This podcast is about you: The Cincinnatian. Let The Enquirer’s Beryl Love and guest hosts make the complicated local issues affecting your daily life easy to understand – and have some fun in the process. Our guest list is a who’s who of Greater Cincinnati, and we celebrate the quirky awesomeness that defines this place we call home. Why? Because that’s SO Cincinnati.
S2 Ep60: That's So Cincinnati: Federal prosecutor cracks down on public corruption in Ohio
Nov 12, 2020
Show notes
In the year David DeVillers has spent on the job as the region's top federal attorney, the Ohio Speaker of the House and two Cincinnati City Councilmembers have been arrested in pay-to-play schemes. And he didn't shut the door on the possibility there could be more corruption-related arrests coming at City Hall. The rash of arrests are a reflection of DeVillers making it a top priority to crack down on public corruption immediately after the Trump appointee took over as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio in November 2019.
"I really think we did a disservice by not being aggressive," DeVillers told The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast. "The idea of taking shots is what we need to do in cases like that. We do it in murder cases. We do it in drug cases. We should do it in public corruption cases."
S2 Ep59: That's So Cincinnati: Hamilton County GOP leader addresses his and the party's future after tough election
Nov 05, 2020
Show notes
Hamilton County Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou watched election night as a blue wave swept in, taking with it two county elected leaders – treasurer and recorder – and nine judgeships. The latter flipped both the common pleas and appellate courts to a Democrat majority – something that was unthinkable a decade ago for the once-dominant Hamilton County GOP. Those losses have some local Republicans quietly grumbling about the need for new party leadership. Triantafilou addressed his and the party's future on The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast. "If you go around the state of Ohio, (Republican leaders) think we do a terrific job here and we do," Triantafilou said. "We have a great staff. We have great volunteers. We have great donors. I understand I'm on the hot seat. I'll take the heat as it comes. I know my business. I know what it takes to win. I also know the challenges associated with winning in a blue county. What's the future for me? I'm staying." Triantafilou, who's led the party since 2008, welcomes the challenge of recruiting a new wave of GOP candidates. "My focus is really going to be on finding candidates who have the appeal across the political spectrum," Triantafilou said. "That's going to take some infighting within my party as we push to get candidates who don't always toe the party line." He added: "I want to unite the party, so I end up taking a fair amount of arrows to do that. But I'm going to start speaking out a little bit stronger about the people who aren't working with us." Triantafilou's interview begins at the 21:45 mark in the episode, which can be listened to for free by clicking the link at the top of the article. That's So Cincinnati also is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other major listening platforms. Other takeaways from Triantafilou's interview: • With Prosecutor Joe Deters' reelection on Tuesday, Republicans were able to hold onto the most powerful seat in local government. Speculation has already started about whether Deters, the longest-tenured prosecutor in county history, will finish out his next term. "As I told Joe, he needs to stay healthy and run again in four years because he gives us our best chance to hold that seat," Triantafilou said. "He's been a great candidate and a terrific prosecutor. He hasn't committed to running in 2024, let me make sure that's clear." • On former Cincinnati City Councilwoman Amy Murray, who left in February to take a job in Washington with the Trump administration, Triantafilou said he expects Murray will return to Cincinnati if the president loses to Joe Biden. Murray considered running in Ohio's 1st Congressional District, but decided not to challenge Steve Chabot in the Republican primary. Will she look to run for office locally again? "When you're the coach trying to put players on the field, I'm dying to get Amy Murray. She's a five-tool player, so to speak in baseball parlance," Triantafilou said. "She's got everything you want in a candidate. She's brilliant, a great legislator, a great government official. She's a good fundraiser. I would love to see Amy Murray return to the local political scene, but I have no idea what her next step is going to be."
