The Best Story shows

More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Burma's Rakhine State since last August, hoping to escape a widespread campaign of ethnic cleansing. The atrocities committed by Burmese security forces, including mass killings, sexual violence, and arson are repeatedly denied by military and civilian officials, but human rights watch groups say this is the world's fastest growing humanitarian crises. Many of those people have found themselves in Bangladesh, and are now living among the largest refugee camps in the world.  We're joined today by Tania Rashid, who is a special news correspondent for PBS, who has filed a series of stories on the crisis.  You can find her work here: How a Rohingya mother escaped her village's terrors in Myanmar Before they agree to go home, the Rohingya have some demands Why this 13-year-old Rohingya refugee faces intense pressure to marry   Follow the show on Twitter, @BestStoryShow. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. 

Daniela Molina is an Indiana University Media School student, and an aspiring investigative journalist who has already interned at WTVJ in Miami, where she was named an Emma Bowen Foundation Fellow, and at WTIU, Bloomington. She's previously served as the interim editor-in-chief of The Reporter, which is the campus paper for Miami Dade College.  And today she's brought us the story of Legend Solar, a solar panel company out west that has left customers feeling like they are part of a Ponzi scheme. it's a big story, there's a lot to it, and you'll want to check it out. Follow the show on Twitter, @BestStoryShow. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher.

This is a monologue that takes us to the American southwest, where hope and despair can mingle. But hope can overcome. Today's story is from Searchlight New Mexico, which is telling us about a small non-profit that is out to break a cycle in a challenging, demanding, part of the world.  Read the original here. Find them on Twitter at @SearchlightNM. And check out some of the graduation pictures. It's a feel-good kind of scroll.  Follow the show on Twitter, @BestStoryShow, too. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. 

If you want to remember the moment a bit better, you might need to put the camera down and the phone back in your pocket. That's the suggestion from a recent study, which Vox has picked up on: What smartphone photography is doing to our memories. Ken Booth, co-founder of one of the web's best photo archives, shorpy.com and an old-school newsman, tells us about this story, and the importance of staying in the moment, rather than in a viewfinder or a touchscreen. You can see more of Booth's work at vintagraph.com and some of his own photos and book reviews on his personal site. Previously, he's joined us to talk about the craft beer industry's boom and the nature of conspiracy theories.  Follow the show on Twitter, @BestStoryShow. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. 

On this historic anniversary we're going back in time to discuss a column written 50 years ago, upon the news of the assasination of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was shot in Memphis, but this piece by Mike Royko was published in Chicago the next day. It has become something of a famous column, and, as Indianapolis Star writer Zac Osterman tells us today, it still works, it still resonates, and it is still viable. At the beginning of the show you'll hear from Robert Kennedy, who was campaigning in Indianapolis on April 4, 1968 and delivered the news that King was killed and offered a short, powerful speech that is often credited with help calm that city.  Incidentally, today, the Kennedy-King Park where RFK spoke those many years ago, has just this week been named a national commemorative site. What's old is never really old, and this is the best story I've heard today.    Follow the show on Twitter, too, @BestStoryShow. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. 

"The Troubles" in the United Kingdom are a thing of the past. But the Good Friday Agreement, a 1998 signed understanding that impacted the relationships and institutions between Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, is right now in a precarious position because of Brexit. Indiana Daily Student news editor Dominick Jean tells us this land border situation and the many cultural and commercial aspects of the arrangment were largely overlooked when it came time to determine the UK's EU fate. Now, they're trying to address the many issues at play. We don't solve the problems here, but we do discuss some of the high points brought up in these stories from America Magazine and The New Yorker, which Jean, who just returned from a trip to Ireland, recommends in full.  Check out more of Jean's work right here. Previously on the program he's told us about a new papal advisory panel, the coming Day Zero in South Africa's historic drought and gerrymandered congressional districts. Hear more episodes, too. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher, and be sure to follow us on Twitter, as well, @BestStoryShow.

