Eastern Standard

“Are we really just going to decide that we are going to be a divided country, and there’s going to be half of the population that we choose not to associate with?”

Celebrating a century: Herrington Lake, a source of hydroelectric power and a central Kentucky destination for recreation and relaxation. Tom Martin interviews Mike Holdren, author of a new book about the creation and history of the lake.

Episode 20 of the Eastern Standard special series, "Democracy Optimist." The series is hosted by Joshua Douglas, Acting Associate Dean for Research at the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law where he teaches and researches election law and voting rights, civil procedure, constitutional law, and judicial decision making.

Eastern Standard contributor Gerald Smith gets the perspective of long-time Council Member James Brown.

The art — and challenges — of raising backyard chickens in an urban setting. Natalie Voss interviews Jackie Jacob, Ag Extension Project Manager at the University of Kentucky.

Research projects hit with Trump administration funding cuts include two major government reports that tell us where things stand with nature and climate here in the US, and how any changes that are happening could impact people and the economy.

Democracy must have at least two robust parties that both agree on certain core values—in particular, the importance of democratic institutions and accepting election outcomes.

Q&A with Inside Climate News reporter Kiley Price on the intersection of climate change, tariffs, and homeowner insurance

The Trump administration cuts to federal funding of colleges and universities, and the linkage of funding to the termination of DEI programs is raising concerns at the Kentucky Council for Postsecondary Education, as we hear from CPE President, Aaron Thompson.

Debra Hamelback, executive director of the Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association, on the factors driving a shortage of large animal veterinarians in Kentucky

Tracking “cause and effect” of the Trump administration’s federal funding and staffing cuts brings us to the closures of Mine Safety and Health Administration inspection offices in Kentucky

In her book “Stolen Pride,” the Berkeley professor emerita Arlie Russell Hochschild uses reactions to a 2017 white supremacist march in Pikeville as a window into the political and sociological shifts that have transformed the country.

John Koehlinger is the Executive Director of Kentucky Refugee Ministries. He discusses the atmosphere of uncertainty and fear among refugees and asylees who have resettled in Kentucky as the Trump administration takes aggressive actions to revoke documentation and carry out detentions and deportations.

Eastern Standard launches "The First Kentuckians", a new series on Indigenous life in what became The Commonwealth of Kentucky.

President Trump’s use of his presidential powers to retaliate against certain law firms has sent a chill throughout the legal profession, threatening not just the ability of lawyers to do their jobs but also the ability of private citizens to hire lawyers to represent them.

Thinking of the times we are all living through, our bandwidths stretched to the limit, and our patience with those who see things differently stretched thin, contributor Carolyn Dupont, EKU historian and state coordinator of the Red-Blue dialogue facilitators Braver Angels, hosts a conversation with the author of a book about overcoming all of that divisiveness in our daily lives.

The “Excellence Gap.” Many Kentucky school districts lack the resources to offer the advanced courses required for employment in the Commonwealth’s growing tech industry.

Crystal Wilkinson and Frank X Walker on being named to the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame.

Some of the most troubled children in the Kentucky foster care system are being housed in state office buildings.

It’s early 2025, but plans are already underway for the 2026 midterm elections and the 2028 presidential election.

Her memoir, Composed, has been described by the Chicago Tribune as “one of the best accounts of an American life you'll likely ever read.” Rosanne Cash, daughter of Johnny, star in her own right, survivor of brain surgery, on tour and coming to Kentucky.

As Lexington begins celebrating its 250th anniversary, the story of one of its early movers and shakers: Benjamin Gratz.

The Kentucky realities and consequences of President Trump’s deportation plan. Students sue the state alleging violation of the educational guarantees of the Kentucky Constitution. And what the data tells us about teacher pay in Kentucky.

When state inspections of nursing homes fall behind, residents suffer. We get the details from John Cheves, Government Accountability Reporter at the Lexington Herald-Leader.

As one portion of the nation celebrates the inauguration of Donald Trump for a second term in the Oval Office on January 20th, another segment of American society will honor the birth of civil rights leader Martin Luther King.