Podcasts about human kindness

BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by Danielle Famble and special guest Jennifer Clark (Host of Human Kindness at Work podcast) for a Boss Money Talk Series crossover episode. They explore the profound impact of charitable giving. This episode demonstrates that giving—whether time, money, or relationships—is not just good for the soul; it's a strategic act that combats hopelessness, strengthens local ties, and creates powerful networking opportunities for your voiceover business.   00:01 - Anne (Host) Hey guys, Anne Ganguzza here. Imagine a voiceover journey where every step is filled with discovery and growth. That's the path I want to work on with you, through nurturing coaching and creative demo production. Let's unveil the true potential of your voice together. It's not just about the destination, it's about the gorgeous journey getting there. Are you ready to take the first step? Connect with me at anneganguzza.com.  00:32 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, anne Ganguza.  00:51 - Anne (Host) Hey, hey, everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss Money Talk series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguza,z and today's show is a very special crossover moment. I'm joined by my regular Boss Money Talks co-host, Danielle Famble, financial strategist, voice actor and the person who keeps our boss business brains sharp. Yay, yay, hey, Anne, hey, and we're teaming up with the amazing Jennifer Clark, a powerhouse voice actor and the host of the Human Kindness at Work podcast. Today, we're going to talk about the power of giving, how it fuels mental wellness, strengthens our brand and builds real community in the voiceover world and beyond. And we'll also be talking about 100 Voices who Care, which is a charitable organization led by these two powerhouses that supports local communities by combining donations to impact local charities. So let's get into it, ladies. Thank you so, so much for joining me today. Thanks for having us.  01:48 - Speaker 4 (Host) Anne.  01:48 - Anne (Host) Yay, I'm very, very excited to talk to you guys about this, because I think this is something that it exists and every time there seems to be, let's say, possible issues in the community or you know people that need help, we get those GoFundMes, we get people who talk about, you know, donating to charities and stuff like that, and I think it's something that we need to really talk about more, about how it can affect us in a positive manner and also how it can affect our businesses. So let's maybe start by talking about the psychology of donating and giving. And, jennifer, I know, in your Human Kindness podcast you which is wonderful, by the way, guys, you absolutely must tune into that you talk to people all the time about giving and human kindness, and so what are your thoughts about you know, what are the benefits of giving?  02:43 - Speaker 4 (Host) Well, I'm not a doctor, but I can speak as someone who has been, you know, intentionally giving for most of my life, and as I'm talking to guests who are really active in their community and showing human kindness at work. What I see in myself and in people that I'm talking to is that it does something for our mental health. It's really easy to look at the world, especially right now, and you wake up every day and there's another crazy thing going on. The world is constantly on fire and it's really easy to get depressed fast. I mean, that's the fastest ticket to depression, right? Just read the news, right and we lose sight of all the really good things that are going on in the world. We lose sight of the really good people that there are.  03:36 Being a part of giving is like linking arms and finding all those people in your local community and the world at large that are doing the work. They're trying to bring change, and it's really uplifting. It's one of those things I don't know what it's called, but it's kind of like when you're looking for something you know when I wanted to buy a new vehicle, I had never seen anybody drive this vehicle and then all of a sudden, when I was like I want a Volkswagen Atlas. I saw it everywhere, Absolutely everywhere. And it's the same with giving. When you look around and you're like man, nobody is doing anything, Nobody is getting involved. In my community, Nonprofits are suffering. But then you start getting involved, you will make connections like crazy and you'll start seeing all of the good and it is so uplifting. It really does change your perspective.  04:34 - Anne (Host) Oh, absolutely I can imagine, because, especially now, just with the craziness, as you mentioned, of the world, and there's a lot of times when I will open up my social media and then, oh my goodness, just start reading or the news and I just start to feel hopeless and what can I do? What can I do? First of all, to feel, because it's making me feel bad and not like I don't know, functional in a lot of ways, and I want to be able to help and I don't know how to help. And I think this is one way that we can focus on something that can absolutely make a big difference in our lives and, of course, other people's lives as well, and to be able to connect with people who are doing good in the world. That gives me hope.  05:25 - Speaker 4 (Host) And I think sometimes we look at problems and it's so overwhelming and we think we have to reinvent the wheel, Like oh. I got to start a nonprofit or fix the solution. There are already boots on the ground that are doing work. So making a difference, giving of yourself your time, your resources, your energy, doesn't have to be hard. It's just a matter of finding something that you want to give yourself to, and don't reinvent the wheel, just join into the good work that's already going on. Yeah.  05:56 - Speaker 3 (Host) It kind of reminds me of that.  05:57 I think the quote is attributed to Mr Rogers, or maybe Mr Rogers did the quote from someone else, but the look for the helpers quote I was.  06:07 I was speaking with a friend of mine who we were both sort of commiserating about what was going on in the world and how frustrating it is, you know, with money being pulled from certain social organizations and that's their lifeline, and she worked for one of those organizations and she was like of those organizations and she was like you know, we can get upset about it, we can get mad about it, we can feel hopeless about it. Or you can look for the helpers. You can look for the people who are out there like you said, jennifer boots, on the ground doing the good work, and it changes your psychology to see, okay, these are the possibilities, this is what's out there, these are the people who are already doing the work. How can I help them? And when you can look at that and you can find that pattern, recognition of people helping the helpers, then you can figure out how you can put your hand behind the plow and do something too.  06:58 - Anne (Host) What do you think are the things that stop people from either looking for this or from donating? And, of course, I think one of the biggest things that people will say is but I don't have any money. I don't have the money to donate. I can barely keep myself surviving in today's world. What do you say to that?  07:17 - Speaker 4 (Host) I would say we have to look beyond just finances. Financial giving is really important, especially for local nonprofits, but we have so much to give. You have to look at yourself as a whole. So you have energy, you have time, which I think are your two greatest resources, and you have money. You have relationships. So, looking at those four areas of your life, where can you give in those time, energy, money, relationships? And if you really are, I've been in times of your life. Where can you give in those time, energy, money, relationships? And if you really are, I've been in times of my life I am strapped for cash. You know, my husband was unemployed a few years ago, like it was super tight. So I get it. There are legitimate times that you don't have any extra money, but you still have time, energy relationships that you can give to.  08:19 - Anne (Host) So I would say look at that whole picture, not just your pocketbook their energy or their relationships because I love that you mentioned relationships too, because connecting with people who may have at the time the financial resources to help or other methods and sources to help is also a wonderful way to give back.  08:40 - Speaker 3 (Host) Yeah, social capital is a huge one because you never know what that connection that you are making between two people or groups or organizations, what that will do and that will yield in their life.  08:54 So that's a huge one, even looking outside of the box.  08:58 I was just reading a story about a woman who was at a park with her kids and noticed that there were some kids who didn't seem like they were being attended to by an adult and, instead of making an assumption, what she decided to do was essentially just take care of those kids for a little bit of time.  09:16 And she was offering her time as a resource, as essentially child care, and not making an assumption about what was happening with the parents or anything else in their situation. She was like, ok, I'm a safe place, I'm a safe person and I can provide some, some respite for these parents who may be further away, who need a little bit of time away. And she did that and that was her way of giving back. And she, when she was explaining it to me, or when she was explaining it and I was reading about that story it's not something I think that people think about off the top of their head Like, oh, this time that I have, or the ability to care, is a resource like do an inventory and audit of what you've got, what you are willing to give, what you are able to give, and then figure out a way that you can creatively if it's not financially a creative solution that you can provide for people who need it.  10:11 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I have a neighbor who literally just got an email this week. She typically in the summer she goes to the East Coast to stay in her home over there with other family and she offered her home to a family who had just lost theirs in the fire and the recent fires in California and you know a family that you know it was complete strange to her. And she wrote us an email and said hey guys, I'm offering my place for this family to stay for the month while I'm away on the East Coast, and they recently lost their home in a fire and would you mind welcoming them? Because not only did they lose their home but they lost their community, and so I think that, as a sense of community, would be really wonderful if you could help welcome them. And it was amazing to see the thread in that email, because all of us responded and said oh yeah, come to happy hour on Saturday, or hey, we were playing bunco or whatever it is. Come, I'll pick you up and take you over there and introduce you to everybody. And I just it was such a wonderful thing and I thought there you go, there's something that didn't really cost any money and it was something with the whole community getting together. It was just something really wonderful to see, especially like, yeah, I've had a stressful week Really wonderful to see, especially like, yeah, I've had a stressful week. And to be able to like, all of a sudden, get an email like that and then see the community come together and give it just was really a wonderful thing. And I just I think now I'm like I want to start a podcast and I want to be Jennifer, I want to be Danielle, because I know you guys also are leading the 100 Voices who Care, which we'll talk about in just a minute, because 100 Voices who Care is a wonderful organization that was a longtime sponsor of the VO Boss podcast, so I'm excited to talk about that.  11:58 So I love that we just came up with all of these ideas, because I think the number one excuse why people think that they can't give is the fact that they don't have any extra financial support, that they can, that they can donate Awesome. So let's talk about so we've got a lot of benefits where it, first of all, it makes us feel good, right, we're helping somebody else. It can give us hope in a, in a, in a place, in a world that might seem hopeless at the time or just frustrating. Might seem hopeless at the time or just frustrating. So let's talk about as businesses. How can giving help maybe our businesses and I don't like to think that it's like, oh, I want to just help my business. It's not I don't know if that's like the foremost reason that I want to give, but hey, if I am giving and I'm able to help others and I feel good about that, know that also. It can, it can positively affect our businesses as well. So, danielle, what do you think about that?  12:53 - Speaker 3 (Host) Yeah, no, there are so many ways that it can affect and help your business. One way and you know we'll think about it from financially, because you know I like to talk about money.  13:02 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Of course.  13:04 - Speaker 3 (Host) When you can give to businesses, you can get some sort of tax benefit as well at the end of the year.  13:10 So financially, if you're giving to a 501c3, you can write that off against your taxes at the end of the year in some cases. So that's one financial way that it can help, but also in the social capital as well. When you're out and you're meeting people who you can help or who you'd like to support, the organizations you'd like to support, it's a great way to meet other like-minded people and maybe other like-minded businesses, organizations that I enjoy supporting in my local organization, and I got to meet a ton of local business leaders and they got to know who I was and I was like the first voice actor they had ever met which was an interesting conversation.  13:57 So there are ways to meet other people and engage in just community building, especially locally, because we are local businesses as well as global businesses doing what we do in voiceover. But there's also a financial benefit too building especially locally because we are local businesses as well as global businesses doing what we do in voiceover. But there's also a financial benefit too.  14:12 - Anne (Host) And isn't that honestly like? Isn't that one of? Like the one on ones of how do I get work in the voiceover business? Right, One is OK, so we maybe try to join a roster, we try to get an agent, and then there's we'll go to your local chamber of commerce, Right? Think of this type of thing, Think of you know the possibilities of charitable donations in terms of networking, because it's all about the relationships and, as a matter of fact, a lot of the ways that we get and secure and keep jobs to keep our businesses alive and successful is through relationships. And what better relationship? Not only something that makes you feel good that you've done something to help somebody else, but also the possibility of maybe networking with people who can also support your business. Jennifer, I'm sure you've spoken to many people in your podcast also that have been able to help their business and or other local businesses. Talk about that.  15:11 - Speaker 4 (Host) Well, I'll give you an example. Someone that I interviewed a few months ago was a local nonprofit here in Kansas City called Foster Light and they provide wraparound care for foster families and I loved their mission so much that I was like they had a gala coming up, a fundraising gala, and I was so compelled by their mission that I took my CPA's advice. She said you need to start spending money, and so I sponsored the gala and that was my first time doing that, but it was strategic because it was a mission that I loved and I was going to give to anyway. But I did it strategically so that then I'm advertising my business Right, right, and I'm supporting a mission that I love and I get networking opportunities. There was like for all the sponsors, there was like a meet and greet VIP happy hour beforehand, so I got networking and networking with like businesses, not just a normal attendee. So it was threefold and I thought I'm going to keep doing this because it was beneficial to me on all fronts.  16:18 - Anne (Host) So I have to ask your CPA said you need to spend some money, Jennifer. What was her reasoning behind that? And I'm pretty sure Danielle can answer that too, probably just off the cuff, without knowing. Yeah.  16:28 - Speaker 4 (Host) Why did you have to spend money? I've had a really good year. Ok, I love it, so I need to bring that taxable income down.  16:35 - Anne (Host) There you go, there you go. Yes, see, I love it, I love it, I love it. Yeah, so lots of benefits.  16:42 - Speaker 3 (Host) And can I just jump on that just for a second, because it's so important and good for you, jennifer.  16:49 - Anne (Host) That's wonderful.  16:50 - Speaker 3 (Host) So really, that happens, it happens right. You have a wonderful year, you have a great year and typically what we'll do as voice actors is okay, great. We're going to go to voiceover conferences we are going to support and we're going to make sure that we give to other voiceover events maybe help with keeping the money in our community, which is wonderful and it's a great tax write-off. I like to joke. I like business travel, right, I like to travel for business with these conferences and everything else. But this is another way that you can have that same kind of effect financially for your business. But you're also doing good and networking in your local communities, and the idea again for businesses is to try to create profit, right, and so if you're networking with people who potentially could hire you for voiceover work or think of you for connecting with other people, that's another way to help do good in the world, do a whole lot of good in the world.  17:47 - Anne (Host) And actually, if you don't mind, I want to tag team on that and say that a lot of times when I would go to the Chamber of Commerce, right, it was mostly other businesses just trying to hook up so that we could make money off each other, and it was never. It wasn't always as successful as I wanted it to be. But if you're meeting for another reason, if you're meeting at a charitable organization, you know you're meeting with people who are wanting to give or have the ability to give, and that's a completely different reason to have a good networking connection as opposed to let's just network because we want to try to get work from each other. So that is one big major difference. That is one big major difference. So I really feel like it can be advantageous or strategic to to really get more involved with, with a charitable donation or that community You're finding like hearted.  18:36 Yes, yes.  18:38 - Speaker 4 (Host) Absolutely, and those people are more likely to hire you because it's like hey, we love the same mission, you're a giver, I'm a giver, let's do business together. I would much rather do business with someone like that than some random business.  18:53 - Anne (Host) So here's something, because I know people they feel timid if they don't have a lot to give, right? There's people I mean, if you can give up your, everybody says, if you can give up your Starbucks, right, one Starbucks a day. You know you're able to give. So what advice would you give to someone who wants to give back but feels like they can't, they're not giving enough or it's too little and they're embarrassed. You know what I mean and it's not like, oh, I'm not making a sizable contribution.  19:19 - Speaker 4 (Host) I mean I'd say, first of all, don't compare your giving to anyone else's giving. You really have to put your blinders on in life and run in your own lane. So whatever you are able to do, do that wholeheartedly and don't compare your giving to danielle's giving or my giving or anne's giving um, this is your life and your time, your money, your energy, your relationships and you, you gotta do what's what's right for you.  19:49 - Speaker 3 (Host) And measure it with your heart right. Like, your heart is to give, no matter the size of the gift, your heart is to do something good in the world. That's your intention. So the amount of money is really at that point, it's not really as important as the fact that you saw a need, you wanted to give something and you gave of. You know what you had which could be a greater sum than the amount that someone else gave. So really look at that from a place of like I'm giving everything that I have, this is all I've got to give, this is what I can afford to give. If it's a monetary amount and that is immeasurable you can't measure someone's desire in that way. So look for where you can do the most impact with that amount of money or just give it because that's what your heart said to give.  20:41 - Speaker 4 (Host) And I think if we all just sit on our hands and use that as an excuse like, well, I only have the $7 giving up my Starbucks this week to give, if we all just wait on that, then nothing happens. Change doesn't happen.  20:55 - Anne (Host) Okay, possibly the elephant in the room, because sometimes, like I said, people feel pressured, right? Sometimes people feel pressured to give and then when there's a place to give where they see like, oh, so-and-so just donated $1,000. And then you might be looking at it going well, I don't have $1,000. So should I put my name there? What are your thoughts on that Name anonymous? I think there's benefits and there's pros and cons to both. To be quite honest, I think that it's really a personal choice.  21:27 - Speaker 3 (Host) I mean, this entire topic giving is so personal because it's tied to your desire to do something good in the world and to help in a way that you are able to help. So if it feels right to you to put your name on it and say this is what I gave and this is what I was able to give, and I'm proud of that and I want to put my name on it, great. If you want to not have your name on it, I've given, and given completely anonymously because it felt like the right thing to do for me, anonymously, because it felt like the right thing to do for me.  22:01 That was just the choice that I made at that time, so I don't think that it. Please try not to in this way. As Jennifer was saying, please keep your blinders on. Please understand that your reason and your why for giving is the reason to give, whether it's anonymously or with your name on it. And another way, even if you feel like maybe you're not giving a lot of money, whatever that number is for you, what you can do is you can team up with other people and combine your gift to make it a larger gift, which is what we do with 100 Voices.  22:29 Who Care?  22:30 - Anne (Host) What a wonderful segue into one of the reasons why I love this organization 100 Voices who Care. Talk to us a little bit about the organization, and I think it actually kind of just really leads itself nicely after the conversation we just had, because you don't have to, you don't have to give a lot, but together it makes a huge difference. So talk to us a little bit about 100 Voices who Care. What's it all about?  22:53 - Speaker 4 (Host) Well, there are a lot of groups in the voiceover community that we join to get something right, like health benefits, vo workouts, accountability for your business, etc. Those are all wonderful and needed, but 100 Voices who Care? Is a group that you join to give. We are a group of voice actors who are changing our communities through our collective generosity. So we meet once a quarter. Virtually. Each member commits $100 per quarter and we also bring to that virtual meeting a local nonprofit that we want to nominate and we choose three to five local nonprofits to members to pitch those nonprofits. We vote via the poll on Zoom and then whichever nonprofit wins our majority vote receives the entire donation from all the members, it can mean up to, I believe, $10,000.  23:57 - Anne (Host) Is that correct? So, collectively, right, if you have 100 people that are joined, it can mean $10,000 for that local organization that you want to support.  24:06 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Per quarter, which is amazing.  24:07 - Anne (Host) Yeah, oh, per quarter. Yeah, thank you for correct me. My financial boss over there, thank you, I love it Just keeping you in line. Yeah, I love it Just keeping you in line. Yeah, I love it because you may think that your $100 isn't really doing a lot, but in reality, when you combine it with the community, I mean that is amazing. I mean that's per quarter to help an organization and that is something I think you can be proud of. And the fact is is that not only are you helping a local organization to do good, but you're also networking with like minded voice actors. So not only are you like minded in your maybe in charities that you support or you know ideals that you support, but also your voice actors as well. So there's so many benefits to that, and I've always, always loved this organization, so I'm so glad that the two of you are heading it up. So how does it work? How can people join this organization? And are they tied to a year, or are they tied? You know how does that work. So we.  25:09 - Speaker 3 (Host) the way it works basically is that we are open to any voice actor who wants to join our organization. We give through a third party called Grapevine. So Jennifer and myself, as we are the leaders of 100 Voices who Care, we're not touching any of the money. So you would join through Grapevine. We all get together and Grapevine is the one who takes our $100. Grapevine also will vet the nonprofit, that is, the organization that we would give the money to as the donation. We are not doing anything other than meeting, finding local organizations, pitching that organization to the greater group 100 Voices who Care and Grapevine really takes care of all of the nitty gritty of keeping our money, sending it out, vetting the nonprofit to make sure that everything is above board.  26:02 - Anne (Host) I was going to say I really, I really like that that they vet the organizations that you're giving to, because you vote right as a collective, you vote on who to give that money to, and so it may not have been your personal choice that maybe wins. And so you might feel like, well, you know where's this money going to and what are they doing with it. So I really love that you have a third party that's vetting. And is there somebody that vets grapevine? Do you know what I mean? Some people might have that question or talk about grapevine. Have they been? I mean, has this been around? How long has this been around? How long have they been working with this?  26:36 - Speaker 4 (Host) I don't know the answer to that. We've been with Grapevine from our inception, so we started in 2022. Oh.  26:42 - Anne (Host) OK, so it's been a good number of years yeah.  26:46 - Speaker 4 (Host) And we've always had a wonderful experience with them as far as that vetting process and they've got a great customer service as well.  26:54 - Speaker 3 (Host) So we have reached out to them just to ask questions about how to better facilitate. You know our group or what we could, who we could be giving our money to, and they answer us within a day or two days. We've even emailed back and forth with the founder of Grapevine, so they've been wonderful to work with and they've got great customer service as well.  27:20 - Anne (Host) So you've been doing this since 2022, is that correct? Yeah, so what are some of the organizations that have been helped by 100 Voices? Who Care?  27:29 - Speaker 4 (Host) Well, our very first recipient was called the Grooming Project. Now they're called Prosperity, but they're here in Kansas City. I had the privilege of pitching them. They are my favorite nonprofit in Kansas City. They're based here. They are the country's only nonprofit dog grooming school. In the entire country. They have this really transformative program that breaks the cycle of poverty through extensive job training within this booming industry of pet grooming. So their students are usually society's most vulnerable. They focus on single parents living in poverty. So these students not only learn the art of dog grooming but they learn life skills like budgeting and parenting, emotional regulation, things like that. So once they go through this two-year program, they graduate having a grasp on life, you know, and then they have this trade that they can make a real living in. So it is literal life change. My dog groomer went through this program. This is how I came to know Posparity. She was in the first graduating class and she was so successful that she managed the salon that they offer to the community at a low cost.  28:48 So that students get an opportunity to work on their trade and then it goes back into supporting this mission. But she managed that salon and then she was so successful that she bought the entire salon with Prosperity's Blessing.  29:04 - Anne (Host) That's wonderful.  29:05 - Speaker 4 (Host) Took all of the workers with her, with Prosperity's Blessing, and she has this thriving dog grooming business in the Casey Metro.  29:12 - Speaker 3 (Host) Oh, that's wonderful.  29:13 - Speaker 4 (Host) You know she, prior to this program, she was working multiple jobs, single mom of two, living in government housing. Her life is completely different and now she hires prosperity graduates in order to give back, so I love it. These are the kind of when you're when you're looking in your local community for a local nonprofit to bring to a 100 Voices who Care meeting. These are the kind of things that you get connected to.  29:41 - Anne (Host) This is.  29:42 - Speaker 4 (Host) I see Christine, my pet groomer. Pet groomer every six to eight weeks because I have a golden doodle and they need lots of grooming. I'm in her life now and there's just nothing like that to be connected to people in your community doing good work and giving back.  30:00 - Anne (Host) So how can people sign up for 100 Voices? Who Care if they're interested? I mean, do you have a period of time, that a special time that they sign up? Because you say you're giving quarterly, so I assume that there's another quarter coming up. Yeah, so there?  30:12 - Speaker 3 (Host) we have meetings every quarter. Our next meeting is going to be on November 17th and you can really sign up at any time, but the idea is that you would be coming to our next meeting. We ask that people are ready to pitch. You would also be getting that $100.  30:32 Great Fine, would be debiting that money and you can set up as a recurring payment through your credit card, but we ask that people are also, yes, ready to pitch, but also bring a friend, because we want to grow this to the 100 voices so we can get to our $10,000 per quarter. Absolutely, absolutely.  30:50 - Anne (Host) Now, do the people that join? Do you have to bring a local charity? Or, if you're not familiar, I think it's great because I feel like you should research. Or if you're not familiar, I think it's great because I feel like you should research charities yeah. But if somebody maybe not have any preference, is it something that you take care of or that's okay?  31:06 - Speaker 4 (Host) We ask that people research small, local nonprofits. It does not have to be local to you, oh okay, but we're just saying you know Red Cross, st Jude Research Hospital. They're doing great work, but they have huge donors, huge budgets. Everyone knows about them. So we want to find those nonprofits that are doing good work in local communities. So that can be anywhere, but we do ask that you do a little bit of research.  31:30 We have a really easy email template, so that once you find that nonprofit, you just email our template, fill in the blanks, email our template off. And there are people at these organizations whose job it is to answer these questions. You know, I think a lot of people feel like they're imposing or they feel weird asking these questions, but literally there are people who are, you know, doing applications for grants all the time. So they already have these answers ready to go and this template that we've made just makes it so easy for you to create a pitch, a nomination out of that. So, yeah, we just ask that you do a little bit of research We've made it as easy as possible and that you bring it to the meeting.  32:13 - Anne (Host) Great, when do they go to sign up?  32:16 - Speaker 3 (Host) They can go to our Instagram. There's a link in our Instagram where they can go to sign up and we just, you just take it from there and it'll take you to Grapevine, where you will sign up through Grapevine.  32:29 - Anne (Host) And bosses. I'll put that in the show notes for any of you and, of course, when we, when we promote the show, which we will be doing heavily we'll be putting that link in there as well. So last question, guys If a listener takes just one action after listening to this podcast, what would you want it to be?  32:46 - Speaker 3 (Host) Sign up for 100 Voices who Care. Join us, Use your singular give to be with a collection of people who really want to do good in our local communities. And you know, just join us with 100 Voices who Care.  33:01 - Anne (Host) Jennifer, because Danielle took yours probably.  33:03 - Speaker 4 (Host) Yeah well, I would just piggyback off of that to say if you're hesitant, if you're like I'm not sure that I'm ready to commit, just come check us out. We welcome guests in our Zoom meetings. Just come see what our collective generosity is all about, what that looks like. The Zoom meeting is on our Instagram link. You can just click it and join.  33:25 - Anne (Host) You'd be a fly on the wall, so you don't have to be committed yet there's no obligation to join.  33:29 - Speaker 4 (Host) I love that you can just come sit in check us out and then ask any questions that you'd like after that meeting. Perfect.  33:36 - Anne (Host) Sounds amazing. Well, you guys, it's been such a wonderful, wonderful episode with the two of you, danielle, as always, my money boss, thank you so much for joining me again and for bringing 100 Voices who Care to me, because Danielle asked me to bring you along, jennifer, so we could talk about it. Because, yes, there are multiple benefits, as we've discussed in this podcast, for donating and for contributing to a community who can make a greater impact. And, jennifer, for those people that want to listen to your podcast, how can they do so?  34:12 - Speaker 4 (Host) Oh, thank you. Yes, it's called Human Kindness at Work and you can actually go to my website jennifersvoicecom slash podcast and check it out there. It's called Human Kindness at Work and you can actually go to my website jennifersvoicecom slash podcast and check it out there. It's on all the major platforms and also YouTube.  34:25 - Anne (Host) Perfect, awesome, and you'll be hearing more from Danielle and I as the months come up, because I'm not letting her go. There's more money to talk about for sure. That's right. There's always more money to talk about you guys. Thank you again, so very much. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl, and of course, I'm going to tell you guys, please sign up for 100 Voices. Who Care? It is an amazing, amazing organization. Have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.  34:52 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Ann Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution, with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.   

