My Old Kentucky Podcast

Allison Wiseman, the President of the Kentucky Young Democrats, joined us this week to talk about KYD -- what it does, what role it plays in the Kentucky political ecosystem, and how to create and join chapters. She was great!
Before speaking with her, Jazmin and Robert talked about all the legislation that passed in the lead up to the veto period. Most of it was really bad, including potentially the most anti-trans legislation passed anywhere in the country. While most of it was bad news, there were at least a few good parts, such as medical marijuana (and maybe eve sports betting) potentially becoming legal in Kentucky.

This week Jazmin walked through the US Department of Justice's report on LMPD's bad actions, and talked about the federal and local response to the report. The upshot: Louisville's police department is now under a consent decree and likely will be for a long time.
Meanwhile, the legislative session is wrapping up. Robert walked through all the heavy action that both chambers had seen. Lots of bills are making their way through the process, and there are still a few days left for the legislature to finish it's work. We recorded the show at 5:30 on Tuesday, so it's up to date as of then.

This week, Jazmin updated even more anti-trans legislation making its way through Frankfort. Two additional bills -- about drag shows and about trans healthcare -- are the topics this time. Robert updated us about the wind storms that swept through Kentucky at the end of last week (including his own experience) and there were several other political updates.

This week George Eklund of the Louisville Coalition of the Homeless joined us to talk about housing issues facing Louisville and Kentucky. We talked about how the issue of housing has changed in recent years, specific reactions to housing issues, and how our current leaders are coping with the issue.
Jazmin and Robert talked about several bills facing the legislature in the first half of the show -- the session is now more than halfway through!

This week we welcomed Rebecca Blankenship, the first openly trans elected official in Kentucky, to the show. She told us about her experiences seeing the legislature move anti-trans legislation this year, her thoughts about the future of trans rights in Kentucky, plus she told us about the various other things she's doing to organize for progress in Kentucky.
Robert talked early in the show about Kentucky's Supreme Court opting to leave the abortion ban in place while the merits of the case are considered, and Jazmin provided updates about how the legislature is moving on anti-trans legislation and on juvenile justice legislation.
 
Rebecca also asked us to share that Ban Conversion Therapy Kentucky has a rally in the capitol rotunda on March 2 at noon. Come if you can!

This week on the show, Jazmin and Robert interviewed Richard Young and Adrian Paul Bryant, the Executive Director and Communications Strategist for CivicLex, a very unique civic education group in Lexington. They talked about the organization's roots, how it operates, and it's future. CivicLex is an important part of the civic fabric in Kentucky's second largest city, and we are thrilled to bring you such a robust interview.
On the first part of the show, Jazmin runs down the mass of anti-trans legislation making it's way through the legislature, and Robert talks about Jamie Comer's very interesting 2023.

There were two recent stories about Kentucky's tornado relief efforts that we talked about this week: one about canceled checks that went out to people unaffected by the storm, and another about the under utilization of a fund the state sent to counties for use to meet unmet needs. We dig into these stories and discuss their impact on the 2023 election. Also this episode, plenty of quick hits.

Jason Bailey joined Robert and Jazmin this week to talk about 2023's HB 1, which is a tax cut. The conversation was specifically about that bill and the issues it could create for Kentucky's budget, but also about tax issues in general, and how KY Policy works with the legislature.
Robert talked about the Greenberg administration's new plan to address homelessness, which includes several parts.

This week we welcomed Lauren Morgan Bratcher and Kristin Wilcox to talk about marijuana. Ms. Wilcox is one of the founders of Kentucky Moms for Medical Cannabis, and she shared about her experience raising a child with a disease which has a treatment that isn't allowed in Kentucky. We also spoke about the prospects for medical cannabis in this year's session and the role the issue might play in the fall elections this year.
Before speaking with them, Jazmin and Robert spoke about several smaller stories, including about Jonathan Mattingly's appearance in Bowling Green, an update to the Department of Juvenile Justice story from last week, more info about the special election coming up, and many more.

This week Jazmin and Robert welcome David Lopez and Diana Duran of Nueva Fuerza on the show. They shared about the organization, including its purpose, its insights in Louisville's Latin American population, and its goals for the future.
Jazmin spent most of the first part of the show talking about Kentucky's juvenile justice system, which has been plagued by very serious scandals for quite a while. We've talked around this issue several times on the show, but here we really dig into what is going on, why it's happening, and what solutions exist.