On this week's episode, Jack talks with former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who joined him last week at Leopold’s Books Bar Caffè in Madison for a taping of the podcast in front of an audience of Cap Times members.

Jack spoke with Barnes, who came up short in his bid for the U.S. Senate in 2022, about his race against U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, what he’s been working on since the election, what he plans to run for next and much more.

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On this week's episode, Jack talks with Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, who represents the state’s 1st congressional delegation, which encompasses large portions of southeast Wisconsin, including Janesville, Lake Geneva and Racine.

They discuss the debt limit deal negotiated by President Joe Biden and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, if he’s supporting a particular candidate in the Republican primary for president and more.

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On this week's episode of Wedge Issues, Jack spoke with Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin.

Baldwin, who is gearing up to run for a third term in the U.S. Senate, has been a mainstay in Wisconsin politics for more than 25 years. And even though she doesn’t yet have a Republican challenger in 2024, she’s wasting no time getting back on the road in Wisconsin to meet with voters. 

Jack spoke with Baldwin last week at her campaign office in Madison about her work on the Respect for Marriage Act, what she learned from the 2022 midterm elections, why she’s seeking a third term in the Senate, and what’s to come over the next year and half.

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Wisconsin Sen. Kelda Roys, an attorney and small business owner, was elected to the Senate in 2020. She previously served in the Assembly from 2009-2013. She now serves on the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee, which — among other things — revises the governor’s state budget proposal before it goes before the full Legislature.

In this episode, the Madison Democrat talked with Jessie and Jack about budget negotiations, the state Supreme Court and abortion access.

And, of course, she was put through the rigors of the lightning round. 

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This week, Jessie speaks with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.

Vos, a Republican from Rochester in southeastern Wisconsin, is the longest-serving speaker in state history. He’s held the post for a decade, and has been in office nearly 20 years. 

In this episode, Vos talked with Jessie in his state Capitol office, one day after the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee took its first votes on the 2023-25 state budget and Republican lawmakers introduced a massive proposal to overhaul the state’s approach to shared revenue and to boost local government funding.

Vos talked about his policy priorities, his hopes for the future of the Republican Party and how his efforts to hit the “reset” button with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers are going.

And, of course, he was put through the rigors of the lightning round. 

Enjoy the show!

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On this week's episode of Wedge Issues, Jack spoke with Brian Schimming, chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin.

Schimming assumed his role as head of the state party in December, becoming its first paid chairman in years. He’s been tasked with bolstering a state party — which trails its Democratic counterpart when it comes to fundraising — that has long relied on the work of volunteers.

In the episode, Schimming walked Jack through what he envisions for the state party, how significant the Republican National Convention will be to Milwaukee in 2024 and what Republicans need to do to shift the political headwinds they’ve faced since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, thereby reactivating a longstanding ban on abortion in Wisconsin.

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On this week's episode of Wedge Issues, Jessie and Jack spoke with Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski. Godlewski, a former state treasurer, was appointed to the role earlier this month. She replaced longtime Secretary of State Doug La Follette, who was just reelected in November but unexpectedly retired March 17 after four decades in the office. In the episode, Godlewski walks through what she’s envisioning for the office’s future, her conversation with Gov. Tony Evers before he appointed her to the role and what her new gig means for her work on restoring abortion access in Wisconsin. And, of course, we put her through the rigors of the lightning round.

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In the latest episode of the Cap Times’ politics podcast, Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Daniel Kelly talks about being a constitutional conservative.

Kelly, a conservative, is vying for a seat in the (ostensibly) nonpartisan race against Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz, a liberal. Ideological control of the court is on the line, which has attracted a flood of national attention and made the race the most expensive judicial contest in American history.

In the episode, we asked Kelly about cases that could come before the court including a challenge to the state’s 1849 abortion ban and a new look at the state’s electoral maps. We also discussed his endorsements and previous work, his judicial philosophy and why he believes he is the right person to fill the seat being vacated by retiring conservative Justice Patience Roggensack.

And, of course, we put him through the rigors of the lightning round. 

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The April 4 Wisconsin Supreme Court election features liberal Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz and conservative former state Justice Daniel Kelly. In this episode, Protasiewicz talks abortion, redistricting, recusal rules and more.

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Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers talks with Cap Times politics reporters Jessie Opoien and Jack Kelly about his new budget proposal, working with Republicans and cream puffs.

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We wanted to share the first episode of "Reopening Sardine," an exciting new project from The Corner Table podcast that is co-hosted by Cap Times food editor Lindsay Christians and Cap times contributor Chris Lay.

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When quarantine kicked in last spring, we refocused The Corner Table to examine and document effects the pandemic was having across so many facets of food service, cocktails, grocery stores, and local farmers markets.

Now as we emerge, we’re getting ready to close the book on that dismal chapter. 

We decided to take a deep dive into what it means to reopen a restaurant that’s been closed for over a year, and to illustrate that process we decided to focus on one of our shared favorite places in town: Sardine.

For this first episode, we interviewed Sardine's co-owners John Gadau and Phillip Hurley about what it was like to shut down for over a year, their discussions with employees and the factors they weighed during the summer and fall. How were they feeling? What was the financial impact? Where are they now?

In future episodes we’ll sit in on staff meetings and check in with kitchen staff and servers to find out what their COVID year was like. We’ll take you to Sardine on opening day, and we’ll be looking forward to what dining could look like as we emerge, slowly and as safely as we can, from this dining drought.

We are extremely excited about this, so make sure you’re subscribed for all the future installments that will be coming out over the next several weeks.

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