Events

The Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO) reaches a milestone with the 2025-2026 season.  The MSO celebrates its 100^th Anniversary season and joins the ranks of many of the leading US symphony orchestras who have provided symphonic music to the communities they have served for 100 or more years.  Join Music Director John DeMain and Executive Director Robert Reed as they chat about what this means to the Madison region.

SCOTT DIKKERS served as The Onion’s co-owner and editor-in-chief for most of its first 3 decades. He’s the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over 40 books and the creator of the  comic strip “Jim’s Journal,” as well as founder of The AV Club, and founder and proprietor of How to Write Funny, an online comedy-training center. His work has won the Thurber Prize for American Humor and a Peabody. He publishes a daily article on creativity and productivity on Substack under the banner, “No Dikkering Around." Scott's latest book, “The Onion Story: How a Band of Misfits, Dropouts, and Sad Sacks Built the World's Most Trusted News Source,” comes out in October.

Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau is the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor and Grace Wahba Professor of Computer Sciences at UW-Madison. Remzi is a widely renowned scholar, dedicated teacher, and a special advisor to the Provost on Computing and serves as the Director of the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences. He co-leads a group with Professor Andrea Arpaci-Dusseau. Together, they have graduated 32 Ph.D. students and won numerous best-paper and test-of-time awards; many of their innovations are used by commercial systems, and their group is considered one of the leading storage-systems groups in the world. He and Andrea's operating systems book, "Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces" (www.ostep.org) is downloaded millions of times yearly and used at numerous institutions worldwide; despite being freely available, it has been the top-selling book on Amazon in operating system theory for many years.

Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau will present information about CDIS, the newest and fastest growing school at UW-Madison. His presentation will discuss its origins, current projects and programs, and new directions, in particular as related to the ongoing “AI moment” in the world.

Join Executive Director of the Dane County Historical Society Rick Bernstein and Dane County Senior Planner Bridgit Van Belleghem, as they discuss the history and impact of racial covenants. These clauses, made illegal in 1968 with the passage of the Fair Housing Act, prevented non-Christians and non-Whites from buying or occupying land.

Rick Bernstein served as a Public Historian of 30 years with the Wisconsin Historical Society before taking on the Executive Director role. 

Bridgit Van Belleghem works with property owners in the Prejudice in Places project, and also works with rural landowners to preserve agricultural and natural resources in rural Dane County.

Join Sam Rikkers, Deputy Secretary and COO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, as he shares insights into Wisconsin's place in the global economy gained from recent international trade missions to Mexico, China, Japan and more. 

Join former State Senator Dale Schultz, as he provides reflection on the state of politics nationally in Wisconsin and about the formation of United Wisconsin, an unincorporated association that one day may be a fusion political party, which he co-chairs. Also speaking will be former Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney, who co-chairs United Wisconsin. Jeff Mandell, General Counsel and President of Law Forward, will discuss fusion voting and how it works. 

United Wisconsin's Background: A group of voters have formed United Wisconsin, an unincorporated association that one day may be a fusion political party.  A lawsuit has been filed challenging Wisconsin's ban on fusion voting, arguing it violates the state constitution. United Wisconsin believes that restoring fusion voting will encourage more compromise and cooperation in our politics. Our platform centers on values that have built Wisconsin: rule of law, public education small business and natural resources.  

Matt Villeneuve of Turtle Mountain Chippewa descent, is Assistant Professor of U.S. History and Native American and Indigenous Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he teaches courses in American Indian History, Native education, and environmental history. His research focuses on Native histories of education and schooling. Matt will present on one type of school that has been largely overlooked for over a hundred years: Indian Boarding Schools. Supported by the federal government, there were nearly a dozen such schools which worked to separate Indigenous families, eliminate language, and enact cultural replacement. This talk will offer a brief sketch of the history of Wisconsin's Indian Boarding schools and gesture towards current efforts to seek truth and healing in the wake of these deeply impactful institutions and showcase the strength and resilience of Wisconsin's Native nations. 

Join John Patterson, a 27-year veteran of the Madison Police Department and the Acting Chief of Police, as he discusses his vision for the Madison Police Department. Chief Patterson will speak on the challenges and the opportunities of his role, his commitment to enhancing police-community interactions and collaborations, and fostering transparency.

Jim Berkenstadt, aka the Rock And Roll Detective, is a local bestselling author of nonfiction, popular music history and mystery books. He will be speaking about his past work as a musical consultant to The Beatles, and other groups, as well as his film documentary work. Berkenstadt will also delve into his two recent award-winning, mystery bestsellers, The Beatle Who Vanished: 60th Beatles Anniversary Tour and Mysteries in the Music: Case Closed. 

From welding labs to health clinics, culinary kitchens to art studios—Madison College is a place of endless discovery. Join Dr. Berne for a behind-the-scenes look at how the college is shaping futures and strengthening our community.

