FORward Radio program archives

On this week's Access Hour, we explore the Environmental Footprint of Artificial Intelligence with Shaolei Ren, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California - Riverside. This presentation was given on September 19, 2025 as part of the Kentucky Resources Council's on-going Kentucky Environmental Leadership Institute (KELI). Learn more at https://www.kyrc.org/our-work/kentucky-environmental-leadership-institute. Watch the full replay at https://bit.ly/EnvironmentalFootprintAI-VIDEO. The passcode is DataCentersKY2025! AI might seem invisible, but the environmental toll is real. Data centers that power artificial intelligence consume vast amounts of water and electricity, placing new strain on local ecosystems and public health. Communities across the country are already feeling the effects, often without knowing why. Listen in as Professor Ren uncovers the hidden footprint of AI and what it means for the future of sustainable, health-informed technology. The Access Hour airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Wednesday at 2pm and repeats Thursdays at 11am and Fridays at 1pm. Find us at https://forwardradio.org If you've got something you'd like to share on community radio through the Access Hour, whether it's a recording you made or a show you'd like to do on a particular topic, community, artistic creation, or program that is under-represented in Louisville's media landscape, just go to https://forwardradio.org, click on Participate and pitch us your idea. The Access Hour is your opportunity to take over the air waves to share your passion.

This week on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, sits down at the farm table with LeTicia Marshall, an urban farmer with Bearfruit & Grow in southwest Louisville, and Kimberly "Kimmie" Ishmael, Policy Specialist with the Community Farm Alliance (https://cfaky.org). On the menu for today's hearty conversation is the FREE event coming up at LeTicia's farm: Policy on a Plate: A Farm Bill Story Wednesday, October 8th, 10:00am - 1:00pm, BearFruit & Grown Urban Farm, 5799 Pendleton Rd. Join the Community Farm Alliance and BearFruit & Grow Urban Farm for a hands-on, heart-forward journey into the programs that nourish our communities and protect our land—all powered by the Farm Bill! Come explore how policies like SNAP and conservation efforts come to life right here on the farm. Get ready for: A Scavenger Hunt Farm Tour – Discover hidden treasures and learn about food systems as you explore the farm. A Delicious Local Lunch – Refuel with fresh, locally-sourced bites. Real Stories from the Field – Hear directly from farmers and program leaders making a difference. A Quick & Curious Panel – Ask questions and dive deeper into the programs that shape our plates and our planet. This isn't your average policy talk—it's a celebration of community, culture, and cultivation. Perfect for food lovers, farm supporters, policy nerds, and anyone curious about how federal funding grows real impact. Don't miss this unique chance to connect, learn, and dig in! Learn more and find the link to register at https://facebook.com/communityfarmalliance LeTicia is an urban farmer and food justice advocate with Bearfruit & Grow, a black owned company in Louisville that opened for business on July 8, 2020 during the global pandemic. In addition to farm products, she offers community engagement, advocacy, and consulting. You can find her naturally-grown products at our local farmers market or contact her at bearfruitgardening@gmail.com to learn more about how you can participate in their curbside pickup/delivery services. Learn more at https://www.bearfruitandgrow.com/ As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW! Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at https://forwardradio.org The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at https://appalatin.com

Moira Kaleida has a degree in education from Penn State University, and has combined her academic knowledge and lived experience (as a student, teacher, parent, school board member, and wife of a teacher) to beat the drum of public education across Pennsylvania. In 2015, Moira was elected to serve on the Pittsburgh Public School Board, leading the policy and government relations committees. As a school board member, Moira was able to pass critical policies at the local level, with the help of the local AROS affiliated group (Great Public Schools Pittsburgh), including providing LGBTQIA+ protections for students, a “Sanctuary School's” policy, a pre-K to 2nd grade suspension ban, and the creation and implementation of the first Community Schools Policy and corresponding opening of the first three community schools in the city. Professionally, Moira has served as Chief of Staff for a City Council member and a State Representative in PA. She has also worked in a variety of organizing roles in the political, electoral, and education justice settings. Most recently before arriving at AROS, she was proud to organize with Pittsburgh's own 412 Justice. In 2022, Moira joined the inaugural board of Keystone Equality, advancing civil rights for LGBTQIA+ Pennsylvanians through voter mobilization, electoral advocacy, and political organizing.

This week, we bring you the final set of highlights from our live broadcast from the Louisville VegFest back on Saturday, September 6th, 2025, noon-6pm, at the Mellwood Art Center! Again this year, Forward Radio was a proud media sponsor of Louisville VegFest —Kentucky's premier celebration of all things vegan! Admission was free to over 19,000 sq ft of indoor space, with additional food trucks and select vendors bringing the fun outside, too! Formerly known as Bluegrass VegFest, this all-vegan, community-focused event highlights the joy of plant-based eating and conscious, sustainable living. Visitors enjoyed delicious food from regional restaurants and food trucks, craft beer and cocktails, inspiring speaker talks, a live cooking demo, an amazing lineup of vendors, kids' activities, educational exhibits, and so much more. Learn more at https://vegkentucky.org/vegfest Our last two speakers of the day were: TODD ANDERSON, Cooking Demo by Chef & Cookbook Author @TURNIP VEGAN Todd Anderson, better known as @TurnipVegan, is a self-taught chef, content creator, and cookbook author who's inspiring hundreds of thousands to see plants in a whole new way. With nearly a million Instagram followers, Todd's laid-back, creative approach to vegan cooking has made him one of the most beloved voices in the plant-based space. After watching a life-changing documentary, Todd transitioned to a vegan lifestyle and hasn't looked back. Now based in Joshua Tree, he's busy creating vibrant, flavorful vegan recipes and even building his dream greenhouse in the desert - all while showing the world just how delicious plants can be. Todd took the stage for a cooking demonstration and signing of his new cookbook, It's All About Plantz & Mushroomz. NEMANJA GOLUBOVIC, Founder & CEO of Chicago vegan restaurant KALE MY NAME, Host of KALE CREW, the hit vegan travel and food show streaming on UnchainedTV. Known for his infectious energy and passion, Nemanja has become one of the most influential voices in the vegan movement, inspiring hundreds of thousands through his restaurants, media projects, and advocacy for animals. His Chicago-based restaurant Kale My Name has been crowned “America's Vegan Restaurant of the Year” by VegOut Magazine, won VegNews' Veggie Award for “Best Vegan Casual Restaurant,” and has earned national recognition from PETA and the Chicago Reader. At VegFest, Nemanja shared how we can harness the power of social media to create meaningful change, from raising awareness and sparking conversations to inspiring action and helping build a more compassionate world. On Truth to Power each week, we bring you community conversations like you won't hear anywhere else! Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 4pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at https://www.forwardradio.org. If you like what you hear, share it with someone, donate to keep us on-air, and get involved as a volunteer!

Patty and Brian take a deep dive into hate-reading and hate-watching.

