Current Conversations

A woman wearing an Ohio State shirt and two students smile at each other in a supportive way as they chat and sit on large stone steps on Ohio State’s Mansfield campus.
At Ohio State Mansfield, lime green means help

Students, faculty and staff use colored bandanas to signal a willingness to discuss mental health and prevent suicide. 
A Navajo Nation man wearing braids and a ballcap bends over to drink water from his own cupped hands, which he just pumped from a green metal well apparatus covered by a thin layer of dirt.
Ohio State boosting water access in Navajo Nation

The Global Water Institute is digging wells, providing agricultural training and planting gardens to fill critical gaps.
A bearded man wearing glasses meets the eyes of a student who is out of focus as he animatedly explains a thought.
University defining who we are, what we value

Associate Professor Piers Turner, an expert on ethics, shares how and why Ohio State embarked on this important project.
A collage of scenes from throughout WOSU's history
WOSU turns 100: Power of the people

From the early days of radio, WOSU Public Media has enriched lives in Columbus. What comes next? GM Ronnie Agnew shares.
A bumblebee gathers pollen from a willow tree.  
This project will track bees using their DNA  

Funded by the Defense Department, the professor-alumnus collaboration is intended to help protect crucial pollinators. 
Radio host Ann Fisher smiles behind a microphone
Ann Fisher wants you to know about everything

The journalist who expertly shares ‘All Sides’ of local-to-global issues that matter came to WOSU a virtual radio newbie. 
Esther Flores talks with a woman
Inside the world of a servant on the streets

Nurse Esther Flores ’01 gave up her day job to provide victims of human trafficking with safe spaces and food for mind, body and spirit.
Illustration depicting a woman helping another who is in need
How are Buckeyes fighting human trafficking?

To confront a complicated problem like human trafficking, it takes a community, and as Buckeyes, we’re invested.
Franklin County Judge Paul Herbert and Judge Jodi Thomas portraits
In this court, the goal is rebuilding, not punishing

Two Columbus judges (both alumni) guide human trafficking victims into pursuing lives they didn’t realize were possible.
Provost Melissa L. Gilliam talking with faculty member Ajit Chaudhari and Susan Cole
Provost Melissa Gilliam’s never-ending push to do more

Dr. Gilliam came to Ohio State to help forge a better future — a mission whose seeds were planted in her in childhood.