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This week on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, catches up with a local journalism legend, Marcus Green, former reporter at WDRB and the Courier-Journal, now striking out as an independent consultant as Principal at Greenlight Projects LLC. Marcus Green is an Emmy-award winning former journalist who spent more than 25 years reporting on Louisville, southern Indiana and Kentucky. In 12 years writing on the newspaper's business and city desks, he covered small business, agriculture, the Thoroughbred racing and breeding industries, the Ohio River Bridges Project, the KFC Yum! Center, and local housing and demographics. He moved to WDRB News in 2013 to become a digital journalist and investigative reporter. He left WDRB last month to launch Greenlight Projects LLC, a startup consulting firm. Listen in as we discuss the state of local journalism and how it's changed, as well as some of the issues Marcus covered that dealt with sustainability -- like the Ohio River Bridges Project, the Bernheim pipeline/bypass, Urban Government Center, and others. Marcus and Justin reconnected in October at the Ohio River Confluence summit. They discuss this inspiring moment for the future of the Ohio River Basin, last week's UPS flight disaster at the Louisville airport, and the upcoming I-65 closure. Connect with Marcus at https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-green-0208a8374/ 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 on Truth to Power, we bring you a vital community conversation with Chief Glenna J. Wallace of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and Jordan Lubetkin of the National Wildlife Federation on the importance of indigenous perspectives to the restoration of the Ohio River Basin. Glenna Wallace was elected to the office of the Chief of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma in 2006. She is the first woman ever elected to this office. From 1968 to 2006, Chief Glenna worked at Crowder College in a variety of roles and received numerous honors and awards. Throughout the years Chief Glenna has been active in numerous organizations and boards in the community and for the tribe. As Senior Director of Ohio River Restoration at the National Wildlife Federation and Ohio River Basin Alliance Board of Trustees member, Jordan Lubetkin, has decades of experience in communications, public policy, and coordinating geographic restoration initiatives. Having worked on the Healing Our Waters: Great Lakes Coalition, he is very familiar with the success of sustained federal funding to improve water quality, restore ecosystem health, and support local economies through boosting recreation potential and maintaining commerce. In this conversation, Jordan explores the work that's been done by Ohio River watershed stakeholders and partners, including the drafting and release of the Ohio River Basin Restoration and Protection Report by the Ohio River Basin Alliance, the National Wildlife Federation, and the University of Louisville's Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute. This report, for which Jordan organized and facilitated 31 community listening sessions across the basin and worked with regional tribal chapters to recognize Indigenous stewardship, reaffirm Tribal rights, and forge authentic partnerships to advance Indigenous policy and conservation, makes a case statement to support the need for federal funding in the basin. Chief Glenna J. Wallace, the chief of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, will join Jordan to discuss their shared goals and the importance of collaboration with Indigenous groups in restoration. This work will help ensure that future investments in the Ohio River basin are guided by community knowledge to address the threats and challenges most important to constituents. After their conversation, the floor was opened for Q&A. This conversation took place on October 18, 2025 at the Ohio River Confluence (https://www.ohioriverway.org/2025-ohio-river-basin-confluence). For the first time, the Ohio River Basin Alliance, Kentucky Waterways Alliance, and the Ohio River Way held a special joint summit in place of their individual annual conferences. This event was co-hosted by the University of Louisville Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, and Thomas More University. The Ohio River Basin Confluence Summit took place October 16-18, 2025, at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville. The Summit brought together advocates, professionals, and water leaders of all kinds to learn, plan, and build a diverse identity across our important river basin. On Truth to Power each week, we gather people from around the community to discuss the state of the world, the nation, the state, and the city! It's a community conversation 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
