Most entrepreneurs will tell you their business started with a plan. Jacquie Mahan will tell you hers started with a hunch, a deep affection for the autism community, and what she admits was an almost irresponsible amount of self-confidence.

Jacquie is the founder of The Awesome Company, a Grove City-based custom screen-printing business that employs autistic adults and is about to turn 10. Her path to running it is a slightly chaotic one that includes an art gallery in the Short North, a brief and miserable stint as a stay-at-home mom, a Pilates studio, an in-progress EMBA through Brown and IE University, and a small herd of animals on what she lovingly calls a “fake farm” — including two pigs named Doc and Marty.

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The post The Currency of Connection: Jacquie Mahan and The Awesome Company appeared first on The Confluence Cast.

This is the second of two conversations I recorded with the Democratic candidates for Ohio Secretary of State. If you caught the first one with Dr. Bryan Hambley, welcome back. If not, it’s worth going back to — but this one stands on its own. Today I’m sitting down with State Representative Allison Russo.

Russo has been in the Ohio House since 2019, when she flipped a Republican-held seat as a first-time candidate and went on to serve as House Minority Leader — the top Democrat in the chamber. Before politics, she spent more than two decades in public health policy, and she grew up in rural Mississippi, raised by a single mom who worked her way into a union carpentry apprenticeship. We talk about what it’s like to lead a caucus under a supermajority, how she thinks about the role of Secretary of State, what 2026 looks like for Ohio Democrats, and why she believes primaries are actually good for the party.

If you haven’t already, I’d recommend going back to the overview episode, where I lay out both candidates and the key fault lines in this race. And if you missed it, the full conversation with Dr. Bryan Hambley is already available.

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Full transcript on page 2.

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The 2026 statewide races are officially underway in Ohio, and I sat down with both Democratic candidates for Secretary of State. Today you’re hearing the first of those two conversations.

Dr. Bryan Hambley is a leukemia physician at the University of Cincinnati and a political newcomer. He grew up on a small family farm, got pulled into electoral politics through the 2024 anti-gerrymandering campaign, and entered the Secretary of State’s race about eight months before his primary opponent. He’s been running a grassroots campaign — no corporate PAC money, over 320 house parties across the state, and nearly a million dollars raised. We talk about gerrymandering, voting rights, what he’d do with the non-elections side of the office, and why he thinks a political outsider is what this moment calls for.

If you haven’t already, I’d encourage you to check out the overview episode where I lay out both candidates and the key dynamics of this primary. And stay tuned for the full conversation with Representative Russo, which is coming tomorrow.

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Full transcript on page 2.

The post Candidate Dr. Bryan Hambley appeared first on The Confluence Cast.

With petitions filed and the 2026 statewide races now officially underway, a lot of the attention is on the governor’s race — and understandably so — but there’s a primary happening further down the ballot that deserves a real look: the Democratic primary for Ohio Secretary of State.

This is an office that most voters don’t spend much time thinking about, but it touches on some of the most consequential questions in Ohio politics right now — who draws the maps, how elections are run, who gets to vote, and who oversees campaign finance.

For the past seven years, the office has been held by a Republican Secretary of State who drew significant criticism for his handling of ballot language, his role in redistricting fights, and his decision to withdraw Ohio from the ERIC voter data-sharing system. Democrats now have a real opportunity to win this seat — and two very different candidates are making the case for why they should be the one to do it. I sat down with both of them.

Today, I’ll give a high-level overview of the candidates as a preview for their interviews.

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Full transcript on page 2.

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With petitions filed and the 2026 statewide races officially underway, Ohio’s political landscape is beginning to take shape. The governor’s race is already drawing national attention, with former Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton emerging as the sole Democratic candidate and Vivek Ramaswamy entering the Republican primary with endorsements from both Donald Trump and the Ohio Republican Party.

But beyond the top-line names, there are deeper dynamics at play—primary challenges, party infrastructure, grassroots pushback, fundraising strategy, and the broader question of whether this election cycle presents a real opportunity for Ohio Democrats.

To help us unpack it all, I sat down with David DeWitt, editor-in-chief of the Ohio Capital Journal. We walk through who’s running, what the Republican primary could mean for the general election, why Democrats cleared the field for Acton, and how historical midterm patterns might shape the outcome.

