The State of Inquiry (Audio)

Living Well 3 of 5: The Power of Sport

In this episode of Living Well: Public Health for All, host Lisa Koontz is joined by Dr. Kyle Kercher and IU School of Public Health-Bloomington students Luke Troyer and Maddie Mastin to explore the role sport can play in advancing public health. The conversation focuses on Hoosier Sport, a campus-community initiative that partners with schools and local organizations to create youth programs centered on physical activity, mentorship, and leadership development. Kercher discusses how sport-based programming can support both physical and social well-being, while Luke and Maddie share what it’s like to help design and implement these programs as students working directly with local communities. Dr. Kyle Kercher is an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the Indiana University School of Public Health–Bloomington and the founder of Hoosier Sport, a campus–community initiative that uses sport and physical activity to support youth health and development. His work focuses on translating public health research into real-world programs that expand access to physical activity, particularly in under-resourced communities. Through Hoosier Sport, Kercher collaborates with schools, students, and community partners to design sport-based programs that promote health, leadership, and long-term well-being. Host Lisa Koontz is the Director of Faculty Operations at the Indiana University School of Public Health, Bloomington. In this role, she works closely with faculty across disciplines to support research, teaching, and community engagement initiatives that address real-world public health challenges. With a deep understanding of how public health research moves from idea to implementation, Koontz brings an insider’s perspective on how academic work translates into programs, policies, and practices that affect everyday life. As host of Living Well: Public Health for All, she guides conversations that connect research to lived experience, helping listeners understand not just what researchers study, but why it matters for Hoosiers.

Living Well 2 of 5: Underwater Museums

In this episode, host Lisa Koontz talks with Charlie Beeker about how shipwrecks become living ecosystems and why preserving them matters. Beeker explains how underwater sites serve as both historical records and biological habitats, and how creating protected “living museums” supports conservation, education, and public access. The conversation highlights how studying and managing submerged environments helps communities understand their shared history while promoting sustainable relationships with natural resources. Charlie Beeker is the founder and director of Indiana University’s Center for Underwater Science and Academic Diving Program and a faculty member in the IU School of Public Health–Bloomington. A registered professional archaeologist and master diving instructor, Beeker has spent more than four decades studying and protecting submerged cultural and biological resources. His work helped shape national policy through the Abandoned Shipwreck Act and has led to the creation of underwater parks and preserves across the Great Lakes, the United States, and the Caribbean. Beeker is best known for advancing the concept of “living museums in the sea,” which preserve shipwrecks alongside the aquatic ecosystems that develop around them, making underwater heritage accessible while protecting it for future generations. Host Lisa Koontz is the Director of Faculty Operations at the Indiana University School of Public Health, Bloomington. In this role, she works closely with faculty across disciplines to support research, teaching, and community engagement initiatives that address real-world public health challenges. With a deep understanding of how public health research moves from idea to implementation, Koontz brings an insider’s perspective on how academic work translates into programs, policies, and practices that affect everyday life. As host of Living Well: Public Health for All, she guides conversations that connect research to lived experience, helping listeners understand not just what researchers study, but why it matters for Hoosiers.

Living Well 1 of 5: Aging Like an Elephant

In this episode, host Lisa Koontz talks with Daniella Chusyd about how studying elephant health can reveal new insights into human aging, resilience, and disease prevention. Chusyd explains why elephants are a powerful model for understanding longevity, cognitive health, and cancer resistance, and how factors like early-life trauma, pollution, and habitat change affect health over time. The conversation explores how animal research fits into public health through a One Health approach, showing how human, environmental, and animal health are deeply interconnected.   Daniella Chusyd, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Indiana University School of Public Health–Bloomington whose research uses elephants from a comparative approach to study health, aging, and resilience. Her interdisciplinary work examines how genetics, early-life experiences, environmental exposures, and human activity shape long-term health outcomes in both elephants and people. By studying elephants, which share long lifespans and complex social structures with humans but experience far lower rates of cancer and potentially neurodegenerative disease, Dr. Chusyd seeks insights into healthy aging, disease resistance, and the biological impact of stress and environment. Her research also informs conservation and public health policy through a One Health lens that connects human, animal, and environmental well-being.   Host Lisa Koontz is the Director of Faculty Operations at the Indiana University School of Public Health, Bloomington. In this role, she works closely with faculty across disciplines to support research, teaching, and community engagement initiatives that address real-world public health challenges. With a deep understanding of how public health research moves from idea to implementation, Koontz brings an insider’s perspective on how academic work translates into programs, policies, and practices that affect everyday life. As host of Living Well: Public Health for All, she guides conversations that connect research to lived experience, helping listeners understand not just what researchers study, but why it matters for Hoosiers.