Columbus has rhythm, talent, and venues—but can it build a music industry that rivals Nashville, Austin, or Chicago? We explore Columbus' $1.3 BILLION local music economy and what it'll take to elevate it to national prominence. From local legends to industry insiders, we stagedive into strategy, investment, and how the city can turn homegrown talent into household names.  Featuring: Bruce Garfield, Executive Director, Music Means Business Inc. Amy Holihan, Deputy Director, Music Columbus Natalie Jackson, Co-Founder, Natalie's Grandview Rashad Thomas, CEO, Elev8tor Music The host is Chris DeVille, Managing Editor, Stereogum, and Author of Such Great Heights: The Complete Cultural History of the Indie Rock Explosion. This forum was sponsored by Music Columbus. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by Downtown Columbus, Inc. and The National Veterans Memorial and Museum. CMC's onsite book sales partner for this forum was Gramercy Books. Ready for even more rock reading? Our partners at the Columbus Metropolitan Library recommends checking out "Love, Death & Photosynthesis" (2021) by Bela Koe-Krompecher, founder of Anyway Records. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio on November 5, 2025.

In a time marked by policy uncertainty, economic volatility, and social fragmentation, the nonprofit sector faces a critical strategic question: will it lead systemic change, or be passively led by external forces? This forum invites a candid, future-focused conversation about the role of nonprofits in navigating — and shaping — what comes next. Drawing on insights from leadership theory, recent research, and provocative findings from the Philanthropy Roundtable, we'll examine if nonprofits can increase their resilience and impact by reducing dependency on government funding and reclaiming greater strategic autonomy. What do nonprofits control? What can they influence? Can the sector mobilize to drive meaningful change rather than react to it? Would less reliance on government grants strengthen nonprofits? Together, we'll explore what it means to lead with courage, build organizational independence, and maintain a steadfast commitment to dignity and equity — even in uncertain times. Featuring: Ann Bischoff, CEO, Star House Elizabeth Brown, President & CEO, YWCA Columbus Rachel Lustig, President & CEO, Lutheran Social Services Densil Porteous, Executive Director, Stonewall Columbus. The host is Brandi AL-Issa, President & CEO, Habitat for Humanity MidOhio. This forum was presented by Nationwide and sponsored by COTA and the YWCA Columbus. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by Downtown Columbus, Inc. and The National Veterans Memorial and Museum. If you'd like to keep exploring this week's forum topic, our partners at the Columbus Metropolitan Library suggest reading Chasing Success: The Challenge for Nonprofits by Judith Van Ginkel (2023). This forum was recorded before a live audience at The National Veterans Memorial and Museum in downtown Columbus, Ohio on October 29, 2025.

In an era of media consolidation, vanishing local newsrooms, and viral misinformation, the future of trusted journalism is at a crossroads. What happens to a community when its news megaphone splinters—when public media fights for survival, editorial independence is under pressure, and social media algorithms reward outrage over truth? Featuring: Philip Bump, Former National Columnist, The Washington Post, and Author, The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America Michelle Everhart-Sullivan, Chief Audience Officer, Signal Ohio Tareya Palmer, Co-Creator, Columbus Can't Wait Podcast The moderator is Mike Thompson, Director of Radio, WOSU Public Media.  This forum was sponsored by WOSU Public Media. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch.  This forum was also supported by Downtown Columbus, Inc. and The National Veterans Memorial and Museum. Ready to continue exploring this week's forum topic? The Columbus Metropolitan Library recommends reading What Works in Community News by Ellen Clegg and Dan Kennedy (2024). This forum was recorded before a live audience at The National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio on October 22, 2025.  