This Democracy in Action forum, entitled "Constitutional Crisis: Are Our Rights in Jeopardy?" and put on the the Louisville League of Women Voters, featured guest speakers Kentucky Representative Nima Kulkarni, Democrat from the 40th District and immigration attorney and David Tachau, attorney representing the Jefferson County Teachers Association and School Board before the Kentucky Supreme Court. Cathy Hinko, attorney, moderated. The meeting took place September 15, 2025.

This week on the Access Hour, Terrell Holder from Forward Radio's proud Community Partner, the Greater Louisville Sierra Club, is in conversation with fellow organizers from Indivisible Louisville. Indivisible is a grassroots movement of thousands of local indivisible groups with a mission to elect, progressive leaders rebuild our democracy and defeat the Trump agenda. Learn more at https://indivisible.org/ They invite you to come on out Sunday, September 28, 2025 and be with your neighbors at the WE THE PEOPLE Palooza sponsored by Indivisible Louisville. Enjoy an afternoon in celebration of freedom and democracy with live Music, inspiring speakers, food, drink, and community. Show starts at 1 pm and rocks until 6 pm at Trellis Brewery, 827 Logan St. Louisville. Connect with Indivisible Louisville at: https://indivisiblelouisville.godaddysites.com/ https://www.instagram.com/indivisiblelouky/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61580875510653 The Access Hour airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Wednesday at 2pm and repeats Thursdays at 11am and Fridays at 1pm. Find us and please donate to support this work at https://forwardradio.org If you've got something you'd like to share on community radio through the Access Hour, whether it's a recording you made or a show you'd like to do on a particular topic, community, artistic creation, or program that is under-represented in Louisville's media landscape, just go to https://forwardradio.org, click on Participate and pitch us your idea. The Access Hour is your opportunity to take over the air waves to share your passion with the world!

Nima Kulkarni, Immigration Attorney and District 40 Kentucky Representative, along with David Tachau, attorney representing the Jefferson County Teachers Association spoke on threats to Constitutional rights, especially of immigrants and intrusion of the federal government into K through 12 curricula.

This week on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, is honored to be in conversation with Natasha DeJarnett, PhD, MPH, BCES, Assistant Professor of Environmental Medicine at the University of Louisville's School of Medicine, and a researcher with UofL's Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute (https://louisville.edu/envirome). Dr. DeJarnett's research interests include the cardiovascular health burden of extreme heat exposure, air quality, and environmental health disparities. In addition, Dr. DeJarnett is passionate about environmental health research that informs policies and empowering communities through research engagement. Tune in as we discuss climate impacts on human health, including air quality, extreme heat, extreme weather, precipitation extremes, and vectorborne disease; Health inequities and environmental justice; Her previous work in the Biden-Harris Administration at the White House Council on Environmental Quality around the Justice40 Initiative and the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool; The current federal landscape; and her work co-editing a textbook on environmental health called “Environmental Health Foundations for Public Health.” We also bring you a preview of an exciting new series called “& Science” which kicks off this week on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025 on the theme of Communication & Science, with a reception from 5:15-6pm and a panel discussion from 6-7:30pm, at the Kentucky Center for African-American Heritage (1701 W Muhammad Ali Blvd). This important discussion will cover how communicating scientific information raises public awareness, creates interest, and informs policy. UofL's Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute is hosting a new quarterly health forum called “& Science". Our kickoff event will focus on Communication & Science, featuring communication professionals from a variety of backgrounds including journalism and academia. Much of the discussion will focus on the environment, including environmental justice. The “& Science” series will provide a community forum for conversations at the intersection of health, the environment & science. Future events will focus on Faith, History Art, & Science. Panelists: Tawana Andrew (WAVE 3) James Bruggers (Inside Climate News) Dr. Nick Paliewicz (University of Louisville) Dr. Wayne Tuckson (KET) Morgan Watkins (LPM) Moderator: Dr. Natasha DeJarnett (University of Louisville) Please RSVP and learn more at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/communication-science-the-kickoff-to-the-science-forums-tickets-1632599171069?aff=oddtdtcreator As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW! Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at https://forwardradio.org The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at https://appalatin.com

Recently, physicists learned how to generate lasers from Peacock feathers. After discussing that, we explore a recent report that 5% of birds in Australia might exhibit 'sex reversal'. In 'sex reversal' the body's sex organs don't match the sex as determined by DNA testing. Finally, Dr. Leslie Moise reads a poem she wrote about an innovative recycling program in New Orleans that converts discarded glass bottles into beach sand. ‘Bench Talk: The Week in Science' is a weekly program that airs on WFMP Louisville FORward Radio 106.5 FM (forwardradio.org) every Monday at 7:30 pm, Tuesday at 11:30 am, and Wednesday at 7:30 am. Visit our Facebook page for links to the articles discussed in this episode: https://www.facebook.com/BenchTalkRadio Music ('Blossoming' by Podington Bear) provided by Free Music Archive.

Our guest is the director of Louisville's La Casita Center, Karina Barillas. Karina Barillas was the keynote speaker at the Louisville Fellowship of Reconciliation “Third Thursday Lunch event. The Third Thursday Lunch event that featured Karina Barillas occurred September 18th at Hotel Louisville before a live audience. Karina Barillas received her Master of Education in Counseling in 2002 and her Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies in 1996, both from the University of Louisville, where she also served as president of the International Students Organization. Barillas, a proud Latina-Louisvillian born in Guatemala, is a recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship. Barillas is co-founder and Executive Director of La Casita Center, a Latinx and feminist-led nonprofit borne from a vision and commitment to accompaniment, empowerment and advocacy.

This week, we bring you highlights from the third hour of our live broadcast from the Louisville VegFest on Saturday, September 6th, 2025, noon-6pm, at the Mellwood Art Center! Again this year, Forward Radio was a proud media sponsor of Louisville VegFest —Kentucky's premier celebration of all things vegan! Admission is FREE to over 19,000 sq ft of indoor space, with additional food trucks and select vendors bringing the fun outside, too! Formerly known as Bluegrass VegFest, this all-vegan, community-focused event highlights the joy of plant-based eating and conscious, sustainable living. Visitors enjoyed delicious food from regional restaurants and food trucks, craft beer and cocktails, inspiring speaker talks, a live cooking demo, an amazing lineup of vendors, kids' activities, educational exhibits, and so much more. Learn more at https://vegkentucky.org/vegfest Our third speaker of the day was Becki Streif, Founder of TRIBE ANIMAL SANCTUARY (https://tribeanimalsanctuary.org/). Becki is the co-founder and managing director of Tribe Sanctuary, a 10-acre haven just outside Louisville that provides lifelong homes to rescued cows, pigs, horses, goats, and other farmed animals - many with special needs. After watching Forks Over Knives in 2013, Becki and her husband, Greg, went vegan and began what would become a life-changing journey into animal rescue. Today, Tribe is home to dozens of incredible animals, each with their own inspiring story of resilience and hope. Becki's talk, “Creating Sanctuary: Saving Lives and Building Hope,” will take you behind the scenes of what it takes to turn compassion into a mission, build a sanctuary from the ground up, and give animals the second chance they deserve. On Truth to Power each week, we bring you community conversations like you won't hear anywhere else! Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 4pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at https://www.forwardradio.org. If you like what you hear, share it with someone, donate to keep us on-air, and get involved as a volunteer!