Maybe you noticed that the NCAA women's basketball tournament came down to a last-second shot this weekend. Maybe you noticed the WNIT wrapped up with two scrappy teams who made great late-season runs. Maybe you noticed those highly entertaining storylines and the games that went with them. Likely as not, these and plenty of other compelling women's sporting events have escaped your notice. Outside of the Olympics, Indiana University's  Dr. Lauren Smith tells us, that's a sadly common refrain. We talked about why, how to fix it and just exactly what UConn basketball has ruined. (Nothing, as it turns out.) Here's the article that gets our conversation rolling today. Smith is also a writer on 110percentblog and she is a regular contributor here. She's joined us to talk about what's going on at Michigan State post-Larry Nassar and about Olympic athletes donating their brains to CTE research and about the world's oldest message in a bottle. Check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, as well, @BestStoryShow.

You've probably heard about Mike Hughes, the guy who supposedly put himself in a rocket of his own creation and launched himself into the sky. But you haven't heard the whole story. You might know he believes the earth is flat. But you haven't heard what else he doesn't believe in. Our man Justin Thurman returns for another Fun Friday to share more of what "Mad" Mike Hughes doesn't believe in, and his future plans.  Also, we average a culturally, or at least topically, relevant name drop every 40 seconds in this episode.  With your feet firmly on the ground, and your necks craned to the sky, give this episode a listen, and have a great weekend.  Follow the show on Twitter, too, @BestStoryShow. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher.   

We might now be very close to looking at a shift in transportation, says journalism professor and deep innovation thinker Robert Quigley. And, he says, it is coming on us fast. Some people might think about buggy whip makers, though perhaps the better analogy is one pointed out in The Atlantic's story, perhaps the coming autonomous car fleets will be more like Craigslist and classified ads. Alphabet is about to pick up a lot of self-driving Jaguars and you might be riding in one as soon as 2020. Change might be coming upon us fast.  Quiqley returns to the program to talk about how the model might work, what that could mean for city infrastructure and we start thinking about the possibilities of unintended consequences. We could do an entire show on that. Maybe we should.  Previously on this show, Robert Quigley has shared with us an interesting Washington Post profile on HUD boss Ben Carson. Be sure to check out more of his work at UT Media Innovation.  Follow the show on Twitter, too, @BestStoryShow. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher.   

Uber has been in the news with the unfortunate story out of Arizona about the death of the first pedestrian by an autonomous car.    You can read some of those stories here: Self-Driving Uber Car Kills Pedestrian in Arizona, Where Robots Roam Self-driving cars under scrutiny after pedestrian death Arizona Governor Helped Make State 'Wild West' For Driverless Cars But, as USA Today Network - Wisconsin reporter Jonathan Anderson tells us, that's not the only story where Uber figures in as an important player. There's a lot going on, and these are some of the stories we're talking about these stories: India's Uber drivers went on strike because they're making $3 a day Uber driver charged with raping woman in car in Boston Uber driver attacked with hatchet in robbery during York-Lancaster ride, cops say Anderson takes a look at all of that in the aggregate, and we try to figure out if the gig company has a PR problem, or a regulatory one. This isn't the first time we've talked about Uber and the gig economy. You can hear that episode here. And you can hear Jonathan Anderson's previous visit to the program right here, when he talked about a Wisconsin Supreme Court open records ruling. And check out Anderson's website, as well.  Check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher or TuneIn. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, as well, @BestStoryShow.

It's Friday fun and this is one tasty episode. One potentially tasty, disturbing episode. One possibly disturbing, disgusting episode. This is probably an acquired taste. Mental aversions and all of that.  And we mean that literally. The show is fine; Justin Thurman always brings us a great story to talk about. The story ... well the story you're going to have to chew on for a while.  Check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher or TuneIn. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, as well, @BestStoryShow.

Shop local! Buy local! Eat local!  It's local enough. But local means a lot of things, and as Spencer Elliott of the USA Today Network tells us, there are no real rules about what it means. We do know one thing it means, though, and that's money.  The stories Elliott is telling us about:  'Buy local' food programs deceive consumers and are rarely enforced, a USA TODAY Network investigation finds  What you're really getting when you 'Pick Tennessee' products You can hear Spencer's other contributions to the programs. He's told us about how people are communicating with co-workers in the gig economy and about a column which suggests how Colorado State might solve its basketball drama. Check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher or TuneIn. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, as well, @BestStoryShow.    

