Sound of Ideas

March marks five years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and health officials warn that they are still fighting an uphill battle regarding public trust.

Cleveland City Council and Mayor Justin Bibb are tussling over the city budget, specifically over how much money is earmarked for neighborhoods. Council members wanted an allocation so they can control how $600,000 can be spent in each of their wards. In Akron, the budget season is marked by belt tightening. The $798 million budget proposed by Mayor Shammas Malik represents a two percent decrease...

Last month marked the three-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, 2022.

Scams that involve imposters, phony investments, and social media fakes are becoming more creative and more confusing.

In the last few years, central Ohio has landed major development deals. What can be done to help other parts of the state land projects?

A team of legal experts, including some from Northeast Ohio, are looking into how Russia has targeted some of Ukraine's environmental assets.

Republicans in the Ohio Senate passed a series of new restrictions on legal recreational marijuana sales this week, saying adjustments were needed to protect the health and safety of the public. Democrats who opposed the changes said legislators opposed to legal pot were undoing the will of the voters, who approved recreational marijuana in 2023 — though sales did not begin until last August. Sena...

Local cinephiles say 'The Substance,' 'Anora' and 'Flow' top their favorite films from 2024.

Amputating a limb should be a last resort, but people in lower socioeconomic groups as well as African Americans are up to four times as likely to undergo an amputation than white Americans, according to Dr. Mehdi Shishehbor, president of the University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute. We will begin Wednesday’s “Sound of Ideas” talking to a Shishebor, who is considered a pioneer in...

In a "Dear Colleagues" memo, the U.S. Education Department gave schools 14 days to stop using racial preferences as a factor in admissions, financial aid or hiring.

Legal experts as well as the media say they have been trying to keep up with the scope of actions coming from the new administration. We'll discuss the constitutionality of these orders and the impact on Ohioans.

Workers and union leaders rallied in Cleveland yesterday to protest federal job cuts. President Donald Trump’s administration has slashed jobs across a wide array of government agencies with a stated goal of cutting the federal workforce by as much as 10%. The number of federal workers in Cleveland is more than 17,000 employed by agencies such as Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administratio...

Sports Business Journal reported Sunday that Cleveland is expected to be the next city to be chosen for the league’s expansion. What would a new women's sports franchise mean for the region?

We're just a few weeks into the new session at the Ohio Statehouse and already lawmakers are signaling that this term bills will move quickly. In the last session, several bills, including some high-profile ones, failed to get across the finish line. The slow pace last term was driven by in-fighting within the Republican caucus. Now it’s a new term with new leadership and a much faster pace. Later...

Senate Bill 1, touted by supporters as a way to fight back against liberal indoctrination on college campuses, passed the senate 21-11 this week and is on its way to the Ohio House. It drew loads of opposition before the senate affirmed it. Among other things, it bans Diversity Equity and Inclusion efforts and forbids labor strikes by professors. Jim Tressel, the former football coach of Ohio Stat...

Two Northeast Ohio organizations that support residents with developmental disabilities made groundbreaking appointments to their boards last month.

In Season 2, co-hosts Marlene Harris-Taylor and Myesha Watkins talk to people who live in neighborhoods where gun violence is normalized, and discuss solutions to end the cycle of violence.

Spring training officially starts Tuesday, meaning there is less than two months until baseball's return. In a recent City Club of Cleveland conversation, Vogt discussed how a change in culture is helping drive success for the team. Later, we'll hear how for decades, community leaders have been trying to develop Cleveland's lakefront, including improving connectivity from Downtown to the lake shor...

Ideastream Public Media reporters are asking what is being done, and what could be done to stop unnecessary firearm deaths in Northeast Ohio.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's biennial budget tops our discussion of the week’s news on the “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable.”

WVIZ first went on air on Feb. 7, 1965, originally broadcasting from the gymnasium of Max Hayes Trade School in Cleveland.

This week, President Donald Trump has taken executive action to impose or threaten new tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China, and those countries have proposed retaliations. How could a possible trade war impact Ohio's economy?

Bird flu cases continue to rise in Ohio. Currently, there are 39 affected commercial flocks and more than 8.7 million birds infected.

Last week, the Trump administration announced and then rescinded a pause on federal dollars going to various government agencies and nonprofits.

Dozens of people in Northeast Ohio were taken into custody by United States Immigration and Custom Enforcement officers as part of a larger, nationwide push by the Trump administration to crack down on illegal immigration. President Trump made immigration and deportation of those here without legal status a key part of his reelection campaign. His first week in office saw a flurry of executive ord...