Forward Radio podcasts

This week on Truth to Power, we get you ready for the Primary Election here in Louisville taking place on Tuesday, May 19th (with early voting already underway!). Back on the evening of April 14th at Central High School, a Candidate Forum was held for Louisville's first-ever non-partisan Mayoral race. Eight candidates vying to become Louisville’s next mayor participated to discuss their priorities and values.

For the first time this year, the races for Louisville mayor and Metro Council are nonpartisan. Louisville Public Media, the Louisville Urban League and WDRB collaborated on this public forum to hear from candidates for mayor. Unlike in past years, every mayoral candidate will appear on all Jefferson County ballots in a nonpartisan section. The two who receive the most votes will move on to the general election in November.

Kenya Young, the President and CEO of Louisville Public Media, co-moderated this Mayoral Candidate Forum with Gilbert Corsey of WDRB. All active candidates were invited to participate and eight did. Since then, one participant, Jeff Yocum, bowed out of the race. Two other candidates – Bill Wells and JusAustin Lane – previously withdrew.

The candidates introduced themselves to the live audience at Central High School and responded to questions on a number of topics including affordable housing, data centers, police, public safety and business and development. Candidates from across the political spectrum attended the forum, and many were united in their criticism of incumbent Democratic Mayor Craig Greenberg, who did not attend.

The full list of candidates who appeared at the forum includes:

Lisa Holliday Harris

Tina Burnell

Matthew Solomon Bailey

Jeff Yocum (withdrawn)

Bob DeVore

Stephen Dattilo

Jody Hurt

Shameka Parrish-Wright

Early, no-excuse voting is taking place May 14-16 and primary election day is May 19. Find polling locations and sample ballots at https://GoVote.ky.gov

You can watch the entire, un-edited two-hour forum at https://www.lpm.org/news/2026-05-11/watch-louisville-mayoral-candidates-take-part-in-forum-ahead-of-primary-election

Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 7pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at https://www.forwardradio.org

The Louisville League of Women Voters held a candidate forum for Louisville's District 21 Metro Council, in advance of the 2026 Primary election, being held 5-19-26. Participating candidates were Betsy Ruhe, Savannah Hughes and Ben Spalding. A fourth candidate, Lonnie Joseph, was not present.

This week on Sustainability Now!, we continue our series of candidate interviews to get you ready to vote in the Kentucky Primary Election coming up on May 19th (or you can vote early this week!)! Tune in as your host, Justin Mog, sits down with Louisville Mayoral Candidate, Shameka Parrish-Wright. Metro Councilwoman Shameka Parrish-Wright is a longtime Louisville community leader endorsed by LDSA, KFTC, SURJ, C-FAIR, and Planned Parenthood. This is her second run for mayor. She is a social justice activist and the Director of VOCAL-KY. She is formerly homeless, formerly incarcerated, and was the child of an incarcerated parent. Her family has been impacted by HIV and the war on drugs. Learn more at https://shamekaforlouisville.com/

Due to a new KY law, this is the first non-partisan Mayor’s race in Louisville and there are 11 candidates on your Primary Election ballot: Jody HURT, Douglas LATTIMORE, Bill WELLS, incumbent Craig GREENBERG, Tina BURNELL, Bob DeVORE, Lisa Holliday HARRIS, Jeffrey YOCUM, Matthew BAILEY, S. "The D" DATTILO, and today’s guest Shameka PARRISH-WRIGHT. The top two candidates will go on to the General Election on November 3rd.

Forward Radio does not endorse any particular candidates, but we do endorse an informed electorate and we offer equal air time to all candidates for the same office. Kentucky Primary Elections are on Tuesday May 19th, including the Mayor’s race, many Metro Council seats, Sheriff, County Clerk, County Attorney, and State Rep seats right here in Louisville. All Kentucky voters will also get to weigh in on who should replace Mitch McConnell in the U.S. Senate! Don’t miss this opportunity! Find out where, when and how to vote, and see a sample ballot so you can do your research on all candidates at https://GoVote.Ky.gov

In-Person Excused Absentee Voting begins this week on May 6, May 7, May 8, May 11, May 12 and May 13

Time: 8:30 am-4:30 pm

Louisville Location: Jefferson County Election Center, 1000 E. Liberty St.

In-Person No Excuse Absentee Voting will run May 14 - May 16, 2026

Time: 8:00 am-6:00 pm

Louisville Locations: At dozens of locations all over Jefferson County

As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW!

Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at https://forwardradio.org

The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at https://appalatin.com

Our guest today is Elisa Owen, a Senior Energy Organizer in Kentucky. She works with the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign, and closely with the Kentucky Chapter) as their cheap energy (i.e zero cost fuel) specialist. Before landing at the Sierra Club in February 2025, Elisa most recently served as Kentucky Interfaith Power and Light's Executive Director. She was educated at Emory University, the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where she received an M.A. in international relations and economics, and Princeton Theological Seminary. Her work includes time in the international electric energy regulation practice of a Washington DC consulting firm focused on the economics of electric sector privatization. She then joined a subsidiary of the Civil Engineering Research Foundation (CERF), the International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC), to support businesses and governments around the world with their efforts to use regulatory changes to integrate renewable energy sources into their energy production plans.