Patty and Brian team up with Justin Mog (host of Sustainability Now!) for a live broadcast from the Forward Radio studio at 5pm on September 18th in the middle of Give For Good Louisville to help you think about your giving, while you're giving, to improve your giving!! Thanks for all your support of Forward Radio throughout the years and for donating on this special day to help keep us on air and to keep our community strong by supporting the over 500 non-profits that participated! https://www.giveforgoodlouisville.org/organization/wfmp-low-power-radio-inc

Forward Radio volunteer programmers, Justin Mog (Sustainability Now!), Tory Strange (RetroForward), and Goliath & Yanielle (Goliath's Rants, Reviews & Revivals) encourage you to donate whatever you can throughout the day today during Give For Good Louisville, when your contributions will be boosted by the Community Foundation of Louisville! Please donate any amount by midnight to help us reach our goal of $4000! Donate now at https://www.giveforgoodlouisville.org/organization/wfmp-low-power-radio-inc

This week, we bring you highlights from the second hour of our live broadcast from the Louisville VegFest on Saturday, September 6th, 2025, noon-6pm, at the Mellwood Art Center! Again this year, Forward Radio was a proud media sponsor of Louisville VegFest — Kentucky's premier celebration of all things vegan! Admission was FREE to over 19,000 sq ft of indoor space, with additional food trucks and select vendors bringing the fun outside, too! Formerly known as Bluegrass VegFest, this all-vegan, community-focused event highlights the joy of plant-based eating and conscious, sustainable living. Visitors enjoyed delicious food from regional restaurants and food trucks, craft beer and cocktails, inspiring speaker talks, a live cooking demo, an amazing lineup of vendors, kids' activities, educational exhibits, and so much more. Learn more at https://vegkentucky.org/vegfest Our second speaker of the day was Dominick Thompson, a powerhouse voice in the vegan movement! Dom is an Ironman triathlete, social entrepreneur, and animal rights activist who has inspired hundreds of thousands through his story and his work. After making the life-changing decision to go vegetarian while incarcerated 24 years ago, he's gone on to become a leader in the No-Meat Athlete movement, launch his wellness brand Eat What Elephants Eat, and publish a cookbook with the same title. He's also the real-life inspiration behind the upcoming film Land of Wolves. Dom's talk, “Redefining Masculinity and the Human Experience Through Veganism,” is one you won't want to miss! Learn more at https://kitchen.eatwhatelephantseat.com/ On Truth to Power each week, we bring you community conversations like you won't hear anywhere else! Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 4pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at https://forwardradio.org. If you like what you hear, share it with someone, donate to keep us on-air, and get involved as a volunteer!

This week on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, catches up with the evolving story about the future of the Nia Center at 2900 W. Broadway with Shaun Spencer, Nia Center tenant (owner of My Hub Print Center) and co-founder of the West Louisville Dream Team, and Timothy Cox, current president of the West Louisville Dream Team (https://www.facebook.com/share/15QUpdZjic/). On August 26, 2025, Louisville's Transit Authority of River City (TARC) voted unanimously to enter a 14-day exclusive negotiation period with the West Louisville Dream Team (WLDT) on the potential sale of the Nia Center for $2.1 million—an important step toward keeping this West Broadway landmark in community hands. The Nia Center has long been a small-business hub and gathering place for West Louisville. After earlier redevelopment ideas fell through this summer, TARC is now negotiating directly with WLDT, which plans to preserve the building, restore its community space, and raise the capital needed to complete the purchase. WLDT's plan targets a healthy, 90% occupancy within three years and seeks partnership with Metro Council for community-space support—aligning economic activity with civic life in the neighborhood. The West Louisville Dream team is made up of residents, business owners, and those that are concerned about the positive image of west Louisville. It was started in 2012 with four members to attract more businesses and promote the image of west Louisville. Their mission is to work in collaboration with neighborhood associations to positively affect west Louisville. WLDT is a non-for-profit community organization with about 90 residents, non-profit, and businesses on its mailing list. In 1998 date, the Nia Center was opened as a promise by the city to west Louisville. In the 2000s, the Nia Center served as a hub of resources for entrepreneurs and job seekers; however, around 2016-17 after Metro Louisville took over its management, gradually, as tents moved out, they weren't replaced and its role as an economic resource hub diminished. The Nia Center also served as a gathering space for the community and an internet hub for west Louisville residents without internet access. The building was open seven days a week, with non-traditional evening hours during the week and on weekends. Eventually, the building's operating hours were reduced, and the community room was removed from public access. Likewise, the internet connection was not as fast as promised, and it couldn't be accessed outside of the building's hours. How can the community support West Louisville Dream Team's effort to acquire the Nia Center? Donate. Invest. Sign the petition. Help us raise: $50,000 by October 12th! $1 million by December 31st to buy the Nia Center! Get in touch with them at saveniacenter@gmail.com and find the petition to Save Nia Center at https://www.change.org/p/save-the-nia-center Contact Carla Dearing, Head of Community Investment, at carlad@centerforneighborhoods.org to be connected with ways you can help. SEE: https://centerforneighborhoods.org/neighbors-at-the-helm-cfns-role-in-the-nia-center-path-to-community-ownership/ https://www.lpm.org/news/2025-08-27/tarc-west-louisville-dream-team-to-negotiate-on-sale-of-nia-center As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW! Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at https://forwardradio.org The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at https://appalatin.com

In 1972 Kyle Ellison became a Kentucky Department of Corrections probation and parole officer in Louisville. He worked for the Department of Corrections for 16 years. Seven of those years were as a training officer for prison and jail staff all over the state, giving him the chance to research the prison history of Kentucky. Kyle Ellison is now a strong advocate for prison reform. The presentation he delivered to the congregation at the Louisville 1st Unitarian Clifton Church, September 7th, 2025 concerns the fact that immigrants arrested by Immigration Customs and Enforcement officers are now being housed in rural county jails in Kentucky as well as county jails in other states across the country.

This week, we bring you highlights from the first hour of our live broadcast from the Louisville VegFest on Saturday, September 6th, 2025, noon-6pm, at the Mellwood Art Center! Again this year, Forward Radio was a proud media sponsor of Louisville VegFest —Kentucky's premier celebration of all things vegan! Admission is FREE to over 19,000 sq ft of indoor space, with additional food trucks and select vendors bringing the fun outside, too! Formerly known as Bluegrass VegFest, this all-vegan, community-focused event highlights the joy of plant-based eating and conscious, sustainable living. Visitors enjoyed delicious food from regional restaurants and food trucks, craft beer and cocktails, inspiring speaker talks, a live cooking demo, an amazing lineup of vendors, kids' activities, educational exhibits, and so much more. Learn more at https://vegkentucky.org/vegfest Our first speaker of the day was Kennedy Little from the Food Empowerment Project. Kennedy Little from Lexington is a senior pursuing pre-Law and Agribusiness with a minor in Public Administration at Morehead State University. After going vegan in 2019, Kennedy began to use her background in agriculture organizing to help change the unethical norms many agriculture workers face. Kennedy works as a Youth Advocacy Team Member for the vegan and food justice nonprofit known as the Food Empowerment Project. Learn more at https://foodispower.org/author/klittle/ On Truth to Power each week, we bring you community conversations like you won't hear anywhere else! Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 4pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at https://www.forwardradio.org. If you like what you hear, share it with someone, donate to keep us on-air, and get involved as a volunteer!