S2 Ep58: That's So Cincinnati: Frank LaRose on what you need to know about voting and Election Day
Oct 29, 2020
Show notes
How many outstanding absentee ballots will still need to be counted on Election Night? What time will results be released? And how do you become Ohio's top elections official? Secretary of State Frank LaRose answered these questions and more on The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast. Listen to the full episode for free by clicking the link at the top of the article. That's So Cincinnati can also be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio and other major listening platforms. LaRose's interview begins at the 9:20 mark in this week's episode. Here are some snippets from the discussion: Highlighting outstanding absentee ballots
New this year. We're going to actually highlight the number of outstanding absentee ballots (with Election Night results on the Secretary of State's website). This office has always tracked that number. We're going to put it right at the top of the site, and here's why that matters: If your favorite candidate is ahead by a million votes and there's only 200,000 outstanding absentee ballots, then you can look at that and say this is conclusive. But likewise, if your favorite candidate is only ahead by 100,000 and there are yet 200,000 outstanding absentee ballots, then that contest is not over. It's important that we have transparency so people know on Election Night whether they're looking at a conclusive result or not.
When to expect results on Election Night
It's up to the voters. If Ohio voters wait to send in their absentee ballots, then it will cause counting to take longer on Tuesday, Nov. 3. We know based on (this past Tuesday's numbers) there are still over 800,000 outstanding absentee ballots that are sitting on people's kitchen tables or the dashboard of their car. If tens of thousands of people return their absentee ballots on Saturday or on Monday, what's going to result is a big avalanche of mail arriving on Tuesday that the Board of Elections is going to have to process. That's where it could take longer. But if that doesn't happen, we'll be one of the earlier states (to report results), I really believe. Ohio begins processing our absentee ballots as soon as they arrive. So on Election Night at 7:30, those ballots are ready to count and they count them right away. When you (see results) at 8 or 8:15, those are absentee votes. Contrast that to states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin. In those states, they can't even slice open the envelopes until election day. Imagine a big place like Wayne County, Michigan, Detroit, they have a vault at their board of elections that has to have hundreds and hundreds of thousands of envelopes in it right now that they can't touch until election day. It could be Friday or Saturday before Michigan has results.
What keeps him up at night
The thing I'm perhaps most concerned about at this point is false information and it comes a whole variety of different sources. It's just the old fashioned rumor mill, it's internet trolls, it's foreign adversaries. We're working hard to make sure that we're getting accurate information out there. We're debunking myths and rumors, shooting down the latest fantasies that people have invented about elections.
S2 Ep57: That's So Cincinnati: Reds President Phil Castellini talks his dad, Thom Brennaman, Opening Day 2021 outlook
Oct 21, 2020
Show notes
It's the offseason, and Reds President Phil Castellini has some time to reflect. In a candid, hourlong discussion on The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast, Castellini covered a wide range of topics, including: • His strong bond with his father, Reds owner Bob Castellini, and their passion for Cincinnati sports • Lessons from working for his father's companies since he was a teenager, when he started as a laborer in the produce distribution and warehouse businesses • Thom Brennaman's future, and why Phil Castellini believes the broadcaster will be back in the TV booth someday • The pandemic's likely impact on Opening Day 2021 Here are some snippets from Phil Castellini's interview: Father-son bonding
Growing up in Glendale ... late grade school into high school. We had season tickets to the Reds and Bengals and at the time, we were also involved (as part-owners) in the Cincinnati Stingers, the hockey team. We went to every Stinger home game. I got to go to the two Bengals Super Bowls. I went to the ice bowl, you know that famous deep-chill freezer playoff game against the Chargers. A lot of going to games with dad, especially on the football front. We had a special connection through all of our sports teams.
'Work as hard as he did'
Before I had a driver's license, I rode a moped from Glendale to Lockland to cut cabbage at our salad processing plant. And when I was old enough to drive, I would drive downtown to work on the docks of the produce company. At this time of year, I would be doing Christmas trees from October to December. All the way through college, I worked for the family businesses. Dad worked seven days a week, 12 hours a day. The only thing that you thought about if you were Bob Castellini's family is you were going to work as hard as he did. If you're raised in the executive office and you always live in the executive office and you never went down to the production floor, you have a hard time relating to that whole spectrum. That is the biggest benefit of working in and up through any company, whether it's a family company or not. That perspective is really important later in one's career if you continue to manage people and processes.