Professor Joe Coleman returns to the program to talk about the future of work, robots and bricks. If this topic is interesting to, you should absolutely check out his book, "Unfinished Work: The Struggle to Build an Aging American Workforce" which is a great work and touches on some of these same types of issues in impressive detail.  It is a thoughtful episode, and we only reference the John Henry story twice.  Joe has been on the podcast before, talking about an increasing trend toward indigenous food in Canada. You can hear more episodes of the show and you can also subscribe to the syndicated versions on Google Play or Stitcher or TuneIn.   And follow the show on Twitter: @BestStoryShow.

We're leafing no stone unturned on this story. It's part of our annual -- or is that perennial? -- pledge to you. It's an attention to detail that we take pride in, using your thyme wisely, peering deep into a thorny theft problem in South Carolina and our enthusiam for keeping you up to speed on important stories can't be ... herbed. USA Today Network's Justin Thurman returns to the show to give us the details, root and stem, about a cholorphylled caper in the Palmetto State.  You can read the story here - there is a happy ending.  Follow the show on Twitter, too, @BestStoryShow. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher or TuneIn.

... The conversation here is G-rated. The photos ... mind the kids before you click on through ...   We found an online trend that is anything but shy, so to speak. Don Crow, who is the founder of the marketing agency Verge Pipe Media, shares a story about letting it all hang out.  Here are some more-or-less NSFW links to the stories we were talking about, on Buzzfeed. It's becoming a global phenomenon. The Sun has written about it, as has the Australian media and our friends in India, as well.  Follow the show on Twitter, too, @BestStoryShow. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher or TuneIn.

This is a story 130 years in the making. It involves Germans, Australia, science and luck. Dr. Lauren Smith returns to the program to tell us about what is now thought to be the oldest known message in a bottle.  Some of the other stories she has shared with us include Olympians donating their brains to CTE research and the Michigan State angle of the Larry Nassar scandal. You can also see some of Lauren's writing on the 110 Percent Blog.  Follow the show on Twitter, too, @BestStoryShow. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher or TuneIn or even YouTube.

What makes a bicycle move? Sure, it's my pedals that do it. And also how I move my hands and body. And that lean when you dive into a corner, feeling like a champion racer, means a lot too ... but what makes a bicycle really do what a bicycle does? It isn't a mystery or an enigma, but it is a really interesting puzzle. And Chris Arnold, an associate professor of industrial design, brings us  The Bicycle Problem That Nearly Broke Mathematics, a story that details the dogged pursuit of a scientist who is trying to figure it all out.  This is about cycling, but science and philosophy and, really, all of the things that are baked into everything, according to good designers. Give it a listen and share it with friends.   Give Chris Arnold a follow, and follow the show on Twitter, too, @BestStoryShow. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher and we're on TuneIn and YouTube as well.      

What made the craft beer industry boom? Well, a lot of things, actually. Ken Booth brings us this story today. And as a businessman equipped with an MBA himself, he's ready to explain it to the rest of us.   Check out Booth's Twitter, which is a feed that always offers great reads. And visit his website. You'll also want to check out the work sites, like Shorpy.com for historic photos and top quality prints and Vintagraph.com which offers truly terrific poster prints. (I have several. He didn't ask me to say that.) Follow the show on Twitter, @BestStoryShow. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. Find the show on YouTube and TuneIn, as well. 

Justin Thurman, an old friend and one of the first true digital media veterans, returns to the show to talk about kids these days. Apparently there's a concern ... of sorts ... that children's hands aren't strong enough to learn to write. Technology is being blamed as the culprit. This is a fun one, and we don't even blame the youth.  Follow the show on Twitter, too, @BestStoryShow. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. You can now hear us on TuneIn and on YouTube, as well. 

