All IN

This week’s Friday Pitch-In kicks off with a recap of what’s happening at the Statehouse with Reporter Brandon Smith.

We also get commentary on the governor’s State of the State speech from political analyst Andy Downs, and we sit down with Butler Arts Professor Wendy Meaden, who’s writing a textbook on mask making.

Produced by Matt Pelsor.

Guests:

The Cold War was an era full of espionage – clandestine operations, stolen secrets, and long cons. And one of the best spies in the United States came from Indiana. Bill Harvey’s career took him from the FBI to the CIA, where he was called “America’s James Bond” by a fellow intelligence officer.

Indiana Humanities is getting ready to launch its INseparable film tour, which explores the real, and sometimes perceived, differences between rural, suburban and urban communities in the state. The tour will travel across the state to showcase five short documentaries that explore Hoosier identities.

We talk to some of the filmmakers behind these projects.

Most of the attention around drug addiction these days goes to the opioid epidemic. And it’s easy to understand why. It’s deadly, widespread, and its effects on society have cost a lot of money. But for years, meth has been quietly growing in popularity, and it’s becoming a larger, more complicated problem for health professionals and law enforcement to address.

This week’s Friday Pitch-In kicks off with a recap of the biggest headlines of the week, including a quick look at the first few days of the 2020 legislative session.

We also talk to an Indiana volunteer helping with the wildlife rescue effort in Australia, as deadly wildfires sweep the continent

Nearly half of the county jails in Indiana are overcrowded. The reasons are complicated, but in some areas the problem is getting worse. There’s been debate for years about why it’s happening, and what to do about it.

Indiana is one of 29 states that has the death penalty. But last month it marked ten years since it carried out an execution. Is capital punishment a necessary option for punishing and deterring the most heinous crimes, or should it be abolished?

The first season of the podcast “Sick,” produced by Side Effects Public Media at WFYI, dives into the story of a fertility doctor in Indiana who spent years deceiving his patients, recently discovered due to the growing popularity of mail-in DNA tests.

This week’s Friday Pitch-In kicks off with a rundown of recent Indiana headlines, including a proposed anti-discrimination bill for schools that recieve vouchers, a challenge to the BMV’s gender change policy, and homeowner associations that have banned solar panels. 

One of the most common New Year’s resolutions, of course, is to lose weight. But it’s also one of the most difficult goals to tackle. How do we overcome the urge to make unhealthy decisions?

This week’s Friday Pitch-In kicks off with a discussion about a new report that shows how many manufacturing jobs Indiana lost this year, and we hear about the reaction of state GOP leaders to a proposal that would lower the minimum age to serve in the state legislature. 

The 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, depicted in the Academy Award-winning movie Black Hawk Down, was Tom Satterly’s very first combat mission. The Seymour native served in some of the most critical and high-profile missions of the last three decades, but the battles didn’t end after returning home. 

This week’s Friday Pitch-In kicks off with an update on the disciplinary hearings for Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by four women. We also hear how some Indiana lawmakers, including U.S. Senators Todd Young and Mike Braun, have reacted to the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

Indianapolis Public Schools wants to take back control of three schools operated by Charter Schools USA. Today we dig into this saga, and the ongoing story of a troubled school in Gary.