As the weather turns and trees begin to go dormant, this week on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, grabs a shovel to catch up with our friends at Louisville Grows (https://LouisvilleGrows.org). On the show to discuss the many community tree planting opportunities on the horizon are Executive Director, Christine Brinkmann, and Urban Forestry Manager, Colin Meadows. Tune in to hear about the new partnership between Kentucky State University and Louisville Grows to expand environmental workforce pathways in Louisville's West End by expanding access to training in conservation, urban forestry, horticulture, and community agriculture. Louisville Grows will support participants as they gain practical experience throughout the city and surrounding areas in conservation, tree planting, orchard development, greenhouse management, soil restoration, and sustainable agricultural practices, contributing to a healthier urban environment. Then grab a shovel, gather your friends, and join the Louisville Grows team at SIX tree planting events this fall to help grow Louisville's tree canopy! • Friday, Nov. 7th & Saturday, Nov 8th, 9 AM - 1:00 PM - Glenview Neighborhood - River Road Tree Planting, 4301 Lime Kiln Lane: Outdoor Pavillion Help us plant over 100 new trees along River Road and residential addresses! To sign up and learn more, FRIDAY: https://tinyurl.com/Nov7Planting SATURDAY: https://tinyurl.com/PlantGlenview • Tuesday, Nov. 11th, 9:00 am - 1:00pm, Alberta O. Jones Park Microforest Tree Planting Wrap Up https://tinyurl.com/AOJWrapUpPlanting • Friday, Nov 14th, noon - 4:00pm - Cardinal Harbour Neighborhood Tree Planting, Cardinal Harbour Clubhouse near Goshen (1905 Cardinal Harbour Rd, Prospect, KY) To sign up and learn more, visit: https://tinyurl.com/CHPlantingVolunteer • Saturday, Nov 15th, 9:00 AM – 1pm - Community Wide Planting Day - Hazelwood Neighborhood Join District 15, Metro Forestry, Trees Louisville & Louisville Grows to help us plant 100 trees in the Hazelwood neighborhood! Trained Citizen Foresters will lead groups of volunteers to properly plant trees on public and residential properties. No experience is necessary, everyone is welcome to come play in the dirt with us! To sign up and learn more, visit: https://tinyurl.com/HazelwoodPlantingBOB • Saturday, Nov 15th, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM - St Joseph Neighborhood Tree Planting, Meetup: 760 Eastern Pkwy (Our Mother of Sorrows church) To sign up and learn more, visit: tinyurl.com/CommunityWidePlantingDay 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 on Truth to Power, we bring you a vital community conversation with Louisville's U.S. Representative, Morgan McGarvey (D-KY-03) about The Ohio River Restoration Program Act. Representative McGarvey is one of the co-chairs of the Ohio River Basin Congressional Caucus and is dedicated to Ohio River Basin Restoration through bi-partisan collaboration. In this session, Rep. McGarvey discussed the Ohio River Restoration Program Act with Michael Washburn, Executive Director of the Kentucky Waterways alliance. They discuss shared goals and challenges, and the next steps for this process, before opening the floor for Q&A. This conversation took place on October 18, 2025 at the Ohio River Confluence (https://www.ohioriverway.org/2025-ohio-river-basin-confluence). For the first time, the Ohio River Basin Alliance, Kentucky Waterways Alliance, and the Ohio River Way held a special joint summit in place of their individual annual conferences. This event was co-hosted by the University of Louisville Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, and Thomas More University. The Ohio River Basin Confluence Summit took place October 16-18, 2025, at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville. The Summit brought together advocates, professionals, and water leaders of all kinds to learn, plan, and build a diverse identity across our important river basin. On Truth to Power each week, we gather people from around the community to discuss the state of the world, the nation, the state, and the city! It's a community conversation 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
This week on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, digs up some delicious fun with Matt Robertson, founder and owner of Clover Systems (https://cloversystems.org), which offers permaculture landscaping and hardscaping, home remodels, ADUs, and tiny homes; as well as a backyard permaculture nursery in the St. Joseph neighborhood. For the past five years, Matt has been working professionally as a carpenter, building additions, ADUs, and general home remodels. Usually working alone or with one partner, Matt has been directly involved in every phase of a home build many times over. Since 2018, Matt has studied permaculture and explored how it applies in the real world. He even lived off-grid and started a tropical food forest in Okeechobee, Florida, in 2020. Then, after returning home to Louisville, Matt founded Clover Systems in 2023 to offer solutions to our community by applying permaculture principles to local construction and urban agriculture. Listen in as we discuss the value of edible landscapes and Matt's Louisville food forest mission; Clover System's backyard permaculture nursery; the new Preston Park Food Forest; and the permaculture construction side of Clover Systems, including the advantages of building ADUs and your dream of a tiny home cottage court neighborhood with edible landscaping. 