After the horrific school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Delta Airlines was one of the many organizations that has reacted by changing their discount policies for NRA members. Then the Georgia politicians started getting involved, using tax incentives as part of their leverage. And now, other cities are making overtures to Delta: If you don't like what's happening in Atlanta, maybe we can work something out.  André Natta, recently of WBHM and Poynter, who is currently on a presitigious journalism fellowship at Stanford University, joins us to talk about it. New York City and Birmingham, Alabama are making eyes at Delta, but as Natta explains, there's more to it than just a few business flirtations. Give this episode a listen. Follow the show on Twitter, too, @BestStoryShow. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. And now you can hear us on TuneIn or on YouTube, as well. 

Pope Francis has a new advisory body, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, comprised of Boston's Cardinal Sean O'Malley and 15 others from from around the world, including members who are survivors of clerical abuse. O'Malley says the big challenge they'll have is to “creating a culture of safeguarding.” Indiana Daily Student news editor Dominick Jean tells us about the newly re-formed commission and what that might mean.  Check out more of Jean's work right here. Check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher, and be sure to follow us on Twitter, as well, @BestStoryShow.

I found a great story this weekend and I wanted to share it myself. So this is a monologue three months in the making, but also a quarter century in the making. It is about two young men from Iowa, and a moment frozen forever. It is about a thoughtful gesture that will last for some time. So let me introduce you to Jordan Bohannon ...  And then, listen to another great quote and, after that, go read the story. Follow the show on Twitter, @BestStoryShow. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. 

Do you ever hear or read outlandish stories or ridiculous attempts to explain things and wonder "Where did this conspiracy theory come from anyway?" Today we talked about a story that helps you test those Elvis-is-an-alien, Bermuda Triangle, Bigfoot-has-been-on-the-moon theories. An old friend and former boss, Ken Booth, who is the co-founder of the excellent Shorpy.com and Vintagraph.com joined the show to help us make sense of those things that, sometimes don't seem to make any sense at all. (Unless they do. Or unless that's what they would have us believe.) Check out Booth's Twitter, which is a feed that always offers great reads. And visit his website. You'll also want to check out the work sites, like Shorpy.com for historic photos and top quality prints and Vintagraph.com which offers truly terrific poster prints. (I have several. He didn't ask me to say that.) Follow the show on Twitter, @BestStoryShow. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher.   

They are running out of water in South Africa. It is very real and it is happening now and it is impacting the four million people in Cape Town. The experts are looking at a date when the running water is shut off. That date could be coming soon. Indiana Daily Student news editor Dominick Jean tells us about the upcoming "Day Zero." Check out more of Jean's work right here. Check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher, and be sure to follow us on Twitter, as well, @BestStoryShow.

Maybe you've been watching the Olympics. Maybe you've seen some of the events on the ice. But have you seen the people who are shaping that ice into perfection for some of the best athletic performances in the world? Now you can. Former Indiana Daily Student editor-in-chief Jamie Zega, who is soon on her way to the Washington Post, joins us to share a story about the ice crews behind the athletic glory. They're riding machines that make those medal pursuits happen. Zamboni drivers are playing a key role as things heat up on the ice. And as we learn in this story, there's a whole lot more to it than simply driving the thing.  You'll learn a lot. It's a great topic. Give this a listen and read the story.  Then, follow the show on Twitter, too, @BestStoryShow. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher.   

Football at all levels is getting a long, hard look from doctors and fans and parents and, now, in California, lawmakers are getting involved as well. Sports research Jimmy Sanderson joins us to share a story about pending legislation on the west coast that, if passed, would end tackling in youth football. (You can read more about it here.) Sanderson touches on the medical research, the government involvement and we also talk about how this might impact quality of play and regional strength of the sport. Give it a listen.  Then check out more episodes as well. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. And be sure to follow us on Twitter, as well, @BestStoryShow.

