Uniquely Milwaukee

As the holiday season begins, we’re honoring the roots of Thanksgiving while also celebrating the traditions we’ve created along the way. "Friendsgiving" is one of the latter. Although its history doesn’t go back quite as far as its namesake, Friendsgiving has grown in popularity over the last few decades as people set aside time for their chosen family. These are gatherings with the people who ha...

Right along West Capitol Drive in Wauwatosa, history hides in plain sight — a time capsule to the city’s past, just off North 119th Street near the northbound I-41/45 ramp. It’s a quiet corner many have driven by and wondered, “What is that?” The answer: Oak Hill Cemetery, a final resting place on a small plot of land that’s easy to miss and hard to get to.  In this episode, host Kim Shine is join...

Everybody needs nourishment. It’s at the top of the list for survival. But it’s not the end of the list. Tiffany Miller was well aware of that as she made plans for what would become Fruition Cafe. Located in the Concordia 27 Building on the corner of 27th and Wells, the space opened in July 2024 with what you’d expect from the name: coffee, tea, kombucha, baked goods, and protein-packed sandwiche...

The driving force behind Uniquely Milwaukee is storytelling. Most of the time, it comes in the form of a news-style piece. But this episode breaks from that while still putting at its center the stories that get to the core of how we as humans connect and better understand one another. Sharing our experiences helps us be more compassionate and can also inspire others to open up. One of the places...

Do you believe in ghosts? With Halloween followed closely by Dia de los Muertos, we’re right in the middle of spooky season — the perfect time to explore and answer that question. In this episode, we take a tour of Café Corazón, a restaurant in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood that some say is haunted. Guided by general manager DeVante Lisch, along with Allison Jornlin and Tea Krulos of American...

The outside of Third Space Collective MKE is hard to miss: a black door with vibrant colors streaming down, as if the paint was striving desperately to spill out onto the sidewalk. The goal of Third Space Collective MKE is something that hasn’t always been easy to find in Milwaukee: an art gallery that also serves as an incubator for creatives, particularly in the Merrill Park neighborhood. In thi...

October is Wisconsin Tech Month , and an upcoming Oct. 23 event specifically highlights an underrepresented group in tech: women, who make up only about 30% of the industry's workforce. In this episode, host Kim Shine dives deeper into the tech landscape for girls and women in Wisconsin, and learns more about Wisconsin Tech Month events as a whole. Guests: Nadiyah Johnson, founder of Wisconsin Tec...

This fall marks a turning point for public-media outlets across the country. As of Oct. 1, federal funding for PBS, NPR and their local stations stopped. This $1.1 billion cut — a directive from the Trump administration — triggered widespread job cuts, restructurings and closures of hundreds of outlets across the country. Radio Milwaukee is a public-media station, and as we begin our fall membersh...

If you’ve ever experienced adversity, it can be tough to see the positive outcome. Sometimes, it’s less of a beacon and more of a silver lining. In this episode, we go inside one of the city’s nonprofits that focuses on the brighter side — big, small and everything in between. Harmonic Harvest launched on Giving Tuesday in November of 2023. Less than two years later, it celebrated the opening of i...

In any city, there are interesting places — one that are typically not open to the public. They’re spaces you pass by and say, “I wonder what happens in there.” Doors Open Milwaukee gives everyone the opportunity to act on that curiosity, with access to more than 160 locations around the city, mostly for free. It’s an annual celebration of the city’s architecture, history and neighborhoods, and it...

At the corner of Locust Street and King Drive, there’s a sense of purpose, happiness and hope. That’s because theHarambee neighborhood is welcoming back a community anchor: the new Martin Luther King, Jr. branch of the Milwaukee Public Library (MPL), its modern façade brighter, bigger and more inviting for all to enter. For this episode, podcast host Kim Shine was in the mix for a very big day for...

We're working hard on our next episode (obvious hint: it's connected to all the places getting ready to open their doors Sept. 27-28 ), so with this being Labor Day week, we decided to revisit our drive around the city with Milwaukee parking enforcement officer Eldricht Hill. On this episode , you’ll be right there as we go behind the scenes on a ride-along with Hill, and chat with him and parking...