Buying the Reds in 2006
Dad sees an article in the paper that the final three bidders on the team, none of the groups are from Cincinnati. He's like, "Wait a second. We can't have somebody buy the Reds that's not from Cincinnati." If you remember back in '05, there's still talk of you can pick up a team and move them somewhere. That's certainly something we never wanted to see happen. He gets a hold of Tom and Joe Williams and says, "Hey guys, what do you think about putting in a bid for the team?" He saw Mr. (Carl) Lindner at a game that August and said, "What would you think if we threw our hat in the ring quickly?" He said, "That's great, but the final bids are due in the next two weeks and everybody else has been doing their homework since March." So we asked for a two-week extension, which was granted. We wound up doing all the research and getting a handshake to buy the team in 30 days. It was a pretty wild ride.
Watching a Reds game with his dad
Sometimes by the third inning, you don't want to be anywhere near dad depending on how the game's going. Every pitch, every out, every at-bat, it is an emotional roller coaster. You could not have anybody more dialed in than he is. We keep trying to tell him, 'It's a long season, relax.' But that's just the way he is in life and business. That's his DNA. I don't think it's that great for his health, but that's the way the guy is wired. It's a great passion.
He's as good as anybody in the business, in my opinion. It was just an all around tragic situation. It's something that shouldn't be thought, much less said out loud. Thom knows that. We all know that. In today's day and age, there's a zero tolerance approach to that. That's just not something you have associated with your organization. He knew exactly what the organization had to do and why. We were at the end of a contract year. That's when he came to us and said, "I think I need to move on and repair my own damage done." He's done a ton of that and is making a lot of great relationships. He's certainly had an eye-opening, soul-searching experience of his own. You will see Thom back in a broadcast booth. Likely not (with the Reds). I just mean as a broadcaster because the guy can do any sport. He's got that kind of talent. I think it'll do him well to have some time off. But yeah, I absolutely expect that we will all see Thom somewhere again as a broadcaster of live sports. The Brennamans have been such an amazing part of the Reds history. We'll be inducting his dad (Marty) into the Reds Hall of Fame next year. You'll definitely see Thom be a part of that ceremony.
Hoping for some fans at Opening Day
This thing's going to go on well into '21. I think we all understand it's just a reality. We're going to re-submit (to the state) at maybe closer to 30 percent (stadium capacity), which would be about 13,000 or 14,000. What I would prefer is turn off the protocols. We the operators are going to have to show you a COVID-safe park. Even without the protocols, these buildings are going to empty themselves by fan interest. The average age of my fan is 56 years old. Even if I had no regulations, I'm going to have a change in my consumption just by the nature of people's comfort level of going out to large venues with a lot people. As a society, certainly from a business environment, we have to learn to live with COVID – not hide from it. I don't have enough reasons to be optimistic about a 50% capacity by Opening Day. I think maybe by the All-Star break, it seems more reasonable.
Opening Day parade a 'huge wild card'
Are you better off punting on an event and waiting to bring it back the way everybody's used to consuming it rather than bringing it back in this candy-coated, super-weird COVID way that it's just going to be kind of a letdown? I will tell you the answer to that question that we asked ourselves starting with RedsFest was, I'd rather wait and do it the way we know how to do it and the way the fans like to consume it than to have everybody walking around in bubble suits. I'm not sure where the Findlay Market folks will be feeling by then, but I think it's a huge wild card at this point.
S2 Ep56: That's So Cincinnati: Breaking down Biden's visit; introducing The Enquirer's new food writer
Oct 13, 2020
Show notes
Fresh off attending Joe Biden's visit to Union Terminal, That's So Cincinnati co-hosts Sharon Coolidge and Jason Williams break down the Democratic presidential nominee's campaign stop and what it could mean in Ohio. And listeners get to meet Keith Pandolfi, The Enquirer's new food and dining writer. The biggest question for Keith, of course, is what's his take on Cincinnati-style chili? Find out on That's So Cincinnati.
