With COVID-19 guidelines promoting social distancing and staying indoors, some may feel distant and disconnected from Cincinnati’s vibrant life and culture.
That’s why some local podcasts—both brand new and well-seasoned—are trying to capture different facets of the city to bring comfort to its citizens.
Cincinnati is home to a variety of podcasts that give insight into the region’s people, landmarks and industries. In a new weekly series, CityBeat will spotlight programs and podcasters that tackle different aspects of Cincinnati living. And we’re kicking things off with Allie Martin and Patrick Bailey of When Pigs Fly, a business-centric podcast.
In this podcast, co-hosts Martin and Bailey delve deep into the Cincinnati business community—its rich past, expanding present and bright future. They interview local historians and current business owners to highlight Cincinnati-based entrepreneurship, highlighting the challenges and advantages of starting a new business and what it takes to survive and thrive.
When Pigs Fly ‘s initial episodes begin as a retrospective of the city’s first thriving businesses, which include soap and breweries.
“We have a unique, rich business history here that dates back to starting from the 1800s—that’s why it’s in our beginning—and we sold practically everything here when we first established the city,” Martin tells CityBeat [Disclosure: Martin was a CityBeat employee several years ago].
In an upcoming episode, the co-hosts will interview Chris Frutkin, owner of City Center Properties, about his part in developing the Over-the-Rhine area. In another episode, they will highlight a local coffee shop in OTR that has been impacted by the area’s development.
Martin says that future episodes will focus on the traditional big businesses that found their start here, such as Procter & Gamble, as well as growing companies like the Thunderdome Restaurant Group. Martin and Bailey also want to speak with local non-profits and “mom and pop” shops that are just as integral to the community. And in some episodes, they’ll cover industries such as solar power and healthcare.
“We truly want to try to hit every industry in some shape or fashion,” Martin says.
Martin and Bailey also will cover the less desirable aspects of Cincinnati’s business community that could use some improvement.
“Our end mission was like, ‘What can we do to actually enact action and change in the city?’” Bailey says.
Martin describes a key goal of When Pigs Fly as establishing an open conversation with the community to highlight successes and analyze failures. Through this conversation, Martin and Bailey hope to get to the heart of the business community in Cincinnati.
The podcast’s opening song is “Like The Night” by Moonbeau, a local Synth Pop duo. Between topics, guests and audio selections, Cincinnati culture is fully engrained in When Pigs Fly.
When Pigs Fly is a part of the upside network and is released weekly. It can be accessed on the network, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.
This article appears in Best Of Cincinnati 2021.