Indianapolis Star reporter Zak Keefer joins us to talk about a story of segregation and Jim Crow in northern Indiana. It was the advent of the jump shot, the height of high school basketball in the Hoosier State and a time that many of us simply don't have a memory of. Keefer is sharing Matthew Werner's story of 1950s Michigan City and the tale of a program that somehow gets forgotten, and the struggle the boys playing basketball endured. It's a rich story, and another great episode of the program for you to enjoy.  Also, be sure to check out Keefer's work at the Star. And follow him on Twitter. Follow the show on Twitter, too, @BestStoryShow. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. 

Carley Lanich is the editor-in-chief of the award-winning Indiana Daily Student. An aspiring investigative reporter herself, she joins us today to talk about the ongoing 10-part series The Exploited, which is an insightful and global deep-dive into sex trafficking.  Some 10,000 young people in the U.S. and an estimated one million are thought to be involved in the illicit trade each year. Check out Lanich's work at the IDS. (She just won a Hearst Award honor for her own reporting.) Follow Carley Lanich on Twitter, as well.

If you follow the NFL at all, you might have heard that the Indianapolis Colts fired their head coach this offseason. And you might have also heard that they hired a new coach. And you might have heard that he decided he didn't want the job. Indianapolis Star writer Zach Osterman returns to the show to share a story about how all of that came apart in what is an unusual spectacle within the spectacle of the National Football League. You can read the story here.  It's an interesting look into beat reporting and an important story technique, the tick-tock story.   You can read Zach's work at the Star, here. And you should follow him on Twitter, as well.  Follow the show on Twitter, too, @BestStoryShow. And when you're done with this one, check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher.   

Seems like there is plenty of drama in the Colorado State athletic department these days. The men's basketball coach has been suspended. So has the interim coach. Players skipped a practice and they are upside down in the win-loss column. A columnist at The Coloradoan, the Fort Collins daily, has an idea about how the program might get turned around, and it involves a huge name from the campus' past.  Spencer Elliott, who is a digital producer at USA Today Network, tells us about the piece, and we talk about why such a historical hire may or may not work. It's a good column, an intriguing argument and we're glad Spencer brought it to us today. Take a listen and pass it along.  You can hear more episodes of the show and you can also subscribe to the syndicated versions on Google Play or Stitcher. And follow the show on Twitter: @BestStoryShow.

We talked today with noted anthropologist Dr. Anne Pyburn of Indiana University, who explains some of the truly fascinating research going on in the Guatemalan jungles as new technology is uncovering old mysteries about the Mayan people. The story we're discussing is from National Geographic and, as Pyburn explains, the data being collected is going to reshape a lot about what we thought we knew of the old culture. And while the understandings will necessarily change, this grand research project is really only just beginning.  Dr. Pyburn is a terrific guest with an incredible amount of expertise that compliments this research and we are grateful that she took the time to explain a few things to those of us who understand archeology by way of Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park. Give it a listen.  Check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, as well, @BestStoryShow.

Journalism professor Robert Quigley, from the University of Texas, joins us to discuss a Washington Post profile of Ben Carson. The famed neurosurgeon turned head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Its an interesting insight into a man who took on the Cabinet position and has more-or-less kept a low profile since. Quigley talks about the man, but we also discuss the story and touch very briefly on the craft of profile writing. Listen in to see why it feels like learning on the job - maybe. And why that maybe is there.  Quigley, by the way, also runs the Journalism Innovation program at Texas, which is a great follow for those interested in the future of journalism.   Check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, as well, @BestStoryShow. 

Everybody loves a caper, says television reporter Chris Pollone, who returns to the program to share with us the update on the 2016 broad daylight gold robbery in New York City. You remember that, right? The guy reached into an armored truck, grabbed a barrel full of gold, $1.6 million worth, and walked away. Only the security cameras caught him.  We know now what became of that man, and it truly is an incredible story. Pollone tells us about the terrific work done by the newsroom at WNBC in New York City, which helped tell the rest of the story that crosses the country, hits four other nations, involves some heartbreak and a whole lot more. You've got to hear it to believe it. Give it a listen and please pass it along.  Check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, as well, @BestStoryShow.