Ohio's water is one of its most valuable resources—critical for the state's health, environment, and economy. From reducing toxic algal blooms in Lake Erie to improving aging sewer and pipe systems and addressing polluted runoff, the stakes are immense. H2Ohio—a bipartisan clean water initiative launched in 2019—has made clear progress through collaboration with farmers, conservationists, and local governments.  But a budget reduction this year to the initiative of nearly 40% could slow or scale back some of these projects, prompting discussion among policymakers, environmental groups, and community leaders about the best path forward. What's at stake isn't just clean water—it's Ohio's health, environment, and long-term economic future.  Featuring: Dontavius Jarrells, Representative, 1st District, Ohio State House of Representatives Paula Powell, Senior Vice President, Research and Development, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Adam Sharp, Executive Vice President, The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation Bill Stanley, State Director, The Nature Conservancy in Ohio The host is Carol Kauffman, CEO, The Ohio Environmental Council This forum was sponsored by Burgess & Niple, Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District, The Alliance for the Great Lakes, The Green Funds of The Columbus Foundation, The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, The Nature Conservancy, and The Ohio Environmental Council. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by Downtown Columbus, Inc. and The National Veterans Memorial and Museum. Want to keep learning about this topic? Check out "The Last Drop: Solving the World's Water Crisis" by Tim Smedley, recommended by our partners at The Columbus Metropolitan Library.

Queer joy—the radical act of celebrating identity, love, and community—is powerful and political. In the face of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation, joy becomes both a lifeline and a form of resistance. For some, queer joy is possible through financial stability, civic recognition, the support of allies, or safe communities—yet others face isolation, poverty, or exclusion. This forum brings together LGBTQ+ leaders, advocates, and civic changemakers to explore what defines queer joy, how queer joy is cultivated, who still struggles to access it, and what it will take to make joy—and justice—more widely available to LGBTQ+ community members in Columbus and beyond. Featuring: Dr. Melanie Corn, President, The Columbus College of Art & Design Karen Hewitt, Founder and Principal Consultant, K Hewitt Consulting & The Culture of You, and Co-Founder and COO, The Ohio REST Collective Dr. Karen Williams, Founder and CEO, The International Institute of Humor and Healing Arts The host is Ronald Murray, CEO, PEACE OF MIND, Inc., and Community Engagement Liaison, Stonewall Columbus. This forum was made possible by the Lynn Greer Legacy in Civic Engagement Fund Celebrating Inclusion & Equity for the LGBTQ Community and was sponsored by Huckleberry House. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by Downtown Columbus, Inc. and The National Veterans Memorial and Museum. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio on October 8, 2025.

In this episode, Dr. Alisahah Jackson, President of the Lloyd H. Dean Institute for Humankindness & Health Justice at CommonSpirit Health, shares how research on kindness, empathy, and trust is transforming care delivery. She highlights strategies for building stronger patient relationships, addressing disparities, and creating a culture that supports both patients and caregivers.

In this episode, Dr. Alisahah Jackson, President of the Lloyd H. Dean Institute for Humankindness & Health Justice at CommonSpirit Health, shares how research on kindness, empathy, and trust is transforming care delivery. She highlights strategies for building stronger patient relationships, addressing disparities, and creating a culture that supports both patients and caregivers.

On Tuesday, November 4, 2025, Columbus voters will weigh in on the largest bond package in city history—$1.9 billion to fund neighborhood investments, infrastructure, affordable housing, public safety, and more. At stake is $250 million for safety, health and infrastructure, $250 million for recreation and parks, $500 million for neighborhood development and affordable housing, $400 million for public service, and $500 million for public utilities. City leaders say the package will allow Columbus to meet the demands of rapid growth without raising taxes, continuing a legacy of responsible borrowing and long-term planning. With civic leaders, advocates, and experts as we unpack what's at stake in the November vote—and what it means for the future of Columbus. Featuring: Andrew J. Ginther, Mayor, City of Columbus   Nick Bankston, Columbus City Councilmember   Carlie Boos, Executive Director, Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio  The host is Mark Ferenchik, News Director, WOSU 89.7 NPR News. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch.  This forum was also supported by Downtown Columbus, Inc. and The National Veterans Memorial and Museum.  This forum was recorded before a live audience at The National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio on October 1, 2025. 

Rates, regulation, and rapid innovation are reshaping banking—and Columbus is at the center of it. This week, regional banking leaders discuss lending trends, financial inclusion, and how Central Ohio's banks fuel growth from small businesses to major projects. They also share what they're watching next and how our region's financial trends might affect your wallet. Featuring: Becky Griffin, Head of Home Lending Servicing & Support Operations, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Brian McDonald, Market Executive, Bank of America Jordan Miller, Chairman & CEO, Adelphi Bank And Ilaria Rawlins, CEO, Fortuna Bank The host is Derrick Clay, President and CEO, The Columbus Chamber of Commerce. This forum was sponsored by Meaden & Moore, Carlile Patchen & Murphy, JPMorgan Chase & Co., TAFT, and Bank of America. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by Downtown Columbus, Inc., and The National Veterans Memorial and Museum. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio on September 24, 2025.

ABOUT THIS EPISODEI had the joy of meeting Tim when he came to speak on the Marketing Leaders Programme some years ago. I had previously heard about his amazing adventures with the Lost Gardens of Heligan and the Eden Project in Cornwall, the UK, from a mutual friend.I then had the pleasure of meeting again at Anthropy 25 which was hosted at the Eden Project, a gathering of leaders and organisations to inspire and learn through meaningful collaboration, human kindness and unbound leadership.In our conversation Tim offers valuable insights into:Losing your fear of being dislikedDaring to dreamEnjoying provocationKnowing your weaknessesTim's Key Encouragements to Leaders:Dare to have your dreams and then deliver on them or give them up and do something else. Defeat the look in people's eyes or the tone in people's voices, which says, this isn't for the likes of you.Embrace those dancing lessons from God, these random meetings, and you'll be amazed at how your life changes.Always hire people that are better than you and tell them how much better than you they are. To find out more about Anthropy 2026 go to anthropy.uk, the Anthropy Charter is made up of Human Kindness, Meaningful Collaboration and Unbound Leadership.To read about, and visit Heligan, heligan.comTo read about Eden Project edenproject.com and to learn about other Eden Projects including Eden Morecambe all reconnecting people with nature, and all that we can learn and with nature.To listen to other Leaders in Conversation with me Anni Townend go to my website, www.annitownend.comA big thank you to SHMOGUS Media for the wonderful production and marketing of the podcast.To contact me Anni Townend do email me on anni@annitownend.com visit my website www.annitownend.com, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn. To find out more about Collaboration Equation, co-founded by Lucy Kidd and I, go to www.collaborationequation.com I look forward to connecting with you, thank you for listening.

Dr. Ellen Langer joins Art to explore how uncertainty can be liberating rather than frightening. After losing 80% of her possessions in a house fire, Ellen discovered profound lessons about resilience and human kindness. Her groundbreaking research challenges everything we believe about aging - from the counterclockwise study that reversed aging markers in days to her work showing chronic illness doesn't mean uncontrollable. "One plus one doesn't always equal two," she explains, demonstrating how rigid thinking limits our choices. Ellen reveals why stress requires prediction and how mindfulness - simply noticing new things - can transform our health, relationships, and approach to life transitions. A master class in living with curiosity rather than certainty.Dr. Ellen Langer was the first woman to be tenured in psychology at Harvard, where she remains a professor of psychology today. Known worldwide as the "mother of mindfulness" and "mother of positive psychology," she has published over 200 research articles and thirteen books, including the international bestseller Mindfulness and her latest work, The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health. Her groundbreaking research on mind-body unity and the psychology of aging has earned her three Distinguished Scientist awards, the Arthur W. Staats Award for Unifying Psychology, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Liberty Science Genius Award. She is also a gallery-exhibiting painter living in Cambridge, Massachusetts.About The Show: The Life in Transition, hosted by Art Blanchford focuses on making the most of the changes we're given every week. Art has been through hundreds of transitions in his life. Many have been difficult, but all have led to a depth and richness he could never have imagined. On the podcast Art explores how to create more love and joy in life, no matter what transitions we go through. Art is married to his lifelong partner, a proud father of three and a long-time adventurer and global business executive. He is the founder and leader of the Midlife Transition Mastery Community. Learn more about the MLTM Community here: www.lifeintransition.online.In This Episode: (00:00) Opening Story: House Fire and Human Kindness(08:21) The Wisdom of Aging and Life Perspectives(12:19) Understanding Mindfulness Beyond Meditation(17:45) Challenging Assumptions: Horses and Hot Dogs(19:21) Midlife Transition Mastery Ad(24:02) The Counterclockwise Study: Reversing Aging(35:04) Vision, Hearing, and the Power of Expectations(45:24) Chronic Illness and Symptom Variability(50:49) Behavior, Understanding, and the Alternative to Forgiveness(55:02) Transition Mastery Coaching Ad(1:05:04) Creating a Horizontal World: Everyone Knows SomethingLike, subscribe, and send us your comments and feedback.Resources:Dr. Langer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellenjlanger/Website: https://www.ellenlanger.me/Latest Book: "The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health" Previous Books: "Mindfulness" and 11 other published worksHarvard Psychology DepartmentEmail Art BlanchfordLife in Transition WebsiteLife in Transition on IGLife in Transition on FBJoin Our Community: https://www.lifeintransition.online/My new book PURPOSEFUL LIVING is out now. Order it now: https://www.amazon.com/PURPOSEFUL-LIVING-Wisdom-Coming-Complex/dp/1963913922Explore our website https://lifeintransitionpodcast.com/ for more in-depth information and resources, and to download the 8-step guide to mastering mid-life transitions.The views and opinions expressed on the Life In Transition podcast are solely those of the author and guests and should not be attributed to any other individual or entity. This podcast is an independent production of Life In Transition Podcast, and the podcast production is an original work of the author. All rights of ownership and reproduction are retained—copyright 2025.

Civic engagement is the backbone of a thriving democracy—but in the era of polarization and stretched resources, no single sector will strengthen it alone. From public media to philanthropy, business to education, Central Ohio's leading institutions are working together to rebuild trust, expand participation, and connect people to the decisions that shape their lives. This forward-looking conversation brings together cross-sector leaders forging partnerships that make civic life stronger, more inclusive, and more impactful. What models are working? Where are the gaps? And how can our region's most influential organizations inspire—and sustain—a deeper culture of civic participation? Featuring: Dr. Frederic Bertley, President & CEO of COSI, and Interim CEO of The National Veterans Memorial and Museum Meghan Cummings, President & CEO, Philanthropy Ohio Sandy Doyle-Ahern, President, EMH&T The host is Sophia Fifner, President and CEO, The Columbus Metropolitan Club. This forum was sponsored by Downtown Columbus, Incorporated. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The National Veterans Memorial and Museum. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The National Veterans Memorial and Museum in downtown Columbus on September 17, 2025.

Hello to you listening around the world!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey with your host Diane Wyzga.About a block from my library or a block from the post office sits a house on a corner. Propped against this house I saw a very large sheet of plywood. Spray-painted in large black letters were these words: Kill Lawyers - Not Cops.    Putting aside any 1st Amendment right of free speech arguments or the notion that many folks don't like lawyers until they need one, I have a question: When and how did we arrive at this place? When and how did we depart from human kindness, civility, and manners?  I've often spoken to the man who lives in this house as I passed by on my walk, admired his sunflowers, commented on the weather. I plan to walk up to his door and say, “I am a lawyer. Are you going to kill me? Or do you wish someone would?” I want to hear how he arrived at his position. And then perhaps get him to put away his larger-than-life sign before some yahoo takes him up on the dare.Practical Tip: Be of speech a little more careful than anything else today, tomorrow, and forever.  You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved.  If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Central Ohio residents have spoken: housing, childcare, and better jobs are top priorities. This forum moves from data to action, bringing together leaders in housing finance, early childhood policy, workforce and small-business support, and regional planning to chart what should happen next—and how to measure results residents will actually feel. If you care about where Central Ohio invests, builds, and hires over the next few years, this conversation is your roadmap. Featuring: Lynanne Gutierrez, President & CEO, Groundwork Ohio Ian Labitue, President & CEO, Affordable Housing Trust for Columbus and Franklin County Sangeeta Lakhani, Executive Director, Service! Relief for Hospitality Workers William Murdock, Executive Director, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission. The host is Dr. Harvey Miller, Director, Center for Urban and Regional Analysis (CURA), The Ohio State University. Opening remarks by Padmini Roy-Dixon, Economic Development Director & Regional Innovation Officer, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission. This forum was sponsored by The Affordable Housing Trust for Columbus and Franklin County, The Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation, and The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on September 10, 2025.

Sponsored by Charity Mobilehttps://www.charitymobile.com/rtt.phpSources:https://www.returntotradition.orgorhttps://substack.com/@returntotradition1Contact Me:Email: return2catholictradition@gmail.comSupport My Work:Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/AnthonyStineSubscribeStarhttps://www.subscribestar.net/return-to-traditionBuy Me A Coffeehttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/AnthonyStinePhysical Mail:Anthony StinePO Box 3048Shawnee, OK74802Follow me on the following social media:https://www.facebook.com/ReturnToCatholicTradition/https://twitter.com/pontificatormax+JMJ+#popeleoXIV #catholicism #catholicchurch #catholicprophecy#infiltration

Sponsored by Charity Mobilehttps://www.charitymobile.com/rtt.phpSources:https://www.returntotradition.orgorhttps://substack.com/@returntotradition1Contact Me:Email: return2catholictradition@gmail.comSupport My Work:Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/AnthonyStineSubscribeStarhttps://www.subscribestar.net/return-to-traditionBuy Me A Coffeehttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/AnthonyStinePhysical Mail:Anthony StinePO Box 3048Shawnee, OK74802Follow me on the following social media:https://www.facebook.com/ReturnToCatholicTradition/https://twitter.com/pontificatormax+JMJ+#popeleoXIV #catholicism #catholicchurch #catholicprophecy#infiltration

Central Ohio is reimagining crisis response. From the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline to a new Crisis Care Center and community-led safety campaigns, Franklin County is building a more effective, compassionate system for people in crisis. This forum brings together city leaders, health providers, and advocates to explore what's working, what's still needed, and why these changes matter to every family in the region. Featuring: Melissa Green, Columbus City Councilmember Erika Clark Jones, CEO, The Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County (ADAMH) Dr. Brian Stroh, CEO & Medical Director, Netcare Chana Wiley, Co-Chair, Columbus Safety Collective Campaign The host is Samantha Henrickson, Medical Business and Health Care Reporter, The Columbus Dispatch. The presenting sponsors of CMC's long-running Optimal Health Series of forums are OhioHealth, Nationwide Children's Hospital, and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. This forum was supported by The Jeffrey Family Legacy in Civic Engagement Fund - Promoting a Thriving, Equitable and Sustainable Community, and sponsored by The Osteopathic Heritage Foundation, Cardinal Health, The Community Shelter Board, Ian Alexander Photography, and Star House. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner and promotional partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on August 27, 2025. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Welcome Sisters. Thanks for joining me for this episode. I want to take some time to spread human kindness. If you didn't know, it is truly a gift of the heart. We need more kindness from all of us in the world we live in. When was the last time you gave out kindness? Let this episode inspire you. Please share and invite a sister to listen with you. Visit me at VickiLynneKemp.com. Make it a great week!  

