emerges: Can the map that helped Republicans cement their majorities for the past decade be reused for the next 10 years?

In 2021 map fight, what’s old is new

December 09, 2021 12:00

Least Changes

Mapped Out Ep. 7:Least Changes

December 09, 2021 12:00

The new redistricting maps proposed by Republican leaders in the state Legislature are based on the old maps approved in 2011. And while it may have been obscured by the partisan bickering that greeted the proposal, an important question emerges: Can the map that helped Republicans cement their majorities for the past decade be reused for the next 10 years?

Mapped Out Ep. 6:How It Might Go

November 03, 2021 11:00

In Wisconsin, it's the job of the Legislature and the governor to handle redistricting every decade, and pretty much no one thinks they're actually going to do it this time around. With split control of state government, things are likely headed to court, but which court and when are still open questions.

Mapped Out, Ep. 6: How It Might Go

November 03, 2021 11:00 - 33.8 MB

In Wisconsin, it's the job of the Legislature and the governor to handle redistricting every decade, and pretty much no one thinks they're actually going to do it this time around. With split control of state government, things are likely headed to court, but which court and when are still open questions.

Mapped Out Ep. 5:Locked In

October 27, 2021 11:00

It's one thing to talk about the power of political redistricting in the abstract, but what does it look like in practice? Over the last decade, Wisconsin's map has let Republicans pass landmark conservative policies, keep a tight grip on the state budget, reshape government agencies and mothball issues despite public support.

Mapped Out, Ep. 5: Locked In

October 27, 2021 11:00 - 31.7 MB

It's one thing to talk about the power of political redistricting in the abstract, but what does it look like in practice? Over the last decade, Wisconsin's map has let Republicans pass landmark conservative policies, keep a tight grip on the state budget, reshape government agencies and mothball issues despite public support.

Mapped Out Ep. 4:Courting Anthony Kennedy

October 20, 2021 11:00

The legislative maps that Wisconsin Republicans drew a decade ago are still standing. But an effort that started in a Milwaukee teahouse and snowballed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court very well could have changed the whole game of redistricting — in Wisconsin and nationwide.

Mapped Out, Ep. 4: Courting Anthony Kennedy

October 20, 2021 11:00 - 4.34 MB

The legislative maps that Wisconsin Republicans drew a decade ago are still standing. But an effort that started in a Milwaukee teahouse and snowballed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court very well could have changed the whole game of redistricting — in Wisconsin and nationwide.

Mapped Out, Ep. 3: The Mousetrap

October 13, 2021 11:00 - 30.8 MB

Some districts split towns apart. Others packed all the votes in a city together, or stretched to join urban with suburban. But taken together, Republicans' 2011 legislative maps did one thing: changed the game in Wisconsin politics.

Mapped Out Ep. 3:The Mousetrap

October 13, 2021 11:00

Some districts split towns apart. Others packed all the votes in a city together, or stretched to join urban with suburban. But taken together, Republicans’ 2011 legislative maps did one thing: changed the game in Wisconsin politics.

Mapped Out Ep. 2:Chaos and Quiet

October 06, 2021 11:00

2011 was a frenzied, historic year in Wisconsin politics, with massive protests over GOP legislation gutting the state's public employee unions. But at the same time, quietly, behind closed doors, Republicans were drawing maps that would cement their power for a decade.

Mapped Out, Ep. 2: Chaos and Quiet

October 06, 2021 11:00 - 31.3 MB

2011 was a frenzied, historic year in Wisconsin politics, with massive protests over GOP legislation gutting the state's public employee unions. But at the same time, quietly, behind closed doors, Republicans were drawing maps that would cement their power for a decade.

Redistricting is underway in Wisconsin. What is it, anyway?

September 28, 2021 21:00

An Unseen Force

Mapped Out Ep. 1: An Unseen Force

September 28, 2021 21:00

Wisconsin is the quintessential purple state, and yet the Legislature is very red. Why? It’s partly because of redistricting, the process of drawing district lines every decade. It’s not something most people learn about in civics class, but the way those maps are drawn and who draws them can have an enormous impact on who wields political power.

Mapped Out, Ep. 1: An Unseen Force

September 28, 2021 21:00 - 27.5 MB

Wisconsin is the quintessential purple state, and yet the Legislature is very red. Why? It's partly because of redistricting, the process of drawing district lines every decade. It's not something most people learn about in civics class, but the way those maps are drawn and who draws them can have an enormous impact on who wields political power.

Coming Soon: Mapped Out

September 15, 2021 11:00 - 212 Bytes

In 2011, Wisconsin's legislative redistricting process included secret meetings, deleted documents and a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. "Mapped Out" is an investigative series debuting in September that will give the low-down on the state's redistricting past and get ready for redistricting present.

Mapped Out: Trailer

September 15, 2021 11:00 - 2.9 MB

In 2011, Wisconsin's legislative redistricting process included secret meetings, deleted documents and a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. "Mapped Out" is an investigative series debuting in September that will give the low-down on the state's redistricting past and get ready for redistricting present.

Introducing: Mapped Out, A New Podcast From WPR

September 15, 2021 11:00

In 2011, Wisconsin's legislative redistricting process included secret meetings, deleted documents and a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. "Mapped Out" is an investigative series debuting in September that will give the low-down on the state's redistricting past and get ready for redistricting present.