Forward Radio podcasts

On this special Pledge Drive edition of the Access Hour, we continue our salute to Women's History Month with this incredible discussion of Indigenous Feminisms and Relational Accountability: Pathways to Justice and Coalition-Building! This week, we bring you the University of Louisville's 2025 Minx Auerbach Lecture in Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies, which was held on Thursday, March 20th at 5:30pm in UofL's Gheens Science Hall and Rauch Planetarium.

Dr. Shelbi Nahwilet Meissner (Luiseño & Cupeño) is an Indigenous feminist philosopher and an associate professor in the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is the founding director of the Indigenous Futures Lab, a pioneering hub for Indigenous feminist research and evaluation. A proud first-generation descendant of the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, Dr. Meissner is of Luiseño (Payómkawichum) and Cupeño (Kupangaxwichem) descent. Dr. Meissner researches, teaches, and consults on topics including Indigenous research and evaluation methods, cultural and language reclamation, Indigenous epistemologies, Indigenous feminist interventions in critical social work, and land-based feminist coalition-building. Her work is deeply rooted in exploring the intersections of Indigenous knowledge systems, care-taking, power, and trauma.

Watch full recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHD4LellB5w

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.

GRACIE LEWIS is a journalist and retired employee of the federal government and former Staff Assistant, United States Congress, Subcommittee on Labor Standards. She has spent some 50 years as a “warrior for justice.” Her contributions to many organizations have demonstrated her unwavering dedication to justice, equality and community development.

GRACIE LEWIS started her activism in 1971 with the “Free Angela Davis” Defense Movement in Washington, DC. Since then, she has lived by the creed, “If I can help somebody along the way, my living has not been in vain.”

GRACIE LEWIS is a journalist and retired employee of the federal government and former Staff Assistant, United States Congress, Subcommittee on Labor Standards. She has spent some 50 years as a “warrior for justice.” Her contributions to many organizations have demonstrated her unwavering dedication to justice, equality and community development.

GRACIE LEWIS started her activism in 1971 with the “Free Angela Davis” Defense Movement in Washington, DC. Since then she has lived by the creed, “If I can help somebody along the way, my living has not been in vain.”

In 2020, a NASA space probe (called OSIRIS-REx) gently touched down on the asteroid Bennu, some 200 million miles away, and collected rocks and gravel. It delivered that sample to NASA scientists on Earth in 2023. On January 29, 2025 two research papers were published describing their analysis of this asteroid material. It appears to contain some of the chemicals found on meteorites that have hit the earth in the past, but there were some surprises, too. Like the presence of salt crystals that indicate there was water on the asteroid sometime in its past. Basic chemical building-blocks of life were also discovered on Bennu, so we discuss the implications of this on theories about how life first evolved here Earth. Here are links to the two papers: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08495-6 and https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-024-02472-9.

‘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 link to the articles discussed in this episode: https://www.facebook.com/pg/BenchTalkRadio/posts/?ref=page_internal.

Music heard on this episode is the public-domain version of ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra – Fanfare' by Richard Strauss (1896).

On this week’s Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, Gets On The Bus, with Michael Blackwood & Cara Tobe from LDSA's GET ON THE BUS campaign (https://www.dsalouisville.org/gotb). Tune in to learn about a citizen’s response to the degradation of already insufficient service as Louisville’s Transit Authority of River City (TARC) hits a fiscal crisis brought on by decades of under-funding. The solution? Have Metro Government actually fund TARC as we work to get on the ballot a measure to modernize TARC’s funding for the long term by increasing an occupational tax that hasn’t changed since the agency began operations in 1975.

Organizations are invited to read the coalition demand letter and sign on at: https://bit.ly/gotb-coalition-demand; Individuals are invited to read the coalition demand letter and sign on at: https://bit.ly/gotb-demand

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

Laela Kashan is Louisville-based Director of Regional Advocacy and Engagement for the Kentucky Nonprofit Network and works locally for the Louisville Nonprofit Coalition, as well as parts of Western Kentucky. Her mission is to build grassroots nonprofit coalitions, both locally and regionally, to provide training, resources and support for these groups and to advocate in Frankfort for Kentucky's charitable organizations. At a time when the push federally is to privatize nonprofit and government sectors, as well as withdraw federal funding from any 501(c)3 charitable organizations that are deemed to include DEI language, it behooves us to learn more about how these folks are helping vulnerable humans, animals and habitats.

Host K.A. Owens comments on Elon Musk, DOGE, Ukraine and the future of the free world.

Recorded Saturday March 22, 2025, 9PM

On this week's program, we bring you highlights from a public meeting and open house that took place at the Main Public Library on March 18th about the Downtown & NuLu Street Network Plan. Louisville Metro Government is leading a plan to advance quick-term action projects for streets in Downtown and NuLu, intended to promote walkability and safety for pedestrians and to serve as a blueprint for capital improvement projects over the next several years. The public was invited to come be a part of this planning effort by joining this open house and kickoff of the plan activities - featuring a presentation from Jeff Speck from Metro's planning consultant team! So listen in as renowned urban planner and author Jeff Speck shared his insights on reimagining downtown Louisville through the lens of walkability and why fostering a pedestrian-friendly environment is imperative for a flourishing city. The evening kicked off with Joel from Stantech.

