Since the beginning of the summer, I’ve been working with WMSE 91.7 radio on a series of What Made Milwaukee Famous radio shows. You can catch the current series at 7:40 am and 5:40 pm every week day on WMSE, with a new program airing every week. The first group of shows is now available for online listening… check them out below!
Episode #1 – Almost Brewers
A look at the replacement Milwaukee Brewers who almost became the franchise’s most unlikely opening day lineup during the 1994-95 Major League players strike. Features the always-catchy jingle “Brewers Fever!”
Episode #2 – ‘Deep’ Trouble
Porno! Police raids! The mafia! All in a day’s work for the operators of Parkway Theatre. Features sound clips and songs from the x-rated classic Deep Throat.
Episode #3 – The Gamblers
Milwaukee has had her share of rogues and ruffians who made their cash on the tumbling dice. This episode recalls some of the lost legends of the city’s gambling scene.
Episode #4 – The Last Jones Islander
Capt. Felix Struck was the last man to ever call Jones Island home. His fight to remain there is memorialized here.
Episode #5 – Red Light Women
Everything was for sale in early Milwaukee . And these enterprising women of the city’s red light district knew what the masses wanted.
Episode #6 – Doing the Ward
Before the Third Ward was all about condos, art, and brunch, it was where Milwaukee went to get an illegal drink. Hear all about it in episode six.
Episode #7 – Flying Saucer Mania!
Strange lights in the night’s sky? Crashed flying saucers? High-powered ray guns? This ain’t Mystery Science Theatre 3000, its Milwaukee , 1947.
I’ll be posting more episodes soon and, of course, stayed tuned to WMSE for new shows every week. Also, to any devoted… or at least casual… readers that I might have, you might have noticed that I’ve been posting a little less often than earlier in the year. In addition to my usual slate of projects, I’ve started work on something VERY exciting that will be hopefully be ready by the end of the year. It is still in early stages, but I’m thinking of it as a kind of Milwaukee version of the Serial podcast, a serialized radio mystery based on an actual murder that occurred in Milwaukee in 1927. I’ll post more details as they come about and hopefully I’ll have a title for the whole project soon.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
And for those of you who just can’t get enough of my voice, I’m doing another MONDO MILWAUKEE boat tour this Thursday at 8 pm. MONDO is the original mystery and mayhem tour of the city, all done aboard the mighty VISTA KING tour boat. There’ll be a full bar, a trivia challenge, and two hours worth of strange and macabre Milwaukee stories. What’s not to love?? Get your tickets here!