A few more high profile athletes have announced their going to be posthumously donating their brains to CTE research. And this isn't just about football, and it isn't just about men. While that donor registry is beginning to grow what's interesting today is that the most recent donations are from female Olympians. Sports media scholar Dr. Lauren Smith of Indiana University joins us to talk about the story. We discussed how we're coming to learn CTE isn't just about football or boxing, the wide gender disparity in brain research donors and a whole lot more.   She's also a contributor at 110Percent. If you'd like to know a bit more about CTE, this is a good place to start on chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, as well, @BestStoryShow.

We're talking open records in light of a decision handed down today by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. And it is only fitting then that Jonathan Anderson, a USA Today Network reporter who is an open records stalwart.  The case in particular involved a teacher union vote, but Anderson tells us there may be far reaching implications for people who aren't in unions, who don't work in newsrooms, in Wisconsin and beyond.  Check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, as well, @BestStoryShow. (And I mentioned this in the show, but it bears repeating here: If you're interested in open access issues, FOI concerns and public records in general, Jonathan Anderson's Twitter needs to be on your follow list.) 

Today's show takes us to radio station KIRO 97.3 FM in Seattle, Washington.  Radio host John Curley, of the Tom and Curley show joined me to discuss the footage their security camera caught last week, and the viral video hit that he helped create. If you haven't seen it, you can watch the sensation here. It's a great video, and what Curley told me in our conversation is worth hearing, too. So please do check out this episode -- and share it with friends.   Check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, as well, @BestStoryShow.

Apple is getting downgraded as phone sales slow, but they still made a lot of money recently, and their revenues were up on the strength of the ever-more expensive iPhones. Reporter Jake Lowary, who covers veterans and military affairs for the USA Today Network, tells us about the latest returns from the computer giant. Here's the story he's talking about. We also discussed the coming of FoxConn and what that and the sales of other Apple products, like the new HomePod, might mean in the domestic marketplace.  Check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, as well, @BestStoryShow.

Did you know that the term gerrymandering dates back to 1812? Did you know that some of the problems being blamed on gerrymandering these days might not even be caused gerrymandering at all? Did you know that the term was named after Elbridge Gerry, the fifth vice president of the United States?  We didn't talk about that last tidbit, but we did talk about the others. Indiana Daily Student news editor Dominick Jean sat down with us for a thoughtful conversation on a new 538 piece, Ending gerrymandering won't fix what ails America, and the conversation gets into how we do the things we do, what causes us to do them and ranges into what it might mean in the future. Dmonicik is a smart guy, like that. Check him out on Twitter and take a look at his work on dominickjean.com as well.    Check out more episodes. You can also subscribe on Google Play or Stitcher. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, as well, @BestStoryShow.

A quick solo monologue for a great local story of persistence and overcoming circumstance. It's one of those "the kids are alright" tales and it just might be the best story you've heard today.   The story we're talking about today was written by Michael Reschke, and you should definitely go read it at the Herald Times. It is well worth your time. And here's our hero, Joshua Johnson, quoted in Bloom magazine, as well.  Follow The Best Story I've Heard Today on Twitter, and make sure you check out other episodes, with terrific guests, as well.   

It is infrastructure, and it is sexy. Chris Pollone says this technology is going to be a game changer. Everything will be different with the coming rollout of 5G. Chris is sharing with us a National Geographic story that dives into the subject and mixes that in with some of his own experiences reporting on the tech industry to give us a lot of examples about what we can come to expect.   And be sure to follow Chris Pollone on Twitter.

An old friend and one of the first true digital media veterans joins the show to talk about something that's being called #resistancegenealogy. The story Justin brings us is about Jennifer Mendelson, who is combing through public records to make a big point in the contentious national debate: We're all from somewhere. Justin tells us about the story, and what he's found out about his own family tree after reading it. Check out this episode.  We also talked about this Pew study, which was released last month, that shows us, in almost realtime, how our origins seem to matter, until they seem to matter less and less. 

