Audrey Nowakowski

When it comes to people who have made Milwaukee what it is today, names like Solomon Juneau, Byron Kilbourn, George Walker, or Frank Zeilder come to mind. But they’re not the only people that shared the vision, ingenuity, and tenacity to make change. And as Abigail Adams said, we must "remember the ladies."

Women like Ardie Clark Halyard, Beulah Brinton, Mabel Watson Raimey, or Milwaukee’s founding mother Josette Juneau all worked hard to make Milwaukee a better place for all of its residents. But their stories aren’t shared as widely.

Making fun of Nazis isn't a new trend in film — Charlie Chaplin did it in the 1940 film The Great Dictator, Mel Brooks made The Producers, and Quintin Tarantino made Inglorious Bastards.

The newest Nazi satire film Jojo Rabbit looks at Nazi Germany during World War II through the eyes of Jojo Betzler — a 10-year-old boy with a blind fanaticism for the Third Reich. Taika Waititi directed and wrote the screenplay, which is based off of Christine Leunens' novel Caging Skies.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But while awareness has increased, many women and men continue to die from this disease. One organization trying to make change in breast cancer policies and research is the Wisconsin Breast Cancer Coalition (WBBC).

Obesity rates have rapidly increased over the past two decades. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of adults (39.8%) in the United States were obese in 2017.

The spectre of nuclear destruction was unleashed at the end of World War II when the United States dropped two nuclear bombs on Japan. From 1945 until today, the fear of nuclear annihilation has waxed and waned. It peaked during the height of the Cold War in the 1950s and '60s. Then it lessened when the Soviet Union collapsed 30 years ago, and the U.S. and Soviet Union seemed willing to disarm and eradicate their nuclear stockpiles.

In 1965, activist Rev. James Reeb traveled from Boston, Mass. to Selma, Ala. to participate in the civil rights movement. He was murdered — dying of head injuries in the hospital two days after being attacked. Three men were tried and acquitted, but no one was ever held accountable.

Milwaukee-native Tracey Thomas didn’t want to be a filmmaker and never dreamed about having her name in lights. But about five years ago, she was about to turn 60 and was feeling at loose ends. So she started interviewing other people who were about to turn 60 (or who already had) about what it felt like. And the idea of turning those interviews into The 60 Project was born.

"I was kind of looking for answers, I guess," says Thomas.

Even if you’re not into architecture, you probably know Frank Lloyd Wright’s name. But despite being one of the most famous architects of the 20th century, and despite all of the books written about him and his work, the man himself remains a mystery. Even his autobiography was embellished and historians admit they can never truly verify fact from fiction.

"[Frank Lloyd Wright's] life is so difficult to get down," notes author and journalist Paul Hendrickson. "It has been trailed by so many distortions and mistruths, starting with everything Wright did himself."

Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in America. Often caused by miscommunication, medical errors can lead to life-changing outcomes for patients and their families — and the Burrows family is proof.

Astronauts are members of a select club of people who've experienced life outside of Earth. Films over the decades have tried to capture what it is like to be in space and prepare for these missions. Few have effectively taken a deep, personal dive into the minds of the astronauts themselves.

The new film Lucy in the Sky tells the story of the fictional Lucy Cola (played by Natalie Portman) — one of the first female astronauts to venture into space — and her challenging return to Earth, readjusting to life beneath the stars.

Editor's note: This piece was originally published on Feb. 16, 2018.  

Pikosso, Chicken a la Koss, Rebel with a Koss. If you’re familiar with the iconic billboard for Koss Corporation along I-43 in Milwaukee, you may have seen one of these ads — or even have a favorite design or catchphrase of your own.

Community member Michael Croatt wanted to know more, so he reached out to Bubbler Talk:

All year WUWM is celebrating its 55th birthday. One of the voices you heard in WUWM's first years  — and can still hear today — is Bob Reitman's.

This year the NFL and the Green Bay Packers are celebrating a century of football. Unlike some, Howie Magner didn't write an extensive book about every nook and cranny of Packers history. Instead, he highlights one moment — good or bad — from each decade of game-play for his piece in October's Milwaukee Magazine.

In the early '80s, formerly healthy gay men began developing an unknown disease. Men started dying. What started as a few men, skyrocketed into thousands. Communities in New York, San Francisco, and other U.S. cities were decimated.

"We had no effective treatment. We had a government that was not particularly concerned. There was a lot of stigma. There was a lot of bigotry, a lot of hateful and ignorant behavior. And people suffered," recalls Cleve Jones, who experienced it firsthand.

How are you feeling right now? A little tired? Ready to tackle the day? Hungry? Well, how you’re feeling right now probably has a lot to do with circadian timing — or your inner clock.

"Every cell in your body is a clock. It knows what time of day it is, and all of these cells are kind of orchestrated and regulated by what we call a master clock in the brain," explains Dr. Jennifer Evans. She studies circadian timing and its effects on the body at Marquette University.