Since the dawn of the internet, online spaces have been rapidly changing and eating up more of our time. Social media and attention-driven apps are shaping how young people think and feel and how they learn.

A new documentary, “Your Attention Please,” highlights the real-world consequences of social media and how it reshapes all of us. It also shows how a new generation of parents and teens are fighting back against Big Tech’s agenda to keep us scrolling. The film is showing at the Milwaukee Film Festival. To learn more Lake Effect’s Audrey Nowakowski is joined by director Sara Robin, writer & co-creator Jack LeMay, and film participant Kristin Bride.

A warning to listeners, this conversation does include the topic of suicide.

The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund will likely come to an end this June. Earlier this year, the state senate failed to reauthorize funding for the program. The stewardship fund has helped protect 750-thousand acres of land statewide by investing roughly one-point-three billion dollars to protect Wisconsin’s natural landscape.

The stewardship fund has been working with government and nonprofits since 1989, but in recent years its faced more politicization. WUWM’s Eric Von Fellow, Maria Peralta-Arellano is joined by DNR facilities and lands bureau director, Terry Bay to learn more.

If you go to a natural history museum almost anywhere in the world, you can expect to see dioramas displaying how animals live in the wild. Dioramas have become integral to museums, transporting visitors to unfamiliar landscapes through art and science. But did you know that it started right here in Milwaukee?

The Milwaukee-style diorama revolutionized how museums curated their exhibits, and the original diorama lives on at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Dr. Ellen Censky is the president and CEO of the museum, and she joins Lake Effect’s Joy Powers to talk about the museum’s long history with dioramas.

A new documentary looks at what students with different faith backgrounds can learn from each other. The film focuses on an ambitious teacher and his students in a World Religions class at Prospect High School in Mount Prospect, Illinois.

It’s showing at the Milwaukee Film Fest and ahead of that WUWM’s Maayan Silver speaks with filmmaker Allison Walsh and producer Lily Qi about the project, and what it’s all about.

We all know about Smokey Bear — the iconic mascot for wildfire prevention. But do you know about Torchy Timberloss? He’s Wisconsin’s very own fire mascot who recently came out of retirement. Torchy is a devilish looking flame that dates back to the 1950s.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says Torchy’s image has evolved over the years. Nowadays, he’s focused on spreading the message that not all fires are bad. Catherine Koele is a wildfire prevention specialist, and Michele Witecha is a prescribed fire specialist, with the Wisconsin DNR.

They join Lake Effect’s Xcaret Nuñez to share Torchy’s story and the benefits of prescribed fires.

John Gurda is perhaps best known as the chief historian of the City of Milwaukee. His documentary series and book The Making of Milwaukee have become vital resources in understanding the city’s history.

But Gurda’s impact on Milwaukee has been broad and varied. In fact, his work can be seen in neighborhoods throughout the city, on lampposts and in homes. John Gurda joins Lake Effect’s Joy Powers to talk the City of Neighborhoods and the posters that represent them.

Later this week WUWM will begin a series about an out of state landlord that’s being sued by the Milwaukee City Attorney’s Office.

Lake Effect’s Sam Woods and Jimmy Gutierrez will explore how some of David Tomblin’s tenants have joined together to fight for their housing rights, and how the city is backing those residents trying to loosen Tomblin’s grip on the 260 properties he owns. Here’s Sam and Jimmy with what you can expect.

Conservationists are celebrating the return of sturgeon to the Milwaukee River – 20 miles upstream from Lake Michigan.

It’s the first time one of the giant fish was documented in Ozaukee County in more than a century. Sturgeon disappeared from the river because of things like overfishing and degraded habitat. The discovery of the sturgeon so far from Lake Michigan signals a milestone in a sturgeon restoration project that’s been underway for 20 years.

WUWM environmental reporter Susan Bence is joined by Andrew Struck, the director of planning and parks in Ozaukee County to explain how this happened.