Civic Conversations

This month our host, Jim Allison, talked to Julie Duhon and Haddie Katz, co-founders of the Tandem Community Birth Center and Postpartum House, which recently opened in Bloomington. Tandem is now offering to change that position by offering birthing services, but preconception support, and prenatal and post-natal care.  It also provides gynecological services to all women of all ages. Lactation care is also provided.  …

This month Civic Conversations welcomed Michael Lippert, a journalist with the Indiana Capital Chronicle, to discuss the 2022 American Health Rankings Report.  In the podcast, Leppert talks to our host, Jim Allison, about where Indiana stands regarding public health in the United States. Overall, Indiana ranks 35th among all fifty-two states but ranks 45th in the nation for public health.  …

In February 2023, Civic Conversations Podcast welcomed Marcia Veldman, the Indiana State Co-Coordinator for the Citizen’s Climate Lobby. In the podcast, Marcia shares the origin story of Citizen’s Climate Lobby, an organization with 450 US chapters and 150 international chapters. The Citizen’s Climate Lobby strongly advocates the carbon tax dividend. Because they don’t believe those dumping pollution into our environment …

Joining us for January 2023 is Dr. Laura Merrifield Wilson. Dr. Wilson is the co-director of the Gender Center and Associate Professor of History and Political Science for the University of Indianapolis. She was also recently named one of the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Forty Under Forty. In this podcast, Dr. Wilson talks about the increasing number of women in the …

This month on Civic Conversations, we are joined by Kate Cruikshank, Political Papers Specialist for the University Archives at the Herman B. Wells Library. Kate joined us to talk about the 26th Amendment. The 26th Amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 for all elections, state and federal. Kate shared that the amendment was created after a long debate …

This month, LWV-BMC Civic Conversation Podcast host, Jim Allision, talked to Steve Hinnefeld about the impact on a community when local news sources die out. Mr. Hinnefeld has worked for over thirty years as a reporter and is a former reporter for the Herald Times.  Approximately 2500 local, state, and national news sources have been lost. According to Mr. Hinnefeld, …

For October 2022, Civic Conversations welcomed Maggie Sullivan of the Friends of Lake Monroe and Michelle Cohen of the Lake Monroe Water Fund.  In the podcast, Maggie and Michelle share information about Lake Monroe, the water quality, and its impact on the Bloomington economy. Did you know that Lake Monroe produces Bloomington’s 15 million gallons per day of drinking water? Or …

  In the September 2022 Civic Conversation podcast, we welcomed Professor Shruti Rana, a professor at Indiana University’s Department of International Studies specializing in international law. She holds a degree from Columbia Law School, the London School of Economics and Politics, and UC Berkley. In the podcast, Professor Rana discusses the issues facing our immigration systems today. She responds to the …

In this Civic Conversation podcast, LWV Brown County 2022 essay winner talks about voting and its importance.

Founder of the Bloomington Refugee Support Network, Diane Legomsky joins Civic Conversations to discuss the issue of refugee support in Bloomington and nationally.  In the podcast, we talk to Diane about the mission of Bloomington Refugee Support Network and how it interacts with other refugee resettlement organizations like Exodus Refugee Immigration. Diana breaks down for our audience the differences between being …