That's So Cincinnati

Fresh off attending Joe Biden's visit to Union Terminal, That's So Cincinnati co-hosts Sharon Coolidge and Jason Williams break down the Democratic presidential nominee's campaign stop and what it could mean in Ohio.

And listeners get to meet Keith Pandolfi, The Enquirer's new food and dining writer. The biggest question for Keith, of course, is what's his take on Cincinnati-style chili? Find out on That's So Cincinnati. 

Is the 2020 election when the Republicans lose all their remaining power in Hamilton County? 

It was a big topic of discussion on The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast election preview episode. 

University of Cincinnati political science professor David Niven breaks down the ticket in Hamilton County from Biden-Trump to Republican Joe Deters' chances of holding the prosecutor's seat to former Cincinnati Councilman Charlie Winburn's race for county treasurer.

The once-dominate Hamilton County GOP has been losing seats for more than a decade. The prosecutor's office is the most powerful local government seat in Southwest Ohio, and Republicans have gone all in on trying to get Deters re-elected. If the GOP loses the seat, it loses control of an office that's been a decadeslong farm system for judicial candidates. 

"I think the scope of Biden's likely win in Hamilton County puts the Republican Party in grave jeopardy," said Niven, a one-time aide to former Democratic Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland. "We could very easily be looking at a clean sweep for Democrats in Hamilton County regardless of the Deters name and history."

Niven's interview begins at the 6:40 mark in the episode.

Lincoln Ware has been on the air in Cincinnati for nearly a half century, known to his listeners as a trusted voice who gives them a chance to have theirs heard. 

"I've been on the air longer than any African American in the history of Cincinnati radio," said Ware, who hosts the Lincoln Ware Show 10 a.m.-12 p.m. weekdays on 101.5 FM The Buzz. 

Ware joined The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast to do what he does best – speak honestly about Cincinnati politics, issues affecting Black citizens and the state of race relations. 

A Marine veteran, Ware also talked about how being a disc jockey on an aircraft carrier helped launch his radio career back home in Cincinnati. He started as a DJ with WCIN-AM in 1973, eventually moving into a talk show host role in the early 1990s. His time on the air has afforded him an institutional knowledge of Cincinnati that few others currently working in local media have.

That includes a perspective on how Cincinnati's race relations have evolved. Here's what Ware told That's So Cincinnati when asked about the state of race relations in Cincinnati today: 

I think we've come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. Even in the police department. When (former Chief Tom) Streicher was around, he ran that police department with a heavy hand. You'd hear that they'd discipline Black police officers more harshly than they would white police officers. You look at the gentrification that 3CDC is always accused of, but I think they're making progress. I like what they're doing down in Over-the-Rhine.

But people are still claiming that this is one of the most racist towns that they've been in. There's two Cincinnatis. The Urban League said one Black, one white. I kind of believe that. I've been in this broadcast business for 47 years. I'm not saying people should know me, but there's some white folks in this town, they never listen to Black radio. You might mention (101.5 FM) The Wiz to them, they don't know what you're talking about.  

They never venture into the world of the African American. But African Americans will venture into their world. People know Bill Cunningham. They know Jim Scott. The white community doesn't seem to embrace the Black community like the Black community embraces the white community. So Cincinnati has a long way to go.

Here's a look at some other topics Ware discussed in a wide-ranging podcast interview: 

• On retirement:  "I might hang around another few years. In 2023, it'll be 50 years for me. I might make 50 years and then pack it in."

• On hosting a call-in show: "Everybody wants to vent, and that's why people like my show a lot. I let them get it off their chest. They want their voices heard."  

• On standing up for Black leaders: "A lot of these companies and organizations, when they hire a Black person, it's normally from outside of Cincinnati. My theory on this is they bring people in from outside Cincinnati so when they get ready to fire them, they don't have a whole of friends to stand up for them. ... I hate to see that happen to Black leaders." 

Did Fiona actually miss seeing zoo visitors during the coronavirus shutdown? 

How did the Cincinnati Zoo team break Ndume of a chewing gum habit? 

And what's a long-time zookeeper think about "Tiger King?"

Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens Director Thane Maynard had the answers in a wide-ranging and engaging interview on The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast this week.

The leader of Cincinnati-based Ohio Innocence Project said in 2011 then-state Attorney General Mike DeWine rejected a request to do a statewide review of cases involving prisoners who claimed to be wrongfully convicted.

But DeWine, now Ohio governor, didn't turn down the offer because he disagreed with the premise of helping people who are wrongfully convicted, his spokesman told The Enquirer. Local, state and federal government bureaucracies made such a review challenging, DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said.

Ohio Innocence Project co-founder Mark Godsey recalled his meeting with then-AG DeWine during an interview with The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast. 

Godsey's organization works to help free prisoners who were wrongfully convicted by using DNA evidence. Godsey, a former federal prosecutor in New York, said one of his biggest challenges is persuading government officials to have an open mind about revisiting old cases.

"It's not the money. It's ... not wanting to be proven wrong," Godsey said. "The person who was DeWine's assistant in that meeting – I can't remember the person's name – was very much of the mentality like I was when I was a prosecutor. I remember him saying, 'This is ridiculous. There's not going to be any innocent people (based on DNA database information).' It's more like they were in that fog of denial like I used to be in."

DeWine and his team have always had a good working relationship with the Ohio Innocence Project and support the group's mission, Tierney said.

"This was not a policy disagreement. This was a logistical issue," said Tierney, who was also with DeWine in the AG's office. "There was concern that state and federal laws would prohibit the lab from (reviewing old cases). It certainly makes a lot of sense for the local municipalities like Cincinnati to do this on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis. We understand attractiveness of one-stop shop. But in a home-rule state like Ohio, there is not a lot of one-stop shops. The governor is a longtime prosecutor. He certainly believes cases should go where the evidence shows."

