Columbus Metropolitan Club

Saturday mornings at 10, Podcast

Hosted by WCBE Podcast Experience

Every week, we bring you the conversations that shape Columbus—straight from the not-for-profit Columbus Metropolitan Club. The forum is where leaders, thinkers, and community voices like yours come together for lunch in downtown Columbus to unpack the issues that matter most to Central Ohio. WCBE is proud to partner with CMC to deliver audio of the forums on-air and through this podcast. Want to join CMC in person? Tickets and details about upcoming forums are available at columbusmetroclub.org.

Latest Episodes

Designing a Democracy for the Next 250 Years

Centering Ohio and Columbus as testing grounds, this CMC forum explores how American communities can move from reflection to renewal—and what responsibility today’s leaders and citizens have to future generations of Americans.
Written in Stone: Ohio Women, Public Memory, and the New Statehouse Monument

This CMC forum explores what it means to finally place women’s courage, leadership, and fight for equality at the center of Ohio’s public memory.
Racing to Build a New Midwest

In partnership with Midwest House Summit Ohio 2026, this CMC forum brings together regional leaders working at the intersection of entrepreneurship, venture capital, innovation, and collaboration to ask what it will take for the Midwest to compete and win on a national stage in totally new ways – without leaving communities behind.
The Power of Showing Up: A New Case for Engagement

This CMC conversation brings together nonprofit leaders, business executives, and community builders to explore a simple but urgent idea: what if the path to stronger organizations—and a stronger region—starts with businesses and communities working side by side?
The Airport Advantage: Building Central Ohio’s Next Economy

John Glenn International, Rickenbacker International, and Bolton Field are the region’s front doors — a first impression for visitors, a critical link for global businesses, and a major piece of the critical infrastructure needed to support Central Ohio’s next chapter of growth.
A Bigger Central Ohio Will Need a Bigger Safety Net

Central Ohio’s future promises growth, momentum, and opportunity. But as the region adds more people, ages, diversifies, and faces mounting pressure on housing, health care, and human services, a harder question is emerging: will the systems we rely on be able to keep up? Learn more in this CMC forum.
There’s No Casserole for That: Mental Health, Loneliness, and the Courage to Show Up

There might be more public language for mental health than ever before — awareness months, workplace posters, crisis lines, wellness apps, and hashtags. But when someone’s real life falls apart, many of us still don’t know what to say, what to do, or how to show up. This CMC forum looks at mental health not only as a medical issue, but as a community issue.
Annual State of Nonprofits: The Future of Funding Good Work

This CMC explores several questions. How can nonprofits rise from financial strain to innovation and possibility? What would it look like to fund nonprofit work in ways that are faster and more flexible? How are philanthropy, government, and community organizations rethinking partnership, risk, and investment? And if nonprofits are essential civic infrastructure, what kinds of funding models will it take to make sure they can keep delivering—not just survive?
What Women’s Pro Soccer Means for Columbus

How did Columbus land the bid, and how can the region make the most of the opportunity? How are leaders navigating both the opportunities and tensions surrounding the project? This CMC forum examines not just what it takes to win a team—but how to turn that win into lasting and equitable public value.
How Ohio’s Medicaid Squeeze Could Impact Families

With leaders and experts, this CMC forum explains what’s changing, what Ohio leaders are proposing, and what it could mean for Central Ohioans.