A conversation with Digable Planets and MIKE moderated by Dr. Jonathan Øverby
This event is part of the MLK Celebration: Stone of Hope Week of Events
Thursday, January 29, 2026
Play Circle Theater at Memorial Union (2nd Floor West)
2:30-3:15 PM Free and open to the public. Limited capacity.
Join headliner, Digable Planets, special guest MIKE and host Dr. Jonathan Øverby before the week's culminating concert for a special installment of the Interdisciplinary Arts Community Sessions (IACS) where we will explore legacy, Hip Hop, and the power of the word as an agent of social transformation. Calling on Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” this conversation is meant to examine how artists use language, storytelling, and memory to activate communities and imagine new futures. This event is free, with no registration required, but the timing is brief and space is limited so please plan accordingly. Please also note that no signing will take place at this IACS. Thank you for your understanding.
Interdisciplinary Arts Community Sessions (IACS)—provide a platform for scholars, students, campus partners, and community members to engage with artists across disciplines, grounding real-world practice in academic context and cultural inquiry. Each colloquium event is developed in collaboration with relevant departments to strengthen curricular connections, deepen artistic discourse, and foster sustainable interdisciplinary relationships. IACS replaces the Wisconsin Union Theater’s performance classes that are offered as engagement opportunities with our season's artists and launched in 2025 in partnership with OMAI and WUDPAC.
Jonathan Øverby is a distinguished broadcaster, ethnomusicologist, and conductor with a long career in music, radio, and public service. He hosts and executive-produces Wisconsin’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute and Ceremony, the oldest state celebration of Dr. King in the nation. He has formed and led numerous music ensembles, performed internationally, and spent more than 20 years producing and hosting a weekly gospel program on Madison’s WORT radio before joining Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR). He also served multiple terms as Vice Chair of the Wisconsin State Arts Board after being appointed by Governor Tommy Thompson.
A two-time hall of fame inductee, Dr. Øverby entered the Folk Alliance International Folk DJ Hall of Fame in 2022 and has received several honors, including being named a distinguished broadcaster by the University of Wisconsin and receiving the Wisconsin Idea Award. He holds a doctorate in Administrative Leadership in Higher Education from Edgewood College, where he was the institution’s first post-doctoral fellow. Born and raised in Milwaukee, he is a Smithsonian Journeys expert who continues to lead international educational travel.
At WPR, Dr. Øverby is the first African American to create and produce a music program and one of few to host shows on both the Ideas and Music Networks. He composed the “Higher Ground” theme song, which opens each broadcast, and currently serves as conductor and artistic director of the Columbus Chamber Choir.