Uncertainties around research grants, student visas, and dramatic changes to the country's DEI climate are only some of the issues that have shaped Ted Carter's first year and a half on the job as the 17th president of The Ohio State University. But as a retired U.S. Navy vice admiral with 38 years of military service and more than 6,300 flying hours, Carter is no stranger to leadership under trying circumstances. Join us as CMC welcomes President Ted Carter for a look back at his first year and a half on the job, and a look forward at what's on the horizon for Ohio's flagship university. Featuring: Ted Carter, President, The Ohio State University. The host is Sheridan Hendrix, Higher Education Reporter, The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was made possible by The Joseph and Carol Alutto Civic Engagement Fund - Focusing on Higher Education. This forum was sponsored by The Ohio State University, The United Way of Central Ohio, and  Columbus Business First. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The National Veterans Memorial and Museum. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The National Veterans Memorial and Museum in downtown Columbus on August 20, 2025.

They've grown up in an era of student debt, climate anxiety, social media, and political gridlock—and now, they're shaping the future of Ohio politics. From Gen Z newcomers to younger members of Gen X, a new wave of elected officials is stepping up to the mic. What motivates them to lead—and how are they challenging traditional power structures to create a more inclusive democracy? This candid conversation with rising political leaders spotlights what it means to serve—and shake things up—in today's political climate. Featuring: Munira Abdullahi (D), Ohio State House Representative, 9th District Shaquille Alexander, Treasurer, City of Whitehall Dani Isaacsohn (D), House Minority Leader and Ohio State House Representative, 24th District Michele Reynolds (R), Ohio State Senator, 3rd District David Thomas (R), Ohio State House Representative, 65th District The host is Haley BeMiller, State Government & Politics Reporter, The Columbus Dispatch This forum was sponsored by The Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority and Frost Brown Todd. The partners for this CMC forum were The League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Columbus, The Matriots, and The Columbus Dispatch. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation.  This forum was also supported by The Ellis. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on August 13, 2025.

Mephibosheth. 1. The impulse to show kindness 2. Broken feet and broken hearts - some people's woundedness is obvious; others is not . . . we need to care for both. We have fractured relationships with ourselves, with God, with others, with the earth. 3. The invitation: Are you willing to be a Ziba? One who invites others to the king's table. 4. Welcomed Home: We can come as we are and be assured of a welcome. God's kindness leads us to repentance. We can experience acceptance and restoration.

Artificial intelligence is transforming everything—from how Central Ohioans work to how companies make decisions. But can innovation happen without leaving people behind? This week's Columbus Metropolitan Club forum explores Central Ohio's rapidly evolving AI ecosystem with experts who are shaping the future of tech in the region.  Featuring: Mike Cohn, Vice President of Network Operations, CoverMyMeds Nathan Craig, Associate Professor, Operations and Business Analytics, The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business Nicole Jackson, Principal AI Consultant and AI Practice Lead, Optimum Technology Guru Vasudeva, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Property & Casualty, Nationwide The host is John Hrusovsky, Managing Director, Synexis Consulting This forum was sponsored by The Ohio State University and Improving The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on August 6, 2025.

Episode 133 features our incredible conversation with Dr. Amy Acton, who's running as the Democratic candidate for governor of Ohio. She left us feeling so hopeful about the future of our home state - and we think you'll feel the same after listening!Dr. Amy Acton grew up in Youngstown, Ohio under difficult circumstances. But that made Amy tough – and now, Amy is running for governor to fight for every Ohio family that's struggling today.After putting herself through medical school, Amy did a residency at Children's Hospital and Ohio State University where she trained in pediatrics and preventive medicine and created the first ever residency rotation in child advocacy.Amy began her career as the Director of Project L.O.V.E where she managed public private partnerships between Columbus area hospitals and key community stakeholders to keep our children healthy. Amy then joined the faculty at Ohio State University where she became an award winning professor of maternal and child health and global public health.In 2019 Governor DeWine asked Amy to serve in his administration as the Director of the Ohio Department of Public Health. Working closely with Governor DeWine, Amy's widely acclaimed leadership and inspiring guidance were experienced in daily news conferences as COVID exploded in the spring of 2020, earning her a Profile in COVID Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in 2021. In 2022 she was named Woman of the Year for Ohio by USA Today for her efforts.Following her service in the DeWine administration, Amy returned to the Columbus Foundation and helped found the Center for Human Kindness. She worked with CEO's, Mayor's, and community advocates to launch Rapid 5, a nonprofit to promote the region's health and economic wellness. Amy also partnered with WKYC on a new multi-platform series on Health, Hope & Healing–where she spoke to Ohioans about the challenges they face and the innovative solutions they're using to move themselves forward.Now, Amy's running for Governor because she refuses to look away from Ohioans who are struggling.Amy lives in Bexley, Ohio with her husband, Eric, who has coached and taught in Bexley City Schools since 1987. Together they have six kids and enjoy traveling, exploring nature, and spending time with their good friends and growing family.Resources: * Acton for Governor Website* Donate to Dr. Acton's Campaign* Connect with Dr. Acton's on Social Media:* Instagram* Bluesky* Facebook* X/TwitterConnect with USS:* Substack* Instagram* TikTokThis episode was edited by Kevin Tanner. Learn more about him and his services here:* Website* Instagram Get full access to United SHE Stands at www.unitedshestands.com/subscribe

What happens when the most valuable college athletics program in the country enters the name-image-and-likeness, or NIL, era? At this Columbus Metropolitan Club forum, Ohio State University Athletics Director Ross Bjork sits down with NBC4's Matt Barnes for an inside look at how the Buckeyes are managing massive change—from multimillion-dollar deals to evolving expectations around recruitment, education, and fairness. Featuring: Ross Bjork, Athletics Director, The Ohio State University The host is Matt Barnes, Morning Co-Anchor, NBC4 Today This forum was sponsored by Aloft Columbus University District, Encova Insurance, GBQ, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, and LEARFIELD/Ohio State Sports Properties. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on July 30, 2025.

What kind of downtown do we want to build? Some of Columbus' iconic downtown buildings are getting a dramatic makeover, transforming from office towers into places to live and gather. This week's forum dives into the bold moves shaping the future of Downtown Columbus—where people live, work, and connect. Featuring: Greg Davies, CEO, Downtown Columbus, Inc. Brad DeHays, Founder & President, Connect Real Estate and Connect Construction Mindy Justis, Advocacy Chair, Downtown Residents Association of Columbus Michael Stevens, Director of Development, City of Columbus The host is Rodney Dunigan, Evening Managing Editor & Anchor, WSYX ABC 6. This forum was sponsored by Downtown Columbus, Inc., The Edwards Companies, Marker Construction, and MKSK. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis and was recorded in front of a live audience on July 23, 2025.

Is Columbus ready to hit three million residents? Ready or not, it's a milestone that's just 25 years away, according to estimates. While the surge brings enormous opportunity—more jobs, greater diversity, and increased investment—it comes with high-stakes questions: Is the region truly prepared for what's ahead? And what happens if it isn't? Columbus is now one of the fastest-growing cities in the Midwest, with its metro population expected to rise by 35% and surpass 3 million by 2050. This growth is fueled by millennial migration, international immigration, and a strong economy attracting both businesses and talent. This forum tackles the most urgent issues shaping the future of a larger, more complex Columbus: how to build a workforce that meets growing demand, how to expand and modernize public transportation, and how changing demographics will redefine the region's cultural and civic landscape. Featuring:  Rob Dorans, President Pro Tem, Columbus City Council;  Monica Tellez-Fowler, President & CEO, COTA;  Michael Wilkos, Vice President of Community Engagement, United Way of Central Ohio.  The host is Jordan Laird, Politics and Government Reporter, The Columbus Dispatch.  This forum was sponsored by Columbus City Council, COTA, and Downtown Columbus, Inc.  The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation.  CMC's livestream and promotional partner was The Columbus Dispatch.  This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on July 16, 2025. 

When it comes to fashion, Columbus has the talent. It has the retail giants, the design schools, the logistics, and the creative minds. What it hasn't had—until now—is the fashion infrastructure to stitch those pieces together. With the launch of the new Fashion Innovation Center in the heart of Downtown's Discovery District, Yohannan “Yogi” Terrell and the Columbus Fashion Alliance are betting big on a bold vision: to make Columbus not just a great place for fashion, but a city defined by it. Could Columbus become the next fashion capital—not just of the Midwest, but of the nation? What does it take to build a thriving cultural and economic district from scratch? And what role can fashion play in shaping a more creative, inclusive, and opportunity-rich city?  Featuring  Yohannan “Yogi” Terrell, CEO, Warhol & WALL ST, and Director, Columbus Fashion Alliance Erica Crawley, Board President and Commissioner, Franklin County Board of Commissioners Madison Hilson and Valentina Thompson, Co-Founders, SENIQ The host is Kat DePizzo, President, Justice Design Lab. This forum was sponsored by the Franklin County Board of Commissioners and Taft.The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch.  This forum was also supported by The Ellis.  This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on July 9, 2025.

Central Ohio's vast range of nonprofits care for children, families, animals, the environment, and just about everything in between. Our region's nonprofit organizations – both large and small – are doing work that's more important than ever, yet some are facing an uncertain future amid potential funding cuts and anxiety among the communities they serve. With a panel of passionate nonprofit leaders, we unpack the state of Central Ohio nonprofits at one of CMC's most popular forums of the year. Featuring: Julie Fletcher, Director of Community Impact, Crane Group Joe Gottron, President & CEO, Gladden Community House Denise Robinson, President and CEO, Alvis Tom Schmid, President & CEO, The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium The host is Michael Corey, Executive Director, Human Service Chamber of Central Ohio Concluding remarks by Dr. Frederic Bertley, President and CEO, COSI and CEO, The National Veterans Memorial and Museum  The presenting sponsor of this forum was The Columbus Foundation. This forum was sponsored by Bank of America, Benefactor Group, Columbia Gas of Ohio, The Columbus Museum of Art, Cramer and Associates, Huntington Bank, Mollard Consulting, and The United Way of Central Ohio. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The National Veterans Memorial and Museum. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus on June 25, 2025. 

