austin

Austin

chicago

Chicago

denver

Denver

lasvegas

Las Vegas

madison

Madison

nashville

Nashville

philly

Philly

pittsburgh

Pittsburgh

portland

Portland

saltlake

Salt Lake

seattle

Seattle

twincities

Twin Cities

We make podcasts and newsletters that connect people with the cities they love.

City Cast Madison

Rob Thomas

Do you know where this slice of pizza is from? (Submitted photo)

One thing’s for sure, you won’t walk away from the 

Wisconsin Book Festival’s 25th annual Fall Celebration

 Oct. 15-18 without something new to read.

The festival’s annual event, put on at the Madison Public Library and its foundation at the Central Branch and a few other locations, offers something for every kind of reader. Whether you want the hottest new literary fiction, the most thought-provoking nonfiction, some new bedtime stories to read to the kids, or even some tips for your own writing project, they’ve got you covered. And it’s all free.

, host Bianca Martin is joined by festival Director Jane Rotonda and Madison writer Jeff Oloizia, 

host of the “Writing Forward” podcast

 that just launched its second season. They talk about highlights of this year’s festival, Wisconsin’s literary tradition, and the books that every Madisonian should read.

An Insider’s Guide to Madison’s Writing and Literary Scene. Plus, Books Every Madisonian Needs

Here’s a few recommendations for every kind of book lover to enjoy at the fest. As a note, the Madison Public Library is a sponsor of City Cast Madison (you’ve probably seen their ads in this newsletter!). But this article is produced with 100% editorial independence.

Sweating about the upcoming midterms? Former Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler has the prescription for progressive angst in his new book “

This Is The Plan: How To End America’s Meltdown and Save Democracy

.” Wikler offers a hopeful and specific list of action items for individuals and small groups to get the country back on track. Can’t wait? Wikler was on the City Cast Madison podcast last year 

to talk about the future of Wisconsin’s Democratic party

. (6 p.m. Oct. 17, Madison Central Library)

It’s hard to believe that the Strokes’ debut album “Is This It” was released a quarter-century ago, ushering in a new era of guitar rock in the ‘00s that included bands like The Killers and Franz Ferdinand. In his new book “

Is This It: The Never Ending Rise and Fall of The Strokes (and Rock ‘n Roll

,” rock critic Steven Hyden chronicles the band, and how their career shows the ever-changing impact of rock music on popular culture. (6 p.m. Oct. 16, Madison Central Library)

The book festival always coincides with the Wisconsin Science Festival, and sponsors several collabs of science-related books. Check out Siri Carpenter’s anthology “

The Best Science Stories and How They Work

,” which looks at 11 stories by science journalists, with Carpenter’s commentaries on what makes them compelling. (4:30 p.m. Oct. 16, Discovery Building)

Téa Obreht’s 2019 novel “Inland” was a thrilling and ambitious novel that challenged the stereotypes of the Old West. She rides a similar trail in “

,” which follows three different characters in three different timelines a century apart who arrive at the same Wyoming town. (6 p.m. Oct. 17, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art)

Fans of the literary magazine The New Yorker have enjoyed the squiggly, funny cartoons of Roz Chast for years. Chast comes to Madison with her new book, “

,” co-written with Jason Adam Katzenstein, which explores the darker, funnier corners of both their food prep spaces. (7:30 p.m. Oct. 16, Madison Central Library)

In addition to being the unmistakable voice of National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition, Scott Simon is also an animal lover. In his illustrated memoir, “

,” Simon celebrates the animals that changed him over his lifetime, from the family dog growing up to a delinquent hamster named Bagel. (12 p.m. Oct. 18, Madison Central Library)

Discover your next great read at the 25th annual Wisconsin Book Festival Fall Celebration, Oct. 15-18. Enjoy free author events for all ages at Madison Public Library.

Wisconsin Book Festival Tips For Every Kind of Reader

Practice Shelf-Care at the Wisconsin Book Festival 

Find the best of everything that Madison has to offer.

