Uniquely Kentucky with Amber Philpott

The month of February is one we often think about love because of Valentine's Day, but it's also a month where we put the heart front and center.  We put the heart first, not just because of love this month, but rather for health reasons. February is American Heart Month, it's a time when we should all focus a little more on our cardiovascular health.  For this latest episode, WKYT's Amber Philpott is sitting down with University of Kentucky Offensive lineman Kenneth Horsey.  Horsey is passionate about heart health, he knows all too well the reality of a heart condition and how it can change your life. In 2018, just a few months before he graduated high school he was diagnosed with Endocarditis, an infection that was attacking his heart valve.  Horsey would need open heart surgery, but he had already signed to play football at the University of Kentucky and had no idea what was next. Skip ahead, Horsey is healthy and is returning this year for his sixth season as a Wildcat.   Horsey is now a proud Heart Health advocate, but also focused on football and making up for a season that ended last year not the way he says he would like it.

As I was thinking about a guest list for this upcoming year on Uniquely Kentucky, I knew it had to include a number of musical artists.  It seems in the last year my ears have been delighted by so many new and upcoming Kentucky artists who are making their mark in the industry. I am also amazed by the wealth of talent in this state, namely the amount of folks from eastern Kentucky who are really putting out some incredibly meaningful music and not within the confines of mainstream music.   So many of these up and coming artists are gaining fans not necessarily on the radio, but rather on streaming sites and on social media. To kick off another season of Uniquely Kentucky, I am sitting down with Brit Taylor. Taylor is an eastern Kentucky native who is releasing her sophomore album Kentucky Blue on February 3, 2023. She is another shining example of the musical talent born and bred along the famed Country Music Highway or Route 23 that cuts a path through the mountains of eastern Kentucky. Taylor's new album is being produced by fellow Kentuckian Sturgill Simpson.  Taylor calls Kentucky Blue a celebration of her own healing and rebirth. In this episode we talk all things music, how this record takes her back to her Appalachian roots and why in 2017 she turned off the radio and stopped listening to music in order to find her own sound.

If you have been wondering where the July episode of Uniquely Kentucky has been, do not worry you did not miss a thing. We decided to hit the pause button out of respect to several major tragedies making the headlines in eastern Kentucky in June and July.  First the funerals for the deadly ambush on three Floyd Co county officers and a K9 in early July and then the historic and catastrophic flooding that swept across parts of eastern Kentucky in late July. WKYT''s Amber Philpott is someone who holds eastern Kentucky very close to her heart. It's a place that gave Amber her start in television news, it's the place she got her college education and to her the mountains and its people will always have a place in her heart.   This past month has been so incredibly hard on so many of our neighbors in eastern Kentucky, they have endured trauma, lost loved ones and watched as everything they worked so very hard for was washed away by the power of mother nature. The flooding turned creeks like Troublesome Creek, normally mild and meandering into raging torrents of water. Over the last month Amber and the WKYT team has spent time on the ground in places like Perry and Breathitt Counties, the devastation and destruction they have witnessed up close is immense, but they have also seen the kindness of strangers, been able to personally hug those who just needed to know someone cared and watched as a resilient region started to pick itself up and lean on others to get by. In this episode we found it only fitting to introduce you to someone that uses his creative passion and soul to bring to life stories through video documenting eastern Kentucky and its people.   Justin Skeens is an award-winning digital storyteller, in fact he is the Director of Digital Storytelling at Berea College.  Skeens is an eastern Kentucky native, a former WYMT and WKYT videographer and in the last month he has picked up his camera not to document, but help preserve the history and struggles that have unfolded during this chaotic time.   His love for Appalachia and everything it stands for is quite evident when you talk with him or watch one of his beautifully crafted pieces.  He is a boy from the mountains living out a dream behind the lens using his talents to share with the world a place so many of us hold dear, Appalachia.

For this episode of Uniquely Kentucky, host Amber Philpott is talking sports. It is no secret she grew up playing and loving fast pitch softball in Kentucky. The game itself and really sports in general taught her so much about life, respect for yourself and others and about work ethic and discipline. June 23, 1972, changed the game for girls and women when it comes to sports. Title IX consists of thirty-seven words that just this month we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Title IX.   “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Now, nowhere in those thirty-seven words do you hear sports mentioned, but it's what came along with the meaning behind the law that paved the way for all female athletes.  Doors were opened that had previously been closed and opportunities grew. Do we still face challenges as female athletes, of course-but Title IX gave us a place to start and a road map for female athletes to take off on that changed athletics as we know it. This month here on Uniquely Kentucky Amber is talking with a celebrated former University of Kentucky female athlete about her accomplishments, the grind it takes to be the best and how she thinks Title IX has helped even out the playing field. So, get ready to take a dip in the pool, well not literally, but how about a not so literal lap around the pool with former University of Kentucky athlete and the school's first swimming National Champion winning the 2016 NCAA title the in women's 200 backstroke Danielle Galyer Day.