For those who haven't heard the announcement I posted, songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the second part of a two-episode look at the song “Who Knows Where The Time Goes?” by Fairport Convention, and the intertwining careers of Joe Boyd, Sandy Denny, and Richard Thompson. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a forty-one-minute bonus episode available, on Judy Collins’ version of this song. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by editing, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Erratum For about an hour this was uploaded with the wrong Elton John clip in place of “Saturday Sun”. This has now been fixed. Resources Because of the increasing problems with Mixcloud’s restrictions, I have decided to start sharing streaming playlists of the songs used in episodes instead of Mixcloud ones. This Tunemymusic link will let you listen to the playlist I created on your streaming platform of choice — however please note that not all the songs excerpted are currently available on streaming. The songs missing from the Tidal version are “Shanten Bells” by the Ian Campbell Folk Group, “Tom’s Gone to Hilo” by A.L. Lloyd, two by Paul McNeill and Linda Peters, three by Elton John & Linda Peters, “What Will I Do With Tomorrow” by Sandy Denny and “You Never Know” by Charlie Drake, but the other fifty-nine are there. Other songs may be missing from other services. The main books I used on Fairport Convention as a whole were Patrick Humphries' Meet On The Ledge, Clinton Heylin's What We Did Instead of Holidays, and Kevan Furbank's Fairport Convention on Track. Rob Young's Electric Eden is the most important book on the British folk-rock movement. Information on Richard Thompson comes from Patrick Humphries' Richard Thompson: Strange Affair and Thompson's own autobiography Beeswing.  Information on Sandy Denny comes from Clinton Heylin's No More Sad Refrains and Mick Houghton's I've Always Kept a Unicorn. I also used Joe Boyd's autobiography White Bicycles and Chris Blackwell's The Islander.  And this three-CD set is the best introduction to Fairport's music currently in print. Transcript Before we begin, this episode contains reference to alcohol and cocaine abuse and medical neglect leading to death. It also starts with some discussion of the fatal car accident that ended last episode. There’s also some mention of child neglect and spousal violence. If that’s likely to upset you, you might want to skip this episode or read the transcript. One of the inspirations for this podcast when I started it back in 2018 was a project by Richard Thompson, which appears (like many things in Thompson’s life) to have started out of sheer bloody-mindedness. In 1999 Playboy magazine asked various people to list their “songs of the Millennium”, and most of them, understanding the brief, chose a handful of songs from the latter half of the twentieth century. But Thompson determined that he was going to list his favourite songs *of the millennium*. He didn’t quite manage that, but he did cover seven hundred and forty years, and when Playboy chose not to publish it, he decided to turn it into a touring show, in which he covered all his favourite songs from “Sumer Is Icumen In” from 1260: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Sumer is Icumen In”] Through numerous traditional folk songs, union songs like “Blackleg Miner”, pieces by early-modern composers, Victorian and Edwardian music hall songs, and songs by the Beatles, the Ink Spots, the Kinks, and the Who, all the way to “Oops! I Did It Again”: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Oops! I Did it Again”] And to finish the show, and to show how all this music actually ties together, he would play what he described as a “medieval tune from Brittany”, “Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt”: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt”] We have said many times in this podcast that there is no first anything, but there’s a reason that Liege and Lief, Fairport Convention’s third album of 1969, and the album other than Unhalfbricking on which their reputation largely rests, was advertised with the slogan “The first (literally) British folk rock album ever”. Folk-rock, as the term had come to be known, and as it is still usually used today, had very little to do with traditional folk music. Rather, the records of bands like The Byrds or Simon and Garfunkel were essentially taking the sounds of British beat groups of the early sixties, particularly the Searchers, and applying those sounds to material by contemporary singer-songwriters. People like Paul Simon and Bob Dylan had come up through folk clubs, and their songs were called folk music because of that, but they weren’t what folk music had meant up to that point — songs that had been collected after being handed down through the folk process, changed by each individual singer, with no single identifiable author. They were authored songs by very idiosyncratic writers. But over their last few albums, Fairport Convention had done one or two tracks per album that weren’t like that, that were instead recordings of traditional folk songs, but arranged with rock instrumentation. They were not necessarily the first band to try traditional folk music with electric instruments — around the same time that Fairport started experimenting with the idea, so did an Irish band named Sweeney’s Men, who brought in a young electric guitarist named Henry McCullough briefly. But they do seem to have been the first to have fully embraced the idea. They had done so to an extent with “A Sailor’s Life” on Unhalfbricking, but now they were going to go much further: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Matty Groves” (from about 4:30)] There had been some doubt as to whether Fairport Convention would even continue to exist — by the time Unhalfbricking, their second album of the year, was released, they had been through the terrible car accident that had killed Martin Lamble, the band’s drummer, and Jeannie Franklyn, Richard Thompson’s girlfriend. Most of the rest of the band had been seriously injured, and they had made a conscious decision not to discuss the future of the band until they were all out of hospital. Ashley Hutchings was hospitalised the longest, and Simon Nicol, Richard Thompson, and Sandy Denny, the other three surviving members of the band, flew over to LA with their producer and manager, Joe Boyd, to recuperate there and get to know the American music scene. When they came back, the group all met up in the flat belonging to Denny’s boyfriend Trevor Lucas, and decided that they were going to continue the band. They made a few decisions then — they needed a new drummer, and as well as a drummer they wanted to get in Dave Swarbrick. Swarbrick had played violin on several tracks on Unhalfbricking as a session player, and they had all been thrilled to work with him. Swarbrick was one of the most experienced musicians on the British folk circuit. He had started out in the fifties playing guitar with Beryl Marriott’s Ceilidh Band before switching to fiddle, and in 1963, long before Fairport had formed, he had already appeared on TV with the Ian Campbell Folk Group, led by Ian Campbell, the father of Ali and Robin Campbell, later of UB40: [Excerpt: The Ian Campbell Folk Group, “Shanten Bells (medley on Hullaballoo!)”] He’d sung with Ewan MacColl and A.L. Lloyd: [Excerpt: A.L. Lloyd, “Tom’s Gone to Hilo” ] And he’d formed his hugely successful duo with Martin Carthy, releasing records like “Byker Hill” which are often considered among the best British folk music of all time: [Excerpt: Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, “Byker Hill”] By the time Fairport had invited him to play on Unhalfbricking, Swarbrick had already performed on twenty albums as a core band member, plus dozens more EPs, singles, and odd tracks on compilations. They had no reason to think they could actually get him to join their band. But they had three advantages. The first was that Swarbrick was sick of the traditional folk scene at the time, saying later “I didn’t like seven-eighths of the people involved in it, and it was extremely opportune to leave. I was suddenly presented with the possibilities of exploring the dramatic content of the songs to the full.” The second was that he was hugely excited to be playing with Richard Thompson, who was one of the most innovative guitarists of his generation, and Martin Carthy remembers him raving about Thompson after their initial sessions. (Carthy himself was and is no slouch on the guitar of course, and there was even talk of getting him to join the band at this point, though they decided against it — much to the relief of rhythm guitarist Simon Nicol, who is a perfectly fine player himself but didn’t want to be outclassed by *two* of the best guitarists in Britain at the same time). And the third was that Joe Boyd told him that Fairport were doing so well — they had a single just about to hit the charts with “Si Tu Dois Partir” — that he would only have to play a dozen gigs with Fairport in order to retire. As it turned out, Swarbrick would play with the group for a decade, and would never retire — I saw him on his last tour in 2015, only eight months before he died. The drummer the group picked was also a far more experienced musician than any of the rest, though in a very different genre. Dave Mattacks had no knowledge at all of the kind of music they played, having previously been a player in dance bands. When asked by Hutchings if he wanted to join the band, Mattacks’ response was “I don’t know anything about the music. I don’t understand it… I can’t tell one tune from another, they all sound the same… but if you want me to join the group, fine, because I really like it. I’m enjoying myself musically.” Mattacks brought a new level of professionalism to the band, thanks to his different background. Nicol said of him later “He was dilligent, clean, used to taking three white shirts to a gig… The application he could bring to his playing was amazing. With us, you only played well when you were feeling well.” This distinction applied to his playing as well. Nicol would later describe the difference between Mattacks’ drumming and Lamble’s by saying “Martin’s strength was as an imaginative drummer. DM came in with a strongly developed sense of rhythm, through keeping a big band of drunken saxophone players in order. A great time-keeper.” With this new line-up and a new sense of purpose, the group did as many of their contemporaries were doing and “got their heads together in the country”. Joe Boyd rented the group a mansion, Farley House, in Farley Chamberlayne, Hampshire, and they stayed there together for three months. At the start, the group seem to have thought that they were going to make another record like Unhalfbricking, with some originals, some songs by American songwriters, and a few traditional songs. Even after their stay in Farley Chamberlayne, in fact, they recorded a few of the American songs they’d rehearsed at the start of the process, Richard Farina’s “Quiet Joys of Brotherhood” and Bob Dylan and Roger McGuinn’s “Ballad of Easy Rider”: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Ballad of Easy Rider”] Indeed, the whole idea of “getting our heads together in the country” (as the cliche quickly became in the late sixties as half of the bands in Britain went through much the same kind of process as Fairport were doing — but usually for reasons more to do with drug burnout or trend following than recovering from serious life-changing trauma) seems to have been inspired by Bob Dylan and the Band getting together in Big Pink. But very quickly they decided to follow the lead of Ashley Hutchings, who had had something of a Damascene conversion to the cause of traditional English folk music. They were listening mostly to Music From Big Pink by the Band, and to the first album by Sweeney’s Men: [Excerpt: Sweeney’s Men, “The Handsome Cabin Boy”] And they decided that they were going to make something that was as English as those records were North American and Irish (though in the event there were also a few Scottish songs included on the record). Hutchings in particular was becoming something of a scholar of traditional music, regularly visiting Cecil Sharp House and having long conversations with A.L. Lloyd, discovering versions of different traditional songs he’d never encountered before. This was both amusing and bemusing Sandy Denny, who had joined a rock group in part to get away from traditional music; but she was comfortable singing the material, and knew a lot of it and could make a lot of suggestions herself. Swarbrick obviously knew the repertoire intimately, and Nicol was amenable, while Mattacks was utterly clueless about the folk tradition at this point but knew this was the music he wanted to make. Thompson knew very little about traditional music, and of all the band members except Denny he was the one who has shown the least interest in the genre in his subsequent career — but as we heard at the beginning, showing the least interest in the genre is a relative thing, and while Thompson was not hugely familiar with the genre, he *was* able to work with it, and was also more than capable of writing songs that fit in with the genre. Of the eleven songs on the album, which was titled Liege and Lief (which means, roughly, Lord and Loyalty), there were no cover versions of singer-songwriters. Eight were traditional songs, and three were originals, all written in the style of traditional songs. The album opened with “Come All Ye”, an introduction written by Denny and Hutchings (the only time the two would ever write together): [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Come All Ye”] The other two originals were songs where Thompson had written new lyrics to traditional melodies. On “Crazy Man Michael”, Swarbrick had said to Thompson that the tune to which he had set his new words was weaker than the lyrics, to which Thompson had replied that if Swarbrick felt that way he should feel free to write a new melody. He did, and it became the first of the small number of Thompson/Swarbrick collaborations: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Crazy Man Michael”] Thompson and Swarbrick would become a brief songwriting team, but as much as anything else it was down to proximity — the two respected each other as musicians, but never got on very well. In 1981 Swarbrick would say “Richard and I never got on in the early days of FC… we thought we did, but we never did. We composed some bloody good songs together, but it was purely on a basis of “you write that and I’ll write this, and we’ll put it together.” But we never sat down and had real good chats.” The third original on the album, and by far the most affecting, is another song where Thompson put lyrics to a traditional tune. In this case he thought he was putting the lyrics to the tune of “Willie O'Winsbury”, but he was basing it on a recording by Sweeney’s Men. The problem was that Sweeney’s Men had accidentally sung the lyrics of “Willie O'Winsbury'” to the tune of a totally different song, “Fause Foodrage”: [Excerpt: Sweeney’s Men, “Willie O’Winsbury”] Thompson took that melody, and set to it lyrics about loss and separation. Thompson has never been one to discuss the meanings of his lyrics in any great detail, and in the case of this one has said “I really don't know what it means. This song came out of a dream, and I pretty much wrote it as I dreamt it (it was the sixties), and didn't spend very long analyzing it. So interpret as you wish – or replace with your own lines.” But in the context of the traffic accident that had killed his tailor girlfriend and a bandmate, and injured most of his other bandmates, the lyrics about lonely travellers, the winding road, bruised and beaten sons, saying goodbye, and never cutting cloth, seem fairly self-explanatory: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Farewell, Farewell”] The rest of the album, though, was taken up by traditional tunes. There was a long medley of four different fiddle reels; a version of “Reynardine” (a song about a seductive man — or is he a fox? Or perhaps both — which had been recorded by Swarbrick and Carthy on their most recent album); a 19th century song about a deserter saved from the firing squad by Prince Albert; and a long take on “Tam Lin”, one of the most famous pieces in the Scottish folk music canon, a song that has been adapted in different ways by everyone from the experimental noise band Current 93 to the dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah to the comics writer Grant Morrison: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Tam Lin”] And “Matty Groves”, a song about a man killing his cheating wife and her lover, which actually has a surprisingly similar story to that of “1921” from another great concept album from that year, the Who’s Tommy. “Matty Groves” became an excuse for long solos and shows of instrumental virtuosity: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Matty Groves”] The album was recorded in September 1969, after their return from their break in the country and a triumphal performance at the Royal Festival Hall, headlining over fellow Witchseason artists John and Beverly Martyn and Nick Drake. It became a classic of the traditional folk genre — arguably *the* classic of the traditional folk genre. In 2007 BBC Radio 2’s Folk Music Awards gave it an award for most influential folk album of all time, and while such things are hard to measure, I doubt there’s anyone with even the most cursory knowledge of British folk and folk-rock music who would not at least consider that a reasonable claim. But once again, by the time the album came out in November, the band had changed lineups yet again. There was a fundamental split in the band – on one side were Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson, whose stance was, roughly, that Liege and Lief was a great experiment and a fun thing to do once, but really the band had two first-rate songwriters in themselves, and that they should be concentrating on their own new material, not doing these old songs, good as they were. They wanted to take the form of the traditional songs and use that form for new material — they wanted to make British folk-rock, but with the emphasis on the rock side of things. Hutchings, on the other hand, was equally sure that he wanted to make traditional music and go further down the rabbit hole of antiquity. With the zeal of the convert he had gone in a couple of years from being the leader of a band who were labelled “the British Jefferson Airplane” to becoming a serious scholar of traditional folk music. Denny was tired of touring, as well — she wanted to spend more time at home with Trevor Lucas, who was sleeping with other women when she was away and making her insecure. When the time came for the group to go on a tour of Denmark, Denny decided she couldn’t make it, and Hutchings was jubilant — he decided he was going to get A.L. Lloyd into the band in her place and become a *real* folk group. Then Denny reconsidered, and Hutchings was crushed. He realised that while he had always been the leader, he wasn’t going to be able to lead the band any further in the traditionalist direction, and quit the group — but not before he was delegated by the other band members to fire Denny. Until the publication of Richard Thompson’s autobiography in 2022, every book on the group or its members said that Denny quit the band again, which was presumably a polite fiction that the band agreed, but according to Thompson “Before we flew home, we decided to fire Sandy. I don't remember who asked her to leave – it was probably Ashley, who usually did the dirty work. She was reportedly shocked that we would take that step. She may have been fragile beneath the confident facade, but she still knew her worth.” Thompson goes on to explain that the reasons for kicking her out were that “I suppose we felt that in her mind she had already left” and that “We were probably suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, though there wasn't a name for it back then.” They had considered inviting Trevor Lucas to join the band to make Denny more comfortable, but came to the (probably correct) conclusion that while he was someone they got on well with personally, he would be another big ego in a band that already had several, and that being around Denny and Lucas’ volatile relationship would, in Thompson’s phrasing, “have not always given one a feeling of peace and stability.” Hutchings originally decided he was going to join Sweeney’s Men, but that group were falling apart, and their first rehearsal with Hutchings would also be their last as a group, with only Hutchings and guitarist and mandolin player Terry Woods left in the band. They added Woods’ wife Gay, and another couple, Tim Hart and Maddy Prior, and formed a group called Steeleye Span, a name given them by Martin Carthy. That group, like Fairport, went to “get their heads together in the country” for three months and recorded an album of electric versions of traditional songs, Hark the Village Wait, on which Mattacks and another drummer, Gerry Conway, guested as Steeleye Span didn’t at the time have their own drummer: [Excerpt: Steeleye Span, “Blackleg Miner”] Steeleye Span would go on to have a moderately successful chart career in the seventies, but by that time most of the original lineup, including Hutchings, had left — Hutchings stayed with them for a few albums, then went on to form the first of a series of bands, all called the Albion Band or variations on that name, which continue to this day. And this is something that needs to be pointed out at this point — it is impossible to follow every single individual in this narrative as they move between bands. There is enough material in the history of the British folk-rock scene that someone could do a 500 Songs-style podcast just on that, and every time someone left Fairport, or Steeleye Span, or the Albion Band, or Matthews’ Southern Comfort, or any of the other bands we have mentioned or will mention, they would go off and form another band which would then fission, and some of its members would often join one of those other bands. There was a point in the mid-1970s where the Albion Band had two original members of Fairport Convention while Fairport Convention had none. So just in order to keep the narrative anything like wieldy, I’m going to keep the narrative concentrated on the two figures from Fairport — Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson — whose work outside the group has had the most influence on the wider world of rock music more broadly, and only deal with the other members when, as they often did, their careers intersected with those two. That doesn’t mean the other members are not themselves hugely important musicians, just that their importance has been primarily to the folk side of the folk-rock genre, and so somewhat outside the scope of this podcast. While Hutchings decided to form a band that would allow him to go deeper and deeper into traditional folk music, Sandy Denny’s next venture was rather different. For a long time she had been writing far more songs than she had ever played for her bandmates, like “Nothing More”, a song that many have suggested is about Thompson: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “Nothing More”] When Joe Boyd heard that Denny was leaving Fairport Convention, he was at first elated. Fairport’s records were being distributed by A&M in the US at that point, but Island Records was in the process of opening up a new US subsidiary which would then release all future Fairport product — *but*, as far as A&M were concerned, Sandy Denny *was* Fairport Convention. They were only interested in her. Boyd, on the other hand, loved Denny’s work intensely, but from his point of view *Richard Thompson* was Fairport Convention. If he could get Denny signed directly to A&M as a solo artist before Island started its US operations, Witchseason could get a huge advance on her first solo record, while Fairport could continue making records for Island — he’d have two lucrative acts, on different labels. Boyd went over and spoke to A&M and got an agreement in principle that they would give Denny a forty-thousand-dollar advance on her first solo album — twice what they were paying for Fairport albums. The problem was that Denny didn’t want to be a solo act. She wanted to be the lead singer of a band. She gave many reasons for this — the one she gave to many journalists was that she had seen a Judy Collins show and been impressed, but noticed that Collins’ band were definitely a “backing group”, and as she put it “But that's all they were – a backing group. I suddenly thought, If you're playing together on a stage you might as well be TOGETHER.” Most other people in her life, though, say that the main reason for her wanting to be in a band was her desire to be with her boyfriend, Trevor Lucas. Partly this was due to a genuine desire to spend more time with someone with whom she was very much in love, partly it was a fear that he would cheat on her if she was away from him for long periods of time, and part of it seems to have been Lucas’ dislike of being *too* overshadowed by his talented girlfriend — he didn’t mind acknowledging that she was a major talent, but he wanted to be thought of as at least a minor one. So instead of going solo, Denny formed Fotheringay, named after the song she had written for Fairport. This new band consisted at first of Denny on vocals and occasional piano, Lucas on vocals and rhythm guitar, and Lucas’ old Eclection bandmate Gerry Conway on drums. For a lead guitarist, they asked Richard Thompson who the best guitarist in Britain was, and he told them Albert Lee. Lee in turn brought in bass player Pat Donaldson, but this lineup of the band barely survived a fortnight. Lee *was* arguably the best guitarist in Britain, certainly a reasonable candidate if you could ever have a singular best (as indeed was Thompson himself), but he was the best *country* guitarist in Britain, and his style simply didn’t fit with Fotheringay’s folk-influenced songs. He was replaced by American guitarist Jerry Donahue, who was not anything like as proficient as Lee, but who was still very good, and fit the band’s style much better. The new group rehearsed together for a few weeks, did a quick tour, and then went into the recording studio to record their debut, self-titled, album. Joe Boyd produced the album, but admitted himself that he only paid attention to those songs he considered worthwhile — the album contained one song by Lucas, “The Ballad of Ned Kelly”, and two cover versions of American singer-songwriter material with Lucas singing lead. But everyone knew that the songs that actually *mattered* were Sandy Denny’s, and Boyd was far more interested in them, particularly the songs “The Sea” and “The Pond and the Stream”: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “The Pond and the Stream”] Fotheringay almost immediately hit financial problems, though. While other Witchseason acts were used to touring on the cheap, all packed together in the back of a Transit van with inexpensive equipment, Trevor Lucas had ambitions of being a rock star and wanted to put together a touring production to match, with expensive transport and equipment, including a speaker system that got nicknamed “Stonehenge” — but at the same time, Denny was unhappy being on the road, and didn’t play many gigs. As well as the band itself, the Fotheringay album also featured backing vocals from a couple of other people, including Denny’s friend Linda Peters. Peters was another singer from the folk clubs, and a good one, though less well-known than Denny — at this point she had only released a couple of singles, and those singles seemed to have been as much as anything else released as a novelty. The first of those, a version of Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” had been released as by “Paul McNeill and Linda Peters”: [Excerpt: Paul McNeill and Linda Peters, “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”] But their second single, a version of John D. Loudermilk’s “You’re Taking My Bag”, was released on the tiny Page One label, owned by Larry Page, and was released under the name “Paul and Linda”, clearly with the intent of confusing particularly gullible members of the record-buying public into thinking this was the McCartneys: [Excerpt: Paul and Linda, “You’re Taking My Bag”] Peters was though more financially successful than almost anyone else in this story, as she was making a great deal of money as a session singer. She actually did another session involving most of Fotheringay around this time. Witchseason had a number of excellent songwriters on its roster, and had had some success getting covers by people like Judy Collins, but Joe Boyd thought that they might possibly do better at getting cover versions if they were performed in less idiosyncratic arrangements. Donahue, Donaldson, and Conway went into the studio to record backing tracks, and vocals were added by Peters and another session singer, who according to some sources also provided piano. They cut songs by Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band: [Excerpt: Linda Peters, “You Get Brighter”] Ed Carter, formerly of The New Nadir but by this time firmly ensconced in the Beach Boys’ touring band where he would remain for the next quarter-century: [Excerpt: Linda Peters, “I Don’t Mind”] John and Beverly Martyn, and Nick Drake: [Excerpt: Elton John, “Saturday Sun”] There are different lineups of musicians credited for those sessions in different sources, but I tend to believe that it’s mostly Fotheringay for the simple reason that Donahue says it was him, Donaldson and Conway who talked Lucas and Denny into the mistake that destroyed Fotheringay because of these sessions. Fotheringay were in financial trouble already, spending far more money than they were bringing in, but their album made the top twenty and they were getting respect both from critics and from the public — in September, Sandy Denny was voted best British female singer by the readers of Melody Maker in their annual poll, which led to shocked headlines in the tabloids about how this “unknown” could have beaten such big names as Dusty Springfield and Cilla Black. Only a couple of weeks after that, they were due to headline at the Albert Hall. It should have been a triumph. But Donahue, Donaldson, and Conway had asked that singing pianist to be their support act. As Donahue said later “That was a terrible miscast. It was our fault. He asked if [he] could do it. Actually Pat, Gerry and I had to talk Sandy and Trevor into [it]… We'd done these demos and the way he was playing – he was a wonderful piano player – he was sensitive enough. We knew very little about his stage-show. We thought he'd be a