A 1960s game-changer: the IBM Selectric typewriter on display at the Lexington History Museum(Lexington History Museum / Lexington History Museum)

When it comes to reporting on the workings of city government, there are so many immediate issues demanding attention that it can be very easy to lose a broader perspective — what local ordinances, for example, the city council is considering, and how the council itself has gone through important changes in recent years. Eastern Standard contributor Gerald Smith gets the perspective of long-time Council Member James Brown.

• Join a club, save democracy? That’s the advice of Rebecca Davis, co-producer of “Join or Die”, a film about why you should join a club and why the fate of America depends on it. She is the guest of ES contributor Carolyn Dupont.

• What happened to Major Jack Wells in Vietnam on September 27th, 1965 is a question that has plagued his son, James, for decades. James Wells’ search for answers culminates in the book, Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew. Wells discusses his story with Tom Martin.

• The 1956 arrival in Lexington of IBM was a genuine game-changer for the city. Find out how and why in Tom Martin’s conversation with Mandy Higgins, executive director of the Lexington History Museum.