Two and a half years ago, I moved to the Dairy State for work. I’m from suburban Chicago, so my relationship with the neighbors to the north was limited to day trips and the occasional weekend retreat to visit quiet lakes and go apple picking.
That relationship changed when I became a journalist in the Badger State. Shortly after moving here, I started reading about a man named Emil Seidel, who became mayor of Milwaukee in 1910 and the first Socialist to lead a major U.S. city.
Up until recently, Wisconsin has been a laboratory for progressive politics, and its political experiments over the last 100 years have had resonance around the country. So as segments of the population demand, or toy with, the idea of infusing socialism into our government, Milwaukee felt like the perfect city to profile. Socialists led the city for a third of the 20th Century, and I visited the public housing and public park system they pioneered.
Despite modeling systems that cities around the country have adopted, the Milwaukee Socialists’ influence faded after 1960. And as the city, and the country, grapple with growing inequality, perhaps it is worth looking to history to understand why a massive working class population struggling to make ends meet turned to radical politics at the turn of the century.
This will be the last show I produce for TTBOOK before I move to the east coast. Exploring socialist history in the Midwest feels like a perfect note to end on, though. Because what TTBOOK does best is dive deep into the ideas that shape our world from America’s heartland.
To the team at the show that helped me find my voice as a journalist—thank you for all you have taught me about telling compelling stories. And to those who heard the shows I had the honor to work on — thank you for lending us your ears.
—Haleema Shah