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 on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, sits down with one of Louisville's legendary sustainability advocates, Jackie Green, to discuss his new venture, Earth Home 40202 (https://www.bikecourier.org/earth-home-40202/) Get in touch at earth.home.40202@gmail.com. We also discuss Deep Ecology Louisville - Exploring what it means to 'Live Local Lightly' in a society that is diametrically opposed to the concept (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581836699217). Earth Home 40202 is an urban* Louisville space in which to grow non-mystical deep ecologists. Building environmentally sustainable lifestyles requires community – it takes a village. Mainstream Louisville does not embrace ‘Live Local** Lightly'. Most are unaware of the term ‘deep ecology' (see addendum below). Most are unaware of the term 'embodied energy' – https://www.bikecourier.org/embodied-energy/. Few who know the term are ready to live a minimalist lifestyle. No, this is not the effort of communist luddites, not a commune, not a cult, just citizens attempting to live lightly on Earth. Earth Home 40202 is citizens striving to minimize material and energy*** consumption, to identify ‘green washing', to garden**** more, to create more environmentally sensitive communities, to joyfully live Earth-centric lives. Earth Home 40202 is a work in progress. The concept has yet to be fully defined. Earth Home 40202 will be piloted in two Highland homes. Success will result in reduplicating the effort in a larger downtown space. Continued success will result in more Earth Homes. We need people to help define and develop the concept. * ? Why ‘urban'? If nature is to endure, humanity must not encroach on natural spaces. Sprawl is destroying agricultural land and nature. Urban living also encourages walking, cycling and public transit use. The embodied energy of automobiles and all the infrastructure supporting automobiles is unsustainable. ** ? Why the ‘local' in ‘Live Local Lightly'? Travel is:… energy intensive, infrastructure demanding, deprives local community of members' focus, investment, and care; hastens the evolution of climate change to climate chaos. Our personal travel experiences are not that important. We are needed at home. *** ? What is current energy production? One house hosts 16 solar panels. We have an option on using a property near UofL with 30 solar panels (8.5kW, 11,500kWh/yr, 2025 inverter). **** ? What gardening is done now? Current gardening includes a dozen grape vines, apple, cherry, peach and fig trees, a small vegetable plot, and a 25′ x 100′ micro forest. Deep ecology is an environmental philosophy and movement, founded by Arne Naess in the 1970s, that argues for the inherent worth and intrinsic value of all living beings and ecosystems, not just their utility to humans. It promotes a holistic worldview where humans are seen as an integral part of nature and emphasizes a radical transformation of our societal structures, technologies, and lifestyles to reduce human impact and allow the richness and diversity of life to flourish. 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
On this week's Access Hour, we bring you highlights from the first hour of our live broadcast from the No Kings Louisville protest on the Belvedere on Saturday, October 18, 2025. Forward Radio was proud to be the only media providing live wall-to-wall coverage on the ground at the No Kings Louisville rally from 2-5pm on The Belvedere (https://nokings.org). On this day, we saw over 2600 protests across the country in all 50 states and in 18 other countries! Back in In June, millions of everyday Americans from every walk of life peacefully took to the streets and declared with one voice: No Kings. The world saw the power of the people, and President Trump's attempt at a coronation collapsed under the strength of a movement rising against his abuses of power. Now, he's doubling down — sending militarized agents into our communities, silencing voters, and handing billionaires giveaways while families struggle. This isn't just politics. It's democracy versus dictatorship. And together, we're choosing democracy. Today millions of Americans are rising again to show the world: America has no kings, and the power belongs to the people. In America, we don't put up with would-be kings. Our peaceful movement is only getting bigger and stronger. “NO KINGS” is more than just a slogan—it's the foundation our nation was built upon. Born in the streets, carried by millions in chants and on posters, it echoes from city blocks to rural town squares, uniting people across this country to fight dictatorship together. The president thinks his rule is absolute. But in America, we don't have kings, and we won't back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty. Grow our movement and join us. A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events. In addition to No Kings Louisville at the Belvedere, there were local protests at: • NO KINGS SOUTHERN INDIANA, 2:30-5pm, Warder Park, 109 E Court Ave, Jeffersonville, IN • NO KINGS Indivisible Crescent Hill, 3-4pm, 3751 Frankfort Ave, Saint Matthews, KY • No Kings II sing-out!, 12-2pm, Locals Food Hub & Pizza Pub on East Broadway What's Next After No Kings? Join the national Mass Call on Tuesday, October 21st at 8 – 9pm EDT https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/858246/ 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.
