Cap Times Idea Fest 2023 program
Sunday, Sept. 17
One-on-one with David Couper, Madison’s pioneering police chief
Ex-Marine David Couper became Madison’s police chief in 1972, near the height of anti-Vietnam War protests, and quickly became both controversial and revered for his cooperative approach to protesters. Hear him discuss his fascinating career, which includes his ideas on how to improve policing and his current role as an Episcopal priest. His interviewer will be former Cap Times columnist Rob Zaleski, who published a book about Couper in 2022.
Moderator: Rob Zaleski
Location: Leopold’s Books Bar Caffè, 1301 Regent St.
Ticket: General admission
Sponsor: Leopold’s Books Bar Caffè
Monday, Sept. 18
Getting Food to Rural Wisconsin: Using Innovation, Technology & Collaboration
One in 14 people in Wisconsin is food insecure, with rural communities struggling at a higher rate. Join Alliant Energy, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin and UW Health for a discussion on new and collaborative solutions to provide more choice, access, and fresh food to those in need in rural communities. Learn how these innovative techniques could be applied to other challenges facing those communities as well.
Moderator: Aimee Davis
Location: Virtual session
Ticket: Free online registration only
Sponsor: Presented by Alliant Energy
Journalism in the age of AI: Who tells us what’s real?
Breathtaking advances in artificial intelligence have already changed the way we think about just about everything. When it comes to journalism, will AI help us hear the clear signals in all the online noise, or is it just a weapon for malevolent fraudsters? Hear an outstanding panel of University of Wisconsin-Madison experts talk about what the future holds and how we will tell truth from fabrication. Free pizza will be available at this session.
Moderator: Erin McGroarty
Location: Tripp Commons in Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St.
Ticket: Free in-person session
Sponsor: University Research Park
Partners: Chadbourne Residential College, Bradley Learning Community
Second Chances at Success: From Incarceration and Beyond
Reinstatement of Pell grant eligibility for incarcerated learners in 2023 is a significant step forward in equitable access to higher education. It also increases the urgency for improving quality and coherence of postsecondary education pathways and the need for wide, welcoming transitions to campus, degree completion and into meaningful employment. Further, these must be coordinated across fragmented systems spanning state agencies, prisons, nonprofits and colleges. This session will offer perspectives of leaders from across sectors with a focus on two questions: (1) What role can community-based organizations play in strengthening supports for individuals reentering their communities, and (2) What reforms are most urgent as the field of higher education in prison heads towards Pell reinstatement? Reception precedes the session at 6 p.m.
Moderator: Molly Lasagna
Location: Madison College’s Goodman South Campus The Jack Daniels III, Community Rooms (second floor), 2429 Perry St.
Ticket: Free in-person session
Sponsor: Presented by Ascendium
Tuesday, Sept. 19
MyChart everywhere and anywhere
Epic continues to expand the ways that patients can get and stay connected. Options like scheduling, arrival, bill pay, and payment plans are now available via text or email. And on the hospital side, MyChart Bedside is available on the phone or TV. We will use this time to review new modes of access, communication preferences, and even how patients can enroll in clinical programs.
Location: Virtual session
Ticket: Free online registration only
Sponsor: Presented by Epic
Cooking with the Cap Times featuring Awa Sibi
Join Cap Times food editor Lindsay Christians as she talks to Awa Sibi, owner of Les Délices de Awa. Sibi will demonstrate how to make attieke, or cassava couscous, a staple from Cote d’Ivoire (the Ivory Coast), as well as whole fried fish with side vegetables. Sibi, an immigrant entrepreneur from West Africa, plans to open her first brick-and-mortar restaurant on Madison’s east side in January.
Moderator: Lindsay Christians
Location: Free virtual session/limited live seating at Kessenich’s Innovation Center
Ticket: Free online registration here; limited live seating for Cap Times members
Sponsor: Kessenich’s and Leopold’s Books Bar Caffè
Free speech at UW-Madison: 175 years of sifting and winnowing
The University of Wisconsin has been on the bleeding edge of debates about free speech for almost all of its 175 years. Hear an all-star panel including the university’s chancellor and law school dean plus the city’s longtime mayor (and a former campus protester) talk with Pulitzer Prize winner David Maraniss about the past and the future of freedom of expression.
Moderator: David Maraniss
Location: Shannon Hall in Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St.
Ticket: General Admission
Wednesday, Sept. 20
What we throw away: How trash is changing and what that means
Hear a panel of experts talk about Madison and Dane County efforts to use technological advances to reduce landfill usage and create a new economy around waste. Session inspired by Forward Theater’s current production of “The Garbologists.” Cap Times members and VIP ticketholders will receive discounts to see the play.
