Live event: Reporting on extremism in Wisconsin and the nation

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On Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 4 p.m. Central time, Wisconsin Watch will host a free, live Zoom event on the topic of covering political extremism.
The event will feature a conversation between Wisconsin Watch reporter and ProPublica fellow Phoebe Petrovic and state bureau chief Matthew DeFour.
The link to RSVP is here, and full background details are below.

Throughout 2024, Wisconsin Watch reporter and ProPublica fellow Phoebe Petrovic produced multiple in-depth investigative pieces on the complex topic of extremism and the increasing influence of the religious right on American political discourse.

In July, Petrovic reported on the rising influence of militant anti-abortion activist and Wisconsin pastor Matthew Trewhella in the modern Republican Party. While he was a political pariah in the 1990s and 2000s for his extremist views, Trewhella’s teachings have been popping up in debates everywhere from local school boards to state legislatures.

In October, she showed how Trewhella was one character in a much larger story by tracing the long history of the Christian right’s efforts to influence American politics at every level. That same month, as the November election drew closer, Petrovic produced a number of investigative reports. One involved possible tax and election law violations by Vice President-elect JD Vance’s campaign. The other exposed efforts by right-wing activists to recruit poll workers in swing states.

How did Petrovic get started reporting on the topic of extremism? She will answer that question and many others in conversation with Wisconsin Watch state bureau chief Matthew DeFour, in a live Zoom event on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 4 p.m. Central time.

The event will be a webinar format and will be recorded. Attendees will be emailed a link to the recording following the event, and a selection of clips will be published to our YouTube channel.

Questions can be submitted ahead of time through the RSVP form and will also be collected during the event.

While this is a free event, if you can afford to pay it forward by contributing any amount to Wisconsin Watch now, please do. Donations help us keep events free for everyone.