Podcasts & Radio
I enjoy volunteering at Madison's amazing community radio station, WORT 89.9 FM, as a guest host of its daily hour-long talk program, "A Public Affair," which engages listeners in a conversation on social, cultural, and political issues of importance. Below are the shows I have hosted, as well as some of my other involvement in podcasts, including at "Edge Effects," from the Center for Culture, History and the Environment at University of Wisconsin
The Global Struggle For A Living Wage
A Public Affair, January 19, 2020.
Back in 2009, the United States ushered in the new decade with a federal minimum wage of $7.25. Ten years later in 2020, it hasn’t risen at all—even as the costs of housing, education, and healthcare have skyrocketed. To explore the issue of stagnant and poverty wages, Nan Enstad is joined by historian Annelise Orleck, author of We Are All Fast-Food Workers Now, to talk about the Fight for $15 in the U.S. and the broader global struggle for a living wage.
The Myth Of Free Enterprise In American History
A Public Affair, September 13, 2019
What is “free enterprise” and how has it shaped American politics? That’s the topic of today’s episode with Lawrence Glickman, author of Free Enterprise: An American History. He spends the hour unpacking the history, narrative, and myth of free enterprise—and how it has shaped our common sense and political attitudes since the New Deal—with guest host Nan Enstad.
Black History, Religious Faith, And Political Struggle
From A Public Affair
Religious leaders have been at the forefront of the fight for racial justice in Madison and around the country—and have been for over a century—but we don’t often consider the relationship between faith stories and political struggle. For today’s episode, guest host Nan Enstad explores this history with Randal Jelks, author of Faith and the Struggle in the Lives of Four African Americans.
Teen Activism And Protest With Dawson Barrett
From A Public Affair
Young people have been part of every major social movement in US history, from the American Revolution to the civil rights movement and beyond. For today’s show, guest host Nan Enstad talks to Dawson Barrett, a history professor and self-identified “cheerleader for anyone who’s raising trouble.” They spend the hour exploring the rich history of teen activism—including recent youth movements around climate change, gun violence, and the teacher strikes—and urging adults to take student protest seriously.
Deportation, Immigrant Rights, And Sanctuary With Rachel Buff
From A Public Affair
Today on the show, guest host Nan Enstad talks border politics, deportation, immigrant rights, and sanctuary with Rachel Buff, author of Against the Deportation Terror: Organizing for Immigrant Rights in the Twentieth Century.
A History Of Canned Food With Anna Zeide
From A Public Affair
Today on the show, guest host Nan Enstad spends the hour exploring the history of canned food with Anna Zeide, author of Canned. Their conversation opens up questions about diet and public health, affordability and class, food systems and labor issues, American consumerism, what it means to be a “foodie,” and more.
How’d We Get So Cheap? A Conversation with Bryant Simon
From Edge Effects
In a wide-ranging conversation, Nan Enstad and Bryant Simon discuss the Hamlet Fire, the 1991 industrial disaster at a chicken processing plant in rural North Carolina.