Date: Wednesday, February1th
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon
Three fabulous presenters await you at February’s Nerd Nite!
Our first speaker is Bartje Wakker to share info about a unique biome: temperate rainforests! When you think of a rainforest, you probably think of a hot, humid jungle full of colorful birds, monkeys and tigers or jaguars lurking in the undergrowth – the so called “Lungs of the Earth” – but not all rainforests are so warm or even far from home! Come and learn about one of the rarest and most endangered ecosystems on earth – those rainforests that grow in cool, temperate climates and host just as incredible biodiversity and ecological importance as those in the tropics – and even some of the largest and oldest organisms in the world.
Second up to the stage will be Luke Chamberlain with “Why am I so goddamned Fascinated by James Cameron’s Avatar?”. Originally I was going to title this “a defense of Avatar” (the blue people, not the Airbender!) but I don’t know if that’s what it is anymore. I have become fascinated by these movies, but should I defend them? In this presentation I seek to understand and communicate why. I’m not going to try to convince you of the quality of anything, I promise! Art is subjective!
Our final presentation is titled “13 Steps to Raising a Proficient, Math-loving Kid!” by Suzy Scudder. Here’s Suzy’s description: I was a math interventionist for 11 years, and in that capacity I interviewed thousands of early primary (K-2) kids, and noticed some skills they lacked that are easy for parents to teach. The presentation is a distillation of those years of experience as well as intensive training I received in how to teach essential early numeracy skills. I also wrote a picture book on counting, called Count upon your Friends, and will introduce the audience to the book and explain why I wrote it.
Date: Wednesday, January 14th
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon
Our first speaker is James DeBanof, presenting “The Sennight Situation”. Why do we organize our lives in 7-day increments? Let’s adventure down the rabbit hole and dare to answer such bold questions as: Is ancient Babylon truly to blame for your case of the Mondays?
Second is Shea Topel, who will share “World’s Craziest Birds.” Shea will take us on a look into some of the most unique and crazy birds to have ever lived. This includes 10-foot tall giants, birds that skewer live animals onto stakes, and the poisonous birds of Polynesia.
Third speaker TBA.
Date: Wednesday, December 17th
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon
Our first speaker is Simrun Shroff, presenting about “Stop Spreadshitting Yourself Thin: Essential Tools to Organize Your Life”. Learn about ways to make your life better, just in time for New Years resolutions!
Second is Steve Hingle, who will share “Art from Code and a Digital Art Museum”. Steve will talk about how art can be made from code with random elements and will talk about the digital art museum he and his fellow board members are creating. They’re bringing several interactive art installations plus over 70 pieces of art from around the world. More info at madmat.org.
Our last speaker is Matt Wallrath with his talk “Tree of Heaven…or Tree of Hell?”. Learn about an invasive species you’ll find in Wisconsin and what we can do about it!
Date: Wednesday, November 19th
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon
This month, we have guests from the Wisconsin Wayfarers for all three of our presentations! If you love animals, this one is for you.
First up is Elizabeth Braatz with “Bees! Who are the bumble bees of Wisconsin, and how you can help”: Did you know that there is an endangered bumble bee in Wisconsin, and you might be able to see one here in Madison? Learn about the bumble bees of Wisconsin, who they are, where they go in the winter, and how we can all help pollinators.
Our second talk is “Monarch Butterflies: Mighty Morphin’ Marathoners”, presented by Marie Jensen: Monarch butterflies are one of the most charismatic creatures of the insect world, but there’s serious brawn behind the beauty! Learn about their insane migration, why you should care about their protection, and what makes Madison special when it comes to monarch conservation.
Our last presentation will be given by Lisie Kitchel: “The complicated life of Wisconsin’s Native Mussels, not just rocks on the bottom of a stream”. The 50 species of native mussels in Wisconsin have amazingly complex life histories with unique ways to accomplish critical life stages. Their diversity is only excelled by their creative ways to accomplish reproduction, pretty smart for the lowly clam.
