On Track

As Women’s History Month highlights women’s leadership, Amina Shale shares how More Than a Smile is creating space, support, and opportunity for immigrant and refugee women in Louisville.

Former Cardinal quarterback Chris Redman takes the helm as head coach of the city’s new pro team: the Louisville Kings.

This weekend, the nonprofit organization Change Today Change Tomorrow wraps up Black History Month with an event called “Black Recharge: Rest and Relaxation.” It’s designed to be a day of rest, with yoga, journaling and other self-care practices. Isaiah Scott, one of the event’s organizers, spoke with LPM's Michelle Tyrene Johnson about the need for Black people to feed their spirits and relax their minds during stressful times, and how he hopes this event will help.

NPR’s eighth annual Student Podcast Challenge invites students in grades four through 12 to share original audio stories.

A research effort in Louisville aspires to understand how neighborhood conditions shape belonging for older Louisvillians.

Play Cousins Collective is a nonprofit organization rooted in the concept that it takes a village to raise a child. But how does that philosophy survive in a culture that puts so much value on individual rights and responsibilities? Play Cousins co-founder and Executive Director Kristen Williams talked with us bout the variety of approaches her organization uses to support families.

At The Food Literacy Project, a team of young people created a documentary about the link between food deserts and transportation

With the Winter Olympics are here. Olympic medalist Nick Goepper talks about returning to the games as a freeski halfpipe competitor, switching disciplines, and how growing up skiing in Southern Indiana shaped his career.

Adelante Hispanic Achievers is a group that uses mentorship and experiential learning to support Hispanic and Latino students towards graduation. Listen to a conversation with the group’s executive director.

A History and Science forum in Louisville will bring together leaders from both backgrounds to explore how they intersect. It’s part of a series hosted by the University of Louisville Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute. Natasha DeJarnett is an assistant professor of environmental medicine at U of L. She helped organize the event, and joined us to talk about the series.

AMPED is a Louisville non-profit that uses music and technology to empower young people. In November, they opened a new Tech and Learning Center in the city’s West End. Dave Christopher, Senior is AMPED’s president and founder. He joins us to discuss how the new building, at 17th Street and West Market, will help the organization carry out its mission to serve the community.

Louisville is seeing growing demand for services for people experiencing homelessness. Volunteers of America Mid-States President and CEO Jennifer Hancock explains how the organization is working to address this challenge.

The Russell Community Land Trust leases land to residents for them to own affordable homes in their community

With the Winter Olympics around the corner, Derby City Curling Club president Joe Sorg explains how curling works and how Louisville residents can get on the ice.

In late November, Dr. Kelly McCants, a prominent Louisville heart doctor and health equity advocate, died at the age of 50. Russ Cox, CEO of Norton Healthcare, joins us today to discuss McCants’ work addressing healthcare disparities and how his legacy will continue.

Louisville Krampus Celebration founder Steve Vessell shares the folklore behind Krampus, how the tradition took hold in Louisville, and what continues to draw people to the community surrounding this dark holiday icon.

Louisville Free Public Library’s new executive director, Heather Lowe, shares her journey into this new role, her hopes for the library, and a few cozy reading recommendations for the winter season.

As Kentucky faces rising need for pet care and support, the leader of the Kentucky Humane Society discusses how a new service center could reshape care for pets and families.

As the Festival of Faiths highlights its theme of “Sacred Belonging,” Berea College professor and bell hooks center founder M. Shadee Malaklou reflects on hooks’ legacy and the practice of radical inclusion.

Americana Community Center has served Louisville’s refugee and immigrant communities for over 30 years. Last month, the nonprofit hired Ricky Santiago to be its new executive director. Santiago talks with LPM about the financial challenges Americana has weathered, his hopes for future sustainability, and the resurgence he believes the organization is making.

Across Kentucky, families are feeling the squeeze as the cost of living keeps rising, while wages have barely moved. We spoke with Jason Bailey, the founder and executive director of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, a progressive think tank, about what’s driving essential costs up across Kentucky, and what we should be watching as we head into the holiday season.

November is Family Literacy Month — a chance to focus on how families, schools and communities support reading. Here in Louisville, Felicia C. Smith, president and CEO of the National Center for Families Learning, leads two-generation literacy work that connects adults and children. We spoke with Smith about the state of literacy in Kentucky, what family literacy looks like in practice, and where families and educators can make the biggest difference.

