On Track

Late last year, Mid City Mall was listed for sale. Since then, the site’s future has been in question. On this episode, we talk about the history of the mall, what business owners and neighbors would like to see next, and how a big change could affect the whole area.

Everyone in Louisville knows there’s a right and a wrong way to say the name of our city. So then why are there so many different ways to pronounce it? And how did it evolve this way? On this episode, we’ll talk with University of Kentucky linguistics professor Dr. Jennifer Cramer about the many ways to say Louisville, and how language can become a stand-in for identity, and belonging.

February is Black History Month, and Black history is Louisville history. But on this episode, we’re focusing on the present. We’ll talk to Lyndon Pryor, president and CEO of the Louisville Urban League, about the state of Black Louisville today. What is the league’s focus, and how is it changing with the national political climate, and big companies rolling back their DEI initiatives? Who is work...

The number of people who don’t have stable housing is on the rise nationally, and here in Louisville. And one facility, the Arthur Street Hotel, takes a somewhat unusual approach to helping them find shelter, stability, and opportunity. On this episode, we learn about what makes this model different from traditional shelters, and what the research says about whether it works.

In a town full of great restaurants, some people still go hungry. But an organization called Feed Louisville is trying to fix that, and reduce food waste at the same time. Feed Louisville is the beneficiary of this year’s Restaurant Week, which starts February 24. On this episode, we meet Feed Louisville’s Founder and Executive Director, Rhona Bowles Kamar. We learn about the organization’s work,...

President Trump’s executive orders have shifted immigration policy dramatically in the United States. Enforcement has increased, and a ban on new refugees is disrupting life in many cities, including here in Louisville. On this episode, we talk about how these changes are affecting immigrants in our community, refugees looking for safety here, and the advocates who help them.

The new presidential administration is making headlines every day, but state politicians are moving along with their own agendas too. On this episode, we’re checking in on the Kentucky General Assembly. Their 2025 session is underway, and Kentucky Public Radio’s Sylvia Goodman will let us know what’s happened so far, what we should be watching for next, and most importantly, how proposed legislati...

Experts have called it an epidemic. Not of some new virus — but loneliness. On this episode, we learn about the challenges of forming friendships, especially as we get older. And we find out about the mental health benefits of making connections. Our guests are Hannah Brosnan, Executive Director of Mental Health America of Kentucky, and friendship researcher Dr. Jeffrey Hall, Director of the Relat...

Transportation issues with Jefferson County Public Schools have resulted in cuts, lawsuits and hardships for families trying to get students back and forth to school. On this episode, we talk about JCPS and transportation. How do other cities handle it? And how does our own system compare? Our guests are Jess Clark, who covers education for LPM, and Sebastian Martinez Hickey, an analyst and resear...

Downtowns in most cities took a hit when COVID-19 sent office workers home. And in Louisville, we also had social justice protests that kept some people away. On the premiere episode of “On Track,” we talk about the state of Louisville’s downtown. Who’s using it? And who benefits? With Rebecca Fleischaker, Executive Director of Louisville Downtown Partnership.

Presenting a new way to stay informed and engaged with Louisville, Southern Indiana, and the things that matter here: Welcome to “On Track,” a 30-minute interview-based show focused on the news and conversations that matter most in our own community... all backed by the journalism at Louisville Public Media. Host Ayisha Jaffer will talk to public officials, community leaders and everyday people ab...

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear was reelected to a second term last month. He sat down with Kentucky Public Radio’s Joe Sonka this week in the state reception room of the Capitol Building in Frankfort to discuss his electoral success, his relationship with Republican lawmakers ahead of the 2024 session and whether he will now comment more on national issues.

It's been 20 years since the governments of Louisville and Jefferson County merged, and residents continue to feel the impacts today. In this special, Roberto Roldan, City Politics and Government Reporter for LPM, talks to guests to take a look at the challenges the newly-merged government faced and how it managed them.

Some of you may have wondered what happened to the “In Conversation” talk show. And some of you, who read and hear our news on LPM or WFPL already know. In August, our host, colleague and friend Rick Howlett passed away from cancer. Senior producer Laura Ellis who worked with Rick for years, including on the “In Conversation” team, wrote a lovely tribute about him. Since Rick was co-creator of “In...

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is all over the headlines these days. But it's not as new as you might think it is. Ever start to look something up and your phone autofills the rest of the word for you? Have you played one of those Facebook games that makes you look like your pet, or a Renaissance painting? Do you ask Siri or Alexa to add something to your grocery list so you won't forget it? Then...

Affirmative action is a loaded term with a weighty history. Now that the Supreme Court has eliminated race-conscious admissions decisions for higher education, what’s next? On this week’s “In Conversation,” we unpacked the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling, what equity goals for higher education look like now, and whether eliminating affirmative action in higher education could foreshadow simil...

When The New York Times recommended their top 52 destination spots for this year, Louisville landed smack between cities in Greece and Brazil and even outranked some places in Italy and Spain. Tourism is big business in Louisville, and this week on “In Conversation,” we’ll meet some of the folks working to make sure business keeps booming. We took a look at downtown tourism and measures to get mor...

In March, the Kentucky General Assembly voted to make use of medical marijuana legal, effective 2025. They also passed a law that will allow racetracks to become licensed sports betting facilities. Experts and journalists joined us to talk through how each of those laws could affect the commonwealth.

Juneteenth can be a complicated holiday. It’s an official holiday of celebration — rejoicing in enslaved people being freed as part of the Emancipation Proclamation. It’s also a reminder that many enslaved people were not informed about slavery’s end until years later. On “In Conversation” this week we talk about the origins of the holiday and what Juneteenth means in a modern context. We also let...

School's out, pools are open, and you might be wondering which novel or biography to grab on your way to the park. We've got you covered! This week on "In Conversation," guests from the Louisville Free Public Library and Carmichael’s Bookstore helped you make the perfect summer reading list. We got philosophical about what makes a book great for summer. And we asked some young readers what they're...

It’s our fourth spring living with COVID-19, and pretty much everywhere you go, it looks like it’s over. Fewer people are masking, and you're less likely to be asked for proof of vaccination. But are we actually past the pandemic? With a downward trend in numbers, the World Health Organization has declared that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency. And national emergency status in the U...

On this episode, we look at who’s hot and who’s not in this year's Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby. Ed DeRosa, Vice President of Content at Horse Racing Nation, and Kellie Reilly, who writes for Churchill Downs, Inc. help us make sense of our racing programs and figure out where the smart money is this weekend. And we’ll talk with Louisville author and poet Hannah Drake about her poem “Home,” whi...

May is National Foster Care Month. So on this week’s “In Conversation” we'll learned about the state of foster care in Kentucky and what children here need. We also talked about the shortage of foster parents in Kentucky, how it affects kids in the system, and what could encourage more people to give it a try.

In Kentucky, suicide is the second leading cause of death for teenagers and young adults. This week on “In Conversation,” we aimed to understand why, and what we can all do to help bring the numbers down. Experts helped us untangle this complex health crisis about how to support the young people in your life. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, you can reach the Nati...

This week on "In Conversation," we talk through the events surrounding a mass shooting in Louisville on Monday morning. Reporters who have been covering the shooting and its aftermath give us context about gun laws and gun violence in our city. And mental health professionals share practical advice on recovering from the trauma and secondary trauma of community violence.