Date: Wednesday, October 29th
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon
Welcome to another Nerd Nite, ghouls and goblins! We have three great talks scheduled, as well as a costume contest! Wear your favorite nerdy costume for a chance to win prizes!
Our first presenter is Lynn Hyland with “The Real Hyper-Drive: Understanding the ADHD Brain”: What happens when you mix an ADHD diagnosis and a degree in Clinical Psychology? You get Lynn Hyland, a psychologist specializing in ADHD with a deep personal understanding of the experience, issues, and strengths of having ADHD. If you’ve wondered if you or someone in your life might have it, this presentation will give you the facts about what it’s really like to have this particular flavor of neurospice.
Second is Dr. William Koebe, sharing “The Normalization of Deviance: How Silence Will Kill Us All”. A culture of silence about unsafe practices has killed a ton of people. From the Challenger disaster to the COVID pandemic, we’ll see how this process makes tragedies inevitable.
Last for the evening is Matt Daley with his talk “Planeshift to Hell: Satanic Panic, Demons, and how they shaped Dungeons & Dragons”. Paranoid parents conflating D&D and Satanism is an old joke which has permeated pop culture, but how did this originate and what impact has it made on the World’s Oldest Roleplaying Game? Game Designer Matt Daley shares the history of Dungeons & Dragons’ Satanic Panic episode of the 80s, the game’s handling of demonic elements across different eras, and how these shape the D&D of today.
Date: Wednesday, September 24th
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon
Our first presenter is Jeff Degenhardt: Many of us are loosely aware of strongman/strongwoman events, either from flipping through TV channels, getting a weird random social media algorithm video, or whatever. But what more is there to this weird and grueling sport? Take a mildly informative “derp” dive on some events with a former competitor and their thoughts on “The Ouchiest Way To Get Strong As Hell”
Next up is Nicholas Rogall, with “Native Plant Gardening for Dummies!”: Follow the journey of a former garden Dummy & brown thumb to a barely qualified Smartie in the world of native plant gardening. You’ll learn of his many mistakes, how to do better than he did, and some cool facts about our native flora & the biodiversity it supports!
Our final presenter is Michael Yu, talking to us about niche dating websites. Tired of Tinder? Hinge a little too unhinged? Well out with the old and in with the niche! Say goodbye to swiping through hundreds of profiles that don’t fit your ultra specific standards (alive + human) and hello to apps tailor-made for you. Bring your finest fish pics and blurriest mirror selfies because we’ll be running through the highs and lows of niche online dating platforms. There’ll be a little bit of something for everyone from the farmers at FarmersOnly to the missionaries at Mutual LDS Dating
Date: Wednesday, August 20th
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon
We will start the night with a classic Nerd Nite presentation from David Hinschberger, “Monopoly: A Story of Capitalism and How It Lingers.” The Landlord’s game?! That’s the original title for Monopoly. Why does the game pit people together so brutally and how did it come to be how it is?
The second and third speaker blocked will be taken by a one of a kind interactive video game concert featuring Extra Lives.
Extra Lives is the world’s first Audience RPG: a fully narrated, inclusive choose-your-own-adventure
game where you are the main character. Plunge into an exciting story with visuals, music, sound effects
and footage drawn from the legendary console games of the ‘80s, ‘90s and 2000s… and a live score provided by the lovable nerds of Extra Lives.
At key junctures you’ll get to vote on how the character proceeds, leading to special story branches. With multiple endings and 60+ possible variations depending on the audience’s in-game choices, this immersive feast for the imagination will transport you back to your childhood. To the next level!
Madison Nerd Nite is always 100% free, however if you would like to support the band, tips are welcome at the show.
Date: Wednesday, April 9th
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon
Join us for our last Nerd Nite before summer break!