Janice Clarke opened a Jamaican restaurant Elliment in downtown Louisville earlier this year, and it’s already become a gathering spot and resource for Louisville’s Jamaican community. Last month, Clarke’s native country of Jamaica was devastated by Hurricane Melissa, the strongest recorded hurricane to ever hit the island country. We talked with her about how she came to start the restaurant, and how she is raising money and collecting non-perishable food and new and gently used clothes to send to Jamaica amidst the recovery.

Unlike a lot of places in greater Louisville, access to groceries in west Louisville can be difficult, especially for those who don’t have their own transportation. Since 2019, the nonprofit Change Today, Change Tomorrow has worked to narrow the gap between needing food and having access to it. We talk with Taylor Ryan, the organization’s founder and executive director, about what her organization does and what more it wants to do to help feed the West End.

Until a year ago, Louisville’s West End hadn’t had a hospital in 150 years. But last November, Norton West Louisville Hospital opened its doors and has since provided care to thousands of patients. Corenza Townsend, the hospital’s chief administrative officer, helped plan the hospital from the start. We talk with her about how the first year has gone and how Norton plans to celebrate this milestone.

It’s the end of the growing season, when pumpkins shrivel on porches and leaves blanket our yards. But instead of sending that fall waste to the landfill, gardeners can turn it into something useful. Seamus Allman is the urban horticulture manager at Louisville Grows, where he helps residents care for community gardens and build healthier soil. We spoke with Seamus about composting pumpkins, reusing leaves, and how to prepare gardens for the next season.

Louisville-based nonprofit Nile Orphan Care is working to help hundreds of orphans in South Sudan, a country that’s experienced decades of conflict and civil war.

October is Women’s Small Business Month, and here in Louisville, Amanda Dare has built a platform that celebrates women-led shops year-round. She's the founder of Woman-Owned Wallet Feminist Gift Shop in NuLu and creator of the Woman-Owned Walking Tour — a map that highlights local businesses owned by women. LPM's Ayisha Jaffer spoke with Amanda about Louisville’s women-owned business community, her feminist gift shop and other business ventures, and the growth and challenges facing female entrepreneurs today.

It’s Halloween season, when bats appear in holiday decorations and spooky stories. But beyond their eerie reputation, bats are year-round neighbors in Kentucky and a vital part of our environment. Matthew Springer is an associate extension professor of wildlife management at the University of Kentucky. His work focuses on wildlife ecology, human-wildlife interactions and conservation outreach. We spoke with Matthew about Kentucky’s bat species, the threats they face, and what people can do to support them.

The event has expanded from a grassroots graffiti jam to a festival hosting more than 170 artists, raising the city’s profile in the street art community.

In Louisville, access to prenatal and postpartum care is still a challenge for many families. One leader working to close those gaps is Shemika Whiteside, Executive Director of Zora’s Cradle, where she helps families with everything from milk and diapers to housing, therapy, and advocacy.

A Louisville group dedicated to encouraging outdoor events and camping in the Black community will have its second annual camping event this weekend. Brittiney Griffin is the founder of Black Azz Camping. She talks with LPM’s Michelle Tyrene Johnson about the event and her group’s mission.

Every October, spooky stories resurface — and here in Louisville, few loom larger than the Goatman, also known as the Pope Lick Monster, said to haunt a railroad trestle in eastern Jefferson County. Michael Book is the author of “The Legend of Pope Lick.” He spoke with LPM’s Ayisha Jaffer about the Goatman’s origins, the dangers around the legend, and how it lives on through the upcoming Goatman Festival.

Sadiqa Reynolds announced last month that she was stepping down as CEO of the Perception Institute, a think tank based in New York City, to focus fully on the Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Center. Reynolds was a longtime leader of the Louisville Urban League. Reynolds sits down with LPM's Michelle Tyrene Johnson to talk about what brought her focus back to Louisville, and this weekend’s Artists and Afros event, an art show she started last year.

The Louisville Book Festival is back October 11, and at its center is local author and therapist Deedee Cummings. On this episode, Deedee talks about this year’s Festival, her new children’s book “Hope in the Nick of Time,” and why access to diverse stories matters now more than ever.

It’s fall in Louisville—a time when arts and culture are buzzing across the city. From Halloween traditions and local folklore to Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations and music education programs, what’s shaping Louisville’s creative scene right now? On this episode, we check in with LPM’s arts and culture reporter Giselle Rhoden about the artists, stories, and communities bringing Louisville to life this season.

