Behind the Blue

Some stories require a little more – a little more discussion, more context, more depth and breadth.

That’s the idea behind “Behind the Blue” – a weekly podcast created by UK Strategic Communications. It is designed to explore through probing interviews the in-depth the stories that make UK the university for Kentucky and that have impact across the institution, the Commonwealth and, in some cases, the world.

"Behind the Blue" is available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of “Behind the Blue” each week. UK’s latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue," email BehindTheBlue@uky.edu or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue. Transcripts for this or other episodes of Behind the Blue can be downloaded from the show’s blog page.

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March 13, 2025 - Paolo Visonà (Spartacus' first battlefield)

Mar 13, 2025

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 13, 2025) – Last summer, University of Kentucky archaeologist Paolo Visonà, Ph.D., an adjunct associate professor in the University of Kentucky’s School of Art and Visual Studies, announced a major archaeological discovery in Calabria, Italy.

Visonà and his team discovered Spartacus’...

March 5, 2025 - UK & COVID-19, 5 Years On...

Transcript

Mar 5, 2025

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 5, 2025) — It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since the COVID-19 pandemic officially arrived in the Commonwealth – but on Friday, March 6, 2020, Gov. Andy Beshear confirmed the state’s first COVID-19-positive patient and declared a state of emergency in Kentucky. And that first...

February 25, 2025 - Deirdre Scaggs (Lexington's 250th and UK's 160th Anniversaries)

Transcript

Feb 25, 2025

LEXINGTON, Ky. (February 26, 2025) – As Lexington commemorates its 250^th anniversary and the University of Kentucky marks its 160^th, UK Libraries’ Deirdre Scaggs helps listeners explore the intertwined history and evolving relationship between the city and its university.

Scaggs is associate dean for research...

February 20, 2025 - Matt Moore & Tarkington Newman (The Psychology of Sports Rivalries) [ENCORE]

Transcript

Feb 20, 2025

LEXINGTON, Ky. (February 20, 2025) – THIS IS AN ENCORE EPISODE. Fans, dressed from head to toe in their team’s colors, swarm the stadium chanting fight songs and waving banners.

It’s game day, and the stakes feel monumental.

Sports rivalries are a cornerstone of athletic culture — sparking packed bleachers,...

February 13, 2025 - Jeff & Marietta Barton-Baxter (10 Dates and 35 Years Later)

Transcript

Feb 13, 2025

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 14, 2025) – It seems like foreshadowing that they met while playing the board game Life. Marietta Barton was 19 years old; Jeff Baxter was 21. Despite both growing up in London, Ky., they never crossed paths until they moved to Lexington for college. But within a few weeks of their chance meeting,...