really good opener for us.” Unfortunately, Elton John was rather *too* good. As Donahue continued “we had no idea what he had in mind, that he was going to do the most incredible rock & roll show ever. He pretty much blew us off the stage before we even got on the stage.” To make matters worse, Fotheringay’s set, which was mostly comprised of new material, was underrehearsed and sloppy, and from that point on no matter what they did people were counting the hours until the band split up. They struggled along for a while though, and started working on a second record, with Boyd again producing, though as Boyd later said “I probably shouldn't have been producing the record. My lack of respect for the group was clear, and couldn't have helped the atmosphere. We'd put out a record that had sold disappointingly, A&M was unhappy. Sandy's tracks on the first record are among the best things she ever did – the rest of it, who cares? And the artwork, Trevor's sister, was terrible. It would have been one thing if I'd been unhappy with it and it sold, and the group was working all the time, making money, but that wasn't the case … I knew what Sandy was capable of, and it was very upsetting to me.” The record would not be released for thirty-eight years: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “Wild Mountain Thyme”] Witchseason was going badly into debt. Given all the fissioning of bands that we’ve already been talking about, Boyd had been stretched thin — he produced sixteen albums in 1970, and almost all of them lost money for the company. And he was getting more and more disillusioned with the people he was producing. He loved Beverly Martyn’s work, but had little time for her abusive husband John, who was dominating her recording and life more and more and would soon become a solo artist while making her stay at home (and stealing her ideas without giving her songwriting credit). The Incredible String Band were great, but they had recently converted to Scientology, which Boyd found annoying, and while he was working with all sorts of exciting artists like Vashti Bunyan and Nico, he was finding himself less and less important to the artists he mentored. Fairport Convention were a good example of this. After Denny and Hutchings had left the group, they’d decided to carry on as an electric folk group, performing an equal mix of originals by the Swarbrick and Thompson songwriting team and arrangements of traditional songs. The group were now far enough away from the “British Jefferson Airplane” label that they decided they didn’t need a female vocalist — and more realistically, while they’d been able to replace Judy Dyble, nobody was going to replace Sandy Denny. Though it’s rather surprising when one considers Thompson’s subsequent career that nobody seems to have thought of bringing in Denny’s friend Linda Peters, who was dating Joe Boyd at the time (as Denny had been before she met Lucas) as Denny’s replacement. Instead, they decided that Swarbrick and Thompson were going to share the vocals between them. They did, though, need a bass player to replace Hutchings. Swarbrick wanted to bring in Dave Pegg, with whom he had played in the Ian Campbell Folk Group, but the other band members initially thought the idea was a bad one. At the time, while they respected Swarbrick as a musician, they didn’t think he fully understood rock and roll yet, and they thought the idea of getting in a folkie who had played double bass rather than an electric rock bassist ridiculous. But they auditioned him to mollify Swarbrick, and found that he was exactly what they needed. As Joe Boyd later said “All those bass lines were great, Ashley invented them all, but he never could play them that well. He thought of them, but he was technically not a terrific bass player. He was a very inventive, melodic, bass player, but not a very powerful one technically. But having had the part explained to him once, Pegg was playing it better than Ashley had ever played it… In some rock bands, I think, ultimately, the bands that sound great, you can generally trace it to the bass player… it was at that point they became a great band, when they had Pegg.” The new lineup of Fairport decided to move in together, and found a former pub called the Angel, into which all the band members moved, along with their partners and children (Thompson was the only one who was single at this point) and their roadies. The group lived together quite happily, and one gets the impression that this was the period when they were most comfortable with each other, even though by this point they were a disparate group with disparate tastes, in music as in everything else. Several people have said that the only music all the band members could agree they liked at this point was the first two albums by The Band. With the departure of Hutchings from the band, Swarbrick and Thompson, as the strongest personalities and soloists, became in effect the joint leaders of the group, and they became collaborators as songwriters, trying to write new songs that were inspired by traditional music. Thompson described the process as “let’s take one line of this reel and slow it down and move it up a minor third and see what that does to it; let’s take one line of this ballad and make a whole song out of it. Chopping up the tradition to find new things to do… like a collage.” Generally speaking, Swarbrick and Thompson would sit by the fire and Swarbrick would play a melody he’d been working on, the two would work on it for a while, and Thompson would then go away and write the lyrics. This is how the two came up with songs like the nine-minute “Sloth”, a highlight of the next album, Full House, and one that would remain in Fairport’s live set for much of their career: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sloth”] “Sloth” was titled that way because Thompson and Swarbrick were working on two tunes, a slow one and a fast one, and they jokingly named them “Sloth” and “Fasth”, but the latter got renamed to “Walk Awhile”, while “Sloth” kept its working title. But by this point, Boyd and Thompson were having a lot of conflict in the studio. Boyd was never the most technical of producers — he was one of those producers whose job is to gently guide the artists in the studio and create a space for the music to flourish, rather than the Joe Meek type with an intimate technical knowledge of the studio — and as the artists he was working with gained confidence in their own work they felt they had less and less need of him. During the making of the Full House album, Thompson and Boyd, according to Boyd, clashed on everything — every time Boyd thought Thompson had done a good solo, Thompson would say to erase it and let him have another go, while every time Boyd thought Thompson could do better, Thompson would say that was the take to keep. One of their biggest clashes was over Thompson’s song “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”, which was originally intended for release on the album, and is included in current reissues of it: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”] Thompson had written that song inspired by what he thought was the unjust treatment of Alex Bramham, the driver in Fairport’s fatal car crash, by the courts — Bramham had been given a prison sentence of a few months for dangerous driving, while the group members thought he had not been at fault. Boyd thought it was one of the best things recorded for the album, but Thompson wasn’t happy with his vocal — there was one note at the top of the melody that he couldn’t quite hit — and insisted it be kept off the record, even though that meant it would be a shorter album than normal. He did this at such a late stage that early copies of the album actually had the title printed on the sleeve, but then blacked out. He now says in his autobiography “I could have persevered, double-tracked the voice, warmed up for longer – anything. It was a good track, and the record was lacking without it. When the album was re-released, the track was restored with a more confident vocal, and it has stayed there ever since.” During the sessions for Full House the group also recorded one non-album single, Thompson and Swarbrick’s “Now Be Thankful”: [Excerpt, Fairport Convention, “Now Be Thankful”] The B-side to that was a medley of two traditional tunes plus a Swarbrick original, but was given the deliberately ridiculous title “Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie”: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie”] The B. McKenzie in the title was a reference to the comic-strip character Barry McKenzie, a stereotype drunk Australian created for Private Eye magazine by the comedian Barry Humphries (later to become better known for his Dame Edna Everage character) but the title was chosen for one reason only — to get into the Guinness Book of Records for the song with the longest title. Which they did, though they were later displaced by the industrial band Test Dept, and their song “Long Live British Democracy Which Flourishes and Is Constantly Perfected Under the Immaculate Guidance of the Great, Honourable, Generous and Correct Margaret Hilda Thatcher. She Is the Blue Sky in the Hearts of All Nations. Our People Pay Homage and Bow in Deep Respect and Gratitude to Her. The Milk of Human Kindness”. Full House got excellent reviews in the music press, with Rolling Stone saying “The music shows that England has finally gotten her own equivalent to The Band… By calling Fairport an English equivalent of the Band, I meant that they have soaked up enough of the tradition of their countryfolk that it begins to show all over, while they maintain their roots in rock.” Off the back of this, the group went on their first US tour, culminating in a series of shows at the Troubadour in LA, on the same bill as Rick Nelson, which were recorded and later released as a live album: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sloth (live)”] The Troubadour was one of the hippest venues at the time, and over their residency there the group got seen by many celebrities, some of whom joined them on stage. The first was Linda Ronstadt, who initially demurred, saying she didn’t know any of their songs. On being told they knew all of hers, she joined in with a rendition of “Silver Threads and Golden Needles”. Thompson was later asked to join Ronstadt’s backing band, who would go on to become the Eagles, but he said later of this offer “I would have hated it. I’d have hated being on the road with four or five miserable Americans — they always seem miserable. And if you see them now, they still look miserable on stage — like they don’t want to be there and they don’t like each other.” The group were also joined on stage at the Troubadour on one memorable night by some former bandmates of Pegg’s. Before joining the Ian Campbell Folk Group, Pegg had played around the Birmingham beat scene, and had been in bands with John Bonham and Robert Plant, who turned up to the Troubadour with their Led Zeppelin bandmate Jimmy Page (reports differ on whether the fourth member of Zeppelin, John Paul Jones, also came along). They all got up on stage together and jammed on songs like “Hey Joe”, “Louie Louie”, and various old Elvis tunes. The show was recorded, and the tapes are apparently still in the possession of Joe Boyd, who has said he refuses to release them in case he is murdered by the ghost of Peter Grant. According to Thompson, that night ended in a three-way drinking contest between Pegg, Bonham, and Janis Joplin, and it’s testament to how strong the drinking culture is around Fairport and the British folk scene in general that Pegg outdrank both of them. According to Thompson, Bonham was found naked by a swimming pool two days later, having missed two gigs. For all their hard rock image, Led Zeppelin were admirers of a lot of the British folk and folk-rock scene, and a few months later Sandy Denny would become the only outside vocalist ever to appear on a Led Zeppelin record when she duetted with Plant on “The Battle of Evermore” on the group’s fourth album: [Excerpt: Led Zeppelin, “The Battle of Evermore”] Denny would never actually get paid for her appearance on one of the best-selling albums of all time. That was, incidentally, not the only session that Denny was involved in around this time — she also sang on the soundtrack to a soft porn film titled Swedish Fly Girls, whose soundtrack was produced by Manfred Mann: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “What Will I Do With Tomorrow?”] Shortly after Fairport’s trip to America, Joe Boyd decided he was giving up on Witchseason. The company was now losing money, and he was finding himself having to produce work for more and more acts as the various bands fissioned. The only ones he really cared about were Richard Thompson, who he was finding it more and more difficult to work with, Nick Drake, who wanted to do his next album with just an acoustic guitar anyway, Sandy Denny, who he felt was wasting her talents in Fotheringay, and Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band, who was more distant since his conversion to Scientology. Boyd did make some attempts to keep the company going. On a trip to Sweden, he negotiated an agreement with the manager and publisher of a Swedish band whose songs he’d found intriguing, the Hep Stars. Boyd was going to publish their songs in the UK, and in return that publisher, Stig Anderson, would get the rights to Witchseason’s catalogue in Scandinavia — a straight swap, with no money changing hands. But before Boyd could get round to signing the paperwork, he got a better offer from Mo Ostin of Warners — Ostin wanted Boyd to come over to LA and head up Warners’ new film music department. Boyd sold Witchseason to Island Records and moved to LA with his fiancee Linda Peters, spending the next few years working on music for films like Deliverance and A Clockwork Orange, as well as making his own documentary about Jimi Hendrix, and thus missed out on getting the UK publishing rights for ABBA, and all the income that would have brought him, for no money. And it was that decision that led to the breakup of Fotheringay. Just before Christmas 1970, Fotheringay were having a difficult session, recording the track “John the Gun”: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “John the Gun”] Boyd got frustrated and kicked everyone out of the session, and went for a meal and several drinks with Denny. He kept insisting that she should dump the band and just go solo, and then something happened that the two of them would always describe differently. She asked him if he would continue to produce her records if she went solo, and he said he would. According to Boyd’s recollection of the events, he meant that he would fly back from California at some point to produce her records. According to Denny, he told her that if she went solo he would stay in Britain and not take the job in LA. This miscommunication was only discovered after Denny told the rest of Fotheringay after the Christmas break that she was splitting the band. Jerry Donahue has described that as the worst moment of his life, and Denny felt very guilty about breaking up a band with some of her closest friends in — and then when Boyd went over to the US anyway she felt a profound betrayal. Two days before Fotheringay’s final concert, in January 1971, Sandy Denny signed a solo deal with Island records, but her first solo album would not end up produced by Joe Boyd. Instead, The North Star Grassman and the Ravens was co-produced by Denny, John Wood — the engineer who had worked with Boyd on pretty much everything he’d produced, and Richard Thompson, who had just quit Fairport Convention, though he continued living with them at the Angel, at least until a truck crashed into the building in February 1971, destroying its entire front wall and forcing them to relocate. The songs chosen for The North Star Grassman and the Ravens reflected the kind of choices Denny would make on her future albums, and her eclectic taste in music. There was, of course, the obligatory Dylan cover, and the traditional folk ballad “Blackwaterside”, but there was also a cover version of Brenda Lee’s “Let’s Jump the Broomstick”: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Let’s Jump the Broomstick”] Most of the album, though, was made up of originals about various people in Denny’s life, like “Next Time Around”, about her ex-boyfriend Jackson C Frank: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Next Time Around”] The album made the top forty in the UK — Denny’s only solo album to do so — and led to her once again winning the “best female singer” award in Melody Maker’s readers’ poll that year — the male singer award was won by Rod Stewart. Both Stewart and Denny appeared the next year on the London Symphony Orchestra’s all-star version of The Who’s Tommy, which had originally been intended as a vehicle for Stewart before Roger Daltrey got involved. Stewart’s role was reduced to a single song, “Pinball Wizard”, while Denny sang on “It’s a Boy”: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “It’s a Boy”] While Fotheringay had split up, all the band members play on The North Star Grassman and the Ravens. Guitarists Donahue and Lucas only play on a couple of the tracks, with Richard Thompson playing most of the guitar on the record. But Fotheringay’s rhythm section of Pat Donaldson and Gerry Conway play on almost every track. Another musician on the album, Ian Whiteman, would possibly have a profound effect on the future direction of Richard Thompson’s career and life. Whiteman was the former keyboard player for the mod band The Action, having joined them just before they became the blues-rock band Mighty Baby. But Mighty Baby had split up when all of the band except the lead singer had converted to Islam. Richard Thompson was on his own spiritual journey at this point, and became a Sufi – the same branch of Islam as Whiteman – soon after the session, though Thompson has said that his conversion was independent of Whiteman’s. The two did become very close and work together a lot in the mid-seventies though. Thompson had supposedly left Fairport because he was writing material that wasn’t suited to the band, but he spent more than a year after quitting the group working on sessions rather than doing anything with his own material, and these sessions tended to involve the same core group of musicians. One of the more unusual was a folk-rock supergroup called The Bunch, put together by Trevor Lucas. Richard Branson had recently bought a recording studio, and wanted a band to test it out before opening it up for commercial customers, so with this free studio time Lucas decided to record a set of fifties rock and roll covers. He gathered together Thompson, Denny, Whiteman, Ashley Hutchings, Dave Mattacks, Pat Donaldson, Gerry Conway, pianist Tony Cox, the horn section that would later form the core of the Average White Band, and Linda Peters, who had now split up with Joe Boyd and returned to the UK, and who had started dating Thompson. They recorded an album of covers of songs by Jerry Lee Lewis, the Everly Brothers, Johnny Otis and others: [Excerpt: The Bunch, “Willie and the Hand Jive”] The early seventies was a hugely productive time for this group of musicians, as they all continued playing on each other’s projects. One notable album was No Roses by Shirley Collins, which featured Thompson, Mattacks, Whiteman, Simon Nicol, Lal and Mike Waterson, and Ashley Hutchings, who was at that point married to Collins, as well as some more unusual musicians like the free jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill: [Excerpt: Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band, “Claudy Banks”] Collins was at the time the most respected female singer in British traditional music, and already had a substantial career including a series of important records made with her sister Dolly, work with guitarists like Davey Graham, and time spent in the 1950s collecting folk songs in the Southern US with her then partner Alan Lomax – according to Collins she did much of the actual work, but Lomax only mentioned her in a single sentence in his book on this work. Some of the same group of musicians went on to work on an album of traditional Morris dancing tunes, titled Morris On, credited to “Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield”, with Collins singing lead on two tracks: [Excerpt: Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield with Shirley Collins, “The Willow Tree”] Thompson thought that that album was the best of the various side projects he was involved in at the time, comparing it favourably to Rock On, which he thought was rather slight, saying later “Conceptually, Fairport, Ashley and myself and Sandy were developing a more fragile style of music that nobody else was particularly interested in, a British Folk Rock idea that had a logical development to it, although we all presented it our own way. Morris On was rather more true to what we were doing. Rock On was rather a retro step. I'm not sure it was lasting enough as a record but Sandy did sing really well on the Buddy Holly songs.” Hutchings used the musicians on No Roses and Morris On as the basis for his band the Albion Band, which continues to this day. Simon Nicol and Dave Mattacks both quit Fairport to join the Albion Band, though Mattacks soon returned. Nicol would not return to Fairport for several years, though, and for a long period in the mid-seventies Fairport Convention had no original members. Unfortunately, while Collins was involved in the Albion Band early on, she and Hutchings ended up divorcing, and the stress from the divorce led to Collins developing spasmodic dysphonia, a stress-related illness which makes it impossible for the sufferer to sing. She did eventually regain her vocal ability, but between 1978 and 2016 she was unable to perform at all, and lost decades of her career. Richard Thompson occasionally performed with the Albion Band early on, but he was getting stretched a little thin with all these sessions. Linda Peters said later of him “When I came back from America, he was working in Sandy’s band, and doing sessions by the score. Always with Pat Donaldson and Dave Mattacks. Richard would turn up with his guitar, one day he went along to do a session with one of those folkie lady singers — and there were Pat and DM. They all cracked. Richard smashed his amp and said “Right! No more sessions!” In 1972 he got round to releasing his first solo album, Henry the Human Fly, which featured guest appearances by Linda Peters and Sandy Denny among others: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “The Angels Took My Racehorse Away”] Unfortunately, while that album has later become regarded as one of the classics of its genre, at the time it was absolutely slated by the music press. The review in Melody Maker, for example, read in part “Some of Richard Thompson’s ideas sound great – which is really the saving grace of this album, because most of the music doesn’t. The tragedy is that Thompson’s “British rock music” is such an unconvincing concoction… Even the songs that do integrate rock and traditional styles of electric guitar rhythms and accordion and fiddle decoration – and also include explicit, meaningful lyrics are marred by bottle-up vocals, uninspiring guitar phrases and a general lack of conviction in performance.” Henry the Human Fly was released in the US by Warners, who had a reciprocal licensing deal with Island (and for whom Joe Boyd was working at the time, which may have had something to do with that) but according to Thompson it became the lowest-selling record that Warners ever put out (though I’ve also seen that claim made about Van Dyke Parks’ Song Cycle, another album that has later been rediscovered). Thompson was hugely depressed by this reaction, and blamed his own singing. Happily, though, by this point he and Linda had become a couple — they would marry in 1972 — and they started playing folk clubs as a duo, or sometimes in a trio with Simon Nicol. Thompson was also playing with Sandy Denny’s backing band at this point, and played on every track on her second solo album, Sandy. This album was meant to be her big commercial breakthrough, with a glamorous cover photo by David Bailey, and with a more American sound, including steel guitar by Sneaky Pete Kleinow of the Flying Burrito Brothers (whose overdubs were supervised in LA by Joe Boyd): [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Tomorrow is a Long Time”] The album was given a big marketing push by Island, and “Listen, Listen” was made single of the week on the Radio 1 Breakfast show: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Listen, Listen”] But it did even worse than the previous album, sending her into something of a depression. Linda Thompson (as the former Linda Peters now was) said of this period “After the Sandy album, it got her down that her popularity didn't suddenly increase in leaps and bounds, and that was the start of her really fretting about the way her career was going. Things only escalated after that. People like me or Martin Carthy or Norma Waterson would think, ‘What are you on about? This is folk music.'” After Sandy’s release, Denny realised she could no longer afford to tour with a band, and so went back to performing just acoustically or on piano. The only new music to be released by either of these ex-members of Fairport Convention in 1973 was, oddly, on an album by the band they were no longer members of. After Thompson had left Fairport, the group had managed to release two whole albums with the same lineup — Swarbrick, Nicol, Pegg, and Mattacks. But then Nicol and Mattacks had both quit the band to join the Albion Band with their former bandmate Ashley Hutchings, leading to a situation where the Albion Band had two original members of Fairport plus their longtime drummer while Fairport Convention itself had no original members and was down to just Swarbrick and Pegg. Needing to fulfil their contracts, they then recruited three former members of Fotheringay — Lucas on vocals and rhythm guitar, Donahue on lead guitar, and Conway on drums. Conway was only a session player at the time, and Mattacks soon returned to the band, but Lucas and Donahue became full-time members. This new lineup of Fairport Convention released two albums in 1973, widely regarded as the group’s most inconsistent records, and on the title track of the first, “Rosie”, Richard Thompson guested on guitar, with Sandy Denny and Linda Thompson on backing vocals: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Rosie”] Neither Sandy Denny nor Richard Thompson released a record themselves in 1973, but in neither case was this through the artists’ choice. The record industry was changing in the early 1970s, as we’ll see in later episodes, and was less inclined to throw good money after bad in the pursuit of art. Island Records prided itself on being a home for great artists, but it was still a business, and needed to make money. We’ll talk about the OPEC oil crisis and its effect on the music industry much more when the podcast gets to 1973, but in brief, the production of oil by the US peaked in 1970 and started to decrease, leading to them importing more and more oil from the Middle East. As a result of this, oil prices rose slowly between 1971 and 1973, then very quickly towards the end of 1973 as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict that year. As vinyl is made of oil, suddenly producing records became much more expensive, and in this period a lot of labels decided not to release already-completed albums, until what they hoped would be a brief period of shortages passed. Both Denny and Thompson recorded albums at this point that got put to one side by Island. In the case of Thompson, it was the first album by Richard and Linda as a duo, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight”] Today, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, and as one of the two masterpieces that bookended Richard and Linda’s career as a duo and their marriage. But when they recorded the album, full of Richard’s dark songs, it was the opposite of commercial. Even a song that’s more or less a boy-girl song, like “Has He Got a Friend for Me?” has lyrics like “He wouldn’t notice me passing by/I could be in the gutter, or dangling down from a tree” [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “Has He got a Friend For Me?”] While something like “The Calvary Cross” is oblique and haunted, and seems to cast a pall over the entire album: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “The Calvary Cross”] The album itself had been cheap to make — it had been recorded in only a week, with Thompson bringing in musicians he knew well and had worked with a lot previously to cut the tracks as-live in only a handful of takes — but Island didn’t think it was worth releasing. The record stayed on the shelf for nearly a year after recording, until Island got a new head of A&R, Richard Williams. Williams said of the album’s release “Muff Winwood had been doing A&R, but he was more interested in production… I had a conversation with Muff as soon as I got there, and he said there are a few hangovers, some outstanding problems. And one of them was Richard Thompson. He said there’s this album we gave him the money to make — which was I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight — and nobody’s very interested in it. Henry the Human Fly had been a bit of a commercial disappointment, and although Island was altruistic and independent and known for only recording good stuff, success was important… Either a record had to do well or somebody had to believe in it a lot. And it seemed as if neither of those things were true at that point of Richard.” Williams, though, was hugely impressed when he listened to the album. He compared Richard Thompson’s guitar playing to John Coltrane’s sax, and called Thompson “the folk poet of the rainy streets”, but also said “Linda brightened it, made it more commercial. and I thought that “Bright Lights” itself seemed a really commercial song.” The rest of the management at Island got caught up in Williams’ enthusiasm, and even decided to release the title track as a single: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight”] Neither single nor album charted — indeed it would not be until 1991 that Richard Thompson would make a record that made the top forty in the UK — but the album got enough critical respect that Richard and Linda released two albums the year after. The first of these, Hokey Pokey, is a much more upbeat record than their previous one — Richard Thompson has called it “quite a music-hall influenced record” and cited the influence of George Formby and Harry Lauder. For once, the claim of music hall influence is audible in the music. Usually when a British musician is claimed to have a music ha

