KY Secretary of State Michael Adams (Republican) and Univ. of Louisville Political Science Prof. Jasmine Farrier discuss Ranked Choice Voting, which would allow voters to rank their choices of candidates on the ballot, and Open Primaries. These are both proposed changes to how Kentucky's elections are run. This event took place at the KY League of Women Voters Annual Meeting, held in Louisville June 3, 2023.

At the start of summer, we like to chat with Sam Miller, bookseller and manager at Carmichael’s Bookstore here in Louisville (We actually like to chat with Sam anytime, but she has especially useful information about new books twice a year.) Sam does the heavy lifting this week by telling us what is coming out and might be good for your TBR list. For show notes for any episode, go to our website at perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover. Books mentioned in this episode: 1- The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer 2- Tom Lake by Ann Patchett 3- Be Mine by Richard Ford 4- The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman 5- The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese 6- The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride 7- Color of Water by James McBride 8- Deacon King Kong by James McBride 9- The Tusk that Did the Damage by Tania James 10- Loot by Tania James 11- Happy Place by Emily Henry 12- I Didn’t Do It by Jamie Lynn Hendricks 13- Only One Left by Riley Sager 14- Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith 15- Independence Square by Martin Cruz Smith 16- Small Mercies by Dennis LeHane 17- Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway 18- Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong 19- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 20 The Other Renaissance by Paul Strathern 21- Ice by Amy Brady 22- The Soldier’s Truth: Ernie Pyle and the Story of World War II by David Chrisinger 23- Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer 24- A Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie 25- Pageboy by Elliot Page 26- Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You by Lucinda Williams 27- Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City by Jane Wong 28- King: A Life by Jonathan Eig 29- Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby 30- Sweet Enough: A Dessert Cookbook by Alison Roman 31- Franklin Smoke by Aaron Franklin 32- Love is a Pink Cake by Claire Ptak 33- Back to the Dirt by Frank Bill 34- Code of the Hills by Chris Offutt 35- If You Write Me a Letter, Send it Here by Louisville Story Program 36- Gay Poems for Red States by Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr. 37- Tar Hollow Trans by Stacy Jane Grover 38- The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers 39- A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers 40- Zeitoun by Dave Eggers 41- Weather Together by Jessie Sima 42- The Celebrants by Steven Rowley 43- Big Gay Wedding by Byron Lane 44- Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda 45- Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott 46- Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman 47- Prom Mom by Laura Lippman 48- The Disinvited Guest by Carol Goodman

Professor Tom Lambert is thrilled to debut a new program on Forward Radio focused on exploring our local political economy to get at deeper truths about why Louisville is the way it is and what we could do to make it better for everyone! Tune in to hear an increasingly rare perspective on these issues - that of a heterodox economist. Heterodox economics, as opposed to orthodox or mainstream economics or "neoclassical" economics, is more eclectic in its approach to economics and allows pluralism of views and concepts. It also harkens back to when economics and political science were pretty much joined together in one discipline called political economy. Today's economists do not like the term "political economy", but Tom thinks they miss a lot by assuming that markets exist in a vacuum and that all consumers/people are either nearly perfectly rational or completely rational. Professor Lambert is in the Economics department at UofL and has recently been assigned to their equine industry programs as an applied economist. Prior to UofL, he taught full time for Northern Kentucky University in their Master of Public Administration program for several years. Before that he was with the economics department at IU Southeast for many years. Professor Lambert has a MS in economics from UK and a PhD in Urban and Public Affairs from UofL with a concentration in urban economics and economic development.

What factors might be causing the rash of racehorse accidents and fatalities at Churchill Downs this year? What can be done about it? Leslie Moise reports. Rob Weber visits the James E. Farmer Elementary School (in Louisville, KY) to see one of Kentucky's most successful 'Science of Reading' programs for teaching literacy. Scott Miller tells us what planets and stars we can see in the night sky in June, 2023. There are also two EarthDate contributions this week. One about the valuable resources found at the bottom of oceans: https://www.earthdate.org/episodes/treasure-on-the-seafloor, and the other about the first human remains to be interred on the Moon: https://www.earthdate.org/episodes/the-man-on-the-moon. ‘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