Carley Lanich is the editor-in-chief of the award-winning Indiana Daily Student. An aspiring investigative reporter, she joins us today to talk about the work being done by her peers at Michigan State where The State News this week ran a front page editorial calling for the resignation of their president, Lou Anna Simon, in the wake of the Larry Nassar convictions. (Simon did resign soon after.) Carley talks about that editorial, the reporting that came before it, the role that publication will likely have in the community going forward and the general importance of student media. (You can also see all of The State News' impressive, and continuing, Larry Nassar coverage.) Carley is a thoughtful young journalist and this is a great show worth hearing. Do give it a listen, and share it with others. 

Tom French is a professor of journalism and a winner of the Pulizer Prize for feature writing. Today he joins us to talk about a student-produced series, The System, published earlier this year in the Indiana Daily Student. It is an in-depth multimedia investigative franchise that took place over the course of 12 months. It was a sensitive and moving look into how university protocols impact people reporting sexual assault, and those named as their attackers. Four talented student-journalists were key to The System, and we talked about Carley Lanich's reporting in our interview. We would also point out the fine work of Nicole McPheeters (photography), Emily Miles (multimedia) and Eman Mozaffar (development).  Check out our conversation with Tom here and then, please, go read The System, which shines an important light on a critical subject.   

Reporters cover news. And sometimes reporters are news. Chris Pollone joins us today to share the story of a southern reporter who just made the news, and what may be a key 19th century archeological discovery. A reporter with al.com believes he has found the wreckage of what is considered to be the last ship to bring slaves to the United States. It's a terrific story with a great hook and may help tell us even more about our past. And the discovery could mean a lot to the present, as well. Many descendants from that last voyage stayed in the area. We're very excited that Chris came on to talk to us about it today.  A book about one of those last slaves is due out later this year, as well. You can read about that here. And be sure to follow Chris Pollone on Twitter.

Sports media professor Lauren Smith joins us to share a column by Indianapolis Star writer Gregg Doyel, who is taking Michigan State administrators to task for their inaction with their former employee Larry Nassar. Follow Lauren on Twitter.

You'll want to give this one a listen and share it with all of your sports fan friends. Indianapolis Star sportswriter Zach Osterman joins us again to share a New York Times story about sports dynasty. The story is about the fabled Barcelona soccer club who just sold one of their brightest stars, but we also talk about the New York Yankees and The New England Patriots. We also managed to sneak in a Chicago Blackhawks reference and a brief conversation about the meaning of time. All dynasties die, and Zach Osterman wants to understand the how and the why. Read the story Zach is talking about. Read Zach's own work. Follow Zach on Twitter.

The first-ever weekend edition of the Best Story I've Heard Today, and the show's first ever monologue, highlights an incredible story of the fans of the NFL. 

How do you interact with your co-workers, or even your bosses in the gig economy? People driving for services like Uber and Lyft are figuring out a few ways. Spencer Elliott of The Tennessean and the USA Today Network tells about it in the best story he found today. Is it unique to those industries, or a sign of more to come? We talk about it in today's episode. Here's the Fast Company article. Follow Spencer on Twitter. 

The safe for a president, but NSFW edition! Jamie Zega, former Indiana Daily Student editor-in-chief and soon to be of The Washington Post, joins us to talk about how newsrooms are now covering presidential profanities. Jamie is a talented and thoughtful reporter, and we're glad she took the time to talk about these stories. Please do give it a listen. Read the New York Times piece and the Poynter piece she referenced. And follow Jamie on Twitter.

Indianapolis Star sports writer Zach Osterman joins us to discuss the sentencing phase of Larry Nassar's trial. Nassar is the U.S. Olympics doctor charged with multiple accounts of the sexual abuse of young gymnasts in his care. Osterman shares with us this story from Yahoo Sports. And I wanted to also point you to the excellent work on this story that has been done by Osterman's colleagues at The Indy Star. You can find that from the beginning. And you can see their latest coverage here.  Finally, make sure you follow Zach Osterman on Twitter.

Journalism professor Joseph Coleman shares a New York Times story about a return to culture cuisine in Canada. We talk about how food is an important part of cultural heritage, and why we are seeing movements to return to traditional foods. You can find the story here. Follow Professor Coleman on Twitter. And check out his book, "Unfinished Work: The Struggle to Build an Aging American Workforce."