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This week on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, brings you into the audience, last Tuesday evening, September 4th, when the Louisville Palace played host to a packed audience for Beyond the Bridge: Film Screening & Panel Discussion on Ending Homelessness. “Beyond the Bridge: A Solution to Homelessness” sheds light on homelessness and the urgent need for permanent supportive housing, and provides a roadmap for cities to move toward solving unsheltered homelessness. This special event was sponsored by the Coalition for the Homeless, Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Louisville Downtown Partnership, Metro United Way, and Metropolitan Housing Coalition. The panelists included Louisville Mayor, Craig Greenberg Don Sawyer, Producer / Director of Beyond The Bridge Jim Mathy, Milwaukee County Housing Division Administrator Eric Collins-Dyke, Milwaukee County Supportive Housing and Homeless Services Assistant Administrator Moderator: Natalie Harris, Executive Director, Coalition for the Homeless (https://louhomeless.org) Thank you by: George Eklund, Director of Education and Advocacy, Coalition for the Homeless Learn more at https://louhomeless.org/beyond https://asolutiontohomelessness.com/ Home For Good: a shared vision to end street homelessness in Louisville at https://metrounitedway.org/home-for-good As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW! Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at https://forwardradio.org The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at https://appalatin.com

This week we summarize and supplement a July 31 article in 'The Atlantic' magazine called "Every Scientific Empire Comes To An End: America's Run As The Premier Techno-Superpower May Be Over." (https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2025/07/science-empire-america-decline/683711/). We discuss repressive regimes that have stifled scientific achievement in the past, and compare that with what is happening in the US now. The show ends with a survey of the September night sky by Kentucky astronomer Scott Miller. ‘Bench Talk: The Week in Science' is a weekly program that airs on WFMP Louisville FORward Radio 106.5 FM (forwardradio.org) every Monday at 7:30 pm, Tuesday at 11:30 am, and Wednesday at 7:30 am. Visit our Facebook page for links to the articles discussed in this episode: https://www.facebook.com/BenchTalkRadio Music is 'Magic in the Garden' by Rafael Krux (freepd.com).

Michael Slider is the executive director of Kentucky Citizens for Democracy, Oldham County Branch. Kentucky Citizens for Democracy has become the go-to group in Kentucky media and other organizations looking for information on the connections between immigration/ICE and Kentucky jails. Michael Slider has been featured in the Louisville Courier-Journal, the Lexington Herald-Leader and Jeffersonville Indiana's News and Tribune, Forward Kentucky, the Oldham Era, WAVE 3, WDRB, WLKY and WHAS News. Michael Slider has a blog on Medium.com where he writes on political and societal issues, education, and spirituality. He spoke at rallies in Kentucky at Shelbyville, Louisville, and Lexington. He ran as an independent candidate for U.S. Congress in 2004 in Kentucky's 4th District. He is a retired, Kentucky high school social studies teacher and principal.

Forward Radio was a proud media sponsor of Louisville VegFest - Kentucky's premier celebration of all things vegan - on Saturday, September 6, 2025 from noon-6pm at the Mellwood Art Center! Formerly known as Bluegrass VegFest, this all-vegan, community-focused event highlights the joy of plant-based eating and conscious, sustainable living. Enjoy delicious food from regional restaurants and food trucks, craft beer and cocktails, inspiring speaker talks, a live cooking demo, an amazing lineup of vendors, kids' activities, educational exhibits, and so much more. In addition to interviewing several of the vendors and participants, we brought you full, wall-to-wall live coverage of all of this year's speakers, including: 12:15pm Kennedy Little, Food Empowerment Project Kennedy Little from Lexington is a senior pursuing pre-Law and Agribusiness with a minor in Public Administration at Morehead State University. After going vegan in 2019, Kennedy began to use her background in agriculture organizing to help change the unethical norms many agriculture workers face. Kennedy works as a Youth Advocacy Team Member for the vegan and food justice nonprofit known as the Food Empowerment Project. 1:15pm DOMINICK THOMPSON, Activist, Athlete, Creator, Author Dominick Thompson is a powerhouse voice in the vegan movement - an Ironman triathlete, social entrepreneur, and animal rights activist who has inspired hundreds of thousands through his story and his work. After making the life-changing decision to go vegetarian while incarcerated 24 years ago, he's gone on to become a leader in the No-Meat Athlete movement, launch his wellness brand Eat What Elephants Eat, and publish a cookbook with the same title. He's also the real-life inspiration behind the upcoming film Land of Wolves. 2:15pm BECKI STREIF, Founder of TRIBE ANIMAL SANCTUARY Becki Streif is the co-founder and managing director of Tribe Sanctuary, a 10-acre haven just outside Louisville that provides lifelong homes to rescued cows, pigs, horses, goats, and other farmed animals - many with special needs. After watching Forks Over Knives in 2013, Becki and her husband, Greg, went vegan and began what would become a life-changing journey into animal rescue. Becki's talk, “Creating Sanctuary: Saving Lives and Building Hope,” will take you behind the scenes of what it takes to turn compassion into a mission, build a sanctuary from the ground up. 3:15PM TODD ANDERSON, Cooking Demo by Chef & Cookbook Author @TURNIP VEGAN Todd Anderson, better known as @TurnipVegan, is a self-taught chef, content creator, and cookbook author who's inspiring hundreds of thousands to see plants in a whole new way. With nearly a million Instagram followers, Todd's laid-back, creative approach to vegan cooking has made him one of the most beloved voices in the plant-based space. After watching a life-changing documentary, Todd transitioned to a vegan lifestyle and hasn't looked back. Now based in Joshua Tree, he's busy creating vibrant, flavorful vegan recipes and even building his dream greenhouse in the desert - all while showing the world just how delicious plants can be. His new cookbook is It's All About Plantz & Mushroomz 4:15pm NEMANJA GOLUBOVIC, Founder & CEO of Chicago vegan restaurant KALE MY NAME, Host of KALE CREW, the hit vegan travel and food show streaming on UnchainedTV. Known for his infectious energy and passion, Nemanja has become one of the most influential voices in the vegan movement, inspiring hundreds of thousands through his restaurants, media projects, and advocacy for animals. His Chicago-based restaurant Kale My Name has been crowned “America's Vegan Restaurant of the Year” by VegOut Magazine, won VegNews' Veggie Award for “Best Vegan Casual Restaurant,” and has earned national recognition from PETA and the Chicago Reader. At VegFest, Nemanja filed an episode of Kale Krew's new season and shared how we can harness the power of social media to create meaningful change, from raising awareness and sparking conversations to inspiring action and helping build a more compassionate world. Full details: https://vegkentucky.org/vegfest

Patty and Brian discuss Nicholas Carr's new book, but they get sidetracked into hate-reading.

