Forward Radio podcasts

The White House just defunded HIV-vaccine development and climate change technologies. Then, a recent research article illustrates how a person’s gut microbiome (intestinal bacteria) is shared with family members, friends, and acquaintances. Then, hear about what stars, planets and constellations can be seen in the night sky in June.

‘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/pg/BenchTalkRadio/posts/?ref=page_internal

A continued conversation with Marty Snyder on his now published book, "The Pinball Theory of Business and Life." His experiences and knowledge as an attorney, business leader, and principal of Snyder Advisory, LLC show how life is not a "linear path" but instead, as we navigate the "bumpers" in life similar those that exist in a pinball machine, we make changes in our lives as we adapt to opportunities or challenges that life presents to us. This is a fascinating book, and we only get to discuss segments of it as in the last show we did on it when it was still a work in progress. I think listeners will thoroughly enjoy listening to Marty and his insights.

This week we bring you highlights from the last hour of our live broadcast from the 12th annual How-To Festival! Forward Radio was thrilled to once again partner with the Louisville Free Public Library as the media sponsor of the How-To Festival held at the Main branch of the Public Library on Saturday, May 10, 2025. Listen in for a sampling of some of the 50 things we learned in 5 hours!! In this hour, we learned:

- How to make your year more bird-friendly (with Luke Pearson, Louisville Audubon Society)

- How to design a food forest (with Matt Robertson)

- How to save seeds & cultivate native plants for future generations (with Jody Dahmer & Mariah Corso, Louisville Seed Bank)

- How to grow the most delicious tomatoes (with Terry Gibson, Master Gardener)

- How to pickle & ferment your harvest (with Emily Coleman & Amanda Fuller, Urban Agriculture Coalition)

- How to travel alone (with Emily Koenig)

- How to become a circus performer (with Turner Circus)

Find the full schedule at https://www.lfpl.org/how-to

The Access Hour airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Wednesday at 2pm and repeats Thursdays at 11am and Fridays at 1pm. Find us and please donate to support this work at https:/forwardradio.org

If you’ve got something you’d like to share on community radio through the Access Hour, whether it’s a recording you made or a show you’d like to do on a particular topic, community, artistic creation, or program that is under-represented in Louisville’s media landscape, just go to https:/forwardradio.org, click on Participate and pitch us your idea. The Access Hour is your opportunity to take over the air waves to share your passion with the world!

On this week’s show, your host, Justin Mog, is delighted to be in conversation with an old friend and colleague at the University of Louisville, Henry Cunningham, who serves as the Assistant Vice-President for Engaged Scholarship in the Office of Community Engagement (https://louisville.edu/communityengagement/) Dr. Cunningham co-founded and co-directed the University’s International Service Learning Program. He has extensive background in international and community development, having conducted developmental work in several countries. He was assigned to the United Nations where he worked with international leaders focusing on sustainable development in developing countries. Henry currently teaches a community-based learning course, enabling students to engage with the immigrant community. He has published articles and book chapters on community engagement, and he co-edited a book on partnership and collaboration which was published in 2020.

Henry is a native of the Central American nation of Belize. We begin the conversation discussing what it is like there, Belize’s history as a young nation, and it’s tremendous ecological and human diversity. Belize has the world’s second longest coral reef after Australia, and Henry shares how it is now being endangered because of contamination flowing down from Florida. It is also a place where the economy and a lot of government policy is driven by Ecotourism and protecting the environment is a national priority.

Belize is also a host country for the U.S. Peace Corps, and Henry shares his experience getting to know Peace Corps Volunteers there. He argues that the Peace Corps is the most valuable investment the U.S. makes in international diplomacy.

We conclude by discussing Henry’s work with Community Engagement at UofL, which has been recognized nationally. Learn more about how UofL students, faculty, and staff collaborate with community members in mutually beneficial relationships and discover how you can establish or grow partnerships with UofL!

