Forward Radio podcasts

Kay Tillow, Chairperson of Kentuckians for Single Payer Healthcare and Guest Dare Cima, Social Justice Activist and a member of DSA, on Medicaid Cuts impact on Eastern Kentucky. Dare hails from the foothills of Appalachia in Southeastern Kentucky and still has family there. Dare is uniquely qualified to speak on the state of healthcare while growing up in the region.

This week we bring you a very important community conversation about environmental justice and addressing historical injustices. It took place on at the History & Science Forum on the evening of Thursday, Feb. 5th, at Roots 101 African-American Museum in downtown Louisville. This incredible line-up of discussants constituted the third installment of the “& Science” Forums organized by UofL's Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute. The panel discussed historic infrastructure affecting environmental health disparities; examined the policy and legal frameworks that shape local climate and environmental conditions; and encouraged widespread participation in strengthening Louisville's environment. The evening featured:

• Dr. John Chenault (Associate Professor, Director of Anti-Racism Initiatives, UofL)

• Ms. Hannah Drake (Cultural Strategist; Co-Executive Director, IDEAS xLab; Co-Founder, (Un)Known Project)

• Dr. Swannie Jett (Chief Executive Officer, Park DuValle Community Health Center)

• Dr. Lynn Pohl (Archivist, The Filson Historical Society)

• The Honorable Attica Scott (Former Kentucky State Representative for District 41; Director of Special Projects, Forward Justice Action Network)

• Dr. Monica Unseld (Founder and Executive Director, Until Justice Data Partners)

Moderator:

• Dr. Natasha DeJarnett (Assistant Professor, Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, UofL)

About the Series: The Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute is hosting this quarterly health forum called “& Science". This third installment of the series focused on History & Science, featuring leaders from different historical and scientific backgrounds. The “& Science” series provides a community forum for conversations at the intersection of health, the environment & science.

Watch a full recording of the evening at https://youtu.be/oxo8KT_3cBA

On Truth to Power each week, we gather people from around the community to discuss the state of the world, the nation, the state, and the city! It's a community conversation like you won't hear anywhere else!

Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 4pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at https://www.forwardradio.org

K.A. Owens interviews Artist Bart Galloway. Bart shares with the audience his life in art.

Recorded Thursday February 12, 2026, 7PM.

Only two years after the release of the herbicide 'Roundup', the FDA accused it's manufacturer, Monsanto, of falsifying data about the chemical's safety. In December of 2025, a review of the scientific literature on the safety of 'Roundup' was retracted by the journal that published it, over the issue of 'ghostwriting'. This week we present the first part of a comprehensive history of this effective, put potentially carcinogenic herbicide. At the end of the show, we review the cosmic sights that are visible in the night sky in February.

‘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 Mad Gravity Studio ('Into the Umbra Loop') courtesy of freesound.org.

This week on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, is delighted to welcome back into the studio Sarah Pierce, Metropolitan Housing Coalition's Housing & Energy Affordability Program Coordinator with the EveryHome program (https://everyhomelou.org). Tune in to learn what the EveryHome program does to investigate and advocate for affordable housing, including all of the “hidden costs” to housing like utilities. Sarah shares some of the findings from EveryHome’s latest report on how utility burdens can lead to unaffordability of housing, and can create negative health and mental health impacts. We also discuss some of the current cases before the Public Service Commission and how MHC has intervened. And we share the inspiring story of the grassroots state-wide effort for a Moratorium on Utility Disconnections over the past couple of months with the Leave The Heat On Collective.

Finally, we discuss MHC’s upcoming conference:

Beyond the Rent: Policy Driven Solutions for Housing and Utility Burdens

Tuesday, April 7th, 9am-7:30pm at the Muhammad Ali Center

Early-Bird Registration Deadline (10% off): Feb. 13th

The Metropolitan Housing Coalition's EveryHome Program is hosting this all-day conference to bring together national and local speakers, policymakers, nonprofits, advocates, and community members to strengthen dialogue and collaboration on housing and utility affordability. MHC will also be sharing key findings from their 2025 Housing and Utility Affordability Report to ensure that data and lived experience guide future policies and solutions.

The Beyond the Rent Conference will include 3 keynote speakers, 2 breakout sessions, a panel of experts, networking opportunities, and breakfast, lunch, and dinner from Mayan Cafe. Half-day tickets are available for either the morning or afternoon.

Learn more about the conference and find the link to register at https://beyondtherent.org

Learn more about MHC at https://metropolitanhousing.org


Get in touch with Sarah at [email protected]

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

On this week's show, we wrap up our highlights from the 2026 Kentucky Conservation Committee's Legislative Summit held on January 25th. Learn more about it and find links to all the great materials referenced at https://kyconservation.org/legislative-summit-2026

On today's show, we take a deep dive into Kentucky's energy past and potential energy future. Specifically, we respond to all the hype around nuclear as a supposedly rational response to the climate crisis and the exploding demand for electricity coming from data center development. Tune in to hear from Lane Boldman, Executive Director of the Kentucky Conservation Committee on Kentucky's troubling nuclear history and the proposals for new nuclear developments being pushed today. Then Sarah Lynn Cunningham, Executive Director of the Louisville Climate Action Network, shares her personal stories of successful local resistance to the nuclear build-out back in the 1970s.

