Episodes

  • Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear talks reelection, Trump and the state legislature with Statehouse Reporter Joe Sonka

    Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear talks reelection, Trump and the state legislature with Statehouse Reporter Joe Sonka
    Dec 20 2023
    Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear was reelected to a second term last month. He sat down with Kentucky Public Radio’s Joe Sonka this week in the state reception room of the Capitol Building in Frankfort to discuss his electoral success, his relationship with Republican lawmakers ahead of the 2024 session and whether he will now comment more on national issues.
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    19 mins
  • How merger reshaped Louisville

    How merger reshaped Louisville
    Oct 20 2023
    It's been 20 years since the governments of Louisville and Jefferson County merged, and residents continue to feel the impacts today. In this special, Roberto Roldan, City Politics and Government Reporter for LPM, talks to guests to take a look at the challenges the newly-merged government faced and how it managed them.
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    50 mins
  • Dirty Business

    Dirty Business
    Oct 10 2023
    Some of you may have wondered what happened to the “In Conversation” talk show. And some of you, who read and hear our news on LPM or WFPL already know. In August, our host, colleague and friend Rick Howlett passed away from cancer. Senior producer Laura Ellis who worked with Rick for years, including on the “In Conversation” team, wrote a lovely tribute about him. Since Rick was co-creator of “In Conversation,” and its only host since it launched in January 2019, we are left with a Rick-sized hole. But he also leaves us inspired to carry on with programming that reflects his passion for examining the news, encouraging community engagement, and contributing to public discourse in a way that makes us better together. In the spirit of sharing the kind of work you value as an “In Conversation” listener, here is the documentary “Dirty Business,” from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting. Our journalists uncover the true cost of cleaning up after the eastern Kentucky floods, including how unfinished work can set up more problems the next time there’s extreme weather.
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    56 mins
  • What you need to know about artificial intelligence

    What you need to know about artificial intelligence
    Aug 4 2023
    Artificial intelligence, or AI, is all over the headlines these days. But it's not as new as you might think it is. Ever start to look something up and your phone autofills the rest of the word for you? Have you played one of those Facebook games that makes you look like your pet, or a Renaissance painting? Do you ask Siri or Alexa to add something to your grocery list so you won't forget it? Then you've been using artificial intelligence. This week on "In Conversation," we talked about how AI works, how it's already become part of many industries, and of course, the ethical implications that accompany its use.
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    49 mins
  • What will higher education look like after affirmative action?

    What will higher education look like after affirmative action?
    Jul 21 2023
    Affirmative action is a loaded term with a weighty history. Now that the Supreme Court has eliminated race-conscious admissions decisions for higher education, what’s next? On this week’s “In Conversation,” we unpacked the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling, what equity goals for higher education look like now, and whether eliminating affirmative action in higher education could foreshadow similar changes in the workplace.
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    50 mins
  • What brings tourists to Louisville?

    What brings tourists to Louisville?
    Jul 7 2023
    When The New York Times recommended their top 52 destination spots for this year, Louisville landed smack between cities in Greece and Brazil and even outranked some places in Italy and Spain. Tourism is big business in Louisville, and this week on “In Conversation,” we’ll meet some of the folks working to make sure business keeps booming. We took a look at downtown tourism and measures to get more Louisvillians from outlying areas to venture back for museums, dinners and shows. And we checked on the outlook for the rest of 2023, as our hospitality industry still attempts to rebound from the early days of COVID-19.
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    50 mins
  • Sports betting and medical marijuana

    Sports betting and medical marijuana
    Jun 23 2023
    In March, the Kentucky General Assembly voted to make use of medical marijuana legal, effective 2025. They also passed a law that will allow racetracks to become licensed sports betting facilities. Experts and journalists joined us to talk through how each of those laws could affect the commonwealth.
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    50 mins
  • Juneteenth 2023 in Kentucky

    Juneteenth 2023 in Kentucky
    Jun 10 2023
    Juneteenth can be a complicated holiday. It’s an official holiday of celebration — rejoicing in enslaved people being freed as part of the Emancipation Proclamation. It’s also a reminder that many enslaved people were not informed about slavery’s end until years later. On “In Conversation” this week we talk about the origins of the holiday and what Juneteenth means in a modern context. We also let you know about upcoming Juneteenth events in Louisville and in Oldham County.
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    52 mins