Madison’s Best

Madison's Best

We’re in the middle of our fall membership campaign this week (have you heard?), and one thing we keep stressing is the importance of community, of meeting your Madison neighbors out in the world and building community together. The City Cast Madison team who makes the newsletter, makes the podcast, makes the social media posts – we all live here too!

In that spirit, every time somebody signs up for the City Cast Madison newsletter, we send them a welcome message and ask them this question: 

What’s your favorite place in your neighborhood and what makes it special?

Here are some of the answers we received – it seems everybody has a different favorite spot to get together. 

We hope City Cast Madison has become one of those favorite spots for you, too

you’ll consider supporting us as a City Cast Madison neighbor

. “It’s a city park flower garden maintained by volunteers. Magical!”

. “I love to get my exercise there. It’s peaceful, beautiful and safe to enjoy alone. It doesn’t feel like you are in the middle of a city.”

. “Super friendly and authentic/great food.”

(located across the street from Gloria’s!). “The owners are super friendly and the food is incredible. They offer different Korean dishes (bulgogi, bibimbap, japche, soondubu) but I always get the same thing (pork japche Level 1 spicy) because it’s so tasty!”

! “A little fancy bar near the corner of Park St and Fish Hatchery. It's a cool, dimly lit place with great cocktails (especially their espresso martini), the bartenders are super cool, and my favorite part: they allow dogs! My pup and I frequent there. They've started doing drag karaoke there every other Wednesday which is always a really great time (but I'm obsessed with karaoke so I'm biased).”

City Cast Madison Neighbors share their favorite places in Madison.


Readers Share Their Favorite Neighborhood Spots in Madison

Your Favorite Spots To Meet Your Neighbors in Madison

Over 9,100 miles separates the UW-Madison campus from the 

 at the South Pole, but there’s a strong connection between the two. On Tuesday, 

UW-Madison professor Francis Halzen received a Nobel Prize in physics

 at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm for pioneering the telescope.

“The success of this project involved some luck,” Halzen said in a statement. “I was fortunate to be at UW, where unconventional ideas can thrive and where I had the support of a remarkable community.”

Here’s the backstory on Halzen and the scientific breakthroughs that have made IceCube such a hot topic in physics and astronomy. [UW-Madison News]

 joined the faculty at UW-Madison in 1972

 and has received multiple awards for research over the last half-century. He began researching deep Antarctic ice and in 1987 started the Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array, known as AMANDA, which is considered an ancestor of the IceCube project. [ 🔒WSJ]

IceCube is not a traditional telescope like you’d peer through at 

. Instead, it’s embedded deep within a cubic kilometer of Antarctic ice, using thousands of light sensors to survey the universe for ghostly particles called high-energy neutrinos.

, if a neutrino passes through the Earth and interacts with the ice, it will produce a flash of light that IceCube’s sensors will pick up. Before IceCube, there was no way to monitor neutrinos, but Halzen’s research has created the field of “neutrino astronomy,” and other telescopes (including an underwater telescope) have since been created.

The telescope was completed in 2011 and is operated by a team of 400 scientists around the world, including at UW-Madison. [Washburn Observatory, 🔒NYT]

Neutrinos are nearly massless particles that rarely interact with other forms of matter, and the neutral variety of neutrinos are everywhere. But much rarer are what is called “high-energy neutrinos,” which can provide valuable information on supermassive black holes, galaxies and other objects in the universe.

In addition to bragging rights for UW-Madison, Halzen will be awarded $1.2 million from the committee. The prize for physics is one of six issued by the academy each year.

Discover the backstory behind UW-Madison professor Francis Halzen's Nobel Prize in physics for pioneering the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole.

How UW Professor Won a Nobel Prize

UW-Madison Professor Receives Nobel Prize in Physics

What Madisonians have been wondering. We break down why things in Madison are the way they are and how they work.

Madison, Explained

It’s October in Madison, which means there’s lots of scary stuff going on. And there’s lots of 

 of scary stuff to do, whether you want to see a horror movie, get lost in a haunted forest, learn about some haunted spaces, or more.

