Here are the topics covered in this edition of Byline (full audio available below):At the top - Next week a Louisville Metro Council court will conduct a trial to determine whether Councilwoman Barbara Shanklin should be removed from office. The Metro Ethics Commission has recommended Shanklin’s ouster, saying she violated the city’s ethics code by using her office to benefit family and friends. We discuss the Shanklin trial with WFPL’s Phillip M. Bailey and hear some of the heated exchange between lawyers that took place this week at a pre-trial hearing.8:30 - The Courier-Journal’s Jim Carroll joins us by phone from Washington. This summer is the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s historic visit to Ireland. The trip is the subject of a book Carroll published in 2003, One of Ourselves: John Fitzgerald Kennedy in Ireland.15:45 - Purdue University President Mitch Daniels says he never tried to quash academic freedom while serving as Indiana's governor and is criticizing an Associated Press report citing emails in which he opposed use of a book by antiwar activist Howard Zinn. Emails published Tuesday by the AP show Daniels tried to ensure Zinn's book was not used in Indiana's K-12 and college classrooms and that he worked to, as he put it, "disqualify the propaganda" he said was being taught to teachers in training at Indiana's colleges. We speak with Haleigh Columbo, a reporter for the Journal and Courier in West Lafayette, Indiana, home of Purdue University.22:15 - According to the Manufacturing Institute, 79 percent of Americans feel a strong manufacturing base should be a national priority. But two-thirds of parents would encourage their kids to avoid seeking manufacturing jobs. That’s the conundrum faced by industries in Louisville and elsewhere who are looking for young workers to fill what are commonly referred to as blue-collar jobs. Anne Marshall writes about this in Louisville magazine, and she drops by to explain the issues.28:05 - We speak with Tracy Damron, who has just written a book about her marriage to former Kentucky lawmaker Steve Nunn, who’s now serving a life sentence for the murder of his ex-fiance, Amanda Ross. Amanda Ross’s murder led to the passage of Amanda’s law, aimed at providing more safeguards for domestic violence victims.33:10 - We hear Rick Howlett's feature on Corky Miller of the Louisville Bats, a fixture of the team with his signature Fu Manchu mustache, a mentor to some of the younger players, and a fan favorite.37:30 - Kentucky Shakespeare CEO and producing artistic director Brantley Dunaway resigned Monday, a week after it was revealed his wife and Kentucky Shakespeare actress Madison Dunaway requested and received an emergency protective order against him, alleging domestic abuse. The action led to the abrupt cancellation of the remainder of the company's run of “Twelfth Night” in Central Park, which Madison Dunaway was starring in. But former employees and documents obtained by WFPL attest to a longer, deeper history of employee abuse and potential financial mismanagement within Kentucky Shakespeare. WFPL's Erin Keane talks to Gabe Bullard about the story.44:10 - At Comic-Con, which is happening now in San Diego, attendees will see special previews of many forthcoming movies, including several horror films. New scary movies are released every year, each building on established themes. Among those themes is the haunted house. To explore the history of hauntings on film, we turn to Backstory. In this excerpt, historians Brian Ballough, Peter Onuf, and Ed Ayers get a lesson in fright from critic David Edelstein.
