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July 24, 2025

Research

The enduring lessons of wages for housework

Posted on
The Nation

Emily Callaci’s history of the international feminist movement examines the influence of their intellectual and political victories. The University of Wisconsin–Madison historian describes in “Wages for Housework: The Feminist Fight Against Unpaid Labor,” that modes of protest were part of an emerging, dynamic wave of left-feminist activism.

Callaci’s book marks a significant contribution to the new Wages for Housework literature and serves as a reminder of the campaign’s true aims. Weaving together capsule biographies of five of its founders, it offers a history that reflects Wages for Housework’s global scope and radical ambitions.

What were ancient humans thinking when they began to bury their dead?

Posted on
New Scientist

All four of the anonymous researchers asked to assess its merit were sceptical. But Berger and his colleagues were undeterred. Earlier this year, they published an updated version of their study, offering a deeper dive into the evidence they had gathered from the Rising Star cave system in South Africa. The approach paid off: two of the original reviewers agreed to reassess the science – and one was won over. 

“You rarely see that in peer review,” says John Hawks at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a member of Berger’s team.  

New study advances theory on why most U.S. bird flu cases have so far been mild

Posted on
STAT

Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a leading influenza scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is among those who are skeptical, pointing to H5N1 infections in Cambodia, which has reported 27 cases since 2023, 12 of which have been fatal. The version of the virus circulating in that country is different from the one that has been infecting cows and poultry in the United States.

Higher Education/System

Fear led former Wisconsin runners to wait to speak out about former coach, athletes say

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

The team’s strong performance “stemmed a lot from us being fearful of her and if we had done bad, and also the culture that was created at practice, which honestly was a pretty high-anxiety culture,” Badgers runner Victoria Heiligenthal said. “I think it motivated people but obviously from a bad place of motivation.”

Former Badgers athletes say 2 coaches created a toxic culture, and Wisconsin knew about it

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

On the same day in January 2022 that Mackenzie Wartenberger told her runners that she was resigning for family reasons, the University of Wisconsin sang the praises of the women’s cross country coach in a tweet.

Some members of that team said they couldn’t believe their coach was being celebrated. Five women who ran for Wartenberger told the Wisconsin State Journal in interviews that they experienced mental abuse and a toxic culture on her team. One former runner, Brogan MacDougall, and her mother reported the abuse to athletics officials and the academic side of the university.

Athletics

‘It hit me hard’: How J.J. Watt’s candid message resonated with Wisconsin football

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

J.J. Watt, a former Wisconsin All-American and one of the best defensive players in NFL history, told the players at his alma mater last week he hasn’t enjoyed being a Badgers fan lately. The energy in the air shifted as Watt delivered a message that Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell boiled down to: “I just want to be proud and right now, I’m not.”

UW-Madison Related