The Recombobulation Area

The Recombobulation Area is a 19-time Milwaukee Press Club award-winning opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media . After 44 years behind the microphone, legendary Milwaukee broadcaster Jane Matenaer is retiring. She made the announcement on the show she hosts, “Matenaer On Air,” on Monday, Nov. 3...

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-time NINETEEN-TIME Milwaukee Press Club award – winning opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media . Every week, David Nir of The Downballot and Aaron Rupar of Public Notice talk politics in a live show on Substack, and this week, the spotlight turned to Wiscon...

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-time NINETEEN-TIME Milwaukee Press Club award - winning opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media . Every week, David Nir of The Downballot and Aaron Rupar of Public Notice talk politics in a live show on Substack, and this week, the spotlight turned to Wiscon...

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-time NINETEEN-TIME Milwaukee Press Club award – winning opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media . For the last six years, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin has been run by Ben Wikler. In that time as chair of the party, Democrats and Democratic-aligned candi...

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-time NINETEEN-TIME Milwaukee Press Club award - winning opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media . For the last six years, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin has been run by Ben Wikler. In that time as chair of the party, Democrats and Democratic-aligned candi...

Dan Shafer sits down with the outgoing party chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, Ben Wikler. Dan and Ben discuss the recent news that billionaire Elon Musk is stepping away from politics after the defeat in Wisconsin’s April elections, the upcoming race to fill the role of DPW Chair, and more! To learn more about this show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over t...

Dan Shafer hosts the Civic Media Radio Hour! Dan is joined for the afternoon by guest co-host Angela Lang from BLOC. In hour number two, Dan and Angela speak with immigration attorney Kevin Layde. The three dive deep into the controversial Kilmar Abrego Garcia case, illustrating its implications for U.S. immigration policy and constitutional law. In the final half hour of the show, Emily Tseffos j...

Dan Shafer hosts the Civic Media Radio Hour! Dan is joined for the afternoon by guest co-host Angela Lang from BLOC. Dan and Angela welcome filmmakers Laura Dyan Kezman and William Howell to discuss their documentary “Cycle”. The film is premiering at the Milwaukee Film Festival later this month, and delves into the tragic 2019 police shooting of 18-year-old Tyrese West in Racine, Wisconsin. The f...

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-time Milwaukee Press Club award – winning weekly opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media . There’s been a whole lot happening in recent months as Donald Trump has returned to office as president, and Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOG...

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-time Milwaukee Press Club award - winning weekly opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media . There’s been a whole lot happening in recent months as Donald Trump has returned to office as president, and Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOG...

There’s been a whole lot happening in recent months as Donald Trump has returned to office as president, and Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has begun to take a wrecking ball to various federal agencies, making drastic cuts to the federal workforce.  Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes is helping tell the stories of real people directly impacted by these layoffs. Barnes sat...

Last week, the Office of Management and Budget issued a memo essentially freezing payments from the federal government. The memo was rescinded, but perhaps it’s a sign of what’s to come from the Trump administration. Regular Recombobulation Area contributor and Marquette University professor Phil Rocco, who has written and researched extensively on the relationship between different levels of gove...

Donald Trump said immigration was his No. 1 issue. So, let’s talk about it. A big picture podcast discussion with immigration attorneys Gabriela Parra and Kevin Layde, and guest co-host Angela Lang. Donald Trump was sworn into office as the 47th president last week, and with that inauguration came a flurry of activity, perhaps most notably on the issue of immigration. One report said Donald Trump...

Dan Shafer , Founder of the Recombobulation Area and Civic Media’s Political Member, joins host Mark Becker to answer this: What really happened in Wisconsin in the 2024 Presidential Election? Besides discussing the closeness of the Presidential Election, Mark also asks Dan about the difference between the 3rd Congressional District and the 8th. What’s next for Wisconsin in 2026? And how will Tony...

The Assembly Minority Leader reflects on the results of the 2024 election in Wisconsin, the first under new maps, and looks ahead to what’s to come in the state legislature in 2025. Greta Neubauer, the state representative from the 66th Assembly District and the Assembly’s Democratic Minority Leader, joined The Recombobulation Area podcast for a discussion on the 2024 election and a look ahead to...

Donald Trump won Wisconsin and the presidency. Angela Lang and Dan Shafer try to make sense of what just happened.

We talked about the “late night ballot dump” issue and more. Part of the Civic Media special broadcast, “Making Your Vote Count 2024.” For the Civic Media special broadcast, Making Your Vote Count 2024, I talked to Scott Krug, a Republican state representative from Nekoosa who currently serves as Chair of the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections, and Paulina Gutierrez, the newly appointed...

Breaking down how and why the city of Milwaukee reports election results from absentee ballots all at once on election night, and how bipartisan efforts to reform the process stalled. At Civic Media, we put together a special broadcast called “Making Your Vote Count 2024” and as part of that show, we worked with election officials and leaders from both parties to talk about top issues, address mis...

The results from the latest Marquette University Law School Poll are in, and with less than 55 days to go, Kamala Harris has a four-point lead over Donald Trump. Plus: Tim Walz, Baldwin-Hovde, much more. The Marquette University Law School Poll is the gold standard poll for elections and public policy in the state of Wisconsin, and the latest poll was released just yesterday. You can find the full...

Here in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention, there is a lot going on. Most of this is taking place inside the United Center, but there are other events happening all over town. Yesterday afternoon, I attended one of those events hosted by an organization called  The Next 50 , a group that focuses on the next generation of Democratic leaders, with a particular focus on those in state leg...

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-time Milwaukee Press Club award - winning weekly opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. Learn more about it  here . Here in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention, there is a lot going on. Most of this is taking place inside the United Center, but there are other events happening all over town. Yeste...

The race between top contenders Rebecca Cooke and Katrina Shankland has gotten spicy in the final weeks before the primary. Joining us to talk about this race is Anthony Chergosky, political science professor at University of Wisconsin – La Crosse. We discussed the big picture of the campaign, the geographic divide in the race, some bad blood surfacing in the final weeks before the primary, and mo...

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-time Milwaukee Press Club award - winning weekly opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. Learn more about it  here . In less than a week in Wisconsin, voters will head to the polls for the August partisan primary. Statewide, voters will decide on a pair of proposed amendments to the state constitution. If you...

Dan Shafer, founder of The Recombobulation Area, was joined by award-winning contributors  Angela Lang , executive director of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities ( BLOC ), and Philip Rocco, political science professor at Marquette University to discuss the Republican National Convention as it is about to descend upon Milwaukee and answer questions from the audience live during the show.  Gue...

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-time Milwaukee Press Club award - winning weekly opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. Learn more about it  here . We had a great night at Anodyne Coffee’s Walker’s Point Roastery for “Recombobulation LIVE!” Dan Shafer, founder of The Recombobulation Area, was joined by award-winning contributors Angela Lan...