So here’s a list of the ways that Madison is trying to scare you this Halloween. Enjoy, and make sure to keep the lights on at night.

Get the willies scared out of you at one of the area’s haunted houses. 

 near Stoughton includes four haunted experiences to walk through for one price, including a prison and a mad scientist’s laboratory. (That’s a no from me!)

By day, Schuster’s Farm near Deerfield offers a fun and family-friendly corn maze. But by night, the ghouls come out for 

. Good thing there’s a bar where you can decompress afterward with a beer and some live music.

 offers eerie tours of both downtown Madison and the UW-Madison campus, digging up stories of the spirits that may still haunt those historic spaces. Meanwhile, 

 unveils the spooky stories behind locations like the Majestic Theater and Tempest Oyster Bar.

,” which UW Cinematheque is screening for free Halloween night in a beautiful 35mm print. The Bartell Theatre has 

a double feature of two scary-funny horror movies

, “Re-Animator” and “Prom Night II,” on Oct. 30. And the Union South Marquee Theatre is screening two ‘70s horror classics, “Suspiria” and “Halloween,” on Oct. 30 and 31.

Meanwhile, Marcus Point and Marcus Palace is offering its “

” series, where for $18 you can see four classic horror movies – but you won’t know which ones until the lights go down.

Madison Ballet presents a brand-new production of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “

” at MYArts Starlight Theater Oct. 29 through Nov 1. Chicago’s 

Manual Cinema recreates Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”

 on Oct. 23 on stage using eerie shadow puppets. And Glass Cannon Network will play the Lovecrafting role-playing game “

” live on stage at Atwood Music Hall on Oct. 15.

Looking for a scare this October in Madison? From horror movies to haunted forests and eerie ghost tours, here is your ultimate guide to Madison Halloween events.

The Best Spooky and Haunted Things to Do in Madison

Where To Get Scared in Madison for Spooky Season

Jade Iseri-Ramos

📖 Wisconsin Book Fest Fall Celebration

Wisconsin Book Festival’s 25th Fall Celebration

! All year long the festival brings authors to Madison (

), but every fall they bring dozens of authors to town for the four-day event. The whole celebration is free and a select few author events include a free book for attendees.

 is holding a T-shirt giveaway this fall if you visit three of the participating art museums. Lucky for us, both Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and the Chazen are on the list, so with one short road trip, that shirt could be yours! If you want to make a vacation out of it, the website has several preplanned road trips.

Badger Homecoming is this week! We laid out all you need to know about homecoming and tailgating on the 

. The UW-Madison football team’s big home games this month are on Saturday, Oct. 3 and on Oct. 24. But there are also other Badgers sports teams worth cheering for this month!

 is ranked No. 6 in NCAA Division I this year, and for the last decade, the team has consistently been one of the best in the nation. Their home games always draw a big crowd to the Field House where they have four games this month.

 soccer teams have had strong starts to their seasons and both have a handful of home games in October.

 has two tours that uncover the ghost stories of our city. From haunted theaters to campus ghost stories, things can get a little intense! Plus, Madison Ghost Walks is hosting our City Cast Madison Neighbors on a tour. 

and join us on a ghost walk later this month!

Obviously, the month ends with Halloween. This year, the holiday lands on a Saturday which means things are probably going to get a little wild on “Halloweekend.” A tamer option for the kids is 

Downtown Madison’s family Halloween night

 on Wednesday, Oct. 28. There will be hayrides around the Capitol, crafts, and trick-or-treating at participating businesses.

For the adults, the Bur Oak and Atwood Music Hall are hosting 

 with two nights of cover-band shows and costume contests. And if you’re a child at heart, the Madison Children’s Museum is hosting 

Plan your perfect October 2026 in Madison! Check out the 25th Wisconsin Book Festival, cheer on the Badgers, tour haunted spots, and find top Halloween events.

What to Do in Madison in October 2026: Book Fest, Badgers & Halloween

What To Do in Madison in October 2026

On Sept. 25, Madison opened its first new public library in 26 years. And 

 looks pretty different from the nine other Madison Public Library branches that came before.

