Opinion
A life lived in language
‘After five household moves over 90-plus years, my childhood library is still with me.’
Chase A.
Tariffs, trade wars and immigration crackdowns
National polls show rural support for President Trump remains strong even as farmers are struggling and face an uncertain economic future.
Nov 10, 2025
Greenmars / Wikipedia
New books connects Edmund Fitzgerald tragedy to broader economic trends
Nov. 10 marks the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Nov 8, 2025
Judith Davidoff
Isthmus is a nonprofit, pass it on!
Isthmus will celebrate five years as a nonprofit next year yet some people in the community are unaware of the transition and many changes at the paper.
Nov 7, 2025
Freepik assets
Donna Shalala for interim UW-Madison athletic director?
When it comes to college sports, the intrigue in the front office is more interesting than what’s happening on the field these days.
Oct 23, 2025
Wisconsin Capitol photo: Teemu008 / Flickr
Madison is not D.C.
Although the polarization endemic to Washington, D.C. is felt here as well, there are stronger and more real currents in Madison that should provide some hope.
Oct 17, 2025
Freepik
Time to end enormous buyouts for UW coaches
If UW-Madison were to fire football coach Luke Fickell he’d still be owed $29 million just to walk away.
Oct 11, 2025
Notes from Nina
“I first got to know Nina Leopold Bradley through an extraordinary stroke of good luck, at a time when I really needed it.”
Oct 9, 2025
8:00 AM
Tommy Washbush
The slash-and-burn approach to government reform
A government reform effort led by Vice President Al Gore, starting in 1993, was ambitious, focused and successful. DOGE has been the opposite.
Oct 7, 2025
3:00 PM
Paige V Photography
Why the attacks on free speech are working
The title of this year’s annual conference hosted by UW-Madison’s Center for Journalism Ethics was ‘Journalism Ethics In A Fracturing World.’ Director Katy Culver said the subject matter has never been ‘more urgent.’
Oct 6, 2025
10:00 AM
Marathon man
Former state Sen. Fred Risser holds the national record for legislative service. His autobiography is now out. Risser and co-author Doug Moe will talk about their book on Sept. 24, 6 p.m., at the Madison Central Library.
Sep 22, 2025
4:30 PM
Author photo:Mitch Deitz
Finding home
The book moves along briskly and the characters are interesting and relatable, but it’s the arc of the story that will hit close to home for a lot of us.
Sep 10, 2025
3:00 PM
The elephant in the room
“We travel writers debate whether to delete our social media content before approaching U.S. Customs. Or whether it’s best to write about countries other than the U.S. this year.”
Sep 9, 2025
2:00 PM
In the November Nonprofit issue
Five nonprofits you should know about
Nonprofits are navigating challenging times while doing important work in Dane County.
Isthmus is a nonprofit, pass it on!
Isthmus will celebrate five years as a nonprofit next year yet some people in the community are unaware of the transition and many changes at the paper.
Access takes center stage
Audio description, live captioning and ASL interpretation are a few of the services offered by Madison’s performing arts groups for people with disabilities.
‘The 100 deadly words’
It’s been a fraught time for nonprofits since Donald Trump returned to the White House, especially organizations that serve immigrants, BIPOC communities, and women.
Past is present
Stonemason Jason Arndt works out of a converted creamery in Lake Mills. He’s made few updates to the 1878 building.
