University of Kentucky, explained from the inside.
Behind the Blue follows University of Kentucky people into the machinery behind campus life and statewide impact. Episodes move from pharmacy education and emergency alerts to the university budget, athletics leadership, March Madness science, historical poetry, and graduation stories.
PRESS PLAY
Behind the Blue is an interview-driven University of Kentucky show about what happens behind the public-facing version of campus. It is practical before it is promotional. The show spends time with the people who can explain how university systems work, why they matter, and where they touch life beyond campus. One thread follows health and safety. Dr. Olufunmilola Abraham speaks about pharmacists, medication safety, children learning medication behaviors, and family-centered prevention. Sarah Fink’s episode centers emergency management, UK Alert, the Safe Zone app, campus preparedness, and coordination with UK Health Care. Another thread follows institutional operations. The Business of UK installment with Dr. Eric Munday looks at the $8.6 billion budget and why restricted, designated, grant, gift, health care, and other funding sources cannot simply be moved around. Athletics enters through UK President Eli Capilouto’s discussion of new leadership for UK athletics and Mitch Barnhart’s next role in workforce development. The March Madness episode widens basketball into pressure, sleep, performance, memory, identity, community, and the emotions attached to teams. Behind the Blue also gives space to culture and memory. The conversation with Kristine Yohe and Frank X. Walker connects historical poetry, Isaac Murphy, Lucy, and the value of reckoning with difficult history. Student success appears through public health graduates Sophia Gooden and Sophie Civarelli, and through Molly Reynolds and Anne-Marie Bickel discussing weekly retention meetings. The show’s style is orderly and accessible. It favors context, definitions, and direct questions over argument. It suits listeners who want the university explained through its people, policies, research, responsibilities, and Kentucky-facing mission.
Made for: Suits a listener who wants clear, institution-level context on University of Kentucky work, from athletics and budgets to health, safety, research, and student success.
What sets it apart: Behind the Blue stands apart by treating university communications as a guided public record: specific names, offices, programs, and campus systems are explained in patient detail.
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 new weekly podcast created by UK Public Relations and Marketing. 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.
That $8.6 billion university budget gets an answer to your real question: where can the money go?
Press play if you want
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A clear look at medication literacy, family habits, and the broader work behind safer pharmacy practice.
Behind the Blue frames Abraham's work as a reminder that pharmacy starts long before anyone reaches the counter. Her research on medication safety with children gives the episode its center, showing how habits move through parents, friends, and everyday routines.
A clear, practical look at why UK's $8.6 billion budget works as a set of dedicated funds, not one open account.
A university budget makes more sense once it is treated less like one pile of money and more like a map of obligations. This Business of UK review follows Dr.
A grounded look at campus alerts, emergency planning, and UK HealthCare coordination at the University of Kentucky.
Campus safety comes through as a system built to matter before anything goes wrong. Sarah Fink, Director of Emergency Management for the University of Kentucky Police Department, walks through the planning, training, and coordination behind UK Alert, the Safe Zone app, and the…
A UK athletics leadership change becomes a broader look at sports education and workforce planning in Kentucky.
UK athletics is at a handoff moment, with Mitch Barnhart stepping down after more than two decades and President Eli Capilouto using the episode to place that change in a wider institutional frame.
March Madness becomes a grounded look at pressure, sleep, memory, and the identity that gathers around a team.
Behind the Blue treats March Madness as more than a bracket rush, using late-game pressure to open a wider conversation about stress, sleep, memory, and the way basketball can become part of identity.
Daily Cardinals roster radar.
Dr.
UK Strategic Communications host Cody Kaiser and Dr.
Sarah Fink, Director of Emergency Management at the University of Kentucky Police Department, explains how UK Alert, Safe Zone, and the Emergency Operations Center support campus safety.
UK President Eli Capilouto discusses the search for new athletic leadership after Mitch Barnhart's departure and his new workforce development role.
Behind the Blue’s March 18, 2026 episode ties March Madness to performance psychology, sleep, brain health, and social identity through conversations with UK experts.
Skylar Simpson, a three-degree University of Kentucky alum, now directs UK’s Office of Nationally Competitive Awards.
Mitch Barnhart says eight grandchildren and faith helped shape his decision to retire as Kentucky's athletic director at the end of June.
Kristine Yohe discusses her book on Frank X Walker's historical persona poetry, which gives voice to marginalized figures and encourages honest engagement with the past.
Two graduating public health students from the University of Kentucky share their transformative experiences and how the supportive community prepared them for global health challenges.
University of Kentucky leaders discuss their award-winning weekly retention meetings that help improve student success and graduation rates.
Lance Broeking, Director of Transportation Services at UK, discusses challenges of managing campus parking, transit, and access amid growth and construction.
A discussion about a peer grief support program for young people, focusing on the impact of loss and the importance of community and coping skills.