Filling the “library desert” on Madison’s far east side

, city leaders say the Imagination Center reflects what libraries have become in cities – not just places to study and check out books but community meeting spaces, children’s activity zones, and more. Take a virtual tour of the Imagination Center and let your own imagination get fired up. [City of Madison, 🔒WSJ]

As the name suggests, the Imagination Center at Reindahl Park is the first Madison public library built inside a public park. It’s Madison’s 10th public library, and cost $18 million to build, $5.5 million of that came from state grants and $4.5 million raised by the Madison Public Library Foundation.

The design of the library takes full advantage of the natural setting, with green floors and glass walls that blend in with the environment outside. The ceilings are high, allowing in lots of natural light to read by.

The Imagination Center is also the first Madison public library to have an outdoor park pavilion that takes up half of the 17,500 square feet of the facility.

The pavilion includes a large multipurpose gathering room with retractable walls that can divide the space in two. The space is envisioned to be a much-needed community hub, where residents can meet, host seminars, even have movie nights. The meeting rooms aren’t yet open, but residents can start reserving space in November for 2027 gatherings.

One of the most striking outdoor features of the Imagination Center is 

a new piece of public artwork, “The Passage of Being,”

 designed by artist and Wisconsin native Nate Page, that was unveiled Friday.

When the two-sided, 16-foot-high sculpture is viewed from the library, it is covered in layers of colors drawn from the flags of prominent immigrant communities on Madison’s northeast side. But look at it from the outside, and it’s a giant reflective surface that captures what’s happening in the park. [City of Madison]

the Imagination Center isn’t wasting any time serving the community

. The very first multi-age storytime is scheduled for Sept. 29, there’s a stop motion animation workshop on Sept. 30, and a resource fair is scheduled for Oct. 1 for northeast side residents to learn about all the organizations serving their community. [Madison Public Library]

Explore Madison's new Imagination Center at Reindahl Park—the city's first public library in 26 years. Take a virtual tour of this vibrant community hub.

Your Guide to Madison’s Imagination Center Library

Browse the Imagination Center, Madison’s Newest Library

Everything to know about Madison neighborhoods: Where to go, eat, shop, drink, and more.

Madison Neighborhood Guides

Neighborhood Guides

While hyperscale data centers have become a big political issue in Wisconsin, there’s another technological project that is generating some attention in Dane County and beyond – 

a proposed high-powered transmission line called BECI

the Dane County Board passed a resolution

 calling for movement on the project to be slowed down to allow time for further review and public input. Here’s the backstory on BECI, and why it has residents and lawmakers so charged up. [Midcontinent Grid Solutions, Dane County]

a 765-kilovolt power line that would stretch roughly 190 miles across southern Wisconsin

. The area being considered for the line would include parts of Crawford, Richland, Sauk, Columbia, Dodge, Dane, Jefferson, Walworth and Rock counties.

The Y-shaped towers loom 175 feet tall, each requiring 180 feet of space on the ground. The $1.2 billion project is being spearheaded by the Midcontent Independent System Operator (MISO), which is the grid operator for the region, ranging 15 states and parts of Canada.

The company developing the project, Midcontinent Grid Solutions, says the project is necessary to connect southern Wisconsin to the MISO grid as energy use continues to grow and change, keeping energy service reliable even in the case of equipment failures or when parts of the grid are under strain. Some of that energy use comes from new data centers coming online.

While the route has yet to be determined, the BECI lines will not follow existing power lines routes, meaning that it will require new easements or contracts with property owners. [Cap Times]

MGS gathered public input in August and has identified some possible routes in the nine-county region. 

The company plans to hold additional public hearings through the fall

 and then submit their application to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission early next year.

From there, the project will undergo a lengthy review process, and it will be up to the commission to decide if and where the transmission line will be built. 

, the project could be completed by 2033. [Cap Times, MGS]

, worried that the giant towers will destroy the view of their rural land and impact the wildlife that live there. As one 91-year-old resident told the Cap Times, “instead of having a view of heaven, you got a view of hell.”