Jeff Speck is a city planner and author who advocates internationally for more walkable cities. As Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts from 2003 through 2007, he presided over the Mayors' Institute on City Design and created the Governors' Institute on Community Design. Prior to his federal appointment, Mr. Speck spent ten years as Director of Town Planning at DPZ & Co., the principal firm behind the New Urbanism movement. Since 2007, he has led Speck & Associates — now Speck Dempsey —an award-winning urban planning firm serving public and private clients around the world. With Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Mr. Speck is the co-author of Suburban Nation, which the Wall Street Journal calls "the urbanist's bible.” His 2012 book Walkable City was the best selling city planning title of the past decade and has been translated into eight languages. He is also the principal author of The Smart Growth Manual and Walkable City Rules. Jeff Speck has been named a fellow of both the American Institute of Certified Planners and the Congress for New Urbanism. In a recent Planetizen poll, he was voted one of the ten “most influential urbanists of all time.” Mr. Speck was the 2022 recipient of the Seaside Prize, whose former awardees include Jane Jacobs and Christopher Alexander. His TED talks and YouTube videos have been viewed more than six million times.

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://forwardradio.org

In celebration of Women's History Month, this week on the Access Hour, we are sharing two book launch events by amazing female historians that were held recently at the Filson Historical Society in Old Louisville!

First up, we'll take you back to February 25, 2025, when the Filson hosted the book launch for Jessica K. Whitehead's insightful new text, "Driftwood: The Life of Harlan Hubbard." Jessica offers remarks on her comprehensive biography of the writer, artist, and sustainability pioneer Harlan Hubbard (1900-1988) and the deep impact Harlan and his wife, Anna, have had on Kentucky’s culture. Whitehead's book delves into Hubbard’s family background, education, and relationships, and into his theories on art, writing, music, and philosophy. Using journals, letters, paintings, manuscripts, and sketches, Whitehead pieces together the distinct phases of Hubbard’s life, providing new insights into his character and legacy. Following the remarks, members of the NouLou Chamber Players, Heather Thomas (violin) and Cecilia Huerta-Lauf (cello), join with pianist Sebastian Chang in the world premiere of composer Daniel Gilliam’s “Piano Trio No. 2: Payne Hollow.” This exciting new piece of music, written by Gilliam in conjunction with the book launch celebrates the Hubbards’ vision of living and working on their own terms. The trio also honors the Harlan and Anna Hubbards’ deep love of classical music performance—showcasing the instruments they once played: piano, cello, and violin.

Jessica K. Whitehead, writer and curator of collections at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville, is author of "The History of the Kentucky Derby in 75 Objects" and a contributor to "The Watercolors of Harlan Hubbard: From the Collection of Bill and Flo Caddell."

Daniel Gilliam is a composer from Louisville, KY. He is also the program director, and an announcer, on 90.5 WUOL Classical Louisville.

Watch a recording of the evening and see the musical performance and images referenced at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BucL0S6vD94.

Following that, we'll hear from another amazing historian, Eliza McGraw, who spoke at the Filson Historical Society on March 6, 2025 about her brand new book, "Astride: Horses, Women, and a Partnership That Shaped America." In the book, Eliza weaves together stories of women who pioneered in worlds such as Thoroughbred breeding, the circus, and horse rescue at a time when American women in general internalized the lessons of horsewomen: take chances, take up more space, and learn to get back on. From tamers to caretakers and performers to teachers, all worked with horses to buck the status quo. Expressing the idea of femininity with athleticism and authority, these trailblazers changed the way America understood women. Richly illustrated with period photographs, Astride demonstrates that even small changes can advance the fight for progress.

Eliza McGraw is the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award–winning author of "Here Comes Exterminator! The Longshot Horse, the Great War, and the Making of an American Hero" and a contributing writer for EQUUS magazine.

Watch a full recording and see the slides at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1HKDSSs3-4

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 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.

On this week’s Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, is delighted to introduce you to Alex Herrin! In October 2024, the Louisville Metro Office of Sustainability welcomed Alex to the team as a new Sustainability Coordinator. Alex's passion for sustainability started while he was growing up around a neighborhood nature preserve in Austin, TX, and grew as he witnessed firsthand the drastic impacts of climate change in the western United States. Previously, he was a sustainability analyst with UPS in Atlanta, GA, and before that, he was an AmeriCorps Fellow with Sacramento County in California, where he conducted the county’s first entirely in-house greenhouse gas inventory. Alex looks forward to making Louisville a more sustainable and resilient city!

Learn more about him and the Office of Sustainability at https://louisvilleky.gov/government/sustainability/meet-team

Check out the details about the Cool Roof Program at https://louisvilleky.gov/government/sustainability/cool-roof-incentive-program

Learn about Solarize Louisville at https://louisvilleky.gov/government/sustainability/solarize-louisville

Make plans to join us at Earth Fest on March 29th 2:00 - 6:00pm at Alberta O. Jones Park at 744 S 23rd St, Louisville, KY 40211. Full details at https://louisvilleky.gov/government/sustainability/earth-fest

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