Cactus Club is one of Milwaukee’s beloved music and arts venues. Many have walked through the doors of the Bay View spot, but not everyone could enter with ease.  The nearly 140-year-old building had 4-1/2 stairs to climb before you could enter, and its design wasn’t fully accessible to all. This month, that started to change. There’s now a ramp alongside the building — just the first of many plan...

The Menomonee River isn’t your typical classroom. Then again, the group of 10- to 12-year-olds who spent a week along its shoreline weren’t your typical class. These students, and some older teens, were part of a summer program from All Hands Boatworks , a local nonprofit teaching youth — and adults — about the craft of wooden boatbuilding, Milwaukee’s rivers and the Great Lakes. But the learning...

The future is technology. The future is A.I. It’s shaping industries while transforming how we communicate and how we learn. In this episode, we go inside a new summer program showing those capabilities — and more — to the young minds in our community. A.I. Academy is teaching a group of sixth through eighth graders how they can benefit from this technological leap, as well as how it can fuel entr...

We’re taking a break this week, but that doesn’t mean the stories stop. In fact, it turned out to be the perfect time to revisit and update our episode from last July about Milwaukee’s Hydroponics STEM Program , which teaches Milwaukee high schoolers STEM and urban farming. That means they use technology, not soil, to grow their own food, eat healthier and even become entrepreneurs. The program ma...

Harlem and Bronzeville. Two neighborhoods separated by more than 700 miles. Despite the space between them, there’s plenty that unites these epicenters of Black culture — with reputations built over more than a century. There’s a historic connection between Harlem in New York City and Bronzeville here in Brew City. It’s something Radio Milwaukee’s digital-first platform HYFIN will put center stage...

Though her intuition was strong, Willow Newell didn’t know she’d be the next Miss Wisconsin. But the 22-year-old says it felt right because she did her best and felt connected to her highest self. Now, the Racine native has won the crown and is the first Black woman to hold the title. As Miss Wisconsin, her platform is "expression without exclusion." She believes everyone should have access to the...

Q-W-E-R-T-Y. They’re the first six letters atop all our keyboards, from our phones to our computers, and they revolutionized communication. But their history is far from digital and, in fact, is rooted here in the Cream City. In 1868, Milwaukee native Charles Latham Sholes was just trying to solve a problem: He needed to design a machine that could produce the letters of the alphabet without the a...

Emmitt James is Milwaukee’s own DIY, hip-hop/jazz artist — a classification that gives him the freedom to do … well, anything. That includes using his music to give back to the community through events like his ever-growing fundraiser/concert: the Emmitt James Big Band BBQ , which is back for its third edition Aug. 23. Asked what guests can expect that day, Emmitt was ready with an answer: “A movi...

Ebony Ice launched in 1989 as a local branch of the National Brotherhood of Snowsports. The organization hosts events all year round for skiers and snowboarders of all experience levels, as well as seasonal “Learn to Ski/Snowboard” classes. With about 75 members to date, membership is encouraged and does come with perks like discounts, scholarships and travel opportunities. “Skiing is the kind of...

Every creative tells a story — sometimes through lyrics, sometimes through shoes. This episode puts the focus on footwear, with an artist who’s making custom sneakers for some big names at this year’s Summerfest Brandon Johnston is owner of Soul 2 Sole (S2S) Creations . The Carroll University graduate was tapped – once again – by the Big Gig to create designs for two of this year’s headliners afte...

The annual Juneteenth celebration — recognized annually on June 19 — commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. It was on that day in 1865 when the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation occurred in Texas. While it took another 156 years for Juneteenth to become an official federal holiday (in 2021, in case you don’t want to do the math), the celebration has deep roots in Mi...

For many of us, our fathers are our protectors. They provide the structure, discipline and encouragement that stays with you throughout life. And when they’re not cooking on the grill in their favorite sandals, they teach us to stand tall, speak up and be fearless.  Of course, the word “dad” isn’t the same for everyone. It can be a biological bond, mentor, bonus parent or father figure who chose t...

Sun-Seeker MKE are dreamers, artists, abolitionists, chosen family and joy makers — all working hard to reimagine what safety and care looks like for black trans and queer folks. Everyone involved with the Black trans abolitionist organization understands the solutions to oppression, harm and liberation come from the people within the communities they serve. I spoke with Nick Berkley, Yante Turner...