We also zoom out to look at the other statewide races—Attorney General, Secretary of State, Auditor—and why those offices matter more than many voters realize, especially when it comes to redistricting, ballot access, and how Ohio’s laws are defended in court.

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Transcript on page 2.

The post Who’s Running for Ohio Governor? appeared first on The Confluence Cast.

Most people experience regional planning only after decisions have already been made. When a new development breaks ground, a transit project is announced, or new housing pops up in our neighborhood. What’s far less visible is the quiet work that happens long before those moments: the data collection, forecasting, mapping, and analysis that help a region decide what it’s actually planning for.

In this episode, I sat down with Dave Dixon, Director of Data Analytics and Strategy at the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC), to talk about how that behind-the-scenes work happens and why it matters more than most people realize.

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The post Where Data Meets Decision Making in Central Ohio appeared first on The Confluence Cast.

We’re doing our unofficial year-in-review. Not the “best of” list, not the most important stories necessarily, just the ones people clicked on, shared, complained about, and wouldn’t stop talking about. We cover everything from parking issues and office buildings converted into apartments to restaurant closings, reopenings, arts leadership changes, and why some headlines travel much farther than others.

Along the way, we talk about how people actually consume local news, the difference between what’s popular and what’s meaningful, and what all of this says about where Columbus is right now: financially, culturally, and just vibes-wise. It’s not polished, it’s not scripted, and it’s definitely not a formal recap. It’s just two people who spend a lot of time paying attention to this city, trying to make sense of the year it just had.

We also look ahead a bit, including Columbus Underground hitting 25 years and what Walker’s thinking about next for the community, events, and staying relevant without losing the plot.

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The post What Columbus Paid Attention to in 2025 appeared first on The Confluence Cast.

When most people think about banking, they picture massive institutions, rigid rules, and transactions that feel anything but personal. But for Jenny Saunders, President of FC Bank, banking is only effective when it’s rooted in relationships; when institutions are visible, accountable, and deeply invested in the communities they serve.

Jenny’s path from a small town in Ohio to leading a community bank in Central Ohio has been shaped by advocacy, brand-building, and a belief that banks can, and should, play a meaningful role beyond balance sheets. In this conversation, Jenny and I talk about why relationship banking still matters in an era of mega-banks and neobanks, how FC Bank built real community presence and brand recognition in a crowded market, what women in leadership face inside financial services, and why issues like affordable housing, mass transit, and regulatory stability will shape the future of Columbus and community banking alike.

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When most people think about technology, they picture shiny new tools, big-budget builds, and teams of engineers working inside massive companies. But for Brad Griffith, founder of Buckeye Innovation, technology is only meaningful when it’s accessible, especially to the people and organizations who traditionally get left behind.

For more than 16 years, Brad and his cross-functional team have been helping small businesses, nonprofits, and local governments across Central Ohio get the same caliber of design, development, and strategy usually reserved for enterprise-level budgets. In this conversation, Brad and I discuss why equitable access to technology matters, how integrating designers, developers, and content strategists into a single collaborative unit changes everything, and why building “simple, lovable, complete” products often beats building something technically impressive but practically unusable.

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Transcript on page 2.

The post From WordPress to AI Workflows: Inside Buckeye Innovation appeared first on The Confluence Cast.

When we talk about regional planning, it’s easy to picture dusty binders, endless meetings, or vague talk about “growth.” But for William Murdock, executive director of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, the work is a lot more urgent and a lot more human. MORPC is the quiet engine behind how 90 Central Ohio communities prepare for what’s coming next, from housing pressures to transportation demand to environmental resilience.

In this conversation, William and I dig into the big swings—why LinkUS is finally moving from aspiration to implementation, how passenger rail could reshape the entire region, and what it really takes to support fast-growing communities with limited staff and resources. We also talk about the nuts and bolts: the data, the policy work, and the behind-the-scenes coordination that helps local governments make smarter decisions. And at a moment when Central Ohio is feeling both the excitement and strain of rapid growth, William makes a compelling case for why this region can get better as it gets bigger, if we’re willing to plan like it.

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The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) is Central Ohio’s voice. As a regional council with nearly 90 local governments and community partners, we provide nonpartisan data analysis, community resources and long-range planning. Together, we drive the future prosperity and sustainability of the Central Ohio region.

Transcript on page 2.

The post How MORPC Shapes the Future of Our Region appeared first on The Confluence Cast.