Eastern Standard

At one time, an admired national leader in education, Kentucky has fallen behind. There are many consequences, but one that has a far-reaching impact is in quality childcare — Pre-Kindergarten that prepares our youngest learners for school. Sam Flynn aims to change that. He details how in this conversation with ES education contributor, Brigitte Blom.

With the holidays upon us we have dipped into a December, 2022 edition to bring back four of Kentucky’s outstanding authors and poets: Silas House, Georgia Green Stamper, Joseph Anthony and Crystal Wilkinson. In this segment, Tom Martin and Silas House discuss the author’s short story, “She Came to Mercy.”

With the holidays upon us we have dipped into a December, 2022 edition to bring back four of Kentucky’s outstanding authors and poets: Silas House, Georgia Green Stamper, Joseph Anthony and Crystal Wilkinson. In this segment, Georgia Green Stamper gives us a delightful reading of her take on “The Three Wise Men.”

With the holidays upon us we have dipped into a December, 2022 edition to bring back four of Kentucky’s outstanding authors and poets: Silas House, Georgia Green Stamper, Joseph Anthony and Crystal Wilkinson. In this segment, novelist and poet Joseph Anthony reads “The Ugliest Christmas Tree.”

With the holidays upon us we have dipped into a December, 2022 edition to bring back four of Kentucky’s outstanding authors and poets: Silas House, Georgia Green Stamper, Joseph Anthony and Crystal Wilkinson. In this segment, Eastern Standard literary contributor Tom Eblen and poet and author Crystal Wilkinson discuss Wilkinson’s “The Visit.”

Part One Guest: Carly Muetterties, chair of the Kentucky Civic Education Coalition, promoting civic education in public schools. She is a former high school social studies teacher, an expert in civic education, and co-founder of “Common Good Ed,” an organization that provides educational resources to diverse communities.

Part Two Guest: Evan Weissman. Evan is the founder of “Warm Cookies of the Revolution,” which he refers to as a “civic health club.” The organization promotes civic health by creating an enjoyable and engaging atmosphere to discuss social issues that are critical to people’s lives—and they bring warm cookies to every event. Weissman has won several awards for his efforts, which have engaged more than one million people.

Not only did it happen, but there were thousands of spectators and often a carnival atmosphere as lynchings were carried out in Kentucky well into the 20th century. Sonya Lea’s “American Bloodlines” is a reckoning with one such case, documenting the 1936 public hanging spectacle of a young Black man, Rainey Bethea, in Owensboro, Kentucky.

The gender gap in math widened during the pandemic. Schools are trying to make up lost ground. Education contributor Brigitte Blom gets details from Associated Press education reporter Annie Ma.

What’s happening on the federal level can leave you feeling helpless. But, while paying attention to national politics and government is wise, participating in local civic affairs is where you can make a real difference in matters that affect the governance of and quality of life in your community. Eastern Standard contributor Carolyn Dupont follows this thread with Rich Harwood, author of “The New Civic Path.”

A spicy condiment holds a prominent place in the 250-year history of Lexington, Kentucky. Amanda Higgins, Executive Director of the Lexington History Museum, joins us to explain how it became a favorite of the Queen of England.

Part One: 

Ben Sheehan, host, writer, and producer of “Civics Made Easy,” a series on PBS that empowers viewers with the knowledge necessary to participate in democracy. He also writes a Substack titled “Politics Made Easy.” He is the author of the best-selling book, “What Does the Constitution Actually Say?: A Non-Boring Guide to How Our Democracy is Supposed to Work.”

Part Two: 

Dan Wu is the first Asian American to serve as Vice Mayor of Lexington. He served on numerous local boards before winning election as Vice Mayor, but before that, he had little experience in politics, instead opening his own ramen shop and appearing on the TV show Master Chef. Wu has become a passionate advocate for civic engagement.

In a time when federal environmental programs and funding are being scaled back or cut altogether, what are the future prospects for students aspiring to careers in environmental fields? The Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability in the Environment is sponsoring a “Careers in the Environment” Career Fair on November 18. We raise that question and get details for the event from Hannah Angel, Director of Undergraduate Studies and Natural Resources and Environmental Studies at the University of Kentucky.

What is Agroforestry and what are its benefits for the people of Eastern Kentucky? For answers, we turn to Steve Kruger, Director of Forest Livelihoods at LiKEN — Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network.

Madeleine Pollard, from a Lexington family, charmed her way into Washington, D.C.’s elite society, and by age 17, tumbled into a ten-year affair with Kentucky Congressman William C.P. Breckinridge. Eventually, he tossed her aside and married someone else. And that sets the scene of a remarkable true account, "Alias Agnes" by Elizabeth DeWolfe. She talks with Eastern Standard Literary Contributor Kevin Nance.

The Lexington-based Southern Rock band Magnolia Boulevard is out with a new album. We’re joined in-studio by the band’s founders, Maggie Noelle and Ryan Allen.