AI & You 2.0 5 of 5 What AI Can and Can’t Do in Business

What does AI actually mean for business, and who has the advantage: humans or machines? Dr. Brian Williams and host Dr. Kevin Jones explores how generative and explainable AI are reshaping decision-making in areas like accounting, finance, and corporate strategy. From predicting tax outcomes to building AI tools inside a business school, he breaks down what AI does well, where humans still matter most, and how students and professionals can learn to work alongside these systems rather than compete with them. Dr. Brian Williams is a professor of accounting at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business and the inaugural chair of the Virtual Advanced Business Technologies Department. His work sits at the intersection of business and emerging technologies, with a focus on how tools like generative AI and machine learning are reshaping decision-making in areas like accounting and capital markets. At Kelley, he leads a cross-disciplinary department of more than 70 faculty focused on advancing AI, blockchain, and other emerging technologies across business education. He has also developed and taught courses on generative AI, helping students and professionals understand how to use these tools as practical, everyday collaborators. Kevin Jones is an AI strategist, educator, and thought leader with more than 30 years of experience integrating innovative technologies into the workplace and brings deep experience in both academia and public media to his role as host of AI & You: Navigating the Next Frontier, the second season of AI & You episodes  featured on Indiana Public Media’s State of Inquiry.

AI & You 2.0 4 of 5: Policy, Pedagogy, and the AI-Infused Academy

In this episode of AI and You, Dr. Kevin Jones talks with Adam Maksl and Justin Hodgson about how universities are responding to the rapid rise of generative AI. Drawing on their leadership roles at Indiana University, they explore the intersection of policy, pedagogy, and technology, from developing system-wide frameworks for AI literacy to rethinking classroom practices in an era where traditional assignments are being reshaped. The conversation moves beyond viewing AI as simply a tool or a threat, focusing instead on the cultural and institutional shifts required to prepare students and faculty for an AI-infused academic environment. Adam Maksl is Professor of Journalism and New Media and Chair of the Department of Communication at Indiana University Indianapolis. His work focuses on the intersection of technology, education, and student success, with nationally recognized expertise in generative AI, digital literacy, and news literacy. He approaches AI literacy as an extension of media literacy, helping students and educators develop the skills to critically evaluate, create, and navigate information in an increasingly AI-driven media environment. In addition to his teaching and research, Maksl has led major institutional initiatives in curriculum development, faculty innovation, and digital learning, including serving as Senior Faculty Fellow for GenAI Learning Innovation and co-founding the Digital Gardener Initiative. A first-generation college graduate, his work is grounded in expanding access to high-impact learning experiences and preparing students for a rapidly evolving, media-rich world. Justin Hodgson is an Associate Professor of Digital Rhetoric in the English Department at Indiana University Bloomington whose work explores how digital technologies shape communication, learning, and creative practice. His research focuses on digital rhetoric, multimedia composition, and the intersection of media, aesthetics, and pedagogy, with an emphasis on how emerging technologies influence how we think, write, and create. He is co-creator of the Digital Gardener Initiative, a university-wide effort to support faculty in integrating digital and AI literacy across the curriculum, and the founding editor of The Journal for Undergraduate Multimedia Projects. Through his teaching, scholarship, and faculty development work, Hodgson helps students and educators build the skills to engage critically and creatively in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Kevin Jones is an AI strategist, educator, and thought leader with more than 30 years of experience integrating innovative technologies into the workplace and brings deep experience in both academia and public media to his role as host of AI & You: Navigating the Next Frontier, the second season of AI & You episodes  featured on Indiana Public Media’s State of Inquiry.