On this week's Access Hour, we bring you highlights from the second hour of our live broadcast from the No Kings Louisville protest on the Belvedere on Saturday, October 18, 2025. Forward Radio was proud to be the only media providing live wall-to-wall coverage on the ground at the No Kings Louisville rally from 2-5pm on The Belvedere (https://nokings.org). On this day, we saw over 2600 protests across the country in all 50 states and in 18 other countries! Back in In June, millions of everyday Americans from every walk of life peacefully took to the streets and declared with one voice: No Kings. The world saw the power of the people, and President Trump's attempt at a coronation collapsed under the strength of a movement rising against his abuses of power. Now, he's doubling down — sending militarized agents into our communities, silencing voters, and handing billionaires giveaways while families struggle. This isn't just politics. It's democracy versus dictatorship. And together, we're choosing democracy. Today millions of Americans are rising again to show the world: America has no kings, and the power belongs to the people. In America, we don't put up with would-be kings. Our peaceful movement is only getting bigger and stronger. “NO KINGS” is more than just a slogan—it's the foundation our nation was built upon. Born in the streets, carried by millions in chants and on posters, it echoes from city blocks to rural town squares, uniting people across this country to fight dictatorship together. The president thinks his rule is absolute. But in America, we don't have kings, and we won't back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty. Grow our movement and join us. A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events. In addition to No Kings Louisville at the Belvedere, there were local protests at: • NO KINGS SOUTHERN INDIANA, 2:30-5pm, Warder Park, 109 E Court Ave, Jeffersonville, IN • NO KINGS Indivisible Crescent Hill, 3-4pm, 3751 Frankfort Ave, Saint Matthews, KY • No Kings II sing-out!, 12-2pm, Locals Food Hub & Pizza Pub on East Broadway What's Next After No Kings? Join the national Mass Call on Tuesday, October 21st at 8 – 9pm EDT https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/858246/ On Truth to Power each week, we gather people from around the community to discuss the state of the world, the nation, the state, and the city! It's a community conversation 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
On Saturday, October 18, 2025, Forward Radio was proud to be the only media providing live wall-to-wall coverage on the ground at the No Kings Louisville rally from 2-5pm on The Belvedere (https://nokings.org). On this day, we saw over 2600 protests across the country in all 50 states and in 18 other countries! Back in In June, millions of everyday Americans from every walk of life peacefully took to the streets and declared with one voice: No Kings. The world saw the power of the people, and President Trump's attempt at a coronation collapsed under the strength of a movement rising against his abuses of power. Now, he's doubling down — sending militarized agents into our communities, silencing voters, and handing billionaires giveaways while families struggle. This isn't just politics. It's democracy versus dictatorship. And together, we're choosing democracy. Today millions of Americans are rising again to show the world: America has no kings, and the power belongs to the people. In America, we don't put up with would-be kings. Our peaceful movement is only getting bigger and stronger. “NO KINGS” is more than just a slogan—it's the foundation our nation was built upon. Born in the streets, carried by millions in chants and on posters, it echoes from city blocks to rural town squares, uniting people across this country to fight dictatorship together. The president thinks his rule is absolute. But in America, we don't have kings, and we won't back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty. Grow our movement and join us. A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events. In addition to No Kings Louisville at the Belvedere, there were local protests at: • NO KINGS SOUTHERN INDIANA, 2:30-5pm, Warder Park, 109 E Court Ave, Jeffersonville, IN • NO KINGS Indivisible Crescent Hill, 3-4pm, 3751 Frankfort Ave, Saint Matthews, KY • No Kings II sing-out!, 12-2pm, Locals Food Hub & Pizza Pub on East Broadway What's Next After No Kings? Join the national Mass Call on Tuesday, October 21st at 8 – 9pm EDT https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/858246/
On this week's show, we bring you a community conversation inspired by the book "When the Bombs Stopped: The Legacy of War in Cambodia." On September 25, 2025, the University of Louisville's Center for Asian Democracy hosted this guest lecture by Dr. Erin Lin from the Department of Political Science at the Ohio State University. Undetonated bombs from the Cambodian campaign of the American War in Vietnam, which ended more than fifty years ago, still affect Cambodian farmers and their land. Dr. Lin's research spotlights the contemporary agricultural implications of unexploded ordinance. Her research topics include legacies of war, economic development, agriculture, and genocide. She also has a keen interest in the relationship between soil conditions and unexploded bombs, which she is currently researching in Cambodia. Watch a video of the lecture at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Rd3CflSh5g Learn more at https://louisville.edu/asiandemocracy/ 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 on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, gets caught up with the great work of Glean Kentucky to rescue excess produce from our broken food system and get it onto the tables of those in need. Our guest today is Jennifer Palmer, the new Executive Director of Glean Kentucky. Jennifer holds a BA in Fine Art and Political Science from Cedar Crest College, an MFA in Painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and a BA in Sustainable Agriculture from the Wendell Berry Farming Program of Sterling College. She has over 20 years of experience teaching fine art at various universities and previously served as the Executive Director of a nonprofit organization dedicated to land conservation. Having transitioned to become an Extension Agent in Jefferson County, Jennifer resides on her farm in Shelby County, where she grows vegetables and flowers and rescues animals in her free time. Passionate about community engagement and fostering resilient local food systems, she brings a unique blend of artistic insight, nonprofit leadership, and sustainable agriculture expertise to her work with communities. Glean Kentucky rescues fresh excess fruits and vegetables to nourish Kentuckians facing food insecurity. Since its founding in 2010, Glean Kentucky has redirected nearly 3,000,000 pounds of fresh produce through dozens of programs in Central, South Central, and North Central Kentucky. Learn more at https://gleanky.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