On this week’s Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, puts his overalls on for a chat with Lance Irving from the Sand County Foundation about some of the great things private land managers are doing in Kentucky! Three finalists have been selected for the 2023 Kentucky Leopold Conservation Award®. Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the prestigious award recognizes farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners who inspire others with their dedication to land, water, and wildlife habitat management on private, working lands. In Kentucky, the $10,000 award is presented annually by Sand County Foundation, American Farmland Trust, Kentucky Agricultural Council, and the Kentucky Association of Conservation Districts. This year’s recipient will be recognized at the Kentucky Association of Conservation Districts’ Annual Convention on July 11 in Bowling Green. This year’s finalists are: • Steve and Melanie Kelley of Bardwell in Carlisle County: The Kelleys utilize no-till practices and plant cover crops to conserve soil and moisture. Their farm features 48 acres of filter strips, and 17 acres of grassed waterways and rock chutes to slow water runoff. Solar panels produce electricity and provide the farm with another source of income. Wildlife and pollinator-friendly habitat has been established on 800 acres. • Donald Veatch of Campbellsville in Marion County: At Donald Veatch’s beef cattle and grain farm, establishing buffer strips, and crop rotations, no-till practices and cover crops have reduced soil erosion and improved water quality. Selective harvesting and thinning overgrowth promote the quality of timber in the farm’s 125 acres of forests. Planting trees and native grasses has created habitat for wildlife and insect pollinators. • Michael W. Wilson of Lawrenceburg in Anderson County: Michael Wilson’s Whispering Hills Farm implements conservation practices to reduce soil erosion caused by beef cattle production. Rotational grazing his cattle prevents overgrazing, recycles nutrients, and increases plant regrowth and biodiversity. By equipping soil with greater organic matter, he’s making it more resilient to drought and extreme rainfall events. Last year’s award recipient was Reddick Farms of Bardwell in Carlisle County. Learn more at https://sandcountyfoundation.org/our-work/leopold-conservation-award-program/reddick-farms Learn more about rotational grazing at https://www.carboncowboys.org Full details about this year’s Award program is at https://sandcountyfoundation.org/news/2023/three-finalists-selected-for-kentucky-leopold-conservation-award The Kentucky Leopold Conservation Award is made possible thanks to the generous support and partnership of American Farmland Trust, Kentucky Agricultural Council, Kentucky Association of Conservation Districts, Sand County Foundation, U.S Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation, AgriBusiness Association of Kentucky, Farm Credit Mid-America, Kentucky Corn Growers Association, Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association, Kentucky Pork Producers, Kentucky Soybean Promotion Board, Kentucky Tree Farm Committee, Kentucky Woodland Owner’s Association, and University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. 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

K.A. Owens interviews Lori Stahgren- the Project Archeologist for Oxmoor Farm. Lori talks about the research being done at the slave quarters, the history of the farm and the Bullitt family who established it. [email protected] Recorded Friday June 2, 2023, 1PM.

On this week's show, we bring you a second hour of highlights from Forward Radio's special live broadcast from the 10th Annual How-To Festival at the Main Public Library on Saturday, May 13, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. In addition to hosting an all-day booth on How to Broadcast with Community Radio, we did a LIVE broadcast from the Festival, dropping in on all kinds of How-To sessions and interviewing participants. From learning how to beat box to dancing Flamenco to painting like Bob Ross – participants learned how to do more than 50 things in five hours, all for free! And thanks to Forward Radio's proud Community Partner, the Louisville Urban Agriculture Coalition, the How-To Fest again featured three gardening tents with classes presented by Urban Ag member groups. The How-To Festival is FREE and takes place throughout the Main Library. Learn more at http;//www.lfpl.org/how-to/

We discuss theory and examples of conspiracy theories, connecting critical thinking language!

For show notes for any episode, go to our website at perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover. This week are celebrating AAPI Heritage Month (Asian American Pacific Islander) and we give you a list of 10 (plus maybe a few more) of our favorite books to add to your TBR written by authors with family heritage from this part of the world. We give you books in a variety of genres; literary fiction, historical fiction, memoir, food writing, graphic novels, horror, poetry, and middle grade. So join us this week as we explore the big wide world of Asia and the Pacific Islands heritage in literature. Plus, we talk about the most recent Jane Austen film adaptation we've watched, a new environmentally friendly product we've tried, and why sometimes it might be nice to be a disembodied head. Books mentioned-- 1- Persuasion by Jane Austen 2- Emma by Jane Austen 3- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen 4- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 5- Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen 6- The Girls of Fall by Jessica Minyard 7- You Should Have Known by Rebecca Keller 8- An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helen Tursten 9- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner 10- Another Appalachia by Neema Avashia 11- The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel 12- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi 13- The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka 14- The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui 15- Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef's Journey to Discover America's New Melting-Pot Cuisine by Edward Lee 16- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang 17- The Fervor by Alma Katsu 18- A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki 19- Two Brown Dots by Danni Quintos 20- World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil 21- A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park 22- The Milk Lady of Bangalore by Shoba Narayan 23- Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina Thompson 24- Moloka’i by Alan Brennert 25- Wild Seed by Octavia Butler 26- The Cheating Cell: How Evolution Helps Us Understand and Treat Cancer by Athena Aktipis 27- A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus 28- The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 29- Walking with Sam: A Father, a Son, and 500 Miles Across Spain by Andrew McCarthy Movies mentioned-- 1- Persuasion (Netflix 2022) 2- Ted Lasso - Season 3 (Apple TV 2023) 3- Jury Duty (Amazon 2023) 4- Enchanted (2007) 5- The Terror (Hulu 2018)

Regenerative landscaping is an approach to home landscaping that regenerates life by supporting bees, butterflies and birds, restores soil health, cleans the water and creates a cool environment that tends to regulate temperatures and weather extremes, while teaching us about the natural world. In this episode, I explore five OPPORTUNITIES presented by regenerative landscaping. 1. The opportunity to capture rainfall. 2. The opportunity to harness evaporative cooling. 3. The opportunity to experience nature at home. 4. The opportunity to grow pollinator food. 5. The opportunity to support bees I hope you'll join me!