Moderator: Allison Garfield
Location: Virtual session
Ticket: Free online registration only
Sponsor: Forward Theater
Cap Times Live featuring Lord Yancyy, Leotha Stanley and friends
Internationally acclaimed artist Lord Yancyy and local musical legend Leotha Stanley join friends in this special R&B and jazz performance.
Ticket: General admission, but please RSVP to captimesideafest@gmail.com to reserve a spot.
Sponsor: Madison College
One-on-one with Keith Ellison
Join John Nichols of the Cap Times in a conversation with Keith Ellison, Minnesota’s attorney general, about criminal justice reform, racial equity and the struggle to achieve justice for all. It was Ellison who, after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, took over the case and led a prosecution team that brought Derek Chauvin to justice. Now in his second term as Minnesota’s attorney general, this is one of only a handful of appearances Ellison is making for extended discussions of one of the most closely watched trials in American history and of the steps to reform policing.
Moderator: John Nichols
Location: Shannon Hall in Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St.
Ticket: General Admission
Sponsor: Madison Community Foundation
Thursday, Sept. 21
What can I do to combat climate change?
Hear a panel of Wisconsin-based experts and activists explore ways to combat climate change in your own communities, including how to take advantage of new federal tax breaks for clean energy initiatives.
Moderator: Natalie Yahr
Location: Virtual session
Ticket: Free online registration only
Living with the news: A conversation with Judy Woodruff and Al Hunt
Two of our nation’s most astute journalists tell stories about their five decades covering national and world events and reflect on the unsettled politics of modern America, how we got here and what might be next. For this special fundraiser, David Maraniss, longtime acquaintance of the couple, will talk with Woodruff and Hunt in the ornate and intimate setting of Memorial Union’s Tripp Commons. Drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served starting at 6 p.m.
Moderator: David Maraniss
Location: Tripp Commons in Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St.
Ticket: VIP
Friday, Sept. 22
Beyond Burnout: The Emotional Health of Wisconsin’s Health Care Workforce
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, health care workers faced critical levels of burnout. But the past few years have been especially challenging. Those who put themselves at risk to help their communities during a years-long public health crisis are struggling more than ever with heavy workloads, staffing shortages, lagging technology and other factors — all of which can impact the quality of service to patients. Hear what local health care leaders are doing to take better care of those who deliver our care..
Moderator: Ana Hooker
Location: Virtual session
Ticket: Free online registration only
Sponsor: Presented by Exact Sciences
One-on-one with Bernie Sanders
Join Cap Times associate editor John Nichols for a fascinating discussion with Bernie Sanders, the iconic Vermont senator whose outspoken leadership on progressive ideals made him a formidable candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020.
Moderator: John Nichols
Location:Shannon Hall in Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St.
Ticket: General Admission+
Saturday, Sept. 23
Making Wisconsin a 21st century laboratory of democracy
A century ago, Wisconsin was known as America’s “laboratory of democracy.” The state was a source of innovative ideas that inspired the legislative accomplishments of the Progressive Era and the New Deal. Hong and Shelton, two of the most dynamic and outspoken members of the current legislature, believe it is time for Wisconsin to retake its place as a generator of ideas and social progress. They’ll discuss their ideas — including their sweeping Economic Justice Bill of Rights — with Capital Times associate editor John Nichols.
Moderator: John Nichols
Location: Shannon Hall in Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St.
Ticket: General Admission
Inside the Biden administration with Anita Dunn and Bob Bauer
Anita Dunn and Bob Bauer have been at the epicenter of the Obama and Biden presidencies. His expertise is the law; hers is political strategy. Across Washington, D.C., they are regarded as among the best at what they do, and what they’ve done for decades is help prominent Democrats. Now they’ll join Dan Balz, chief correspondent for the Washington Post, for a conversation about the Biden campaign in 2024.
Moderator: Dan Balz
Location: Shannon Hall in Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St.
Ticket: General Admission
The Life and Lessons of MLK: A conversation with biographer Jonathan Eig
The brilliant biographer Jonathan Eig talks about how and why he chose to undertake a new study of Martin Luther King and the illuminating fresh material he uncovered along the way, resulting in a complete portrait of the iconic civil rights leader.
Moderator: David Maraniss
Location: Shannon Hall in Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St.
Ticket: General Admission
Profile in Courage
Join Washington Post journalists David Maraniss and Patrick Marley for a conversation with former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois — one of only two Republicans on the January 6th Committee — who stood against his own party in pursuit of accountability for the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. They’ll discuss the 2024 political landscape and the future of democracy, as well as Kinzinger’s forthcoming book “Renegade: Defending Democracy and Liberty in Our Divided Country.”
Moderators: David Maraniss, Patrick Marley
Location: Shannon Hall in Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St.
Ticket: General Admission
Sponsor: Godfrey Kahn Law
Have a question or a great idea?
Email Cap Times Idea Fest at:
captimesideafest@gmail.com