S2 Ep55: That's So Cincinnati: From Trump to treasurer, the election preview episode
Oct 07, 2020
Show notes
Is the 2020 election when the Republicans lose all their remaining power in Hamilton County? It was a big topic of discussion on The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast election preview episode. University of Cincinnati political science professor David Niven breaks down the ticket in Hamilton County from Biden-Trump to Republican Joe Deters' chances of holding the prosecutor's seat to former Cincinnati Councilman Charlie Winburn's race for county treasurer. The once-dominate Hamilton County GOP has been losing seats for more than a decade. The prosecutor's office is the most powerful local government seat in Southwest Ohio, and Republicans have gone all in on trying to get Deters re-elected. If the GOP loses the seat, it loses control of an office that's been a decadeslong farm system for judicial candidates. "I think the scope of Biden's likely win in Hamilton County puts the Republican Party in grave jeopardy," said Niven, a one-time aide to former Democratic Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland. "We could very easily be looking at a clean sweep for Democrats in Hamilton County regardless of the Deters name and history." Niven's interview begins at the 6:40 mark in the episode.
S2 Ep54: That's So Cincinnati: Long-time radio host talks the state of race relations in Cincinnati
Sep 30, 2020
Show notes
Lincoln Ware has been on the air in Cincinnati for nearly a half century, known to his listeners as a trusted voice who gives them a chance to have theirs heard. "I've been on the air longer than any African American in the history of Cincinnati radio," said Ware, who hosts the Lincoln Ware Show 10 a.m.-12 p.m. weekdays on 101.5 FM The Buzz. Ware joined The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast to do what he does best – speak honestly about Cincinnati politics, issues affecting Black citizens and the state of race relations. A Marine veteran, Ware also talked about how being a disc jockey on an aircraft carrier helped launch his radio career back home in Cincinnati. He started as a DJ with WCIN-AM in 1973, eventually moving into a talk show host role in the early 1990s. His time on the air has afforded him an institutional knowledge of Cincinnati that few others currently working in local media have. That includes a perspective on how Cincinnati's race relations have evolved. Here's what Ware told That's So Cincinnati when asked about the state of race relations in Cincinnati today:
I think we've come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. Even in the police department. When (former Chief Tom) Streicher was around, he ran that police department with a heavy hand. You'd hear that they'd discipline Black police officers more harshly than they would white police officers. You look at the gentrification that 3CDC is always accused of, but I think they're making progress. I like what they're doing down in Over-the-Rhine. But people are still claiming that this is one of the most racist towns that they've been in. There's two Cincinnatis. The Urban League said one Black, one white. I kind of believe that. I've been in this broadcast business for 47 years. I'm not saying people should know me, but there's some white folks in this town, they never listen to Black radio. You might mention (101.5 FM) The Wiz to them, they don't know what you're talking about. They never venture into the world of the African American. But African Americans will venture into their world. People know Bill Cunningham. They know Jim Scott. The white community doesn't seem to embrace the Black community like the Black community embraces the white community. So Cincinnati has a long way to go.
Here's a look at some other topics Ware discussed in a wide-ranging podcast interview:
On retirement: "I might hang around another few years. In 2023, it'll be 50 years for me. I might make 50 years and then pack it in."
On hosting a call-in show: "Everybody wants to vent, and that's why people like my show a lot. I let them get it off their chest. They want their voices heard."
On standing up for Black leaders: "A lot of these companies and organizations, when they hire a Black person, it's normally from outside of Cincinnati. My theory on this is they bring people in from outside Cincinnati so when they get ready to fire them, they don't have a whole of friends to stand up for them. ... I hate to see that happen to Black leaders."
