University of the Air

When the United States entered World War I, concern that labor strikes would interfere with war production prompted a coordinated, national strategy. The Department of Justice targeted the nation’s most prominent radical union, the Industrial Workers of the World, also known as the Wobblies. The result was the largest mass trial in U.S. history.

Schindler's List, Life is Beautiful, The Diary of Anne Frank, and the operetta Brundibar bring the Holocaust into popular culture, but what do we discover if we scratch beneath the surface of these commercial successes? Rachel Brenner (middle above) and Teryl Dobbs (right above), along with student Jessica Kasinski (left above), explore the relevance of teaching the Holocaust today.

We explore the world of the Amish and Mennonites with an expert in Pennsylvania Dutch culture.

Are robots the future of dairying in Wisconsin? According to our guest, in some ways, cows prefer them to humans. We find out how technology is changing dairying in Wisconsin and elsewhere as we trace the evolution of the industry from buckets to robots.

Our guest specializes in the study of genocide, political violence, human rights, and African politics and he'll be providing insights into how genocide can be prevented.

Landmarks mean different things to different people and that includes statues and buildings that we see—or overlook—every day here in Wisconsin. Aaron Bird Bear and Daniel Einstein will explore the revolving relationship between Indians and non-Indians in the development of campus buildings and landmarks over time. We’ll look at Indigenous landmarks created between 700 and 2500 years ago and interpreted their significance which will give us an overview of American Indian history and provide some insights into modern Indigenous nations and peoples.

What were the politics behind President Kennedy's challenge to send a man to the moon? A former chief NASA historian shares some insights into the personalities of some of the astronauts and the people who enabled them to undertake mankind's most ambitious adventure.

We explore the work of Shakespeare when celebrated actors present favorite scenes from the plays of the Bard of Avon.

Our guest explores the Declaration of Independence as a "masterstroke of propaganda," links Benjamin Franklin to WikiLeaks, and explains the use of stolen documents, fake news, and leaked letters on both sides of the Revolutionary War.

It should've been the year to celebrate peace at the end of the Great War, but instead 1919 was a time of violence in America. Our guest historian explains why African Americans found themselves in a crucible of violence and what they did about it.

Liberia elected the first woman president in Africa, Uganda has a female vice president, and Angolan Parliament has more than a majority of seats held by women. We explore the way women have gained political office and brought about constitutional reforms in African nations recovering from long wars.

During World War II, academic archeologists were trained to be boots-on-the-ground spies, drawing on these scholars' personal contacts and deep knowledge of local languages and terrain. We talk with the author of "Classical Spies," about the inspiration for this scheme.

Today, the phrase “world music” can mean any number of musical genres with origins outside the United States. But how did the international sound come to permeate our musical culture? Ronald Radano, UW-Madison Professor of Musicology and Ethnomusicology, shares samples of music showing international influences at the onset of the modern era, and explains how these influences were crucial in shaping the sound of past and present music.

Scandals about doping have rocked the Olympics and every major sporting event. In this hour, medical ethicist Dr. Norman Fost defends his controversial, decades-long opinion that legalizing rather than banning performance-enhancing drugs for athletes would be a better solution.

We follow the careers of the British soldiers and statesmen whose miscalculations led to American independence.