Forward Radio podcasts

In 2020, a NASA space probe (called OSIRIS-REx) gently touched down on the asteroid Bennu, some 200 million miles away, and collected rocks and gravel. It delivered that sample to NASA scientists on Earth in 2023. On January 29, 2025 two research papers were published describing their analysis of this asteroid material. It appears to contain some of the chemicals found on meteorites that have hit...

On this week’s Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, Gets On The Bus, with Michael Blackwood & Cara Tobe from LDSA's GET ON THE BUS campaign (https://www.dsalouisville.org/gotb). Tune in to learn about a citizen’s response to the degradation of already insufficient service as Louisville’s Transit Authority of River City (TARC) hits a fiscal crisis brought on by decades of under-funding. The...

Laela Kashan is Louisville-based Director of Regional Advocacy and Engagement for the Kentucky Nonprofit Network and works locally for the Louisville Nonprofit Coalition, as well as parts of Western Kentucky. Her mission is to build grassroots nonprofit coalitions, both locally and regionally, to provide training, resources and support for these groups and to advocate in Frankfort for Kentucky's c...

Host K.A. Owens comments on Elon Musk, DOGE, Ukraine and the future of the free world. Recorded Saturday March 22, 2025, 9PM

In celebration of Women's History Month, this week on the Access Hour, we are sharing two book launch events by amazing female historians that were held recently at the Filson Historical Society in Old Louisville! First up, we'll take you back to February 25, 2025, when the Filson hosted the book launch for Jessica K. Whitehead's insightful new text, "Driftwood: The Life of Harlan Hubbard." Jessic...

On this week's program, we bring you highlights from a public meeting and open house that took place at the Main Public Library on March 18th about the Downtown & NuLu Street Network Plan. Louisville Metro Government is leading a plan to advance quick-term action projects for streets in Downtown and NuLu, intended to promote walkability and safety for pedestrians and to serve as a blueprint for ca...

On this week’s Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, is delighted to introduce you to Alex Herrin! In October 2024, the Louisville Metro Office of Sustainability welcomed Alex to the team as a new Sustainability Coordinator. Alex's passion for sustainability started while he was growing up around a neighborhood nature preserve in Austin, TX, and grew as he witnessed firsthand the drastic imp...

Listen to our continuing coverage of the 'Stand Up For Science' rally held at the state capital in Frankfort, KY on Friday, March 7, 2025. It was hundreds of researchers, students, doctors, teachers and science-supporters there, all expressing concern for 'the state of science'. Hear what they are worried (and angry) about! Check out last week's episode for the first half of our coverage of this r...

On this week's program, we share with you “China, Russia, Europe, and the U.S.: New World Disorder?”, a virtual conversation with Professors Marc Blecher (Political Science) and Ron Suny (History) that was hosted on Thursday, March 13, 2025 by the Oberlin Club of Washington, D.C. The fundamental remaking of the post-World War II settlement—American supremacy in the capitalist world, Soviet dominat...

Patty and Brian play The Thinker Game, discussing various classical thinkers.

Our guest today is Dr. Donte Hollowell. Dr. Deonte Hollowell is a native of Hopkinsville, Ky., and a graduate of University of Louisville (Pan African Studies) and Temple University (African American Studies). Hollowell’s special area of study is the relationship between African Americans and police. Hollowell is also on the Board of Directors for 2Not1, an organization that supports fathers and f...

As in 31 other cities, there was a 'Stand Up For Science' rally held at the state capital in Frankfort, KY on Friday, March 7, 2025. There were hundreds of researchers, students, doctors, teachers and science-supporters there, all expressing concern for the state of science. Since becoming president, Donald Trump has tried to cut billions of dollars from current research projects, paused communica...

José Santos (Woss) Moreno is the Friends Committee on National Legislation’s (FCNL) director for justice reform. He leads FCNL’s work on justice reform, election integrity, and policing. He helps to lead the Interfaith Criminal Justice Coalition, an alliance of prominent national religious groups advocating to end mass incarceration. His passion for racial justice led him to help lead a coalition...

An analysis of how pending tariffs and federal budget cuts and layoffs could affect the Louisville area economy in terms of jobs, payroll, business revenues, and local taxes.

On this week’s Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, has booked you a ticket to some insightful and uplifting conversation about exploring the rich culture and history of black communities throughout Latin America. Our studio in the Heyburn Building was brightened and warmed by the presence of Kim Haas, creator and host of the program Afro-Latino Travels with Kim Haas (https://travelswithkim...

On this week's program, we share a community conversation about Senate Bill 89 before the Kentucky Legislature. The Kentucky Waterways Alliance (KWA) organized this SB 89 Town Hall because Senate Bill 89 will remove historical protections of Kentucky’s waterways by redefining what counts as "waters of the Commonwealth" to include only navigable waters. This would remove all protections for groundw...

Paul Hoppe welcomes Drs Gene Shively and Mike Flynn with special guests Amber, a Medicaid patient, and Dr Barbara Casper. The discussion is on Medicaid and the problems facing it, ranging from the cumbersome process of getting signed up, to finding providers in your area, and adequate funding. Dr Casper will share insights into how physicians deal with these issues in trying to provide the best ca...

At the Louisville League of Women Voters monthly Democracy in Action Forum held February 17, 2025 (via webinar), a panel of experts reported on the availability of jobs and levels of unemployment in Kentucky; availability of and access to healthcare across the state; and why affordable housing is in such short supply. Bills being introduced in the 2025 General Assembly session were also discussed....

On this week’s Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, talks cooperatives with Charley Miller, originator and steward of Maybe It’s Fate, a member-owned community center in Butchertown, located at 1425 Story Avenue. The 1st floor is a curated art gallery open to the public on Fridays and Saturdays 1-5pm, while the 2nd and 3rd floors are for members, with an open space, meeting room, co-working...

Host K.A. Owens shares a message for American allies overseas, discusses a future for fired Federal employees, discusses Europe and the Ukraine and congratulates retiring Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Marty Polio. Recorded Friday February 28, 2025, 3PM.

On this week's show, we bring you Lessons from the Foothills: Berea College and Its Unique Role in America, an address by author Gretchen Dykstra given to the Filson Historical Society in Old Louisville on January 28, 2025. In 1859, a mob of sixty-five prominent armed men rode into Berea, Kentucky, and forced the closure of its integrated one-room schoolhouse. Founded by Kentucky-born abolitionist...

To end Black Futures Month on a high note, we're sharing with you today a presentation by Dr. Thomas Wayne Edison from the University of Louisville's Spanish Department about his research as a Fulbright Scholar into the rich history and culture of black Uruguayans. Titled "BLatinX: Uruguay" this Fast Class took a deep dive into Uruguay, a South American nation with a rich cultural heritage that is...

On this week’s Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, is delighted to be in conversation with retired (recovering) engineer and environmental advocate, Barry Zalph. It may come as a surprise that we are in the midst of the United Nations Decade of Ecological Restoration. Barry wonders what might happen if we took that global mandate seriously and began to envision pathways for restoring degra...

Dr. Simon Johnson, an economist at MIT, won a 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics for his research on economic and political inequities across the globe. Why are some nations (that were former colonies) doing quite well, while others are struggling with poverty and political repression? Dr. Johnson discusses colonization in the context of resource exploitation, tropical diseases, immigration by European...

Our guest today is George Beebee, the director of the Grand Strategy Program at the Quiency Institute for Responsible Statecraft as well Monica Taft, Michael Kimmage, and Thomas Graham. Today’s Solutions to Violence program features a panel discussion focused on ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.