League of Women Voters | Louisville Metro Council - District 9 Candidate Forum | 5-6-26 by Forward Radio

This week on Truth to Power, we continue our community conversation focused on reviewing the results of the 2026 Kentucky Legislative Session. Last week we focused on Housing & Energy Bills with the Metropolitan Housing Coalition. This week we bring you "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!" Every year, the Kentucky Resources Council (KRC) publishes The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly to give Kentuckians a clear-eyed look at how the General Assembly’s decisions are shaping our environment, energy systems, and communities. This year brought a mix of outcomes: some meaningful progress, but also bills moving Kentucky in the wrong direction by prioritizing polluters over people, sidelining science, and weakening protections for vulnerable communities. KRC’s legislative wrap-up highlights key wins, setbacks, and everything in between, with a focus on what these decisions mean on the ground for communities across the Commonwealth. This virtual presentation hosted by KRC's Executive Director, Ashley Wilmes, took place on Monday, May 4th.

Watch the presentation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wop4g3NU1s.

Read the full report at https://kyrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026-THE-GOOD-THE-BAD-UGLY.pdf

Learn more and support the work of the Kentucky Resources Council at https://kyrc.org/

Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 7pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at https://www.forwardradio.org

Dr. Adam Gaffney joins Paul Hoppe along with Co-Hosts Drs. Mike Flynn and Gene Shivley in a discussion on why a Public Option is not a workable solution as we try to fix our broken Healthcare System. Only Single Payer is the Solution.

Dr. Gaffney is an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, a pulmonary and critical care physician at the Cambridge Health Alliance, a health policy researcher, and a writer and commentator on issues of medicine and policy. He is also A past-president of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP).

This week on Sustainability Now!, we continue our series of candidate interviews to get you ready to vote in the Kentucky Primary Election coming up on May 19th! Tune in as your host, Justin Mog, sits down with Andrea Parr, the DSA Candidate for Louisville Metro Council District 9. Andrea is a Kentucky native and long-time resident of District 9, a technical analyst, organizer, and democratic socialist who believes that the residents of District 9 deserve a councilperson who puts their needs first – not someone who answers to corporate developers or special interests. You have the opportunity to ask Andrea anything at her candidate forum this Wednesday, May 6th, 6 – 8pm at The Shop (2708 Frankfort Ave). Learn more at https://www.andreaparr.com.

Andrea was joined in studio for this conversation by her Senior Advisor, Nick Conder, the current Legislative Assistant for Councilman JP Lyninger. Nick received his PhD in Urban & Public Affairs from UofL.

District 9 is on the near northeast side of town, inside the Watterson, centered on Frankfort Avenue, Gristead & Zorn, Lexington Rd, and Cannons Ln. It stretches from Irish Hill in the west through Clfiton and Crescent Hill into St. Matthews. The current District 9 Council Member, Democrat Andrew Owen, announced he would not seek reelection. Four people are vying to replace him: Andrea R. Parr, Alison Brotzge-Elder, Mark England, and Charles Todd.

Forward Radio does not endorse any particular candidates, but we do endorse an informed electorate and we offer equal air time to all candidates for the same office. It is the civic duty of all adult U.S. citizens in Kentucky to vote in the Primary elections on Tuesday May 19th. Your ballot will include the Mayor’s race, many Metro Council seats, Sheriff, County Clerk, County Attorney, and State Rep seats right here in Louisville. All Kentucky voters will also get to weigh in on who should replace Mitch McConnell in the U.S. Senate! Don’t miss this opportunity! Find out where, when and how to vote, request an absentee ballot, and see a sample ballot so you can do your research on all the candidates at https://GoVote.Ky.gov

In-Person Excused Absentee Voting begins this week on May 6, May 7, May 8, May 11, May 12 and May 13

Time: 8:30 am-4:30 pm

Louisville Location: Jefferson County Election Center, 1000 E. Liberty St.

In-Person No Excuse Absentee Voting will run May 14 - May 16, 2026

Time: 8:00 am-6:00 pm

Louisville Locations: At dozens of locations all over Jefferson County

As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW!

Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at https://forwardradio.org

The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at https://appalatin.com

Carla Wallace, co-founder of LSURJ (Louisville Standing Up for Racial Justice) and of Louisville's Fairness Campaign, as well as inductee into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame, was the featured speaker at Forward Radio's 9th Anniversary Celebration. She spoke on building coalitions in an era of encroaching authoritarianism and finding areas of commonality among diverse groups of people and organizations. Following her talk were brief remarks made by Ruth Newman, general manager of Forward Radio, promoting what she's calling CollaboRadio, which asks nonprofits and other groups to make use of community radio's shared communications platform to reach out into the community to help synchronize and expand grassroots efforts to resist inhumane, unethical acts and to strengthen community ties.

A cow that uses tools? A superior preschool-education method? A bonobo that uses his imagination? Is Artificial Intelligence better at creative writing than the average human? What stars, planets and constellations can we see in the night sky in May?

‘Bench Talk: The Week in Science’ is a weekly program that airs on WFMP Louisville FORward Radio 106.5 FM (forwardradio.org) every Monday at 7:30 pm, Tuesday at 11:30 am, and Wednesday at 7:30 am.

Visit our Facebook page for links to the articles discussed in this episode: https://www.facebook.com/BenchTalkRadio.

Public domain music heard on this show is by Rafael Krux: 'Magic in the Garden'.