S2 Ep53: That's So Cincinnati: The zoo's Thane Maynard talks Fiona, Harambe, $150M expansion and 'Tiger King'
Sep 22, 2020
Show notes
Did Fiona actually miss seeing zoo visitors during the coronavirus shutdown? How did the Cincinnati Zoo team break Ndume of a chewing gum habit? And what's a long-time zookeeper think about "Tiger King?" Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens Director Thane Maynard had the answers in a wide-ranging and engaging interview on The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast this week.
S2 Ep52: That's So Cincinnati: The effort to help people who are wrongfully convicted of crimes
Sep 16, 2020
Show notes
The leader of Cincinnati-based Ohio Innocence Project said in 2011 then-state Attorney General Mike DeWine rejected a request to do a statewide review of cases involving prisoners who claimed to be wrongfully convicted. But DeWine, now Ohio governor, didn't turn down the offer because he disagreed with the premise of helping people who are wrongfully convicted, his spokesman told The Enquirer. Local, state and federal government bureaucracies made such a review challenging, DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said. Ohio Innocence Project co-founder Mark Godsey recalled his meeting with then-AG DeWine during an interview with The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast. Godsey's organization works to help free prisoners who were wrongfully convicted by using DNA evidence. Godsey, a former federal prosecutor in New York, said one of his biggest challenges is persuading government officials to have an open mind about revisiting old cases. "It's not the money. It's ... not wanting to be proven wrong," Godsey said. "The person who was DeWine's assistant in that meeting – I can't remember the person's name – was very much of the mentality like I was when I was a prosecutor. I remember him saying, 'This is ridiculous. There's not going to be any innocent people (based on DNA database information).' It's more like they were in that fog of denial like I used to be in." DeWine and his team have always had a good working relationship with the Ohio Innocence Project and support the group's mission, Tierney said. "This was not a policy disagreement. This was a logistical issue," said Tierney, who was also with DeWine in the AG's office. "There was concern that state and federal laws would prohibit the lab from (reviewing old cases). It certainly makes a lot of sense for the local municipalities like Cincinnati to do this on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis. We understand attractiveness of one-stop shop. But in a home-rule state like Ohio, there is not a lot of one-stop shops. The governor is a longtime prosecutor. He certainly believes cases should go where the evidence shows." Godsey's comments come as the city of Cincinnati police has agreed to review certain homicide cases for the past nine years as part of a $100,000 settlement in a murder case where the department didn't share DNA evidence that pointed to someone else. The Ohio Innocence Project, based at University of Cincinnati, has used DNA evidence to help free 30 wrongfully convicted people since Godsey and John Cranley founded the organization 17 years ago. Godsey, a UC law professor, detailed some of the Ohio Innocence Project's cases in his book, "Blind Injustice," released last year.
The Ohio Innocence Project has gained more momentum with political and government leaders as social justice advocates have gained more attention in recent years. "There's still a way to go, but definitely the environment and the culture is different than it was when we started in 2003," Godsey said. In the past "when I said, 'We're looking at cases of someone who could be innocent,' I got looked at like I had two heads. Now it's accepted and understood." Godsey has remained close with Cranley, now in his second term as Cincinnati mayor. "People think of John as the mayor and a politician, but I got to see him as a young attorney in court," Godsey said. "He won some of our cases and freed innocent people. He could've had a heck of a career as a trial lawyer."
S2 Ep51: That's So Cincinnati: Life of a photojournalist in 2020; the voice of FC Cincinnati talks soccer documentary
Sep 10, 2020
Show notes
FC Cincinnati play-by-play voice Tom Gelehrter talks about the making of a new documentary about the team, his summer at broadcasting school and starting his own company. Gelehrter's company, 4th Floor Creative, produced "Nonstop Flight: The Untold Story of FC Cincinnati," which debuted this week. Enquirer Director of Photography Cara Owsley also joins That's So Cincinnati to take listeners onto the front lines of what it's like to capture photos and video of the big news stories of 2020.
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