First is Manushi Vatani with “Martin Shkreli: The Man, The Meme, The Menace”. Manushi says “Join me for the wild story of how a smug hedge fund kid became the most hated man in America—raising drug prices, feuding with Wu-Tang Clan, and somehow still thinking he was the hero. From his meteoric rise to his inevitable downfall, this is the ultimate guide to the internet’s favorite pharma bro.”
Our second speaker is Ken Fager, sharing “A Nerdy Intro to 3D Printing”. It is getting even easier to make just about anything with a 3D printer. Local artist Ken Fager will print a Mini WI live during an introduction to the highs and lows of this creative technology.
Last for the night is Addison Smith: “Castles: The Aircraft Carriers of the Middle Ages”. Anchors aweigh, my knights! 
These two apparently dissimilar structures fill essentially the same niche in their respective strategic contexts. I’ll be taking you on a whirlwind tour of medieval military history, and modern military/naval history (WWI-present), to make the case that they’re far more similar than they seem. If you still aren’t convinced, feel free to use the Q&A period to poke holes in my theory, as long as you can phrase your objection in the form of a question.
Date: Wednesday, March 12th
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon
Our first presenter is Julie Larson-Guenette with “The heart burns with love and longing in World War II letters”: This presentation introduces a transatlantic public humanities project involving a few thousand letters written in German between 1938 and 1946. I will focus on one particular passionate letter exchange. Excerpts will be translated into English, but you might just happen to learn a bit of German along the way!
Up next is veteran presenter Tyler Wintermute with “In Cod We Trust: A Fish Fry Story”. Friday night, a local supper club. The patrons are gabbing, the old fashioneds are flowing, and you are bewildered. What do I get, you ask? Everyone seems to know their order but you. Fear not, land-dwelling friends! In this talk, I will deconstruct the Wisconsin Fish Fry, with a bit of history, a bit of local fry knowledge, and enough data to fill an oversized relish tray. You’ll leave more confident in your next beer-battered order and perhaps be so enlightened you want to go to every fish fry in town. Or you might just order those boring milquetoast chicken fingers again. It’s your choice!
Last for the evening is Julia Janson, presenting “Zooming in on Wildlife”. Cameras, satellites, and radios have become integral tools in our daily lives. In the twenty-first century, where environmental issues like climate change, development, and pollution have compounded habitat loss, these tools will become critical for monitoring populations of critically endangered wildlife. During this presentation, I will cover some of the basics of remote sensing technology and demonstrate how it can be a powerful tool for supporting wildlife conservation.
Date: Wednesday, February 19th
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon
Our first speaker is Bartje Wakker presenting “Treasure Amongst the Trees: The Beginner’s Guide to Foraging Wild Mushrooms in Southern Wisconsin”. If you’ve eaten mushrooms at the grocery store, you’ve probably only experienced a few varieties, but there’s so many more delicious and fascinating fungi out there! If you want to adventure through the wilds, try new healthy and delicious foods, get a head start on the upcoming and coveted morel season or just find these strange organisms and admire their beauty, then come and listen as I explain everything you need to know to get started, and details on the most common, delicious, and even dangerous fungi to watch out for around the Madison area – maybe even in your own backyard.
Up next is Anu Devkota with “Party like a Mugwump: A Brief History of the 1884 Presidential Election”: Some say that politics used to be a noble activity, where facts mattered and people cared about real issues. But long before our current ridiculous political era, the Gilded Age served up one of the wildest elections in US history. Come learn about a sex scandal, railroad bribery, religious sectarianism, and other tawdry matters related to the election of 1884!
Last but not least is Manushi Vatani, sharing “Lyrics, Law, and Percs: The Young Thug RICO Case”. “Join me for a deep dive into one of the wildest trials in hip-hop history—Young Thug’s RICO case. We’ll break down what RICO actually is, the facts of the case, and the most ridiculous courtroom moments (yes, including the infamous ‘pass me a Perc’ incident). Whether you’re a legal expert or just here for the chaos, this presentation will have you questioning both the justice system and your playlist.