In this conversation from May 2024, Dr. Ricky L. Jones, an esteemed professor of Pan-African studies at the University of Louisville, discusses education, party affiliations, and the enduring legacy of historical figures with Lamont Collins, host of the Roots 101 Podcast and founder in 2020, of the Roots 101 African-American Museum. Located in downtown Louisville at 124 N 1st St., Roots 101 is a place where visitors can see themselves in history, explore the African-American story in its entirety, and gain a greater understanding of the achievements, cultural contributions, and experiences of our community. Get ready for an enlightening exploration of the past, present, and future. Learn more and watch these conversations at https://www.roots-101.org/podcast

This program features Andrew Owen, Louisville's 9th District Councilman, tackling two topics: (1) Changes to Louisville's elections as a result of passage of HB 388 in the Kentucky General Assembly. Starting in 2026, Mayoral and Metro Council elections will be non-partisan; and (2) How Councilman Owen envisions making housing affordable and plentiful, especially in the city center, so that less people will end up homeless.

We bring you something a little lighter and more fanciful on this Labor Day holiday on Sustainability Now!, as your host, Justin Mog, shelves his plans for colonizing Mars with Barry Zalph, retired engineer and environmental advocate. Tune in for a conversation that will debunk some of the myths about our ability to successfully settle humans on Mars and, hopefully, help you understand just how precious Earth is and how important it is that we focus all of our energy and innovation into protecting the only truly habitable planet we know of. The ideas for colonizing Mars fall into two categories: Living underground for protection from the radiation that bombards the surface; and terraforming Mars to make it more suitable for human habitation. Tune in to hear more about Barry's top ten list of the stupidest assumptions behind the “terraforming” idea: 1) We can increase the density of the Martian atmosphere by 160x; 2) We can shift the Martian atmosphere from 96% CO2 to match the earth's atmosphere; 3) We can control the CO2 concentration of the reconstituted atmosphere to 350 ppm +/- 100 ppm, outside of which humans can't function; 4) We can bring enough organisms from earth to build not one but many diverse, resilient ecosystems there, so that inevitable fluctuations in ecosystem health don't collapse all life on the planet; 5) We can bring enough small and large animals, not just microbes and plants, to reproduce without inbreeding; 6) We can function well with the day length, year length, sky color, solar radiation, solar wind, weather, clouds, gravity, magnetic field, etc. all different from that with which we have evolved for millions of years; 7) The first group of colonists, no more than a couple hundred, didn't die of boredom, claustrophobia, mutual murder, and alienation while living underground and slaving toward an impossible terraformed utopian ideal; 8) The resident population of Earth would keep busting their asses to provide the ludicrous amounts of energy, materials, and labor over at least 100 years in an attempt to fulfill this dream; 9) There is no life on Mars, or any life on Mars can coexist with our living systems or deserves to be killed off to make room for us; and 10) It is ethically sound for us to colonize another planet. What could possibly go wrong?? For more, check out: Book: A City on Mars (2023), Kelly and Zach Weinersmith - humorous and well-researched. Kelly Weinersmith is a professor of Biology at Rice University in Houston. https://acityonmars.com/ Podcast episode: “Infinite Monkey Cage” episode dated 7/16/2025, “Should We Settle in Space,” with panelists Tim Peake, Kelly Weinersmith, and Alan Davies. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002fwpz As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW! Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at https://forwardradio.org The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at https://appalatin.com

Today's Solutions to Violence program features a panel discussion concerning the now 1.06 Trillion dollar military budget, produced by the Quiency Institute for Responsible Statecraft and titled “The Trillion Dollar Pentagon Budget: Boondoggle or Beneficial?” Ben Freeman, director of the Democratizing Foreign Policy program at the Quincy Institute, will introduce the panel and moderate the discussion. The Panel includes Willaim Hartung, Julia Gledhill and Veronique De Rugy

On the evening of August 19th, 2025 at the Filson Historical Society, Dr. David Narrett, professor of history at the University of Texas at Arlington, led a compelling discussion of his latest work, The Cherokees in War & Peace, which traces the Cherokee tribe's resilience from early English contact to the Trail of Tears. Through vivid personal stories, the book reveals how the Cherokees overcame immense challenges to forge a unified nation. This conversation explores a powerful story of survival and perseverance through a thoughtful discussion. Presented by the Filson as a part of the James J. Holmberg Lecture Series. The evening began with an introduction by the Filson's CEO, Patrick Lewis. Learn more at https://filsonhistorical.org Watch a recording of the evening at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOlmJuOFuWs The Filson and Forward Radio are located on the ancestral homeland of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, the Osage Nation, and the Shawnee (including the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe, the Eastern Shawnee Tribe, and the Shawnee Tribe), who suffered genocide and forced displacement from these lands. We give thanks for the longstanding relationship that Indigenous Nations have to this land and seek to learn from it in order to heal our own broken relationship with the land. We lament the historical and ongoing injustices that black, indigenous, and people of color endure in this country and around the world. May our words and deeds reflect this reality and contribute to fostering more respectful relationships. Learn more about native lands at https://native-land.ca. On Truth to Power each week, we bring you community conversations like you won't hear anywhere else! Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 4pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at https://www.forwardradio.org. If you like what you hear, share it with someone, donate to keep us on-air, and get involved as a volunteer!

What time of day is best to take pills for high blood-pressure? There is new research indicating that nighttime dosage of hypertension pills might be best, but is it true? Then hear an interview with particle physicist Dr. Harry Cliff, about how the current 'Standard Model of Particle Physics' is insufficient. What gaps are there in our knowledge of subatomic particles and energies? Thanks to the 'Big Picture Science' podcast for permission to rebroadcast this modified version of their August 11th show: https://radio.seti.org/beyond-the-standard-model. ‘Bench Talk: The Week in Science' is a weekly program that airs on WFMP Louisville FORward Radio 106.5 FM (forwardradio.org) every Monday at 7:30 pm, Tuesday at 11:30 am, and Wednesday at 7:30 am. Visit our Facebook page for links to the articles discussed in this episode: https://www.facebook.com/BenchTalkRadio Music ('Homeroad' by Kai Engel) provided on public domain by SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/kaiengel/homeroad'.

Anita Davis is a native Kentuckian, raised in Meade County. She has a BS in mathematics education and advanced degrees in educational administration. After teaching high school math for nine years, Anita served as an assistant principal in Marion County. She later served as Asst Supt in Elizabethtown Independent Schools before moving to the Oldham County schools district. There she served as the Asst Supt of Curriculum and Instruction and as the Chief Academic Officer before retiring. After watching the attacks on our democratic norms and institutions, she decided to join Kentucky Citizens for Democracy, a grassroots organization based in Oldham County. She currently serves as the Associate Director of Kentucky Citizens for Democracy..

