Written by Steve Ackerman and Jonathan Martin, professors in the UW-Madison department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences.
December 29, 2025
Research
What your life would be like without an inner voice
Nedergaard and her colleague Prof Gary Lupyan at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in the US, decided to explore the potential effects of lacking inner speech, recruiting people who scored low on a questionnaire with statements such as “I think about problems in my mind in the form of a conversation with myself.”
By coining the term ‘anendophasia’ – from the Greek an (lack), endo (inner) and phasia (speech) – Nedergaard and Lupyan hope to create a similar keyword that will help to catalyse research into those lacking inner speech.
State news
What to know about Wisconsin’s battle over congressional redistricting
“They could draw the districts as they wanted, and they went to town,” said Barry Burden, political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the university’s Elections Research Center. “They were very successful in drawing districts that advantage their party in the state Legislature and in the congressional districts, but they also wanted the process to be different if there was going to be litigation.”
Lights, camera and action in Wisconsin
Starting Jan. 1, Wisconsin will have a film incentive program and film office, both efforts to attract moviemakers to the state.
This means we might get a few more iconic big-screen moments in familiar places, akin to seeing downtown Madison in 1994’s “I Love Trouble,” Milwaukee County Stadium in 1989’s “Major League,” the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus in 1986’s “Back to School,” the many Wisconsin backdrops in 2009’s “Public Enemies” or the car chase scene filmed near Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge in Milwaukee in the 1980 classic “The Blues Brothers.”
Health
5 things you should do first thing in the morning to be happier all day
Research suggests that even if you don’t actually meet up with someone or send them an email or text, it can be enough to simply send good thoughts their way. “You can start with a simple appreciation practice,” Cortland Dahl, a research scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Healthy Minds, previously told HuffPost. Just bring a friend or loved one into your mind, then consciously focusing on the things you really cherish about them.