Bridge the City

A conversational, full-length interview with Khalif El-Amin, co-founder of Young Enterprising Society (YES). Young Enterprising Society’s mission is to be an international epicenter for financially, politically and socially progressive individuals. Serving as a hub, YES mobilizes people, information, resources and capital for the greater good of its members and society at large. Khalif talks about...

A conversational, full-length interview with Jeremy Fojut, Chief Idea Officer at Newaukee, and Joe Poeschl, Program Director at The Commons, to discuss a Co:Lab, a “civic accelerator” they co-founded here in Milwaukee. Co:Lab is a deeply engaging and experiential opportunity for a select group of Milwaukeeans to apply their diverse skills, build new connections into the city and work together to p...

A conversational, full-length interview with Oluwapelumi, founder of Oluomo Worldwide which is a Nigerian fashion company for all. We discuss why she wanted to start this business, the difficulties of student entrepreneurship, cultural appropriation vs cultural education, and the vision for the company going forward. You can find Oluomo Worldwide on the various platforms: Twitter - https://twitter...

Be sure to check out the VRP Breakdown Podcast, a podcast produced by young people at MCAP, a close-to-home alternative youth prison in Milwaukee County. Listen to JC, JT, and Joe, who discuss life and the their experience as young people who have made a mistake. Listen to the podcast here . Support us on Patreon here . Patrons help us finance our live radio show , maintain the website, and purcha...

A conversational, full-length interview with Justin Kern, editor of the Milwaukee Anthology and one of Milwaukee’s most active citizens. We discuss Justin’s process for identifying which Milwaukee stories to tell, the challenges he faced as an editor, and read from some of his favorite stories from the Anthology. This episodes features two Milwaukee creatives - Sue Blaustein starts off our episode...

A conversational, full length interview with Adam Gabornitz, part of Northwestern Mutual’s Tech Advancement & Outreach team as well as the brainchild of the #IamMKE movement. We discuss his lifelong love of Milwaukee, the goals of the Tech Advancement & Outreach team at Northwestern Mutual, the difference between diversity & inclusion, the framework he uses to deal with issues in the c...

A conversational, full length interview with Angela Lang, Executive Director of BLOC: Black Leaders Organizing for Communities. We discuss BLOC’s role in empowering communities through building efficacy, avoiding the transactional feeling of politics, being proactive leading up to the 2020 elections, and developing their ambassador program. Angela also recommends supporting communities and movemen...

A conversational, full length interview with Betsy Hodges, former Mayor of Minneapolis. We discuss her explicit platform of racial equity, her conception of power, how sexism plays a role in media and politics, her current work around “whiteness”, a funny encounter with President Obama, & the power of organizing. She also recommends the action step she most believes in: get to know your neighb...

This episode of Bridge the City is a little different - we are the ones being interviewed. We were fortunate enough to stop by The GoGedders Podcast and get interviewed by Richie Burke last week. We decided to share this interview with you all to hear about the origins of Bridge the City, what we have learned from the podcast, and our upcoming Political Open Mic with Newaukee on Thursday, May 16th...

A conversational, full length interview with Tom Barrett, Mayor of Milwaukee. We discuss the grittiness of local politics, his experience working at the federal, state, and city level, how he handled defeats by staying “pleasant and present”, the current renaissance in Downtown and how ensure growth is distributed equitably throughout the city, and the best methods for everyday residents to get hi...

A full length, conversational interview with Josh Shefner, the founder and CEO of Blue Mangoes. Blue Mangoes was founded by students in Milwaukee to transform the natural abundance and waste of fruits in impoverished communities across the world into a product sold here in the United States. Josh talks about the organizations business model, their focus on the empowerment of women across the globe...

This is the first episode of a two-part series on the future of youth justice in Milwaukee, and what the closure of Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake as youth correctional institutions might mean for Milwaukee in the coming years. In this episode, we’ll give some background on why Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake are closing, how Milwaukee County is preparing to use this moment to improve its youth justi...

A conversational, full-length interview with Kevin and Fabi of Camp Kindred. We discuss how they seek to create a camp that represents the beautiful diversity of Milwaukee, how to connect summer camp friendships to activities during the rest of the year in Milwaukee, and what the vision of Camp Kindred is going forward. Producers: Benjamin Rangel, Kyle Hagge, Sam Woods Website: bridgethecitypodcas...

