“Human Powered” is a show about how people make places better. In our first season, we explore Wisconsin together to meet real people and hear in-depth stories that we hope leave you feeling closer to your neighbors—and inspired by where you live.

Brian Reisinger is a writer who grew up on a dairy farm in Sauk County. He’s worked in journalism, public policy, and consulting, and writes about rural American culture, economics, history, politics, and the outdoors.

Ben Meyer is the special topics correspondent at WXPR in Rhinelander. His reporting mainly focuses on natural resources, environmental, and economic issues in northern Wisconsin. He lives in Rhinelander with his wife, Erika.

Karl Michael Iglesias is a poet, teacher, artist and actor based in Brooklyn. He grew up in Milwaukee and is a graduate of UW-Madison, where he was part of the First Wave program.

Ayisha Jaffer has a passion for being in the shoes of many different lifestyles from punk rocker to park ranger. She’s been a storyteller, musician, DJ, and most recently, a radio host at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee.

Judy Bridges is a writer who lived from coast to coast and returned to Wisconsin convinced there really is no place like home. She founded Redbird Writing Studio in Milwaukee in 1993, and included much of her writing wisdom in her good-natured guide to the craft, Shut Up & Write!

Jessica Gatzow studies Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She enjoys hiking and exploring Wisconsin’s natural areas.

Destiny Skubis is a Wisconsin native though loves to travel near and far. Her work consists of early childhood development, studying home-birth midwifery, and homesteading with the seasons.

Andy Turner is a freelance journalist, college English instructor and radio DJ living in Milwaukee. He is a music and B-movie fanatic.