On this week's show, we bring you a community conversation about "The Last Decade of Life and How to Spend it Outside of the Hospital." This event on September 30, 2025 at the Filson Historical Society in Old Louisville was presented by the University of Louisville's Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute in collaboration with the Filson. This Distinguished Lecture Series lecture offered a timely and important exploration of how we can live healthier, disease-free lives. Centered around the concept of healthspan — the portion of life spent in good health, as distinct from total lifespan — the session challenged us to think differently about what it means to pursue health, rather than merely reduce disease risk. Leaders from the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute reflect on their multiyear journey shaping a research agenda that reframes medicine around the foundations of well-being. Drawing from robust scientific evidence, the talk highlights key building blocks of health — including nature, nutrition, and community — and why these require renewed attention in medical research and health systems. The presentation also offers practical insights into what individuals can do now to promote their own healthspan. Local examples, especially in nature-based interventions and the possibilities of diet, help ground these ideas in real-world impact. The program begins with a brief overview of the history and groundbreaking accomplishments of the Envirome Institute by Dr. Ted Smith. Then we hear from Dr. Aruni Bhatnagar, the Smith & Lucille Gibson Professor of Medicine, Chief of the Division of Environmental Medicine, and Director of the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute at the University of Louisville. A Fellow of the American Heart Association, he is recognized as a pioneer in the field of environmental cardiology. His research explores how oxidative stress from internal and environmental sources contributes to cardiovascular disease. Dr. Bhatnagar leads major initiatives such as the Green Heart Louisville Project and has authored hundreds of scientific publications while mentoring a large research team. Learn more at https://louisville.edu/envirome 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 on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, gets caught up with the developments across the river at Origin Park with Dennis Schnurbusch II, CEO of River Heritage Conservancy. Tune in to learn more about the plans for Origin Park (https://originpark.org), an evolving new urban riverfront park of 430 acres on the north shore of the Ohio River, in Clarksville, Indiana. This park celebrates and embraces the unpredictable Ohio River and the floods that come from it. Origin Park is already open in limited designated areas to the public. Discover why the Ohio Riverfront was chosen for the park, and what makes this land so important to reclaim. We discuss the big goals of the park and what visitors will experience at Origin Park 10–15 years from now when the park is fully realized. In addition to an update on where we are right now in the process of developing the park, you'll learn how you can get involved right now as a visitor, volunteer, or donor. 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
On this week's Truth to Power, we tackle the issue of higher education's role in reintegrating the formerly incarcerated into society. On Monday, Sept. 29th, at the University of Louisville's Ekstrom Library, the UofL Liberal Studies program presented this event on "Reimagining Public Safety: Transforming Public Universities into Pathways of Reintegration and Repair" with philosopher and higher education leader Dr. Brady Heiner, the Founder and former Executive Director (2016-2022) of Project Rebound at Cal State Fullerton (https://www.fullerton.edu/rebound/). Dr. Heiner was also the Founding Executive Director and Executive Committee Chair of the CSU Project Rebound Consortium (2019-2023), which provided leadership and oversight for the statewide expansion of Project Rebound programs across eighteen CSU campuses. In this public lecture, Dr. Heiner argued that public universities must be reimagined as civic infrastructures of care, accountability, and belonging. Drawing on his experience building and scaling programs that support thousands of formerly incarcerated students across 18 campuses in the California State University system, Heiner outlines how universities can repair social dislocation, reduce incarceration, and rebuild communities harmed by punitive and extractive systems. 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!
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
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!
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!
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
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
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!
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
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
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
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!
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
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
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
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!
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
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
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!
This week, we turn the tables on your Sustainability Now! host, Justin Mog, and put him in the position of guest on a podcast hosted by Noah Curtis, Founder of Pineal Gardens (https://pinealgarden.com/). Noah recently launched a new YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/@PinealLiveDifferently) and asked if Justin would be a guest on it. On June 9, 2025, the University of Louisville's Assistant to the Provost for Sustainability Initiatives, Dr. Justin Mog, sat down in UofL's Urban & Public Affairs Garden with Noah Curtis of Pineal Gardens for a conversation about what sustainable development demands of us and what the future of sustainability looks like. Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq2KfTjPshU Pineal Gardens supplied UofL's Garden Commons with a Trading Station for the free sharing of excess garden produce, plants, and seeds. Before the interview, Justin gave a tour of UofL's campus food gardens which started out at that Trading Station. Watch UofL Garden Tour: https://youtu.be/BSTI1TKl6DU 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
