Eastern Standard

On this week’s edition of Eastern Standard:

Accounts of March 9 and March 11, 1976, when the Scotia coal mine in Letcher County exploded, killing 26 miners. On the 50th anniversaries of the explosions, our guests, Bill Bishop and Brian McKnight, recall these back-to-back disasters.

Artificial Intelligence and the news. It’s the focus of this latest episode in our series “The AI Revolution: Promise and Peril” with guest Peter Baniak, former Managing Editor of the Lexington Herald-Leader, now an instructor of journalism at the University of Kentucky.

The art and craft of weaving is making a comeback in the Appalachian region. Rural Remix reporter Toni Doman, herself a weaver, has the story.

This week on Eastern Standard:

The public is generally unaware that Social Security is projected to fall into insolvency in 2032, according to an extensive national survey. Our guest: Mike Murphy, policy analyst with the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget in Washington, discusses likely consequences and potential solutions.

News media organizations are being urged to clearly distinguish between reporting and opinion. The effort is being spearheaded by Gerald Smith’s guest, Rufus Friday, head of the Center for Integrity in News Reporting.

The rich, interesting history of Lexington, Kentucky includes many who have accomplished interesting things, but for whom statues were never erected. Dollie Dandrige is among them and we get her story from Lexington History Museum Director, Mandy Higgins.

Kevin Nance sits down with CD Collins, author of “Blue Lands”, on Kentucky literature that probes southern and Appalachian life. Collins is also responsible for leading a resurgence of Spoken Word with Music and we end the hour with an example.

This week on Eastern Standard:

Nick Jacobs, co-author of “The Rural Voter: The Politics of Place and the Disuniting of America,” is Carolyn Dupont’s guest for the latest episode of her Eastern Standard series, “Civics, Civility and the path to a Shared American Future.”

Shaunna Scott and Kathryn Engle, co-editors of “Toward Just Transitions: Visions for Regenerative Communities in Appalachia”, a book featuring contributions from more than two dozen writers and thinkers in the region on maintaining Justice in transitioning a regional industrial base from, for example, fossil fuels to renewable forms of power generation.

As Lexington’s new Arts & Culture Director, Celeste Lewis begins this leadership role in the Lexington arts community with a call to action for devising a cohesive strategy to nurture, support, encourage, and grow the local arts ecosystem.

This week on Eastern Standard:

What are the implications of Artificial Intelligence in elections? Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams is Art Shechet’s guest for this latest episode of our series “The AI Revolution: Promises and Perils.”

A new poll commissioned by KyPolicy finds most Kentuckians don’t feel the state legislature’s income tax cuts are helping them personally—and they would rather see lawmakers focusing on affordability and core services. We get details from KyPolicy’ Jason Bailey.

The Kentucky Resources Council and three other environmental justice groups joined to commission an analysis of energy use in Kentucky. They wanted to know about the opportunities and the obstacles to meeting Kentucky’s electricity demand, and what are the most affordable, reliable, and resilient ways to reduce greenhouse gases and other environmental risks and liabilities.

This week on Eastern Standard:

Our series, “The AI Revolution: Promise and Peril” continues with guest Lisa Blue, Director of AI Strategies at Eastern Kentucky University. We explore how EKU is adapting AI in its programming, workforce and campus life.

Shannon Moody, Chief Strategy and Policy Officer at Kentucky Youth Advocates on how the current session of the state General Assembly can meet the needs of Kentucky’s most vulnerable children.

That time when the founder and namesake of Alice Lloyd College was tricked into being flown to Los Angeles to appear on the tv show, “This is Your Life” and the suspenseful, but remarkable response that followed. The story is portrayed by Jacqueline Kohl Hamilton as part of the Kentucky Humanities Chautauqua series. She sits down with Eastern Standard theatre contributor, Bill McCann.

Bob Martin, producer of Shiners: Voices from Owsley County, discusses the award-winning documentary that celebrates the resilience and creativity of Appalachian youth.

This week on Eastern Standard:
“The Future Would Like A Word”- Episode 26 of our series, “Democracy Optimist,” hosted by UK election law and voting rights research professor Joshua Douglas.

Our guests:

• LaJuan Allen, the Executive Director of Vote16USA, a nonprofit dedicated to lowering the voting age to 16 in response to concerns about youth engagement, civic readiness, and the long-term health of our democracy. 
• Boyle Co. H.S. senior Luisa Sanchez of the Kentucky Student Voice Team and KSVT managing partner Rachel Belin discuss the organization’s lawsuit claiming the state has failed its constitutional duty under Section 183 of the Kentucky Constitution to provide “an efficient system of common schools.”

We Americans are marking the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding with diverging accounts — sometimes offered from irreconcilably different perspectives — of what has gone down in this country since 1776. This week on Eastern Standard we present two views that in many ways defy what we have been taught about American racial and indigenous history. Literary contributor Kevin Nance sits down with Kristine Yohe and Frank X Walker to discuss Yohe’s book: “Reckoning with the Past: The Historical Poetry of Frank X Walker.” Tom Martin gets a deeply researched perspective on who called Kentucky home before this place became “Kentucky.” His guest: Stephen Warren, author of “The Worlds The Shawnee Made.” And Sylvia Lovely joins us with details of an effort to recognize women of Fayette County whose contributions have been made behind the scenes.

We continue our new series, “Artificial Intelligence: Promise and Peril.” Host, Dr. Arthur Shechet, goes “under the hood” of AI with University of Kentucky Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning research professor Brent Harrison. How does AI do what it does? What about concerns that AI will surpass human intelligence? These questions and many more are raised in this segment.

Five members of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council have announced that they will not run for reelection. Many cite low compensation for long hours, their two year terms interrupted by the necessity to campaign for reelection. 6th District Council Member Liz Sheehan is among the five and in what is in effect an “exit interview,” she suggests a solution.

Trayton Blackburn, Fayette Co. Cooperative Extension Agent for Community Arts, discusses his work in support of working artists and arts groups.

15 with UK AI and machine learning researcher, Dr. Brent Harrison taking us under the hood to better understand how the technology works. From there, we’ll explore its rapidly expanding presence in our lives.

A state legislative task force was recommending a list of ten AI safeguards. President Trump, however, has signed an executive order blocking states from enforcing their own AI regulations. With the 2026 legislative session getting underway, how will this turn out?

The University of Kentucky is integrating AI into all 17 of its colleges, as well as campus life and operations. What does this mean? We raised this question and many more with Ian McClure, co-lead of the university’s AI adaptation team.

The Lexington World Music presenter Greenroom Exchange brings the Spanish vocal duo Tarta Relena to Lexington on January 18. We explore the music with a few surprises along the way.

Part One
From strict voter ID laws that don’t recognize tribal IDs, to limits on allowing others to deliver their ballots, many Native Americans face voter suppression. Our guest is Jean Schroedel, author of Voting in Indian Country: The View from the Trenches.

Part TwoYou may be aware of the Federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, but did you know that some states have Voting Rights Acts of their own? Seven states have these laws on their books. Find out which ones from Lata Nott, Senior Legal Counsel at the Campaign Legal Center.