Residents have been attending their local government meetings

 (such as the Dane County Board) asking them to slow down the process, and 

both Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Washington, D.C.

 have come out in support of either slowing down the project or killing it altogether.

“People who received letters just weeks ago are now being asked to absorb the entirety of a 190-mile, 765-kV line, identify the parties involved, understand potential routes through their communities, and provide meaningful feedback, all on a compressed timeline that does not match the scale of the project's impact on their land, their livelihoods, and their communities," Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan wrote in a Sept. 16 letter to MGS.

Pocan’s longtime rival and sparring partner, Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, agreed in a Sept. 17 statement. "You can’t put a mailbox in the ground without going through the (Department of Natural Resources), yet Tony Evers would have Wisconsin believe that nothing can be done to protect the Driftless Region from massive transmission lines being forced through communities that do not want them.” [No765Line, Spectrum News, 🔒MJS]

The 190-mile BECI high-voltage transmission line aims to secure Wisconsin’s grid, but locals and the Dane County Board are demanding delays over data center ties and land rights.

Why the Proposed BECI Transmission Line Is Sparking Backlash in Wisconsin

What To Know About The Proposed BECI Transmission Line

We can agree to disagree. But the joke behind 

Corey Holl’s political satire “The Park People”

 is that we can’t agree on how to disagree.

Holl is a 24-year-old Monona Grove High graduate who makes short business documentaries and music videos in Madison with his partner David Guenther through their company 

. He’s raising money to shoot “Park People” in Madison next summer, and has started a crowdfunding campaign and 

 to show to production companies who want to get involved.

Sitting in the Tenney Park shelter near his home, Holl talked about finding the funny aspects of protest in unfunny political times:

“The Park People” is a political satire. It's a love letter to Madison, but it's also a satire about Madison, and it's about protesting and about place and finding your people, and then obviously about nature and parks, because I'm a big park person myself. So I'm always in parks, and I feel like I found a lot of solace in it, especially in recent times.

This park shuts down in the corner of the city, and these neighbors, mostly these two hippies, protest its closure right away. And then there’s Katie, who's this listless young adult who's our protagonist. She’s like a lot of young people, kind of doomscrolling, not really sure what to do with this world. She gets involved with these hippies and tries to figure out how to stop this park [closure]. They figure out that, you know, there's a corrupt mayor and there's this big billionaire company that's just gobbling up land and building luxury apartments on it. Things get more and more drastic as they try to stop it.

There’s something about this that really reflects Madison. Different generations of people who may be aligned politically but have very different ideas about action.

I feel like the most politically active are either young or old, just because they're not busy raising a family, they just have more time to think about these things, which was really interesting. I think I've seen that a lot too in promoting this movie. It feels like the people who are the most interested in it are either older, or like, the same age as me, which has been really interesting. That's been kind of a fun parallel between the story and the real world.

I've had a bunch of variations on this idea of nature bringing people together, just in my head for so long. I was trying to think about that. At the same time, it was this kind of concept where I was trying to figure out how to do something about protest as well. I thought, land is being ignored, and it’s something that isn’t so heavy that I could make fun of the concept of protesting without being insensitive about things that need to be protested. I thought I could have some fun with this and build this big satirical world around it.

Are you finding a good pool of talent in Madison in front of and behind the camera?

More than you'd think, just because everyone's in their own little niches and their own little bubbles. But things are coming together. Once you meet one person, they know this person, and then they know this person, and it’s really just all a web where everyone comes together. So you're able to find pretty much anyone you need in the city. They're all really talented and all very passionate. People just want to get things made and things that are fun made.

Madison filmmaker Corey Holl launches a crowdfunding campaign for his new political satire, "The Park People." Explore the proof-of-concept short film.

'The Park People': Corey Holl's Madison Political Satire Film

‘Park People’ Will Satirize Madison’s Protest Culture

You may like pizza, but do you really know pizza? Madison has several popular local pizza restaurants, each serving their own distinctive signature pies. Take our quiz and see how well you know your slices.