April 2nd is the 2019 Spring Election and the ballot includes a Wisconsin State Supreme Court seat, a citywide School Board seat, and a variety of county and municipal positions at the judicial level. One of those races is between Public Defender Danielle Shelton and the incumbent judge, Andrew Jones for Milwaukee County Circuit Judge in Branch 40. Ben sat down with one of those candidates, Daniel...

On the last episode of our three-part series on police-community relations in Milwaukee, we focus on third-party organizations in Milwaukee that assist in maintaining functioning police-community relations, as well as the District Attorney’s office and community prosecution units. We talk with Safety and Community Outreach Specialist Bobby McQuay and Safe & Sound’s Executive Director Katie Sanders...

This episode is the second of a multiple-part series on police-community relations in Milwaukee. In this episode, we talk about what a recent lawsuit brought by the ACLU of Wisconsin against the city of Milwaukee alleging racial bias in recent policing strategies means for policing going forward, how recent policing strategies in Milwaukee may have exacerbated a lack of trust in police, as well as...

A conversational, full-length interview with State Assemblyman of the 18th District Evan Goyke. We discuss how to best lobby your state representatives, how his time in law school and as a public defender shaped his political and world views, his love of his neighborhood and Milwaukee, and criminal justice reforms he expects to have bi-partisan support in 2019. Producers: Benjamin Rangel, Kyle Hag...

A conversational, full-length interview with longtime Milwaukee change-maker Margaret Henningsen. We talk with Margaret about her life in Milwaukee, from starting UWM’s Black Student Union, getting her own FBI file while in college, marching for fair housing in 1967-8, founding Wisconsin’s first woman-owned community bank, and serving as executive director of the Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee...

February 19th is the Spring primary election and April 2nd is the Spring general election in Milwaukee. The ballot will include MPS School Board positions including an At-Large seat that everyone across the city will vote on. We sat down with MPS School Board Director Paula Phillips to discuss the importance of these elections, why everyone should care about our school system, the transformative e...

A conversational, full-length interview with Emerald Mills the creator of Diverse Dining, an organization whose mission is to cultivate courage, compassion, and connection through meaningful conversations centered around diverse food and cultural exploration. We discuss how Emerald’s move to Milwaukee from a small town in Illinois informed how she views race and diversity, how becoming an “overnig...

A conversational, full-length interview with Wisconsin State Senator Dale Kooyenga. We sat down with Senator Kooyenga to discuss a number of topics including the lame duck legislation passed last December, what will change as he transitions from the State Assembly to the State Senate, and how he defines his constituency. In Bridge the City’s first episode of the new year, Senator Kooyenga offers a...

A conversational, full-length interview with Ian Abston and Michael Hostad of the Light The Hoan campaign. We sat down with this dynamic duo to discuss how the Light the Hoan project came to be, why they believe this project will transform the city, the innovative crowd funding method they are using for the project, and the lessons they have learned throughout their time as innovators and leaders...

A conversational, full-length interview with Israel Lugo (Izzy) and Quentin Allums (Q) from the MKE Misfits. We sat down with this dynamic duo to discuss their multiple ventures, how to grow from your failures, how the youth are defining a new Milwaukee, and the importance of amplifying voices from around our city. Izzy and Q offer a fresh perspective on Milwaukee and deliver inspiration to help y...

A conversational, full length interview with Reggie Jackson, the Head Griot of America’s Black Holocaust Museum. Producers Sam Woods and Benjamin Rangel talk with Reggie about the museum and its reopening, the challenges Milwaukee faces with segregation and criminal justice reform, and his work facilitating dialogues about race with community members from across the state. Reggie offers an insight...

What’s the state of American politics & society today, two years into the Trump Administration? We hear from 6 distinguished Marquette University professors on their areas of expertise and both the good and bad that has happened in those areas since Trump has taken office. Dr. Julia Azari discusses party politics, Dr. Paul Nolette examines Trump’s efforts to reshape the judiciary, Dr. Duane Sw...