WMSE Expands Its Mid-Day Local Talk Lineup

Spurred by a couple of conversations about how few forums the city has for blunt cultural criticism, WMSE launched its weekly talk show The Disclaimer last year with no guidelines or any particular long-term vision. To our surprise, the show has received a fairly warm welcome and garnered a lot of feedback. Inspired by that response, WMSE announced today that it is expanding its lineup of mid-day local talk shows, introducing three new songs hosted by leading figures in the local arts community. No Revisions, featuring Milwaukee Magazine editors Kurt Chandler and Howie Magner, The Tiny Film Invasion, featuring local film experts Angela Catalano and Blyth Meier, and Art City, spearheaded by Journal Sentinel art critic Mary Louse Schumacher, will join The Disclaimer in keeping you company during your work week lunches.

Below is a description of each program, courtesy of the station.

Monday: 11:30am – 12:30pm - The Wild Wild Midwest Variety Show
Hosts: Ella Dwyer and Makeal Flammini

Ella and Makeal have been hosting Wild Wild Midwest since April 22, 2013 and in that short time the show has generated some of the most love-it-or-hate-it, passionate responses WMSE programming has ever received. The Wild Wild Midwest Variety show is an hour-long program that discusses the arts with a grain of salt and a sense of humor. It is, in part, an open conversation between the two that attempts to provide a sincere and humorous perspective on their struggles and personal life experiences as they pursue a life in the arts. The program features exhibition reviews, artist interviews, and a regular series of call-in characters and supposed experts including psychics, stand-up comedians, and even their grandparents. 

Flammini and Dwyer co-created the mobile arts organization, The Parachute Project, which hosted exhibitions in abandoned spaces in Milwaukee in an attempt to create an inclusive experience of art. Makeal Flammini is an artist, writer, illustrator and community organizer. She conducts a regular interview series, The Peanut Gallery, on her website and her most recent interview was published in Believer Magazine. Dwyer, In addition to being an artist and an arts organizer, runs online vintage shop Fox and Fawns.

Tuesday: Noon – 12:30pm - No Revisions
Hosts: Milwaukee Magazine staff, featuring Editor Kurt Chandler and Senior Editor Howie Magner

What happens when you over caffeinate a few city magazine editors and replace their delete keys with microphones? The voices of Milwaukee Magazine come off the pages and onto the airwaves, reflecting and dissecting the personalities, stories and issues of the city we call home. Join a rotating cast of MilMag editors and share in their access to the area’s cultural leaders and tastemakers, all painstakingly forged through years of crafting “Best Of” issues and awkwardly intimate profiles. Hear the stories behind the stories along with their takes on whatever may have the town talking today. On-air fact-checking not guaranteed.

Wednesday: Noon – 12:30pm – The Disclaimer
Hosts: Ryan Schleicher, Evan Rytlewski (Shepherd Express), Matt Wild (AV Club)

The Disclaimer, featuring three guys employed by three independent Milwaukee media institutions, has aired since the summer of 2012 and is one of the driving forces behind WMSE’s expanded mid-day programming. Response has been exceptional as the guys have covered a wide range of topics varying in cultural importance to Milwaukee including recapping Envisioning the Seen events, opining on Summerfest’s near riot, discussing Milwaukee’s “foodie” revolution, the decline of art and culture critics and more.

Thursday: Noon – 12:30pm – The Tiny Film Invasion
Hosts: Angela Catalano and Blyth Meier

The Tiny Film Invasion is your weekly dose of American & International independent film talk. Angela and Blyth will be talking about all things cinematic from film industry news and local screenings to nerdy techy stuff and rad women directors. Angela and Blyth have a long history of being tiny, and loving film. At 5'1", Angela has always had to climb counters to grab food. She holds an MA in Media, Cinema, and Digital Studies from UW-Milwaukee, studies surveillance in media and sound design in horror films, and is the Programming Manager for Milwaukee Film. Towering over her co-host at 5'2", Blyth was always placed in the front row of school choir. She earned her MFA in filmmaking from UW-Milwaukee, has screened her films internationally, and is the Marketing Director for Milwaukee Film. The ladies also have in common a love of cycling, fine beers, and dancing like tiny maniacs. Neither of them wears high heels, 'cause you know,
THEY EMBRACE THE TINY.

Friday: Noon – 12:30pm – Art City
Hosts: Mary Louse Schumacher, Stacy Williams-Ng

Art, architecture and urban design have become critical tools for renewal in post-industrial cities across America. Here in Milwaukee, culture has become a driving force in a new story being told about the city. Art City on WMSE will tap into candid dialogue that will both celebrate and question the ways in which Milwaukee aspires to be an “art city.” What will be the fate of Wisconsin Avenue? Will the explosion in public art proposals actually create revitalization? What is indigenous to Milwaukee’s cultural community? Who are the great artists and architects here? Where does cultural influence lie? These are the kinds of questions Art City dig into on the program, while also simply showcasing the culture we care about, locally and internationally.  
Some may know Art City already. It is name of Mary Louise Schumacher’s column and online journal for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It is also a community of contributors, smart people who know what they’re talking about – artists, critics, curators, architects and designers.  Schumacher, the paper’s art and architecture critic, has won national awards for new media innovation, commentary, blogging and feature writing. She will lead the discussion along with Art City contributors such as Stacey Williams-Ng, an artist, writer and interactive children’s book publisher, and Jennifer Johung, a contemporary art and architecture historian at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Adam Carr will bring the voices of intriguing Milwaukeeans to the show in a series of brief “Art City Asks” interviews. Carr will also produce the show with WMSE’s Ryan Schleicher and Don Moore.