America’s Socialist Experiment—the cast:

Jeanne Zeidler is the daughter of Milwaukee’s third socialist mayor, Frank Zeidler. She served as mayor of Williamsburg, Virginia from 1998 to 2010, and was the president and CEO of the Williamsburg Community Health Foundation from 2010 to 2018.

Dan Steininger is the grandson of Milwaukee’s second socialist mayor, Daniel Hoan, who led the city from 1916 to 1940. Steininger is a Milwaukee businessperson, co-founder of BizStarts Milwaukee and the former CEO of Catholic Knights Insurance.

John Norquist served as mayor of Milwaukee from 1988 to 2004. Before becoming mayor, Norquist was a state representative and state senator in the Wisconsin legislature. After leaving the mayor’s office, he served as the president and CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism from 2004 to 2014.

Margo Anderson is distinguished professor emerita (history and urban studies) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is the former president of the Social Science History Association and co-edited the book Perspectives on Milwaukee’s Past. She is one of the lead editors of the Encyclopedia of Milwaukee.

John Gurda is the author of The Making of Milwaukee and Milwaukee: City of Neighborhoods. He is a Milwaukee born writer and historian who has been studying his hometown since 1972. Gurda also is a lecturer, tour guide and local history columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

John Nichols is the author of The S Word: A Short History of an American Tradition...Socialism. Nichols writes about politics as the national affairs correspondent for The Nation and is the associate editor of The Capital Times in Madison, Wisconsin..

Charlie Sykes is a founder and editor-at-large of The Bulwark. He is host of The Bulwark Podcast and an NBC/MSNBC contributor. A Milwaukee area resident, Sykes covered Milwaukee city hall as a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal and is an author and former conservative radio talk show host in Milwaukee.

Bud Selig is former Commissioner of Major League Baseball. He led the sport from 1992 to 2015 and is a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame. A Milwaukee native, Selig still makes his home in the community. As a businessman, he led the ownership group that brought baseball back to the city and was president of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Sheila Cochran is the retired chief operating officer for the Milwaukee Area Labor Council. She grew up in Milwaukee, worked as a production operator at a Milwaukee area automotive plant, and eventually became one of the region’s top labor officials.

Howard Fuller is the former superintendent of the Milwaukee Public Schools, who as a child, moved to Milwaukee from Louisiana. Fuller is distinguished professor of education at Marquette University, a nationally-known education reform advocate, and the founder of a public charter school in Milwaukee.

Marina Dimitrijevic is an alderperson on the city of Milwaukee Common Council. Prior to that - and at the time the film was completed - she served as a supervisor on the Milwaukee County Board, including a stint as chairwoman. Dimitrijevic also is the former director of the Wisconsin Working Families Party.