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Storytelling

POWWOW BOUND

Experiencing Menominee culture and traditions through the power of play

A 3D narrative-driven adventure game co-produced by PBS Wisconsin and Nebraska Public Media, with funding from Vision Maker Media

Powwow Bound: A Menominee Homecoming is a 3D narrative-driven adventure game for ages 10 and up. Players guide teenager DJ through the annual Menominee Nation Contest Powwow in Keshena, Wisconsin, helping her family honor their ancestors and reconnect with their heritage.

Play the game

Photo of a child in regalia playing Powwow Bound at the Menominee Annual Contest Powwow. (Source: PBS Wisconsin)
Photo of a child in regalia playing Powwow Bound at the Menominee Annual Contest Powwow. (Source: PBS Wisconsin)

Photo of a child in regalia playing Powwow Bound at the Menominee Annual Contest Powwow. (Source: PBS Wisconsin)

Developed with Menominee representation at every level of production — from its lead developer, a Menominee first descendant, to community members who voiced characters and shaped the story — Powwow Bound offers an authentic, immersive window into contemporary Indigenous traditions.

The game supports learners in grades 3–8 and meets Wisconsin Act 31 requirements for teaching about Wisconsin First Nations. An educator guide provides background information, state standards, guiding questions, and a Menominee glossary.

Explore the educator guide

BUCKY!

From mascot to icon of Wisconsin

A PBS Wisconsin original documentary narrated by comedian Charlie Berens

Bucky! whimsically explores the history of Bucky Badger, his cultural impact on Wisconsin, and his rise to something larger than just a mascot told through interviews, family stories, and archival footage unseen for decades. More than 1,150 people gathered at screenings and preview events across the state to experience the film together.

Watch Bucky!

Behind-the-Scenes of Bucky mascot shoot in Vilas Hall Studio A, Sept. 30, 2025 for Bucky! documentary. (Source: Angela Major, photojournalist for Wisconsin Public Radio)

Behind-the-Scenes of Bucky mascot shoot in Vilas Hall Studio A, Sept. 30, 2025 for Bucky! documentary. (Source: Angela Major, photojournalist for Wisconsin Public Radio)

She’s Bucky!

She’s Bucky!

UW-Madison alum RoseAnn Donovan recounts her experience as one of the few women to take the field as Bucky Badger. Donovan describes wowing the judges at her 1981 tryout, quickly disproving anyone that doubted she had the right stuff, and why being Bucky meant something joyful every time she wore the suit.
When Bucky goes missing?

When Bucky goes missing?

UW Band director Mike Leckrone recalls how his partnership with hockey coach Bob Johnson helped transform Badger hockey in Madison — and reveals a long-kept secret: the night Wisconsin won the national championship, he slipped into the Bucky suit and made a surprise appearance before vanishing back into the crowd.
 

It was so much fun to watch! Made me happy and proud to be a fan of Bucky for so many years! I learned so much about the history of Bucky and the people who became him.

JaquelinePBS Wisconsin viewer from Oshkosh

WELCOME POETS

Celebrating the poets and places that make Wisconsin home

Welcome Poets follows former Wisconsin Poet Laureate Nicholas Gulig in a lyrical reflection on his return to Wisconsin and his discovery of a kindred spirit in Lorine Niedecker, the celebrated 20th century poet who spent her life writing on the flood-prone marshlands of Blackhawk Island near Fort Atkinson.

Across six chapters, the docuseries connects the shared and divergent landscapes, personal histories, and poetry of both writers, exploring themes of place and displacement, belonging and alienation. Though Niedecker published in relative obscurity during her lifetime, her reputation within American poetry has grown steadily since her death in 1970, and Welcome Poets brings her work to new audiences across Wisconsin and beyond.

Watch all six chapters

Nicholas Gulig, writer and narrator of Welcome Poets. (Source: PBS Wisconsin)
Nicholas Gulig, writer and narrator of Welcome Poets. (Source: PBS Wisconsin)

Nicholas Gulig, writer and narrator of Welcome Poets. (Source: PBS Wisconsin)

The making of <i>Welcome Poets</i>

The making of Welcome Poets

An interview with Welcome Poets producer Colin Crowley about the making of the docuseries, working closely with Gulig, and the production and editorial approach they took to connect the stories of two Wisconsin poets across time and place.
Read the interview
Preserving Lorine Niedecker's legacy

Preserving Lorine Niedecker's legacy

In Fort Atkinson, the Friends of Lorine Niedecker and the Hoard Historical Museum co-steward the 20th century poet's local legacy. They connect archives and research about Niedecker to readers, scholars, writers and the community.
Read the interview
 

What is poetry if not an act of altar-making, of paying tribute to the people and the places that have held us.

Nicholas GuligWelcome Poets series writer and narrator