Franklin County's new 2025 Health Map is here, offering an updated look at the region's biggest health challenges—and signs of progress. What do the latest numbers tell us about healthcare access, infant mortality, adverse childhood experiences, and more? Featuring: Joe Mazzola, Franklin County Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika W. Roberts, Health Commissioner, Columbus Public Health Dr. Andrew Thomas, Chief Clinical Officer, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center The host is Tracy Townsend, Medical Correspondent and Anchor, 10TV News This Morning. The presenting sponsors of CMC's long-running Optimal Health Series are Nationwide Children's Hospital, OhioHealth, and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. This forum was sponsored by Mount Carmel Health System, Cardinal Health, and Ian Alexander Photography.  The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on June 18, 2025.

Central Ohio's economic future is high-tech—but is our education system ready? With new semiconductor plants, clean energy facilities, and advanced logistics hubs rising across the region, the workforce of tomorrow will need advanced skills today. This week, the Columbus Metropolitan Club welcomes a panel of business and education leaders for a candid discussion on what it will take to prepare Ohio students for careers in STEM, AI, and other fast-evolving industries. Featuring: Geena Gamble, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist, Worthington Enterprises Lisa Gray, President, Ohio Excels Pat Tiberi, President and CEO, Ohio Business Roundtable The host is Alissa Widman Neese, Reporter, Axios. This forum was sponsored by Communities in Schools of Ohio and The Girl Scouts of Ohio's Heartland. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on June 11, 2025.

Optimal Health Series Is Ohio headed for a crisis in health coverage, especially for mental health and addiction services? More than a decade ago, Ohio's Medicaid expansion was a game changer, extending coverage to over 700,000 Ohioans and providing a lifeline to thousands of Ohioans in need of mental health and addiction treatment services. Expansion worked: uninsured rates dropped, medical debt decreased, health improved, and emergency room visits went down. In just four years, 630,000 Ohioans received treatment for mental illness or substance use disorder, a victory in the fight against opioid addiction. In 2024, forty percent of adults covered by expansion had a primary mental health and/or substance use disorder diagnosis. These gains may now be in jeopardy: Governor DeWine's new proposed biennial budget includes a so-called “kill-switch” provision that would automatically end mental health and addiction services provided through the expansion if federal Medicaid funding is reduced. With key leaders and policy experts, we'll unpack the impact Medicaid has had on health outcomes in Ohio and the consequences facing patients in recovery if the state's landmark care expansion is abandoned. Featuring: Oyauma Garrison, President & CEO, Maryhaven, Inc. Rachelle Martin; Executive Director, National Alliance on Mental Illness of Franklin County Amy Bush Stevens, Amy Bush Stevens Consulting, LLC, Consultant to the Health Policy Institute of Ohio The host is Greg Moody, Director of Professional Development, The John Glenn College of Public Affairs, The Ohio State University The presenting sponsors of the CMC Optimal Health Series are Nationwide Children's Hospital, OhioHealth, and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. This forum was sponsored by Maryhaven. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on June 4, 2025.  

