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  • Monthly Round-Up – December 2025

    Monthly Round-Up – December 2025

    A Comrade

    The chapter reported at our December General Membership Meeting that MADSA has nearly doubled in size since October 2024 – from 368 members then, to 643 members now!

  • Can MADSA Make Better Possible? Francesca Hong and Madison Area DSA’s Electoral Strategy

    Halsey H.

    The past decade of the Democratic Socialists of America has been defined by shockingly successful moonshot campaigns that catapulted socialism into national conversation, leaving organizers scrambling to meet the moment without sacrificing their principles.

  • Seasons of Retail

    OF

    If our corporate masters found a way, they’d rip our faces off and sell them right back. They’d make us thank them for it.

  • Democracy: On meetings and voting

    dsamadison

    by Dan F There have been some differences of opinion in MADSA about decision making, meetings, and in general how we organize over the past few years. And contention has often arisen around bylaw changes. Here are some of my migraine-addled opinions on why this is happening. Two examples of contention First, in the 2025…

  • Monthly Round-Up – November 2025

    dsamadison

    By a Comrade This article is written by a DSA member and does not formally represent the views of MADSA as a whole or its subgroups.  Welcome to Vol. 4 of the monthly round-up! The content in this publication overlaps significantly with our DSA newsletter and monthly General Membership Meetings. To sign up for the…

  • Why Socialists Should be Vegan

    dsamadison

    by Leo Neustadt Personally, I’ve been vegan for almost a decade. This is the longest I’ve ever stuck with anything in my entire life. I’ve picked up and put down so many hobbies, played around with my gender expression, and had just shy of a million jobs, but being vegan is by far the most…

  • The Peculiar and Continuing Importance of Anti-Black Racism in the U.S.

    dsamadison

    By Blair Goodman — Political Education Working Group, Madison DSA Madison, right now Across Dane County, our campaigns against jail expansion, corporate developers, and layoffs at TruStage all run into the same brick wall: a system that divides and disciplines labor along racial lines. Anti-Black racism isn’t an add-on to class struggle—it’s a core method…

  • Jail Communications Campaign Victory

    dsamadison

    By the Jail Communications Coalition We fought hard, we fought smart, and we won! The Abolitionist Working Group and our community coalition for free jail communications campaigned against a 3-5 year, exploitative contract between the Dane County Sheriff and Smart Communications, which the Dane County Board of Supervisors voted to reject on September 18, 2025. …

  • Monthly Round-Up – October 2025

    dsamadison

    By a Comrade This article is written by a DSA member and does not formally represent the views of MADSA as a whole or its subgroups.  Welcome to Vol. 3 of the monthly round-up! The content in this publication overlaps significantly with our DSA newsletter and monthly General Membership Meetings. To sign up for the…

  • Cadre Development

    dsamadison

    by Blair Goodman Purpose and Use This is a training and reference guide (or maybe just a vision) for developing cadres—members who form the committed core of an organization.  It helps participants understand both the skills and the culture needed to sustain effective socialist organizing. What is a Cadre? “I liked doing it, Mac. I…

  • Monthly Round-Up – September 2025

    dsamadison

    by a comrade This article is written by a DSA member and does not formally represent the views of MADSA as a whole or its subgroups.  Welcome to Vol. 2 of the monthly round-up! The content in this publication overlaps significantly with our DSA newsletter and monthly General Membership Meetings. To sign up for the…

  • ­David Rovics Concert in Madison

    dsamadison

    by Ida Bly David Rovics and Kamala Emanuel sang a concert in Madison on September 4th.They call their duo “The Ministry of Culture.” Madison DSA and WORT-FM helped sponsor this performance. This evening of folk-style music offered abundant moments of truth-telling and authenticity. There were about 35 people in attendance, in a range of ages,…

  • Neutrality is a Lie: The Academy Under Siege

    dsamadison

    by Dahlia Green American higher education is under assault. Research funding, whether for sciences or humanities, has been cut off. The thugs of ICE descend upon college campuses, abducting students who dared speak out against the American-backed genocide in Gaza. International students are subject to a campaign of terror and arbitrary restrictions justified on vague…

  • Propaganda Hoedown: Dane County Jail Communications Contract and Scanned Mail

    dsamadison

    by Dan Fitch [updated version of this article published in Tone Madison September 15] Let’s delve into local coverage of the jail communication contract and mail scanning, Alec K style. If you need background, get lost in the sauce with a deep dive from last month. The summary: The sheriff’s office is arguing that we…

  • Summer 2025 General Meetings Review

    dsamadison

    by a comrade On July 8th, chapter members of MADSA met for the monthly general meeting at the First Unitarian Society. While the agenda for every chapter meeting differs, July’s meeting carved out some time for some much needed discussion on how chapter members are feeling about our current political climate. Many members voiced their…

  • Monthly Round-Up – August 2025

    dsamadison

    by a comrade This article is written by a DSA member and does not formally represent the views of MADSA as a whole or its subgroups. I am excited to present a new format of content on Red Madison – a recurring summary of what kind of work we’re doing in our chapter each month!…

  • Reading Group Report Back: Vladimir Lenin’s Imperialism

    dsamadison

    From April 20th to May 11th, comrades in MADSA completed a reading and discussion of Vladimir Lenin’s Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism. Originally written in the first half of 1916 and published as a pamphlet in mid-1917, Lenin’s work analyzing how and why imperialism emerges under capitalism remains a vital resource in developing a…

  • Reading Group Report Back: Karl Marx’s Capital

    dsamadison

    …by a reading group member From November 2024 to March 2025, Madison Area DSA embarked on an ambitious political education project. A reading group formed to tackle Paul Reitter’s 2024 translation of Capital. The challenges of this book were clear and immense from the beginning. Marx’s words measure to a total of 710 pages with…

  • YDSA UW-Madison Wins Five Seats in ASM Elections

    dsamadison

    We are so pleased and proud to announce that three of our candidates have won in the ASM elections Wednesday night — Gabo Samoff for College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and Student Finance Services Committee, Bobby Gronert for College of Letters and Science and Student Finance Services Committee and Tristan Englemann for College of…

  • The Bitter Fruits of Democratic Austerity: Reflections on Trump’s Victory

    dsamadison

    by Blair Goodman, MADSA member, co-chair of Equador Working Group on the DSA International Committee and chair of the Training Subcommittee of the DSA Growth and Development Committee As we urgently grapple with Trump’s return to the White House, it’s crucial to swiftly understand the economic and political factors that led to this outcome. The…