Gerrymandering isn’t just about drawing political maps—it’s also happening in Kentucky’s prisons. When incarcerated people are counted as residents of prisons instead of their hometowns, it can shift political power and representation across the state. On this episode, we talk with Mike Wessler, Communications Director with the Prison Policy Initiative, about why prison-related gerrymandering matters to democracy.

Louisville Public Media is celebrating 75 years of service to our community. As part of that celebration, we’re sharing the stories of people who’ve helped shape Louisville, in a project called 75 and Change. Today, Michelle Tyrene Johnson from the “On Track” production team sits down with one of those changemakers, Betty Winston Bayé, for a conversation about her groundbreaking career as a Black journalist in Louisville.

Soccer pride is building in Louisville and Racing Louisville is at the center of it. From big wins on the field to growing hometown support, how is this young club shaping the city’s sports identity? We’ll be talking with Head Coach Bev Yanez and Team Captain Arin Wright about the team, their journey, and what’s ahead this season.

What is music education, and why is it so beneficial for young people, even if they’re not musicians? We’re joined by vocalist, songwriter and educator Kiana Del, LPM’s Engagement Manager for Music Education, to talk about teaching music to kids, how it shapes their growth, and why access and expression matter.

Louisville’s tap water is award-winning and nationally recognized. But so-called “forever chemicals” are raising new questions about what’s really in our drinking water. We talk with health and environmental reporter Morgan Watkins from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting about PFAS in Louisville’s water and what’s being done to keep the Ohio River safe.

Your child’s mental health matters, but between school pressures, social media, and life changes, it can be hard to know what kids really need. On this episode, Dr. Katy Hopkins of Norton Healthcare joins us to share what families should watch for, and how to build habits that support kids’ mental health.

Everyone in Louisville knows there’s a right and a wrong way to say the name of our city. So then why are there so many different ways to pronounce it? And how did it evolve this way? We're revisit our conversation about the many ways to say Louisville, and how language can become a stand-in for identity, and belonging.

Bernheim Forest and Arboretum is one of Kentucky’s most beloved natural spaces, connecting people with nature in the region. It protects rare wildlife and welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. We talk with Bernheim’s President and CEO, Mark Wourms, and Director of Conservation Andrew Berry, about the forest’s mission, challenges, and future.

If you’ve been driving through downtown Louisville lately, you’ve probably noticed construction zones, lane closures, and shifting traffic patterns. The city is in the middle of a major transportation overhaul that could reconfigure how key streets work. So what’s being done to keep traffic moving, and make our streets safer for everyone? Jennifer Caummisar-Kern, Executive Director of Metro Louisville Public Works, joins us to talk about it.

Black Louisvillians have higher rates of cancer, heart disease and stroke than their white neighbors. And men here have a lower average life expectancy than women do. On this episode, we meet Kamari Wooten, the coordinator of Black Men’s Wellness Day. It’s an event featuring health screenings, a 5K and more, all focused on improving the health of Black men in our city.

A new school year just started. Has your student come home with the sniffles yet? From rising measles cases to COVID-19, flu, and other bugs, what should you be watching for? And how can you set your child up for good health this year? Dr. Eva Stone, District Health Manager for JCPS, joins us to talk about vaccines, preventative care and building healthy habits for the year ahead.

Big changes are coming to how we vote in Jefferson County. Starting in 2026, local races will no longer include party labels on the ballot. What does that mean for voters, and how can you prepare now to make sure your vote still counts? On this episode, we’re breaking it all down with Dee Pregliasco, former president of the League of Women Voters and Ashley Tinius, Director of Communications for the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office.

The Kentucky State Fair starts later this week, and we have a look behind the scenes, with Ian Cox Executive Director of Communications for Kentucky Venues. From deep-fried foods to prize-winning livestock, we’ll talk about what makes the fair so important—and fun. And we’ll go over some pro tips for getting the most out of your fair experience.

Kentucky has one of the highest rates of child abuse in the country—nearly double the national average. We’re looking at the factors that contribute to abuse and neglect in our state, and what’s being done on the ground to make a difference. We talk with Elea Fox, President and CEO of Family & Children’s Place, about what abuse can look like, what to do if you suspect a child is being mistreated, and how our systems can better support kids and families to prevent abuse in the first place.