On July 18, 2025, the Kentucky Resources Council hosted Laura Krauser, GIS Research Coordinator at the UofL Center for Geographic Information Sciences, for an engaging, beginner-friendly look at how mapping tools are helping researchers and communities understand — and respond to — a changing planet. This session, part of KRC's ongoing Kentucky Environmental Leadership Institute (KELI) series, explored how geospatial technologies — like satellite imagery, drones, and interactive web maps — are being used to document and respond to environmental change. We'll look at real-world examples from research and community projects, and discuss how mapping can serve as both a scientific tool and a catalyst for public engagement. No GIS experience required — just curiosity! You can watch the full recording at https://youtu.be/SxTpIkIRQlw. Additionally, Laura has provided the slides from the meeting and some additional resources. Find all of this here: https://bit.ly/KELIMappingOurWorldRecordingAndResources Learn more about the Kentucky Resources Council and upcoming KELI events at https://kyrc.org On Truth to Power each week, we gather people from around the community to discuss the state of the world, the nation, the state, and the city! It's a community conversation 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
This week on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, takes you to the forest with three friends on staff at Jefferson Memorial Forest! Join us for a conversation with Naturalist, Autumn Costelle, ECHO Mobile Program Lead, Rodney Perry, and Program Manger, David Grissom! In addition to discussing what is unique and special about Jefferson Memorial Forest, the largest urban park in the U.S., you'll learn about programming offered at the Forest and the Louisville ECHO (Engaging Children Outdoors) initiative. Learn about the West Louisville Outdoor Recreation Initiative and the partnerships and support that has built the vision for it. Learn more at the website for JMF and ECHO run by their non-profit partner, Wilderness Louisville: https://www.wildernesslouisville.org/ JMF ECHO program: https://www.instagram.com/louisvilleecho https://www.facebook.com/LouisvilleECHO/ https://www.facebook.com/jmfnaturalareas https://www.instagram.com/jmfnaturalareas/ 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
On this week's Truth to Power, we feature a community conversation on the status and future of Nuclear Energy Development in Kentucky that was facilitated by Lane Boldman, Executive Director of the Kentucky Conservation Committee (https://kyconservation.org/) and featured Tim Judson, Executive Director of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (https://www.nirs.org/). On July 10, 2025, the Kentucky Conservation Committee hosted an evening online session to review the environmental challenges and recent history of nuclear power in Kentucky, with an overview of recent discussions and activities. It included allies at the Nuclear Information and Resource Service to answer questions about nationwide trends and technologies. More info at https://kyconservation.org/nuclear-energy. Watch the recording at https://vimeo.com/1100652437. You may also find the slide decks at: Slide Deck: KCC - Nuclear in Kentucky: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KPczHKBOwEhu5RbJMTy82iFC5Knroj4q/view?usp=sharing Slide Deck: NIRS - Advanced Nuclear: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eSCkBG3awEfWULpRU6M_fk3BwGaB2tGh/view?usp=sharing On Truth to Power each week, we gather people from around the community to discuss the state of the world, the nation, the state, and the city! It's a community conversation 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
On this week's Access Hour, we bring you a conversation with Gareth Dennis, a United Kingdom-based engineer and author, who was hosted by the High Speed Rail Alliance (https://www.hsrail.org) on July 11, 2025 for a discussion about his new book How the Railways Will Fix the Future. In it, he looks at the history of railways (including the role they have played in extraction and exploitation) but focuses on their power to tackle issues facing us today and to shape a better future. Topics for discussion included lessons to learn from global railway operations on what works best long-term, and what this might mean in the United States. The conversation starts with introductions from staff of the High-Speed Rail Alliance, Rick Harnish and Chris Ott. 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!
This week on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, dives into the community discussion about the future of the Nia Center at 2900 W Broadway in the West End, with two guests who truly understand the value of the Nia Center and are working to implement a collaborative plan to save it from destruction and redevelopment. Shaun Spencer is a Nia Center tenant and owner of My HUB Print Center, and Timothy Cox is President of the West Louisville Dream Team (https://www.facebook.com/share/15QUpdZjic/). Get in touch with them at saveniacenter@gmail.com and find the petition to Save the Nia Center at https://www.change.org/p/save-the-nia-center Tune in for a conversation about the history of the Nia Center and its purpose; what recent events led to the attempted sale of the property; what the community (residents, customers and tenants) want to see for a future, reimagined Nia Center; and what the West Louisville Dream Team's proposal to purchase the building looks like. Learn more about the NIA Center (https://louisvilleky.gov/government/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