“Eschatology” is the part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul, and of humankind. And it’s at the heart of “The Gospel Beyond the Grave: Toward a Black Theology of Hope”, the new book from Dr. Lewis Brogdon, Executive Director of the Institute for Black Church Studies at Kentucky Theological Seminary in Louisville. The book raises some important, very penetrating, provocative questions. Lewis Brogdon is Gerald Smith’s guest for this latest in his Eastern Standard series on racial justice and equality.

In her book “We Were Promised,” Julia Flint documents what can happen when a corporation unilaterally cancels a negotiated agreement with its workforce. The setting is the Ohio River factory town of Ravenswood, home to about 38-hundred West Virginians.

Affordable housing, quality childcare, and disaster preparation. Those are priorities at the top of the Mountain Association’s new five-year strategic plan. Robin Gabbard leads the organization and she joins us to talk about what’s on this roadmap.

Carolyn Dupont hosts a conversation providing thoughtful perspectives from right and left concerning the national mood. Her guests: Henry Olsen, researcher at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and Shadi Hamid, formerly with the Brookings Institution, now on the faculty at Fuller Theological Institute and author of the substack, “The Wisdom of Crowds.”

Nathan Vanderford from the Markey Cancer Center on the latest book of student essays published by the Appalachian Career Training in Oncology (ACTION) program. The aim is to encourage students from Eastern Kentucky to consider careers in fighting cancer back in their hometowns where some of the highest cancer rates in the nation are found.

Marie Mitchell and Mason Smith, co-authors of “Paranormal Kentucky: An Uncommon Wealth of Close Encounters with Aliens, Ghosts and Cryptids.”

Part One - Guest: Denise Lieberman

Disputes over redistricting have gone into overdrive as some states have engaged in what we call mid-decade redistricting or re-redistricting. These states drew the lines for congressional seats back in 2021, which are supposed to last for the entire decade. But, spurred by President Trump, Texas redrew its map to turn five seats that were more favorable to Democrats into ones more winnable for Republicans. In response, California put a measure on the ballot in November to redraw its own map to make five Republican-leaning districts into Democratic ones. It’s a race to the bottom with partisan gerrymandering run rampant. And it could have a major impact on which party controls Congress after the 2026 midterm elections.

Missouri is also part of the fight, redrawing its map to split up the Kansas City area into several districts, which will likely flip one seat from Democratic to Republican. Lawsuits have predictably ensued. Joining us to discuss that mid-decade redistricting in Missouri and the litigation over the map is Denise Lieberman. She is the Director and General Counsel of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, a non-partisan organization that works to promote free, fair, and accessible elections in Missouri. She is also the Faculty Director of the Voter Access and Engagement Initiative at Washington University in St. Louis.

Part Two - Guest: Kentucky State Representative Anne Donworth

Democracy is about representation. Elected officials should fairly represent the interests of their constituents. But what causes someone to run in the first place? What is it like when they first take office? And how does it feel when you enter the halls of government, especially in the minority party? Here to give us an inside view of how democracy and representation actually work is Anne Donworth, who represents the 76th district, which covers much of Lexington, in the Kentucky House of Representatives.

This week on Eastern Standard:

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental condition that can affect social skills, communication, and behavior. Because it’s a spectrum, experiences vary widely — some people are nonverbal and need daily support, while others have advanced conversational skills and live independently. There is no conclusive science-based evidence of a link with taking Tylenol during pregnancy. Our guest: Lexington behavioral analyst Amanda Ralston.

Kentucky has one of the nation’s highest rates of absenteeism among school-age kids. But no one is sure where they are. Jill Barshay has documented a nationwide absenteeism issue in The Hechinger Report. She shares details with ES education contributor Brigitte Blom.

We learn how Mary Britten figures prominently in Lexington history from Lexington History Museum Executive Director, Amanda Higgins.

Recording artist Bee Taylor on performing her compositions with the Lexington Ballet, musicians from the Lexington Philharmonic, and in the Steve Zahn movie, “She Dances.”

‘Po Ramblin’ Boys founder C.J. Lewandowski tells the story of the making of an album in tribute to (and including) the late, great Bluegrass artist Bobby Osborne.

On this week’s edition of Eastern Standard:

What the polls indicate about voter attitudes concerning political violence is explored by ES contributor Carolyn Dupont in a conversation with Elliot Morris, former data/polling analyst for The Economist and FiveThirtyEight. Morris publishes the newsletter Strength in Numbers on Substack.

Silas House has published a new murder mystery. The prolific Kentucky novelist and a former state Poet Laureate sits down with literary contributor Kevin Nance to discuss Dead Man Blues 

Dr. Liang Liang studies seasonal trends — phenology —at the University of Kentucky. We ask if he and other researchers have documented connections between climate change and shifting seasons.

We have details on the Urban Forest Initiative’s annual Tree Week celebration, getting underway in cities and towns across Kentucky.