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 http://forwardradio.org

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

Host K.A. Owens comments on the misplaced criticism of former President Joe Biden and his administration. K.A. Owens also comments on the state of the nation and the world.

Recorded Wednesday May 21, 2025, PM.

Patty and Brian discuss some of the ways international travel can improve our thinking.

This week we bring you highlights from the third hour of our live broadcast from the 12th annual How-To Festival! Forward Radio was thrilled to once again partner with the Louisville Free Public Library as the media sponsor of the How-To Festival held at the Main branch of the Public Library on Saturday, May 10, 2025. Listen in for a sampling of some of the 50 things we learned in 5 hours!! In this hour, we learned:

- How to start seeds at home (with Jeff Masters, UofL Biology)

- How to improvise on a musical instrument (with Stephanie Nilles, Louisville Academy of Music)

- How to write an op-ed (with author Bonnie Jean Feldkamp)

- How to do American folk dance (with Greer Hannan, Louisville Country Line Dancers)

- How to garden when you don’t have a yard (container gardening) (with Terry Gibson, Master Gardener)

- How to care for fruit trees (with Mateo Barnett, Common Earth Gardens)

Find the full schedule at https://www.lfpl.org/how-to

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

At its monthly Democracy in Action forum, held April 21, 2025, the Louisville League of Women Voters hosted a discussion of Louisville's serious housing shortage and what Trump's proposed budget cuts would do to an already underfunded coalition of local affordable housing agencies. The expert panel convened comprised Tony Curtis, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Housing Coalition; Andrew Owen, District 9 Metro Councilman; Rae Martin, Executive Director of the St. John Center; and Elizabeth Strojan, Executive Director, Louisville Metro Housing Authority. It was moderated by Jeana Dunlap from the Louisville NAACP.

Lisa Markowitz currently teaches Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, People and their Food, Anthropology of Latin America, Globalizing Inequalities, Food Justice, and Contemporary Issues in Anthropology, at the University of Louisville.

Markowitz’s research has focused on inequities in regional and global agrifood systems and popular efforts to transform them. These linked themes have informed her writing and scholarly-civic engagement in Andean South America and the upper U.S. South. She has carried out ethnographic field research in Peru and Bolivia, exploring the situation of peasant farmers and ranchers and their use of communal or collective strategies to improve their production systems and economic bargaining power. This experience led to a long-term interest in Andean food and agriculture as well as an engagement with building equitable food systems in the United States Her work has also addressed the roles of Non-governmental organizations as change agents in South America and the United States. Her most recent project concerns the grocery industry.

Michael Perlin: Dr. Michael Perlin teaches Biology 330 Genetics & Molecular Biology, Biol 410 Misuse of Biology in Film and Pop Culture, Biol 542/642 Gene Structure and Function, Biol 416 Biotechnology Methods, and Biol 575/675 Evolution of Genes and Genomes. As a biologist Dr. Michael Perlin investigates the evolution of host/pathogen interactions, primarily at the molecular genetics and biochemical levels. The research in Michael Perlin’s lab focuses on the evolution of interactions between pathogens and the hosts on which they cause disease. At present, this work has two main areas of emphasis: fungal/plant interactions and population dynamics of bacteria resistant to antibiotics.

There's new information about black holes and 'forever chemicals', so we thought we would reprise two popular stories from our past episodes. Hear Dr. Dirk Grupe (NKU physicist) describe black holes and then listen to 'black hole music' just released by NASA. To look for patterns in the data from space telescopes they 'sonified' it, producing haunting cosmic music. Then, we update you on a recent executive order by Donald Trump regarding 'forever chemicals'. Are these toxic substances in Louisville's tap water? Mary Williams reminds us what 'forever chemicals' are, how they can impact our health, and what we can do to reduce our exposure.

Here is the link to NASA's page on black-hole music: https://www.nasa.gov/missions/chandra/nasa-telescopes-tune-into-a-black-hole-prelude-fugue/

‘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/pg/BenchTalkRadio/posts/?ref=page_internal