This week on Truth to Power, we bring you an important conversation about the siting of utility-scale solar power plants in Kentucky! Tune in to hear from one of our Commonwealth's most well-known environmental lawyers, Tom "Fitz" FitzGerald, on “Siting Solar Facilities.” This community conversation took place online on June 13th, and it kicked off the 2025 season of the Kentucky Environmental Leadership Institute (KELI), a free, virtual series from Kentucky Resources Council designed to equip local leaders and engaged residents with tools to influence environmental decisions in their communities. In this session, KRC's former Director and current Of Counsel, Tom FitzGerald breaks down the critical (and often confusing) topic of solar siting. He explains how large-scale solar facilities are approved, why local land use rules matter, and how community members can help shape smart, people-centered development. Watch a recording at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBey0DRivXY Learn more: https://www.kyrc.org Contact : hello@kyrc.org On Truth to Power each week, we gather people from around the community to discuss the state of the world, the nation, the state, and the city! It's a community conversation 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
This week on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, takes a deep breath with Jenna Riemenschneider, Vice-President of Advocacy and Policy at the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (https://aafa.org/). In addition to covering the causes of asthma, its connections to air pollution, and what listeners can do to help mitigate it, we take a look at current threats to federal funding to address asthma. Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children, and the rates are rising in adults as well. As the Congressional budget process moves forward, it is important to understand the impact of the CDC's National Asthma Control Program (NACP) on our state and the President's FY 2026 Discretionary Budget Request. The administration's “Make America Healthy Again” goal of addressing chronic illness and promoting personal responsibility has mentioned asthma. But the President's budget proposal does not invest in asthma prevention and treatment. In fact, the NACP is at risk of elimination. The program was affected by “Reductions in Force” (RIFs) at the Department of Health and Human Services that occurred on April 1. While positions at the NACP have now been reinstated, the program is not included in the President's proposed budget and is slated to be eliminated — not because of performance, but because it was assumed duplicative under internal restructuring. But the NACP is not redundant. It is the only federal program solely focused on asthma prevention and surveillance. No other federal initiative plays this role. Congress holds the power of the purse. If lawmakers do not include specific funding for the NACP in the FY26 Labor-HHS appropriations bill, the program could be eliminated—despite its long history of bipartisan support and strong outcomes. Nearly 400,000 Kentucky adults and 47,000 children have asthma. During the 2021–2022 school year, there were 39,213 students diagnosed with asthma, making it the most common chronic health condition in Kentucky schools. The Kentucky Asthma Management Program (KAMP) – funded by NACP – created a school-focused program that showed a 97% increase in improved school nurse knowledge of asthma care changes, medications, and administration. KAMP programs reduced pediatric uncontrolled asthma by 35% and improved asthma outcomes for more than 10,000 children. Kentucky receives just over $500,000 a year from the NACP each year and the funded programs save the state more than $36 million a year in reduced health care costs. Asthma is one of the most common and costly diseases in the U.S., affecting over 28 million Americans, including about 5 million children. Without prevention, costs will rise—especially for emergency care and hospitalizations. The NACP has a proven return on investment. It saves $71 for every $1 spent by preventing unnecessary ER visits and improving disease management. That's exactly the kind of smart, efficient spending taxpayers expect. Cutting NACP means higher Medicaid and Medicare spending. States will see more ER visits, and higher long-term costs for both public and private insurers. Asthma leads to lost productivity. Asthma is a leading reason for missed school days, which not only affects a student's academic performance but also causes missed work days for parents and guardians. 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 on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, goes growth-busting with Dave Gardner, co-host of the GrowthBusters podcast, which is all about coming to terms with limits to growth (https://growthbusters.org) and producer of the documentary, GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth (http://www.growthbustersmovie.org/). Humankind has outgrown the planet, so we're exploring ways to recover from growth addition. We're here to help you come to terms with limits to growth. Whether it's lifestyle, science or politics, we dig into the more fascinating and hard-hitting aspects of sustainable living. It's all about ending our culture's love affair with “more,” which is not making us happier and is killing our planet. No half-hearted greenwashing here; we share the often brutal and sometimes joyful truth! Dave Gardner directed the documentary GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth, which Stanford Biologist Paul Ehrlich declared “could be the most important film ever made.” His co-host and daughter, Stephanie Gardner, earned her masters in environmental law and policy, and describes herself as a “sustainable energy nerd.” After 35 years as a professional filmmaker producing a PBS series and films for Fortune 500 companies like Coca-Cola USA and IBM, Dave Gardner decided to lend his media expertise to preserving and defending Mother Earth. He started researching sustainability to produce the 2011 documentary, GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth. The tagline for that film was, “One man takes on City Hall, Wall Street, presidents and prime ministers, as he questions society's most fundamental beliefs about prosperity.” The film was honored by over a dozen film festivals around the world and was chosen Best Film in the Population Institute's 2013 Global Media Awards. His short film, Spaceship Earth Passenger Safety Briefing, was selected for inclusion in the 2015 Wild & Scenic Film Festival. Today, Dave co-hosts the GrowthBusters podcast after co-hosting The Overpopulation Podcast from 2015 to 2021. He also produced the 2015-2017 syndicated radio series and podcast, Conversation Earth. As if that's not enough, he also ran for U.S. President in 2024 with a “Dave the Planet” platform. As Dave puts it, “we face an ecological overshoot emergency that demands we stop making dead-planet decisions and start down a bright-future pathway." 