Dr. Jasmine Zapata is an award winning author, national speaker, double board certified physician, visionary public health leader, business pioneer, and mother of four. In addition to practicing in the hospital and holding statewide physician leadership roles, she is passionate about stepping outside of the clinic walls to explore upstream and innovative approaches to improving birth outcomes for all. Zapata’s many lived experiences help her uniquely connect with the communities she serves, and she is well known for her infectious energy, passionate advocacy, and heart for service.

In her presentation, Dr. Zapata will share the gripping details of her own daughter’s premature birth at 25 weeks gestation and the life threatening complications that came after. She will share how her birth story tremendously shaped her career trajectory and what she is doing on a personal and professional level to combat black infant mortality in Wisconsin. She will challenge listeners to reflect on what role they play in the current infant mortality crisis and what things that they can do in both traditional and non-traditional ways to improve it. This session will be a mix of storytelling, self reflection, and fireside chat style Q/A. Join us! 

The Wisconsin Veterans Museum turns 125 years old on April 5, 2026. As always, the museum team works to preserve, interpret, and affirm the role of Wisconsinites in service to the United States armed forces. This talk will give an overview of the museum's history, activities, and plans for the future. 

In honor of Rabbi Manfred Swarsensky, Rotarian Lester Pines will share history about the Rabbi and how Rabbi Swarsensky worked to repair the world, through kindness, respect, generosity and charity. 

Wisconsin State Journal political cartoonist Phil Hands will share his award-winning work and some of the stories behind the creation of his favorite editorial cartoons. He'll also explain how he gets his ideas, who his favorite targets are and what goes into making a compelling political cartoon.

Lynn Buckmaster, the Affiliate Director of Wisconsin Future Problem Solving since 2021 will present on Future Problem Solving (FPS) – its various components, an overview of the process we use, and testimonials from former FPS alumni who explain how the skills they learned continue to help them in their careers. The audience will go through the problem solving process we use with specific examples for each step. The benefits of FPS over time are discussed, and we end with an opportunity for questions from the audience

Dr. Morris, the chair of the UW Department of Radiation Medicine and co-Director of the UW Initiative for Theranostics and Particle Therapy will describe recent advances in cancer treatment using radiation therapy. This will focus on the development of proton beam radiation, which is now coming to the state of Wisconsin for the first time. Additional discussion will include recent advances here in Wisconsin in the area of theranostic radiopharmaceuticals, which are being developed for the treatment of advanced cancers of nearly any type.

Senator Fred A. Risser was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin. A veteran of World War II, Risser went to college on the GI Bill and received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Oregon. He was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1956 at age twenty-nine—the fourth generation in his family to serve in the state legislature. During his long tenure in office, Risser authored more than 240 bills that became law and was a legendary champion for his constituents. He lives in Madison with his wife, Nancy. 

Doug Moe has worked for more than four decades as a magazine editor, newspaper columnist, and freelance writer. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including, most recently, Moments of Happiness: A Wisconsin Band Story, with Mike Leckrone. Moe lives in Madison.

Keisha Harrison is the inaugural CEO of the Madison Public Market Foundation. A native of Chicago, she has extensive experience in project management, strategic planning, and change management, most recently serving as the Executive Director of the historic Indianapolis City Market. Recognizing the importance of having a third place, Keisha is excited about the opportunity to help create a new tradition for Madisonians in its forthcoming public market, envisioning it as a cherished space where generations come together.

The Madison Public Market will be a year-round, inclusive public marketplace near downtown Madison, Wisconsin. Housed in the renovated former Fleet Services building, it’s designed to showcase locally grown and prepared foods, handcrafted goods, art, and beverages, while serving as a vibrant gathering place for the community. The Market emphasizes equity through entrepreneurship, providing affordable merchant spaces, a commercial kitchen, and business incubation support to help new and diverse small businesses grow and thrive. Learn about its history and current project status and get a sneak preview of what's coming

Join Lisa Smith, as she presents the Wisconsin Girl Report—a clear, data-driven look at what girls across our state are experiencing right now, and what that means for our collective future. The report surfaces critical trends, persistent gaps, and emerging pressures shaping girls’ confidence, leadership, and sense of belonging. It makes one thing unmistakable: when girls are supported early and consistently, the impact lasts far beyond childhood. To share key findings from the Wisconsin Girl Report and how they are being used to inform real action across the state.

Casey FitzRandolph will take us on his journey, from performing as a Munchkin in a “Wizard of Oz on Ice” production at Madison Ice Arena at age 2, to becoming the fastest man in the world on skates at age 27, giving us a window into what it takes to convert a childhood dream of gold into reality.  He’ll take us behind-the-scenes to give us a better understanding of what the men and women we’re watching in Milan Cortina have been through to get there…and what they’re feeling and experiencing as they try to make their often decades long dream come true at their moments of truth!