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In: Bonnie Willison, Hali Jama, Signal Awards, The Water We Swim In

The Water We Swim In is a multi-episode podcast series created and hosted by Bonnie Willison, Sea Grant’s digital storyteller, along with student Hali Jama. The series recently won two awards in the inaugural national Signal Awards competition.

colorful illustration with the title, The Water We Swim In

In the diversity, equity and inclusion category, the series won both a bronze award and the listener’s choice award.

“We had some really impressive competitors in the Signal Awards, and I’m honored to have even been a nominee. Also, it was great to see the support from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Sea Grant communities in the listener’s choice voting competition,” Willison said.

The podcast explores water equity in the Great Lakes region. Topics explored have been inequities in water infrastructure and racism that have resulted in, for example, the ongoing potable water crisis in Jackson, Miss.; the intersection of Indigenous sovereignty, water quality and wild rice restoration on Wisconsin’s largest inland lake; and access to water recreation by people with disabilities.

The title of the podcast was sparked by a comment from one of the guests, Co-Executive Director Brenda Coley of Milwaukee Commons, who, when taking about the legacy of segregation in swimming pools and swimming lessons said, “Racism is the water we swim in…sometimes we don’t understand how pervasive it really is.”

This is the first year of the Signal Awards, which attracted more than 1,700 entries. Entries were hosted by figures such as Trevor Noah and Jon Stewart and produced by organizations such as Bloomberg Media, AMC and Apple. Nearly 15,000 people voted for listeners choice awards.

The post Water equity podcast wins two national awards first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/water-equity-podcast-wins-two-national-awards/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=water-equity-podcast-wins-two-national-awards

Moira Harrington

On:
In: Bonnie Willison, equity, Hali Jama, podcast, The Water We Swim In, water, water justice

Wisconsin Sea Grant is announcing the launch of a new podcast series, The Water We Swim In. The trailer can be found here and it features stories about the Great Lakes and people working toward equity.

In the series, Sea Grant’s Digital Storyteller Bonnie Willison and Hali Jama, podcast intern, share inspiring interviews from community organizers, researchers and leaders navigating Wisconsin’s waters.

Sea Grant has long been invested in audio storytelling, starting in 1972 with the environmental news program Earthwatch Radio. In recent years, the program has produced a number of podcast series — Wisconsin Water News, Undercurrents: The Hidden Knowledge of Groundwater, The Fish Dish, and Introduced— several of which are award-winning.

On this upcoming season of the new podcast, Willison and Jama will:

  • Explore how redlining created the Great Lakes communities of today
  • Trace the alarming trend of swimming pool closures across the country and learn about the fight to save a Milwaukee pool
  • Talk with leaders who are working to make Wisconsin’s outdoors more accessible for people with disabilities
  • Travel to Lake Winnebago to hear about a culturally guided inter-tribal project focused on lake health and wild rice restoration
  • Cook fish and tofu soup and speak with a research group focused on the importance of fish to Asian women in Milwaukee
  • Go fishing with the Midwest Crappie Hunters, who are teaching Milwaukee’s central-city youth, elderly and veterans about fishing, the outdoors and aquatic resources
smiling woman in winter coat fishing

Jama attends a fishing clinic with Midwest Crappie Hunters in Milwaukee. Jama is a UW-Madison student studying marketing and international business with a certificate in environmental studies. (Photo: Bonnie Willison)

The series’ title, The Water We Swim In, was inspired by an interview with Brenda Coley, co-executive director of Milwaukee Water Commons. “Brenda had this great quote where she said that ‘racism is the water we swim in,’” said Willison. “People might not realize that systemic racism impacts everything in our society, just like a fish might not realize that it is swimming in water.”

The post Launch of new podcast about equity and the Great Lakes first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/launch-of-new-podcast-about-equity-and-the-great-lakes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=launch-of-new-podcast-about-equity-and-the-great-lakes

Moira Harrington