Amanda Shires

Nothing Left To Do But Write Songs

Deep Tracks

While pregnant with her first child, Amanda Shires was playing fiddle on the road for her husband, the country superstar, Jason Isbell. Near the end of her pregnancy, touring got to be too much. So she stayed home, alone, for weeks… with nothing to do but write songs.More

Latest Stories

Writing the Inner Life of Trees

Tree
Articles

Richard Powers’ “The Overstory” is overturning a lot of conventional thinking. It’s been called “visionary” and “monumental” — and it earned him the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in fiction. Though human characters shape the plot of this 500-page epic, the real heroes are trees.

Tracing the Enormity of the Great Lakes. By Foot.

Water walkers
Video

Since 2003, Grandma Josephine Mandamin led fellow Anishinaabe women on sacred “water walks” around Great Lakes. Fellow water walker, Siobhan Marks, tells her story.

Length: 
6:11

Fire, Hops and Beer Wagons: The Beer History of Milwaukee

The Schlitz Bottling Floor, c. 1666.
Video

Milwaukee has a reputation as America's "Brew City." But why? Historian Ben Barbera lays out the economic forces and acts of God that built the houses of Miller, Pabst and Schlitz.

Length: 
5:18

With Black Hole Image, An Invisible Universe Gets A Little More Visible

The first image of a black hole.
Articles

In The New York Times, Yale astrophysicist Priya Natarajan wrote, "Images from the Event Horizon Telescope have the potential to redefine the cosmos once again, and prompt wonder and curiosity about our place in it." Steve spoke with Natarajan about the search for invisible parts of the universe, dark matter, and the mind-boggling nature of black holes.

Length: 
10:35

The Life, Death and Rebirth of the Milwaukee River

The Len-Der, our boat for the Milwaukee River
Video

Milwaukee historian John Gurda takes us on a boat ride down the Milwaukee River as we learn how the city nearly lost its river, and what Milwaukee is now doing to preserve it.

Length: 
5:40

In Defense of Liberals

Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail.
Articles

Sean Wilentz is a leading American historian and a proud liberal. Steve Paulson asked for his take on the new pink tint in Democratic politics.

Length: 
9:24

The Strange But True Story of Margery Kempe

Articles

Margery Kempe was one of the world's most famous Christian mystics — a medieval pilgrim with a penchant for uncontrollable sobbing. 

Milwaukee's Socialist Experiment

An aerial shot of the Garden Homes neighborhood in Milwaukee.
Photo Gallery

Could socialism ever really take off in America? Half a century ago, socialists ruled a major American city — Milwaukee. Haleema Shah walks the streets of Wisconsin's biggest city to learn more about what socialist policy looked like on the ground.

Length: 
11:58