View Lane's Presentation Slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mz-CL7BiqstWzOoHWvHzK1_guQqODVNL/view?usp=sharing

Backgrounder on Nuclear Players in Kentucky: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bo5aGpCGauEQZaeChH5vT8VPrlWCrSkOwM_4TSLcJ8I/edit?usp=sharing

KCC’s Nuclear Energy Webpage: https://kyconservation.org/nuclear-energy

We conclude with Byron Gary, Program Attorney, from the Kentucky Resource Council, about their new study released on December 11th, which evaluates Kentucky’s electricity needs, and demonstrates how new state laws are hindering a transition to a cheaper, cleaner, and more dependable energy portfolio — at a time when many Kentuckians are struggling to afford their utility bills. The independent report, commissioned by KRC, Mountain Association, Metropolitan Housing Coalition, and Earthjustice, compares multiple energy pathways through 2050 and concludes that replacing aging coal-fired power plants with a mix of renewable energy, battery storage, and efficiency investments could save Kentuckians billions while maintaining reliability. Read the report at https://kyrc.org/energy-report/

The report investigates whether continued reliance on fossil-fuels is necessary to assure affordable and reliable electricity service in Kentucky. The report found that Kentucky Senate Bills 4 (2023) and 349 (2024) hinder the development of cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable alternatives to serve Kentucky’s electricity needs. The most affordable and reliable option to serve Kentuckians’ electricity needs is a modern and diverse energy supply that includes much more renewable energy, battery storage, and demand-side resources than are currently planned by Kentucky’s regulated utilities.

Kentucky Senate Bills 4 (2023) and 349 (2024) put up hurdles to retiring aging, uneconomic coal-fired power plants. The independent report explains that continued reliance on coal is not necessary, and it’s more expensive. There are cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable alternatives for Kentucky’s ratepayers.

Kentucky could save upwards of 4 billion dollars by 2050 with a more diverse portfolio that includes less fossil fuels and more renewables – but these laws must be amended now.

This report highlights costs and risks to ratepayers across the nation as other states, including Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Utah and Wyoming, have also considered or passed legislation that would slow closures of an aging fleet of coal-fired power plants.

On Truth to Power each week, we bring you in-depth community conversations like you won't hear anywhere else! Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 4pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at https://www.forwardradio.org

An enlightening discussion with Dr. Hendrik Van den Berg of the University of Massachusetts on his paper from the 2026 American Economics Association Meeting. Instead of looking for new ways or new technology to solve or fix environmental problems, the solutions are already in our hands and within our means. It is mostly a political and not technological question of how we solve our environmental problems as we sometimes step forward but then backward in trying to address environmental concerns.

Get ready for the most gambling we’ve ever seen around this year’s Super Bowl! This week on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, is delighted to welcome back into the studio Dr. Christopher Tuell, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience in the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and clinical director of addiction services at University of Cincinnati Health's Lindner Center of HOPE in Mason, OH (https://lindnercenterofhope.org/). Chris was last on the program a year ago, talking about problem gambling - an issue still relevant today as we look forward to the Super Bowl on Sunday Feb. 8th. For help, call the National Problem Gambling Hotline 1-800-GAMBLER or the Suicide Prevention Hotline 9-8-8.

This year, we take a deeper dive into the complex and often intertwined relationship between substance use—both chemical and behavioral—and mental health. Through clinical insight and real-world examples, the discussion aims to increase understanding of how mental health conditions can influence addictive behaviors and how addiction, in turn, impacts emotional wellbeing. Our goal is to educate and empower you by reducing stigma, increasing awareness, and offering hope through accessible information, compassion, and evidence-based perspectives. Ultimately, we seeks to help listeners feel less alone while encouraging healthier conversations about recovery, resilience, and mental wellness.

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

Rev. Dean W. Bucalos is the former executive director of Mission Behind Bars and Beyond, an ecumenical re-entry program that trains faith-based groups to work with returning citizens upon their release from prison. In addition, he is the founding pastor of New Life in Christ Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a congregation he began inside Dismas Charities-Diersen, a women’s re-entry facility in Louisville, Kentucky. He served as a part-time mission specialist for prison and jail ministries with the National Benevolent Association of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Rev. Bucalos was ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in 1994. He has served as the pastor of congregations in Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, The University of Kentucky College of Law and Lexington Theological Seminary. Prior to his ordination, Rev. Bucalos practiced law in Ashland and Lexington, Kentucky. He has served as an adjunct professor at Bellarmine University in Louisville, where he taught classes on Christianity and Social Justice. In retirement, he has continued his ministry by facilitating several contemplative dialogue groups, both on-line and in person.

Patty and Brian talk with local legendary activist, Jackie Green.