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 recognition of this month's celebrations honoring the end of legal slavery in the United States, we bring you this week a conversation on "A New Birth of Freedom: Commemorating Juneteenth in Kentucky" led by Dr. Patrick Lewis, of the Filson Historical Society, back on June 18, 2021 - the first year that Juneteenth was recognized as a federal holiday. Watch recording at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8e5L7a1pME Dr. Patrick Lewis is now the President of the Filson Historical Society. A Trigg County native, he graduated from Transylvania University and holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Kentucky. He has worked for the National Park Service and the Kentucky Historical Society. Lewis is author of For Slavery and Union: Benjamin Buckner and Kentucky Loyalties in the Civil War (2015). Emancipation in the United States was over 200 years in the making by the time the 13th Amendment officially ended human bondage in 1865. The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act was signed into law in 2021, making Juneteenth a federal holiday. But earlier versions of the holiday have been celebrated in the South since the mid-1860s. Kentucky recognized the holiday in 2005 through a proclamation by the General Assembly. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln, born in Kentucky in 1809, signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that individuals enslaved in Confederate territories were to be freed. Effective January 1, 1863, the legal status of millions of enslaved individuals in the Southern states changed, but the Proclamation depended heavily on the Union Army for enforcement, with most Southern enslavers ignoring the executive order. Beyond the Confederacy, enslaved people in Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri were unaffected by the Emancipation Proclamation. Being a geographic outlier from the Confederacy, Texas was especially slow and inconsistent in enforcing the Proclamation, and many African Americans remained enslaved. On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3 and declared all persons previously enslaved in Texas to be freed. Supported by more than 2,000 federal troops, General Granger was finally prepared to enforce the emancipation of Texas's enslaved population. The following year, on the anniversary of the order, free African Americans in Texas organized celebrations to commemorate the occasion, originally calling it “Jubilee Day.” Outside of the South, Maryland and Missouri had both ended slavery within their state boundaries by early 1865. However, it wasn't until the ratification of the 13th Amendment on December 6, 1865, that slavery was fully abolished in the United States, forcing Kentucky and Delaware to recognize the freedom of their enslaved population. In Texas, joyous events commemorating the end of slavery evolved over the years with one major change: renaming the holiday Juneteenth in the 1890s. Following the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, Juneteenth events emerged on a bigger stage throughout the country. In Louisville in 2020, local organizers, activists, and leaders created a Juneteenth festival to celebrate Black culture and resilience. Two years later in 2022, former Mayor Greg Fischer signed an ordinance that declared Juneteenth a city holiday. In Kentucky, the most widespread regional celebration of Jubilee Day is August 8th, a date originating from Paducah and Western Kentucky's diaspora. This year, the Filson is helping sponsor and support the August 8th Emancipation Day Celebration at Louisville's West End Women's Collaborative, led by Filson Community History Fellow Mariel Gardner on Friday, August 8th, 5pm - 8pm at ELAhouse, 3835 Hale Avenue Louisville, KY 40211. https://www.wewc4art.com/play Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 7pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at https://forwardradio.org
This week on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, tackles the issue of climate anxiety amongst young people, with three experts who have just released a new study about this topic (https://www.sacredheart.edu/news-room/news-listing/poll-reveals-youth-concerned-about-climate-change-social-justice/). Today's show features professors at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut: Kirk Bartholomew is the Director of the Institute for Sustainability & Social Justice at Sacred Heart (https://www.sacredheart.edu/offices--departments-directory/institute-for-sustainability--social-justice/). Kirk has been an active member of the Department of Biology at for the past 24 years, teaching an array of courses, maintaining an active undergraduate research program and leading several curriculum revision projects. Most recently, he took a lead role in facilitating the development of the Institute of Sustainability and Social Justice initiated as part of Sacred Heart's response to Pope Francis's 2015 encyclical Laudato Sí that called for an integrated response by all people of good will to act on climate change and the systemic issues driving its acceleration. Marylena Mantas-Kourounis is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and Global Affairs at Sacred Heart University. She studies education policy and politics, focusing on the enactment and implementation of civic education policies. Her current research projects center around youth political participation, civic engagement, and political trust. She is the author of The Politics of Civic Education: Local Reactions to National Initiatives and State Mandates (Lexington Books, 2024). Todd L. Matthews, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Sociology, Criminology, and Criminal Justice at Sacred Heart University. He joined the department in summer 2023. Dr. Matthews is a broadly trained social scientist and scholar-practitioner with particular interests in civic engagement and participatory democracy. His research has appeared in numerous book chapters, as well as the journals Organization Development Review, Organization Development Journal, Social Forces, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Review of Religious Research, Religions, Sociological Inquiry, Sociological Spectrum and many others. This groundbreaking nationwide survey reveals deep concern among young Americans about climate change, sustainability and social justice, along with a strong sense of responsibility and a call for institutional leadership, especially from higher education and government. The study surveyed U.S. residents aged 15 to 29 to better understand youth perceptions of climate anxiety, institutional trust and their expectations of government and universities. The findings show a generation emotionally engaged, valuing practical and personal skills to act and expecting higher education to respond. 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