The Defender Podcast

Yes, there are 150-million reasons to listen to the episode. Because Wisconsin has $150 million dollars in federal funding to help make our homes warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer, healthier, more efficient. All the things. A look at two…

Mon Sep 8, 2025

26:13

How much would you pay to swim in a clean lake? How much to take a breath of fresh, clean air? To fish in a pristine stream? You may not ever think about that, but there is somebody who does — a lot. On this episode, meet the professor who’s…

Mon Aug 25, 2025

31:07

The Environmental Protection Agency is quickly getting out of the protection business. And no where is that more clear than its new plan to get rid of the Endangerment Finding, the landmark legal and science determination that climate change hurts…

Mon Aug 18, 2025

21:24

Livestock farmers in Wisconsin are getting excited about solar! MG&E’s Tyto solar project is home to about 13,000 solar panels, 30 acres of thriving plants, and a flock of happy sheep. Amy takes a behind-the-scenes look at the solar energy…

Mon Aug 11, 2025

27:01

In the long, never-ending struggle to protect our environment, it can be easy to feel helpless, powerless. Maybe nothing underscores that feeling more than trying to stop a big foreign oil interest from building a pipeline across your state. But there…

Mon Aug 4, 2025

12:52

If you are feeling afraid to click on news stories every time a decision gets handed down by the US Supreme Court, you’re not alone. But some recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decisions are bringing much-needed good news in the fight to protect our…

Mon Jul 28, 2025

30:07

Northern Wisconsin is home to Lake Superior, to beautiful streams and wetlands, to thousands of acres os mesic forests–and to a 72-year-old oil pipeline called Line 5. Now the foreign oil company, Enbridge, that owns and operates the line is…

Mon Jul 21, 2025

28:57

Milwaukee is at the center of what the federal government calls an “Area of Concern.” A place where so much toxic water pollution and environmental degradation have happened over the course of more than a century, that it needs special attention and…

Mon Jul 14, 2025

25:23

The Big Beautiful Budget will have some ugly consequences. In this episode, why the fallout from Trump’s budget will include bigger bills, toxic emissions, and yep – more risk of blackouts. Host: Amy Barrilleaux Guest: Ciaran Gallagher, PhD,…

Mon Jul 7, 2025

24:18

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to stand next to a wind turbine? You’re about to find out. In this epsiode, Amy meets 2nd generation Wisconsin farmer Jerry Cigelske at his Columbia County farm to talk about about why cows, grass and windmills…

Mon Jun 30, 2025

24:51