Godsey's comments come as the city of Cincinnati police has agreed to review certain homicide cases for the past nine years as part of a $100,000 settlement in a murder case where the department didn't share DNA evidence that pointed to someone else. 

The Ohio Innocence Project, based at University of Cincinnati, has used DNA evidence to help free 30 wrongfully convicted people since Godsey and John Cranley founded the organization 17 years ago. Godsey, a UC law professor, detailed some of the Ohio Innocence Project's cases in his book, "Blind Injustice," released last year. 

The Ohio Innocence Project has gained more momentum with political and government leaders as social justice advocates have gained more attention in recent years. 

"There's still a way to go, but definitely the environment and the culture is different than it was when we started in 2003," Godsey said. In the past "when I said, 'We're looking at cases of someone who could be innocent,' I got looked at like I had two heads. Now it's accepted and understood." 

Godsey has remained close with Cranley, now in his second term as Cincinnati mayor. 

"People think of John as the mayor and a politician, but I got to see him as a young attorney in court," Godsey said. "He won some of our cases and freed innocent people. He could've had a heck of a career as a trial lawyer."

FC Cincinnati play-by-play voice Tom Gelehrter talks about the making of a new documentary about the team, his summer at broadcasting school and starting his own company. 

Gelehrter's company, 4th Floor Creative, produced "Nonstop Flight: The Untold Story of FC Cincinnati," which debuted this week. 

Enquirer Director of Photography Cara Owsley also joins That's So Cincinnati to take listeners onto the front lines of what it's like to capture photos and video of the big news stories of 2020.

One of Greater Cincinnati's leading influencers in the LGBTQ community wants to give embattled Reds broadcaster Thom Brennaman a chance to redeem himself.

And there's no better place for Brennaman to do that than the television booth, community leader Ryan Messer told The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast.

"I don't think he should be fired," said Messer, vice president of the Cincinnati Public Schools board and co-founder of Greater Cincinnati's Human Rights Campaign. "There's good that can come out of this. The people who can make the most change are the people who have changed the most."

Brennaman was suspended indefinitely by the Reds after he used a homophobic slur on air last month. He has apologized and been meeting with LGBTQ people in order to "start improving my understanding of LGBTQ+ issues," Brennaman wrote in an Enquirer op-ed.

Messer, who is openly gay, and Brennaman are scheduled to meet at Messer's home in North Avondale next week.

"I am very grateful for the chance to listen and learn," Brennaman told The Enquirer in a text message on Wednesday, his first media comments since the Aug. 20 op-ed on Cincinnati.com. "I hurt a lot of people, and there will be good that comes from this. We, my family and I, are completely committed to that."

In his own Enquirer op-ed last month, Messer said Brennaman's "use of the slur wasn’t a mistake." But Messer, a regional executive for Johnson & Johnson, has been encouraged by the steps Brennaman has taken since the broadcaster made what he now calls a "hateful" comment during the Reds-Kansas City Royals broadcast on Aug. 19.

"My goal is to say, 'Well, how can this turn into a learning opportunity for him and for others?' " Messer said on That's So Cincinnati. "I think you always have to start with grace in every situation."

The election is all about suburban women voters. You've inevitably heard that many times in 2020. Ohio GOP Chairwoman Jane Timken joined The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast to discuss the battle for suburban women voters and whether Trump's message of safety amid nationwide protesting is working with that voting bloc. 

"I am that demographic," said Timken, 53, who grew up in Cincinnati and now lives in the suburbs of the Canton-Akron region. "You’re watching on TV what’s happening in Minnesota ... Portland ... Wisconsin. I personally think it’s freighting. I’ve talked to others who think it is as well. The Democrats refuse to condemn it. I do think (Trump's message is) resonating."

Timken also offers her thoughts on the Republican National Convention, Nick Sandmann's RNC speech and the media on this week's That's So Cincinnati. 

Click the Audioboom link at the top of this article to listen for free. Or subscribe and listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other major listening platforms. The Timken interview begins at the 15:45 mark in the episode. 

Cincinnati's Greg Hartmann is among a handful of Republicans who can vouch for how costly it can be to publicly criticize Donald Trump.

Hartmann made national headlines in late 2015, when the then-Hamilton County commissioner called Trump "the most offensive public figure I've seen." The comments ended up costing Hartmann a White House-appointed federal prosecutor's job.

Back in the local political spotlight to lead the GOP's campaign to kill a potential ballot initiative to disband the Cincinnati Police, Hartmann this week reflected on his criticism of Trump and opened up about his current feelings about the president in a wide-ranging interview on The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast.

Hartmann continues to have mixed feelings about Trump, but the local GOP influencer isn't bitter about the White House stringing him along for nearly two years on the federal prosecutor appointment. Hartmann ultimately withdrew his name from being considered for U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio in December 2018.

"I don't love the way the president handles things," Hartmann told That's So Cincinnati. "I like the fact that he's significantly cut regulations and taxes, so I support a lot of the policies. I don't support a lot of the meanness and divisive approach that he's taken."

Asked specifically if he'll support Trump in November, Hartmann added: "Sure. He's our candidate. He doesn't do a lot of things the way that I would do them, (but) the alternative is not very impressive."

Ohio Rep. Brigid Kelly joins The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast to discuss the Larry Householder scandal; the dangers of dark money in politics; how the House moves forward; and what Hamilton County office she may run for in the future. 

The Hyde Park Democrat says she's concerned the alleged $60 million Statehouse bribery scandal against the now-former House Speaker could deter "good people" from running for elected office and get involved in politics and government.

The Kelly interview begins at the 13:30 mark in the episode.