All Sides with Amy Juravich

A working group is meeting weekly to determine a new location for a park on Columbus' southwest side.

This comes after the city decided to use McCoy Park for a new soccer training facility.

Officials say that guaranteeing this land for the training facility was essential to the city’s bid for a professional women’s soccer team.

But how did this happen? Why did a piece of land near I-71 and Greenlawn Avenue become the deciding factor in whether or not Columbus got a women’s soccer team?

We're talking about it on this hour of All Sides.

Guests:

• Jordan Laird, Columbus and Franklin County government reporter, The Columbus Dispatch
• Shannon Hardin, president, Columbus City Council
• Liz Reed, chair, Southwest Area Commission
• Jennifer Crayton, Columbus resident

(photo: Jeff Dean / AP)

What if you turned over almost all your daily tasks to AI?

The time-consuming ones. The irritating ones. Would your life be better? Easier?

Journalist Joanna Stern, always up for experimenting with the tech tools in our lives, did just that.

She incorporated AI in nearly every aspect of her life, and her family’s.

A robo-dog, check; an AI consult on her mammogram, check; an AI trainer and therapist, check.

And she wrote about it.

Her experiment is chronicled in the new book, I Am Not a Robot: My Year Using AI To Do (Almost) Everything, which is out now. She talks with us about what she learned.

Guest:

• Joanna Stern, journalist/author, I Am Not A Robot: My Year Using AI To Do (Almost) Everything

As the Midwest's fastest growing city, Columbus is undergoing many changes.

There is a constant need for more housing.

COTA has a new 5-year plan for expansion.

And the skyline is changing. From downtown high-rises to bike lanes to new businesses, we’re talking about the transit and development changes happening in and around Columbus on this hour of All Sides.

Guests:

• Walker Evans, co-founder, Columbus Underground
• Brent Warren, reporter, Columbus Underground

As summer is quickly approaching, the summer vacation season is upon us. Many people will take a week or two to let off some steam, re-set, and explore a new corner of the world.

A little preparation before departure can reduce culture shock in foreign places.

Part of this preparation can include apps that will allow people to pick where to eat and how transportation works in the destination they are traveling to.

We'll also discuss President Trump's idea that taking a hands-off approach to AI will allow the tech to grow and stay competitive with other countries, particularly China.

But the White House may be forced into overseeing AI technology if it wants to partner with companies for use in government affairs.

Then, we'll look at a new AI home companion to a majority of America, taking advice about their health from influencers, what is happening this week in technology?

Guests:

• Ruffin Prevost, contributing writer at The New York Times
• Sheera Frenkel, tech reporter for The New York Times
• Russell Holly, director of commerce content at CNET

(photo: New Africa / Adobe Stock)

Certain cars are tied to specific decades. There were the muscle cars of the 1960s. The land yachts of the 1970s and the econoboxes of the 1980s.

The cars were affordable and could be repaired easily. The inexpensive and reasonably priced family sedan has been replaced by SUVs, minivans and trucks that are larger, more technologically advanced, and expensive to repair.

All Sides takes a look at what happened to the affordable car this hour.

Guests:

• Clifford Winston, economist and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution
• Eric Bowie, financial educator and host of the Smart Money Bro channel on YouTube

(photo: Dave_7 / Flickr Creative Commons)

Deciding what to do after high school used to feel like a one-way street leading straight to a four-year university.

Today, however, the rising cost of tuition and a shifting labor market have reopened the debate between the traditional college path and specialized trade schools.

And now, the rise of artificial intelligence has added a complex layer to this age-old debate

While a four-year degree focuses on critical thinking, and trade schools emphasize essential manual expertise, the rapid advancement of AI now threatens to automate roles in both sectors.

Join All Sides as we untangle the college vs. trade school vs. AI debate.

Guests:

• Jeff Strohl, research professor and director, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce
• Stephanie Hightower, president & CEO, Columbus Urban League
• Kevin Fox, founder, Foxwerx Group

Ohio’s primary voters have had their say, and now we move on to November’s general election.

The governor’s race between Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton promises to be historic, expensive....and contentious.

We’ll have the rundown of statewide and congressional candidates squaring off in the fall. Bottom line: No big surprises.

Attorney General Dave Yost calls it quits, setting up the potential for some musical chairs at the statehouse.

And voters in Pickerington say no to a levy ask, leaving school leaders to grapple with stark financial realities.

We're discussing all of these topics during this week's Reporter Roundtable.

Guests:

• Jessie Balmert, state government and politics reporter, The Columbus Dispatch
• Andrew Tobias, state government and politics reporter, Signal Ohio
• Susan Tebben, reporter, Ohio Capital Journal

(photo: Carolyn Kaster and Jay LaPrete / AP)

This year marks the centennial of Route 66, the iconic American highway stretching from Chicago to LA and celebrated in story, song and television.

It’s been over 30 years since the highway was decommissioned, but we will hear from one photographer who’s love of Route 66 has been memorialized in the form of stamps.

A local author is fusing history lessons with ghost stories to create a fun and interesting way to learn Ohio history. Having already written two books in his “Ohio Kids” series and coming out with a third, he is continuing his family tradition of finding new ways of teaching.

Cost should never prevent students from sharing experiences with their peers and having a good time. Fairy Goodmothers is a Worthington boutique that allows high school students to pick out prom dresses for free.

Guests:

• David J. Schwartz, Route 66 Fine Art & Editorial Photographer
• Logan Lyons, author
• Katie Persico, president, Fairy Goodmothers

All eyes are on the economy — watching oil prices, grocery costs and inflation.

Nobody is watching it closer than the Federal Reserve, the body responsible for setting interest rates that affect everything from mortgages to car loans to business borrowing.

And the most recent Fed meeting was a doozy, as Fed meetings go: members kept interest rates steady, but one faction dissented and that included the president of the Federal Reserve of Cleveland.

Joining us today to talk about the economy, inflation and the role of the Fed is president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Beth Hammack.

Guests:

• Beth Hammack, president/CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
• Benjamin Ayers, senior economist, Nationwide

Spring is finally here, and it's time to dust off those trowels and watering cans with the start of the gardening season.

From edible plants to shrubbery, herbs, and flowers, gardening can be a rewarding and fun experience, but also stressful and nerve-racking.

What are some of the best tips for new and experienced gardeners, and is there anything different this year than in the past?

We will have experts ready to answer all the questions you have, from what you should plant this year to key dates and interesting tips.

Plus, we will have a preview of the popular Chadwick Arboretum Plant Sale.

Guests:

• Laura Deeter, director, Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens
• Katie Carey, owner and founder, Columbus Foodscapes
• Mike Hogan, extension educator/associate professor of agriculture and natural resources, Ohio State University