This week on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, balances his checkbook with Tom Lambert, an applied economist at the University of Louisville's College of Business, and the host of Economic Impact here on Forward Radio (https://www.forwardradio.org/economicimpact). In 2022, after years of robust modeling and analysis, a multi-institutional team led by researchers from Resources for the Future (RFF) and UC Berkeley released an updated social cost of carbon estimate that reflects new methodologies and key scientific advancements. The study, published in the journal Nature, finds that each additional ton of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere costs society $185 per ton—3.6 times the current US federal estimate of $51 per ton. Learn more at https://www.rff.org/news/press-releases/social-cost-of-carbon-more-than-triple-the-current-federal-estimate-new-study-finds/ In his research, Tom uses a tool called IMPLAN, which now helps us calculate damages from greenhouse gases. In preparation for this week's conversation, Tom used IMPLAN to produce a breakdown for different industries in the Louisville MSA (Jefferson County and surrounding counties). As new climate disclosure mandates roll out across the U.S. and internationally, IMPLAN now equips businesses and institutions with the tools to meet them head-on. Their newest feature brings greenhouse gas emissions data to the IMPLAN experience, capturing carbon outputs by industry and region, and mapping them directly to your economic impact results. Whether you're supporting Environment, Social & Governance (ESG) disclosures, informing climate strategy, or benchmarking emissions in your region, IMPLAN helps you do it with confidence. Learn more about environmental impact reporting, on IMPLAN's blog at https://blog.implan.com/emissions. In IMPLAN, GWP20 and GWP100 refer to the Global Warming Potential of greenhouse gases over specific timeframes. See https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/understanding-global-warming-potentials. GWP measures how much a particular greenhouse gas contributes to global warming, compared to carbon dioxide (CO2), which has a GWP of 1. IMPLAN utilizes greenhouse gas data, including GWP values, to analyze the environmental impacts associated with economic activities. GWP20 indicates the global warming potential over a 20-year timeframe. This timeframe prioritizes gases with shorter atmospheric lifetimes, like methane (CH4). GWP20 highlights the near-term warming effects of these gases. For example, methane has a much higher GWP20 (84-87) than its GWP100 (27-30) because of its shorter lifetime. GWP100 indicates the global warming potential over a 100-year timeframe. This timeframe is commonly used for benchmarking and comparing the environmental impact of various greenhouse gases. It offers a more balanced perspective of both short-lived and long-lived greenhouse gases. In essence, GWP20 and GWP100 in IMPLAN are important metrics for evaluating the environmental impacts of economic activity by providing insight into the global warming potential of greenhouse gas emissions over different timeframes. As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW! Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at https://forwardradio.org The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at https://appalatin.com

K.A. Owens interviews Robbey Taylor of Black Lives Matter and 50501. Topic: The State of Organizing in America. Recorded Saturday August 23, 2025, 1PM.

This week we bring you a vital community conversation about the impacts of Data Centers and LG&E/KU's plans to power them on our utility bills, our climate, and our environment. On the evening of August 19, 2025, Forward Radio's proud Community Partner, the Greater Louisville Sierra Club hosted this conversation at United Crescent Hill Ministries with Elisa Owen, Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign Organizer in Kentucky. Corporate energy giant PPL Corporation — parent company of Louisville Gas & Electric (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities (KU) —is pushing a $3.7 billion fossil-fueled expansion and justifying this as needed to meet surging electricity demand from data centers and industrial projects. Instead of making big corporations pay their fair share, PPL wants Kentucky families to foot the bill through higher rates. Elisa helps us understand Kentucky's Public Service Commission and the process of granting a CPCN (Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity), the issues around emerging data centers, and what we can do as citizen activists to help insure a clean and reliable electric grid that benefits everyone and can power our country into the future while reducing coal and gas emissions, improving public health, and mitigating the impacts of our changing climate. Learn more at https://sierraclub.org/kentucky See also the July 30, 2025 Courier-Journal article, 'Who will bear the cost?': Utility rates could rise as Kentucky attracts data centers" https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2025/07/30/data-center-development-could-cause-utility-bills-to-rise-in-kentucky/85273453007 ...and the August 8, 2025 article in the Kentucky Lantern, "Kentuckians tell state utility regulator to oppose new gas-fired power for prospective data centers" https://kentuckylantern.com/2025/08/05/kentuckians-tell-state-utility-regulator-to-oppose-new-gas-fired-power-for-prospective-data-centers Another great resource is the Louisville Climate Action Network: https://www.louisvillecan.org/action/datacenters Video recording of this event is available at https://www.sierraclub.org/kentucky/greater-louisville-group On Truth to Power each week, we bring you community conversations like you won't hear anywhere else! Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 4pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at https://www.forwardradio.org. If you like what you hear, share it with someone, donate to keep us on-air, and get involved as a volunteer!

#244 Critical Thinking for Everyone! | Critical Thinking Coaching | August 21, 2025 by Forward Radio

Big crowds turned up at two public meetings to express their ideas, make comments and ask questions regarding what they would like to see happen at these flood-prone parks and other public areas along River Rd between the Big Four Bridge and Indian Hills. These meetings took place August 11 and 13, 2025 and were put on by the Louisville Office of Metro Planning, Metro Parks and the Department of Transportation. Everyone was encouraged to fill out an online survey by Googling River Road Land Use Vision Plan and clicking on the "We Want to Hear from You!" icon.

Dr Pat Murphy on his holistic approach to addiction treatment. James P. Murphy, MD, DFASAM is founder and CEO of Murphy Pain Center. He serves gratis as an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. He has earned a Master of Medical Management from the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business. He has board certifications in Pain Medicine, Addiction Medicine, and Anesthesiology. His Pain Management fellowship was at Rochester, Minnesota's Mayo Clinic, where he also served on the faculty of the Mayo Medical School.

It's a special live music edition this week, as your Sustainability Now! host, Justin Mog, is joined in studio by three local musicians who make up The Cottonwood Buds (https://www.instagram.com/thecottonwoodbuds). Rina Perlin is a lifelong singer and, for the past several years, also a practicing psychiatrist in Louisville. Jon Riesser enjoys all sorts of guitar, but especially likes flatpicking and accompanying folks in bluegrass and old time music - he plays guitar, banjo, a little harmonica, and sings in The Cottonwood Buds! He also does law professionally. Carolyn Waters is a vocalist and guitarist by night and a consultant for parks, outdoor programs, and ecology projects by day. The band is self-described as three buds playing folk-adjacent tunes in Louisville, KY. Three-part vocal harmonies with acoustic guitar and a few other novel instruments. Learn more about them at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561925151416 Tune in to hear The Cottonwood Buds perform a collection of three absurd climate change songs live in the Forward Radio studio! The set list includes covers of: - “Vampire” by Neil Young - “Waiting for Superman” by the Flaming Lips - “Tables and Chairs” by Andrew Bird After each song, we discuss the inspiration and the broader social issues these songs address. Don't miss your chance to see The Cottonwood Buds perform a full set of music out in the community at Deer Park Porchfest on Sunday, September 28th, from 2-6pm (https://www.deerparklouisville.com/porchfest) As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW! Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at https://forwardradio.org The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at https://appalatin.com