Canada isn't just a neighbor—it's Ohio's number one international trading partner. In this week's Columbus Metropolitan Club forum, we explore what recent U.S.-Canada trade tensions could mean for jobs, industries, and the economic future of Central Ohio.  Featuring: Colin Bird, Consul General of Canada in Detroit Allison Russo, Ohio State Representative, District 7, and Statehouse Minority Leader Bala Sathyanarayanan, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Greif The host is Dan Eaton, Senior Reporter, Columbus Business First. This forum was sponsored by The Ohio Manufacturers' Association. The forum partners were The Columbus Council on World Affairs and The League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Columbus.  The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on May 21, 2025.

Why are your property taxes going up — and where is that money actually going? This week's CMC forum tackles the property tax questions on everyone's mind, with experts who understand the system inside and out. From home values to school funding, to mills and assessments, our panel helps make sense of it all. Featuring: Michael D. Cole, President, Columbus City School Board Greg Lawson, Research Fellow, The Buckeye Institute And Michael Stinziano, Franklin County Auditor The host is Anna Staver, State Government and Politics Reporter for Cleveland.com and The Cleveland Plain Dealer. This forum was sponsored by Bricker Graydon. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis. Recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on May 14, 2025.

Central Ohio is prospering, but economic mobility remains out of reach for many families. This forum explores the stark racial and economic disparities in the Columbus region and asks what new policies and community actions are needed to ensure shared prosperity. Featuring: Lourdes Barroso de Padilla, Columbus City Councilmember Keith Jones, President & CEO, Oakwood Management Duwain Pinder, Partner, Ohio - Columbus, McKinsey & Company Dr. Jason Reece, Associate Professor, City and Regional Planning, Knowlton School of Architecture, The Ohio State University The host is Mataryun "Mo" Wright, President & CEO, RAMA Consulting Group. This forum was sponsored by The Crane Group, The McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility, and The Robert Weiler Company. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's promotional and livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on May 7, 2025.

Bioscience breakthroughs are transforming lives in Central Ohio. From cutting-edge gene therapies to world-first medical devices, the region's life sciences sector is booming—and saving lives. This week's Columbus Metropolitan Club forum brings together scientific leaders and business innovators to explore how research, investment, and clinical development are coming together to power the next generation of healthcare innovation.  Featuring:  Dr. Frank Agbogbo, Vice President of Process Development, Forge Biologics  Dr. Erandi De Silva, Investment Partner, Drive Capital  Dr. Louise Rodino-Klapac, Executive Vice President, Head of R&D, and Chief Scientific Officer, Sarepta  Robin Sears, President and CEO, LENTECHS  The host is Tyler Allchin, Managing Director, Healthcare, JobsOhio This forum was created in partnership with the 2025 COSI Science Festival, and was sponsored by: Armatus Bio, Battelle, Holder Construction, Ohio Life Sciences, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and Sarepta. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. Our livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on April 30, 2025. 

Jane Scott Legacy in Civic Engagement Forum Celebrating Community Leaders If “The Columbus Way” were a river, its source might just be The Columbus Partnership. In this one-on-one conversation, the Partnership's new President and CEO Jason Hall shares his vision for the influential coalition of regional CEOs. As Columbus grows, so does the importance of collaborative leadership—and Hall's next steps could help shape the future of Central Ohio's economy, equity, and civic identity. Featuring: Jason Hall, President and CEO, The Columbus Partnership The host is Sophia Fifner, President and CEO, The Columbus Metropolitan Club The forum's presenting sponsor was Nationwide. This forum was also sponsored by The Columbus Landmarks Foundation, The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Encova Insurance, The Edwards Companies, Huntington, Smoot Construction, and The United Way of Central Ohio. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis.

What does the Federal Reserve actually do—and why should it matter to Central Ohioans? Beth Hammack, the new president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, sits down with CMC to explain her role, how the Fed operates, and how it impacts your paycheck, your mortgage, and our regional economy. Featuring: Beth Hammack, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.  The host is award-winning news anchor Clay Gordon. This forum was sponsored by Homeport. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch.  This forum was also supported by The Ellis.  This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on April 16, 2025. 

Columbus appears to be on track to keep an important promise: The Columbus Promise. The innovative education partnership launched in 2021 with the goal of sending more Columbus City School graduates to college, boosting their own life trajectories and helping Central Ohio supercharge its workforce. The Columbus Promise lets any graduate of Columbus City Schools attend Columbus State Community College at no cost for six semesters and provides a $500 stipend each semester plus academic support.  Now the Promise is no longer just a pilot. The program's key partners – the City of Columbus, Columbus City Schools, I Know I Can, and Columbus State – and an array of private backers – have all recently recommitted to launching a new phase of the program, with more than half of a new $25 million goal already raised.  With a panel of leaders, we unpack the Columbus Promise, explore its origins and impact, and get an inside look at what happens next. Featuring Dr. Angela Chapman, Superintendent/CEO, Columbus City Schools Janelle Coleman, Vice President, Community Engagement & Corporate Philanthropy and President, AEP Foundation Shannon Hardin, President, Columbus City Council  Dr. Desiree Polk-Bland, Senior Vice President for Student Success, Columbus State Community College The moderator is Colleen Marshall, News Anchor, NBC4, and host of "NBC4's The Spectrum." This presenting sponsor of this forum was The Columbus Foundation. This forum was also sponsored by Cardinal Health and American Electric Power. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on April 9, 2025.

BIG things are happening in Central Ohio! With top leaders, we dig into some of the BIGGEST construction and development projects happening right now in our region, including the new $2B Columbus Airport terminal, the $200M reimagining of the Ohio Expo Center & State Fair, defense contractor Anduril's just-announced state-of-the-art plant, and the highway and transportation systems that will tie it all together. We explore where big ideas come from, and the partnerships and workforce that's essential to turn big dreams into tomorrow's Central Ohio reality.  Featuring:  Pamela Boratyn, Director, The Ohio Department of Transportation Connor Brogan, Arsenal-1 Project Leader, Anduril Matt Kunz, Vice President and Columbus General Manager, Turner Construction  And Joseph Nardone, President & CEO, The Columbus Regional Airport Authority  The host is Angela An, News Anchor, WBNS 10TV. This forum was sponsored by Barton Malow, The Columbus Regional Airport Authority, HNTB, Public Sector Consulting, and Turner Construction.  The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. It was also supported by The Ellis. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on April 2, 2025.  

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's new proposed $218 billion two-year state budget promises to completely fund the state's public education system, to deliver a tax credit for parents with minimum-wage jobs, and provides higher funding for children's services, including childcare, literacy, and vision programs. With the Governor's proposal in hand, Ohio lawmakers now have until July 1, 2025 to shape the budget and return it to the Governor's desk. CMC welcomes Ohio Governor Mike DeWine for an in-depth conversation on his proposed budget and his priorities for the state. Featuring:  Governor Mike DeWine, State of Ohio  The host is Jo Ingles, Journalist & Producer, Statehouse News Bureau.  This forum was sponsored by The United Way of Central Ohio, The Ohio Farm Bureau, The Columbus Chamber of Commerce, Public Sector Consulting, Ian Alexander Photography, HNTB, and Smoot Construction. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis.  This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on March 26, 2025. 

Ohio's energy demand is set to skyrocket with the rise of data centers, electric vehicles, and the shutdown of aging power plants. Can the state's power generation keep pace, or will electricity shortages hinder Ohio's growth? Major tech companies are establishing data centers in central Ohio, consuming a growing portion of the state's power supply to support consumers and power-intensive technologies like AI. Additionally, the retirement of some fossil-fuel power plants and the unpredictability of renewable sources like wind and solar add further pressure to Ohio's energy system. With industry leaders and experts, we explore the real “power play” essential for the state's economic growth. Featuring:  Ryan Augsburger, President, The Ohio Manufacturers' Association  Kenny McDonald, President & CEO, One Columbus  Janine Migden-Ostrander, Pace University Law School E   nergy & Climate Center, and Former Ohio Consumers' Counsel  Todd Snitchler, President & CEO, Electric Power Supply Association  The host is Bryant Petway, Construction Executive, ArchKey Solutions  This forum was sponsored by The Columbus Region. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch.  This forum was also supported by The Ellis.  This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on March 19, 2025.   

Columbus is more than lucky: the city is home to a vast array of performing arts organizations that bring vibrancy, expression, and wonder to Ohio's state capital through theater, dance, ballet, live music performances, and more. Artists, venues, and companies abound, plus scores of associated programs that seek to inspire young people to learn about themselves by exploring the world of performing arts. While audiences are filling events, funding remains a challenge, with uncertainties around public funding that are driving arts organizations to build innovative partnerships with each other and supporters. With Central Ohio's rising population, demand for the performing arts is expected to grow, and new venues to handle the growth are in the works: CAPA is raising $14 million to renovate an historic church on Third Street in downtown into a new multipurpose arts venue, while the Columbus Symphony last year unveiled plans for a breathtaking new 200,000-square-foot venue that would be the city's first purpose-built concert hall, and Shadowbox's Up Front Performance Space is also now newly-renovated. With representatives from key venues and organizations, we take stock of the state of performing arts in Columbus with industry leaders for a look behind the curtains. Featuring:  Daniel Walshaw, Chief Operating Officer, Columbus Symphony Chad Whittington, President and CEO, The Columbus Association for the Performing Arts Stacie Boord, CEO, Shadowbox Live Regina Ann Campbell, CEO, King Arts Complex The host is Jami Goldstein, Chief Creative Officer, The Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC). This forum was sponsored by The Carol A. McGuire Legacy in Civic Engagement Fund and The Greater Columbus Arts Council.  The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch.  This forum was also supported by The Ellis.  This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on March 12, 2025. 

In partnership with The Women's Fund of Central Ohio, this CMC forum unveils the latest research featuring new data on the critical resources that women in Central Ohio need – and often lack – to build wealth. Women face distinct hurdles in accumulating personal wealth, and the implications are huge: according to the Federal Reserve, closing gender and racial wealth gaps could have expanded Ohio's GDP by a staggering $67 billion from 2005 to 2019. Despite women's substantial contribution to Central Ohio's economy, disaggregated research has been lacking—until now. With a panel of passionate leaders, we discuss these fresh findings and shed light on how women in Central Ohio can overcome barriers to wealth creation. Featuring: Keena Smith, CEO, The Women's Center for Economic Opportunity Shannon Isom, President and CEO, Community Shelter Board Lisa Gray, Founding President, Ohio Excels And Alex Dorman, Research Fellow, The Center for Community Solutions The host is Courtney Falato, Vice President and Program Officer, Global Philanthropy, JPMorgan Chase & Co. This forum was sponsored by The Mary Lazarus Legacy in Civic Engagement Fund and JPMorgan Chase & Co. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Women's Fund of Central Ohio and Vue Columbus. This forum was recorded before a live audience at Vue Columbus in Columbus' historic Brewery District on March 5, 2025. Click here to read the subject of this forum, The Women's Fund of Central Ohio's recent research report, "Making Women Wealthy and Free."

The Columbus Chamber of Commerce and The Ohio Chamber of Commerce both help drive Ohio's economy. How do they collaborate to support businesses, and where do they see opportunities for growth in Central Ohio? This conversation explores the biggest challenges facing Ohio's business climate and the initiatives and partnerships needed to ensure a strong future for the region's employers, workers, and the broader economy. Featuring: Derrick Clay, President & CEO, The Columbus Chamber of Commerce Steve Stivers, President & CEO, The Ohio Chamber of Commerce The host is award-winning news anchor Clay Gordon. This forum was sponsored by The Columbus Chamber of Commerce and Huntington Bank. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on February 26, 2025.

This CMC forum features a 1:1 conversation with U.S Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, representing Ohio's Third Congressional District since 2013. We'll cover Congresswoman Beatty's legislative priorities and unpack current events in Washington for an in-depth look at the state of federal politics and U.S. democracy. Featuring:  Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, Third Ohio Congressional District, United States House of Representatives  The host is Karen Kasler, Bureau Chief, Statehouse News Bureau.  This forum was sponsored by The Robert Weiler Company. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis.  This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on February 19, 2025. 

Looming federal budget cuts could mean significant reductions in safety-net services for Central Ohio's most vulnerable populations, including immigrants and refugees. How will these changes affect our communities, and how are local nonprofit leaders responding? Our expert panel explores what's at stake and what steps can be taken to mitigate the impact. Featuring: Dr. Seleshi Asfaw, President & CEO, Tewahedo Social Services Elizabeth Brown, President & CEO, YWCA Columbus Michael Corey, Executive Director, Human Service Chamber of Franklin County Shannon Hardin, President, Columbus City Council The host is Dr. Lisa Courtice, President and CEO, The United Way of Central Ohio. This forum was sponsored by Installed Building Products, Mollard Consulting, Nationwide, and The United Way of Central Ohio. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on February 12, 2025.

Hello to you listening around the world!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey with your host Diane Wyzga.About a block from my library or a block from the post office sits a house on a corner. Propped against this house I saw a very large sheet of plywood. Spray-painted in large black letters were these words: Kill Lawyers - Not Cops.    Putting aside any 1st Amendment right of free speech arguments or the notion that many folks don't like lawyers until they need one, I have a question: When and how did we arrive at this place? When and how did we depart from human kindness, civility, and manners?  I've often spoken to the man who lives in this house as I passed by on my walk, admired his sunflowers, commented on the weather. I plan to walk up to his door and say, “I am a lawyer. Are you going to kill me? Or do you wish someone would?” I want to hear how he arrived at his position. And then perhaps get him to put away his larger-than-life sign before some yahoo takes him up on the dare.Practical Tip: Be of speech a little more careful than anything else today, tomorrow, and forever.  You're always invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, would you subscribe and spread the word with a generous 5-star review and comment - it helps us all - and join us next time!Meanwhile, stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website to:✓ Check out Services I Offer✓ Arrange your no-sales, Complimentary Coaching Consult ✓ Stay current with Diane on LinkedIn, as “Wyzga on Words” on Substack,  and now Pandora RadioStories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved.Music: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

In Partnership with WOSU Public Media While there's growing focus on seniors and the care they need, far less attention is being paid to the family members who provide that care. According to AARP, in 2010, there were more than seven potential family caregivers for every person over 80; by 2030, that ratio will drop to 4:1, and by 2050, it will be less than 3:1. In Ohio alone, people caring for older relatives provide 1.4 billion hours of care each year—that's $21 billion in unpaid labor. Younger family members, often juggling their own lives, are the ones dispensing medications, preparing meals, driving loved ones to appointments, and sorting out the financial and legal matters of aging parents. Expanding Medicare to cover in-home care, giving tax credits for caregivers, and setting up a national paid family leave program could all help, but more solutions are needed. In partnership with WOSU Public Media's “Inside Caregiving” initiative, CMC welcomes a panel of leaders and advocates to explore how we'll care for the caregivers that older Central Ohioans will depend on. Featuring: Jennifer Carlson, State Director, AARP Ohio Katie White, Director, Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging Dr. Kathy D. Wright, Associate Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, The Ohio State University College of Nursing Chanda Wingo, Director, Franklin County Office on Aging The moderartor is Anthony Padgett, General Manager, WOSU Public Media. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. Our livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch.  This forum was also supported by The Ellis. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on February 5, 2025.