Publisher's Welcome

Welcome back to Cap Times Idea Fest! This will be the ninth edition of our signature event, and we are thrilled to offer you a chance to hear a fantastic array of speakers including newsmakers and commentators like JB Pritzker, Stacey Abrams, Tony Evers, Tim Walz and Maureen Dowd on topics that range from politics to health care, artificial intelligence, Madison’s lakes and much more.

For the fourth year now, we will host a special event to raise funds for our newsgathering efforts. This year the featured guest will be former Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, who will be in conversation with David Maraniss, also a Post alum and one who has deep ties to Madison and the Cap Times. Both are Pulitzer Prize winners and decided to leave the Post this year in the wake of the owner’s controversial decisions about the paper’s editorial stance. It should be a fascinating discussion.

Tickets for that event are sold out, but there are still tickets available to see all other virtual and in-person sessions.

We are enormously grateful to Epic as this year’s title sponsor, as well as our other major sponsors: Exact Sciences and UW Health | Carbone Cancer Center. Co-sponsors this year include: Madison Gas & Electric, Ascendium Education Group, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University Research Park, The Century House, Penzeys Spices, Cargo Coffee, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the Madison Community Foundation, Leopold’s Books Bar Caffè, Forward Theater and Madison College.

Partners include Civic Media, Hinckley Productions, Wisconsin Public Radio, the Wisconsin State Journal and madison.com. We appreciate them all.

For the Cap Times, thoughtful conversations on the issues of the day are right in our wheelhouse, complementing our longtime mission built on aggressive and enterprising journalism, progressive opinion and a deep record of community philanthropy.

After all, it was our founder, William T. Evjue, who wrote: “Let the people have the truth and the freedom to discuss it and all will go well.” Mr. Evjue wasn’t afraid to experiment with new platforms decades ago. Back then, he helped launch a radio station, which was the next big thing, and we believe he would appreciate this endeavor.

Cap Times Idea Fest is an amazing opportunity to hear directly from some of Wisconsin’s and the nation’s thought leaders. So welcome to this detailed guide to the event.

Paul Fanlund

Publisher

Cap Times