Solutions to Violence features James Orlick. James Orlick is a higher education leader with more than 18 years' experience advancing inclusive excellence, social justice, and institutional change. He currently serves as Director of Grant Writing & Innovation for Inclusive Excellence at the University of Louisville, where he has helped secure millions in external funding to expand college and career pathways for historically underserved students. A first-generation college graduate from McDowell County, West Virginia, James is a Pell Grant recipient and a proud member of the LGBTQ community. His lived experience fuels his lifelong commitment to educational equity, social mobility, and systemic change. James has been a visible voice in Kentucky's higher education policy debates, with his public advocacy against anti-DEI legislation featured in major news outlets. He successfully challenged the Kentucky Legislature's violation of the state's Open Meetings Act, resulting in a formal opinion from the Attorney General confirming the law had been broken. His leadership spans cross-sector initiatives in diversity, equity, inclusion, workforce development, and place-based education. He has built partnerships with national legal, policy, education, and social justice organizations and helped organize a statewide higher education union uniting faculty, staff, and students. James is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Organizational Development at the University of Louisville

On this week's program, we bring you a vital community conversation about "War and Climate Change" hosted by Covering Climate Now on May 29th, 2024. In this conversation, we explore how conflict, war, and climate change are connected. Violent conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, and elsewhere are not only causing terrible human suffering, they are fueling the climate crisis. This press briefing laid out the connections between war, conflict, and climate change. War — and military operations in general — have a massive carbon footprint that is often overlooked. Meanwhile, the immense emissions of the world's militaries are excluded from limits imposed under UN climate agreements. At the same time, extreme weather and other climate impacts can kindle armed conflict — both within nations as people from drought-stricken rural communities migrate to cities and between nations. Our panel will explore all this and more. The panel included: Neta C. Crawford, Montague Burton Professor, University of Oxford and Co-Director, Costs of War Rawan Damen, Director General, Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism Ellie Kinney, Campaigner Coordinator, Conflict and Environment Observatory Moderator: Giles Trendle, co-chair of CCNow's steering committee and the former managing director of Al Jazeera English. Perhaps most challenging for journalists is that war makes it hard to talk about the climate crisis in the first place. When guns and bombs are killing people, “the tyranny of the immediate” pushes war to the top of the news agenda. Covering Climate Now is a global journalism collaboration, co-founded by Columbia Journalism Review and The Nation magazine, encouraging more and better climate coverage. Learn more: https://coveringclimatenow.org Get Covering Climate Now's weekly newsletter delivered to your inbox. Subscribe at: https://bit.ly/39viEZd. Watch a full replay at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XesH3Vyft9Q On Truth to Power each week, we bring you community conversations like you won't hear anywhere else! Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 4pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at https://www.forwardradio.org. If you like what you hear, share it with someone, donate to keep us on-air, and get involved as a volunteer!

Patty and Brian discuss some benefits and pitfalls of generative AI for critical thinking skills.

Dee Pregliasco, former President of the Louisville League of Women Voters, former District Court Judge, attorney retired from practice and currently Mediator, explores ramifications of a rush of voter suppression measures being introduced or having passed in Republican state legislatures, as well as the SAVE Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) which, as of this recording, has yet to be voted on in the U.S. Senate.

This is a talk given by Kyle Ellison on overcrowding in Kentucky's profit-driven county jail system and how county jails interface with ICE. Mr. Ellison is a retired parole officer, trainer for the prison/jail system in Kentucky and prison historian. He spoke at the St. James Episcopal Church in Oldham County on July 22, 2025.

Kyle-KY-jails-ICE 7-22-25~0 by Forward Radio

This week, your Sustainability Now! host, Justin Mog, sits down with Robert LeVertis Bell, a JCPS teacher who has recently announced his candidacy for the open Kentucky House District 43 race. Bell's experience includes social justice activism, teaching in JCPS, and leadership in the Shelby Park Neighborhood Association and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). In late July, Robert LeVertis Bell, a community organizer and veteran of Louisville's progressive movement, announced his campaign to represent Kentucky House District 43 in the 2026 Democratic primary. Bell, a 45-year-old West Louisville native, is a seventh grade English teacher. In 2022, Bell ran for the same seat and lost narrowly to incumbent Pam Stevenson, despite the death of his mother at the end of the campaign and the full weight of the Democratic establishment backing his opponent. This time, the seat is open, as Stevenson is vacating it to run for US Senate. Bell is entering the race at a moment of rising momentum for democratic socialist candidates across the country. His campaign draws inspiration from New York Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani's recent upset victory in the New York City mayoral primary, where Mamdani, backed by DSA and a coalition of labor and progressive organizations, defeated a prominent establishment figure on a platform of housing justice and public investment. Bell's political roots run deep—he is the grandson of Louisville civil rights legend Mattie Jones. He currently teaches English at Frederick Law Olmsted Academy North, an all-boys public school in South Louisville where Bell had also served as a JCTA union representative. Bell's platform centers around four key planks: strong schools, safe and affordable housing, and real political power for working people. His proposals include: • Raising the minimum wage and cracking down on wage theft • Funding high-paying jobs in public schools for professional educators to teach children with best practices rather than relying on screens and AI. • Expanding union rights and collective bargaining across the public and private sectors • Fully funding public schools and universal Pre-K • Expanding renter protections, including local control over tenant laws and a pathway to rent control • Repealing Kentucky's anti-trans legislation (SB 150) and restoring abortion rights • A Kentucky Green New Deal that resists data center pollution, reins in LG&E, and pushes for public ownership of utilities • Securing local revenue authority for Louisville and reversing state interference The primary election is coming up on May 19, 2026 and all 100 seats in the Kentucky House will be on the ballot next year. More information on Bell and his platform can be found at https://www.bell4ky.com Additional links: Democratic Socialists of America: https://www.dsausa.org Louisville DSA: https://www.dsalouisville.org
 Forward Radio does not endorse any particular candidates or pieces of legislation, but we do endorse an informed electorate. We offer equal air time to all candidates for any given seat. As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW! Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at https://forwardradio.org The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at https://appalatin.com

Hear more bizarre science stories for our 7th birthday celebration! An alien spaceship (looking like a comet) traveling towards our sun? Popping noises produced by plants, and the insects that can hear it? Macaques who like to watch the same kind of videos that humans do? Meteor showers, planets, and constellations in our night sky? A rock on the edge of our solar system that 'dances' with Neptune? Hear it all on this episode! ‘Bench Talk: The Week in Science' is a weekly program that airs on WFMP Louisville FORward Radio 106.5 FM (forwardradio.org) every Monday at 7:30 pm, Tuesday at 11:30 am, and Wednesday at 7:30 am. Visit our Facebook page for links to the articles discussed in this episode: https://www.facebook.com/BenchTalkRadio Music ('Bienvenue au cirque' by Jean-Paul V) is a public-domain piece provided by pixabay.com.

