Category: UW Experts in the News

Entomologist Phil Pellitteri returns to help us deal with insect pests. Then, we talk about citizen-scientist wildlife monitoring. Then, we meet the new director of The Arb.

Shane Hubbard is a research scientist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Space Science & Engineering Center. He says Wisconsin is a leader in helping communities mitigate against flooding disasters.

“We have some communities here that have really experienced what it means to mitigate and help us not have as many damages as a state when we have flood events,” he said.

Jack pine and black spruce trees fall into this category, according to David Mladenoff, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Both species reproduce by using cones that are sealed up with resin, and open to spread seeds only under the intense heat of a fire.

“The nature of the (jack pine and black spruce) trees — their foliage, their bark, they have a lot of resin — they burn easily. They kind of encourage fire because they need fire,” said Mladenoff.

“This whole idea of unconventional habitability, especially afforded by … radiation, I think is really underexplored,” says astrobiologist Zach Adam of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, who was not involved in the study.

“This plant is quite harmful to our forests,” said Mark Renz, a professor and Extension weed specialist at UW. “It makes wildfires more frequent and severe, alters nutrient cycling and soil microbes, and reduces wildlife habitat, all of which decreases biodiversity.”

An invasive plant has been spotted in southcentral Wisconsin, and scientists are asking the public for help to prevent it from spreading across the region.

Japanese stiltgrass was spotted in Rock County last month.

Mark Renz, a University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension weed specialist and professor in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences, said the grass is bad for a number of reasons.

Japanese stiltgrass is an annual grass, like crabgrass, that can grow in the woods.

“What it does is it produces a lot of fuel, and when that annual grass dies in the winter, that fuel persists, so it can increase the timeframe when fires naturally can occur in the forests,” said Mark Renz, a University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension weed specialist and professor in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences.

A political scientist explains why Wisconsin and other states are fighting over redistricting. Then, we look at why seven of the 10 places with the worst air quality in the country last week were in Wisconsin. Then, we discuss the downfall of the Schlitz beer empire.

“If the state legislative districts were so gerrymandered that they violated the Wisconsin State Constitution, then the same is true of the congressional districts… Legally, the case is straightforward,” said Howard Schweber, affiliate faculty at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Here’s what guests on the Aug. 8, 2025 episode said about the direction of the economy, wildfire suppression in Canada, and the risk of measles outbreaks around Wisconsin.

“The National Weather Service is a testament to just how important this knowledge is and significantly reducing the number of fatalities from lightning from hurricanes, from tornadoes, from any of these hazards that impact Wisconsin every year,” said Chris Vagasky, a UW-Madison meteorology expert.