As a journalist now for 19 years WKYT's Amber Philpott says there have been stories that have quite frankly just fascinated her. There are stories that when simply mentioned she is compelled to click on our watch to learn the latest in the case or story. One of those stories is that of disgraced eastern Kentucky lawyer Eric C. Conn. The Floyd County attorney managed to pull off the largest social security fraud scheme in U.S. history. Conn's story is one that is almost unbelievable and one that you might think was ripped from the pages of a Hollywood script. Conn's story was recently released as part of a new docuseries, The Big Conn on Apple TV+. For this episode of Uniquely Kentucky host Amber Philpott is talking with former WKYT and WYMT reporter and anchor Tanner Hesterberg. He has worked on this case in his reporter days, but now is back in eastern Kentucky as an attorney and fighting to help some of Conn's clients try and get their benefits back.

Uniquely Kentucky podcast host Amber Philpott is a self-proclaimed bookworm. As much as she loves reading, she also loves learning about authors, how they got their start, where their inspiration comes from and how they finally found the courage to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard to make their stories come to life. This month on Uniquely Kentucky Amber is talking with Cory Stringer. Amber first introduced viewers to Stringer and his dog Bloo in Lexington back in 2018 for a story on WKYT. Bloo has an amazing story of survival after being rescued from a fire at the Knox Whitley Animal Shelter and the second chance at life she was given will melt your heart. Bloo is now the star in a series of books written by Stringer in a cartoon type style featuring Bloo's zany antics and fun nature which are captured within the pages.  The books were designed for parents to enjoy while reading alongside their children. Bloo is a beautiful black lab mix with the most perfect Kentucky blue eyes and while she can't be a guest on the podcast Amber is talking with her human who is standing in to tell her story.

The month of March is Women's History Month, but did you know that as recently as the 1970s, women's history was an unknown topic for students K-12. In 1978 a California education task force began a movement to establish Women's History Week. According to the National Women's History Alliance it took until 1986, for fourteen states to declare March as Women's History Month, momentum grew and state by state congress was lobbied and finally in 1987 March was declared as National Women's History month. Every year a special presidential proclamation is issued which honors the extraordinary achievements of American women. To celebrate a Kentucky woman making her mark on history, Uniquely Kentucky host Amber Philpott sat down with award winning sculptor and designer of public art and central Kentuckian Amanda Matthews. She is the CEO of Prometheus Art in Lexington, KY. Matthews' work is in many notable collections including museums, public parks, government buildings, and municipalities across the country. One of Matthews latest installations can be found in New York City and is entitled The Girl Puzzle. Public art is meant to inspire, educate, and start a conversation. The pieces Matthews has been commissioned to create, often times represent women who have been overlooked, but who have contributed greatly and many times have a voice that still rings true today. Matthews has also been selected to create the KY COVID Memorial to honor the lives lost during the pandemic, but also to celebrate the determination of society in trying to overcome it.

What does music do for you? Does a certain song transport you in time? Do you feel emotion through certain songs? Does music move you? Music is the soundtrack of our lives, the good the bad and the ugly. Music is often one of the things that can unite us. In this episode of Uniquely Kentucky host Amber Philpott talks with Michael Preacely, a rising star in the musical world. Preacely and his baritone voice can transport you to another place through song. Preacely is gaining attention for his performances on the opera stage, having toured regionally and internationally. He has performed in the classic Porgy and Bess among other shows in Kentucky and beyond. He is not a Kentucky native, but he has found his home here in Lexington through the University of Kentucky where he has since earned his doctorate and now lectures at the university. Preacely is now working to inspire the next generation of singers and through his music encourage more young, African American youth to seek out their musical abilities. His voice will put a smile on your face, but his upbeat personality will really put a song in your heart when you meet him.

Welcome back to Uniquely Kentucky, a podcast hosted by WKYT evening news anchor Amber Philpott. Uniquely Kentucky is dedicated to conversations with people in Kentucky or who have ties to the state who are interesting, inspire us and sometimes just simply fascinate us. In this first episode Amber talks with central Kentucky mural artist Wylie Caudill. Mural art has become popular in communities across Kentucky and Caudill is making his mark with his creations that are eye catching and colorful. Some of his pieces can be seen in his hometown of Cynthiana, Ky. as well as in Lexington. In this episode Caudill talks about how he got his start, what motivates and inspires him and the advice he has for others wanting to display their art to the world.

In the last year we have had to find a new way to bring you Uniquely Kentucky amid a global pandemic.  When we first started this podcast, we loved recording in person, there is nothing like a good chat that then becomes a podcast.  Once the pandemic hit, we were forced to connect with our guests in a different way, mainly online.  In this episode I am joined by Sam Dick, my evening WKYT co-anchor and WKYT Chief Meteorologist Chris Bailey as we look back on the last year of living and working during a pandemic.