On this week's program, we bring you a community conversation about the environmental impacts of Kentucky's aluminum industry brought to you by the Kentucky Chapter of the Sierra Club (https://sierraclub.org/kentucky). Because aluminum is lightweight, durable, and highly recyclable, it's a key ingredient in solar panels and wind turbines, more efficient cars and planes, and construction and packaging materials. Demand for the metal is set to skyrocket, bolstering the hopes of companies and policymakers for a U.S. industrial turnaround. As aluminum gains the spotlight, the negative impacts of its production are also becoming more apparent. Sierra Club Kentucky has been collaborating with the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), a national organization that ensures the enforcement of laws protecting clean air and water (https://www.environmentalintegrity.org). As the demand for aluminum grows — in particular for use in clean energy and transportation — EIP and other environmental groups are taking action so that aluminum producing companies will reduce the harm they cause to communities and the environment. Two of the seven U.S. aluminum smelters are in Kentucky: Century Sebree in Henderson County and Century Hawesville in Hancock County. Both facilities have violated air and water standards many times. In 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency determined that Sebree smelter was largely to blame for excessive levels of the area's releases of sulfur dioxide, a very harmful pollutant. Unfortunately, the KY Department of Environmental Protection has missed a required deadline to submit a plan to solve this problem, and EPA has missed a deadline to address the state's failure. EIP is interested in sharing information with Western Kentucky residents and learning about any concerns you may have with air and water quality in the area and the impacts of aluminum production. EIP and Sierra Club held this online information meeting on January 17, 2024 featuring speakers Nadia Steinzor and Sunny Lee of the Environmental Integrity Project. On Truth to Power each week, we bring you community conversations like you won't hear anywhere else! Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 4pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at https://www.forwardradio.org. If you like what you hear, share it with someone, donate to keep us on-air, and get involved as a volunteer!

This week, your Sustainability Now! host, Justin Mog, puts on his overalls and gets in the fields with Stephen Bartlett, director of one of Forward Radio's proud Community Partners, Sustainable Agriculture Louisville (SAL). Tune in for an update on SAL's work cultivating community around Native American “Three-Sisters” plots of corn, squash, and beans. In addition to SAL's annual plot out at Barr Farms in Breckinridge County, Stephen helped plant a full one-acre plot at the Common Earth Garden Incubator farm as a "Social Enterprise" and introduced a cohort of young agriculturalist aspirants with KSU to the fun of planting the field. CEG plans to use the crops to market them for some income to keep our programs going, despite being "DOGE'ed" and having significant funding discontinued and likely grants cancelled because of anti-DEI measures. Fortunately SAL has funding to continue working to support urban and peri-urban farmers in expanding their production, and marketing of crops including very promising medicinal species favored by Asian and African growers. SAL is accompanying increased local production and dissemination of knowledge about medicinal and high nutrition plants. They are working to increase land access for subsistence food production and building community resilience through expanded localized agriculture with intercultural linguistic justice and trauma-informed organizing. Learn more and support the work at https://salouisville.org 
As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW! Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at https://forwardradio.org The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at https://appalatin.com

Timothy Eugene Findley, Jr. is a visionary pastor, seasoned leader, and lifelong advocate for justice and community transformation. He serves as the Senior Pastor of Kingdom Fellowship Christian Life Center & Kingdom Fellowship South Central, and is also the CEO of ElderServe, the largest senior center dedicated solely to senior services in the state of Kentucky. In addition, he is the founder of Life Development Corporation, a nonprofit dedicated to uplifting underserved communities through empowerment and innovation, and the co-owner of Precious Memories Funeral Home in Louisville, KY. He is the founder of the Justice and Freedom Coalition, through which he has organized and led dozens of non-violent protests, voter education drives, and demonstrations focused on equity and systemic change. Pastor Findley was a 2022 candidate for Mayor of Louisville, running on a platform that sought to build a city where every person is seen, heard, respected, and valued—he has been honored as a West Louisville Connector, a 2025 Louisville Business First Health Care Hero, and the 2023 recipient of the Health Equity Impact Award at the CEOC Optimize Conference

On this week's show, we bring you an informed community conversation about brownfield contaminants at the site of Perry Elementary School in the West End (755 Dixie Hwy, at Broadway). This conversation with Audrey Ernstberger of the Kentucky Resources Council was hosted by the West Jefferson County Community Task Force on July 15, 2025. Perry Elementary is located on property that was owned and operated by Phillip Morris USA, Inc., and was a tobacco stem processing plant. The manufacturing facility used many chemicals that are considered volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that remained in the soil when Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) acquired the property. There are concerns about VOCs still currently on the school grounds after construction. If you missed the July 15th meeting at which Audrey Ernstberger, a staff attorney with the Kentucky Resources Council, led the discussion about this concern, you need to listen to this. The recording of the entire meeting is available here at https://transcripts.gotomeeting.com/#/s/d4a36bf5fc8d28119fe8f1e8a59c014cb8cce3193b49420161814284805769a1 Audrey Ernstberger is a staff attorney with the Kentucky Resources Council (https://www.kyrc.org). She graduated from Centre College and earned her JD from UofL's Brandeis School of Law. During law school, her energy law class and experience as a Resilience Justice Fellow researching equitable environmental access for vulnerable communities inspired her to pursue a career in envi-ronmental law. Shortly after law school, she pursued a Master of Laws from George Washington University Law School, attending classes and working as a research assistant to identify legal obstacles to preplanning electric grid development after a natural disaster. Before working for KRC, she worked for the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission as a Legislative Analyst for the House and Senate Economic Development and Workforce Investment Committee. Her advocacy experience includes her time as a Student Attorney at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, where she and her co-counsel won a government benefits case on appeal. Do you need more information about environmental concerns and legislation? Please read the “Summer 2025 Work in Motion” by the Kentucky Resources Council (KRC) found at https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:a79b7ed1-5c54-4776-9cca-8cea310b1b19?fbclid=IwY2xjawL5F1tleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFMZDRlY2dvTjUwZEZCd2hlAR4xBilIpk_7ajQQdJqCR51YnouHzHV-_rMMocd5ogXm0mVhJ3XpjheUAlIeUg_aem_NREmXRfdsVVHrwdQrHUM1g&viewer%21megaVerb=group-discover West Jefferson County Community Task Force Monthly Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month (except December) 5:30-7pm online. The Task Forcebrings concerns and important information to residents and businesses about environmental, health and wellness issues that impact our communities. Topics vary each month. Join the conversation. Let your voice be heard and get the answers you need. Monthly topics are posted at https://facebook.com/WJCCTF. For more info, call Arnita at 502-645-3588. And we hope you can join us at the annual Environmental Justice Conference organized by WJCCTF, which will be held at the University of Louisville on Saturday, September 20th from 10am-2pm. Registration and more info will be available at https://louisville.edu/sustainability/events/2025-environmental-justice-conference On Truth to Power each week, we bring you community conversations like you won't hear anywhere else! Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 4pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at https://forwardradio.org. If you like what you hear, share it with someone, donate to keep us on-air, and get involved as a volunteer!

Patty and Brian learn, reflect and engage with participants who attended the annual International Conference on Critical Thinking in July 2025.