Kate Thornburg is half of the "Vulgar Poets," a production team for several political programs hosted by Kristopher H. Bilbrey over the years. The other half is her husband, Niles Thornburg.
Kate is the Head of Production and Research at The Political Spotlight.
Producer Kate is a military wife, mother, activist, friend, and reporter. She is very active in her community and the State of Indiana! Her main roles on the show include research, production, and trying to channel Bilbrey and Brandon's passions and chaos into nightly episodes.
Kate is the chair of the Libertarian Party in Randolph County, Indiana.
The Political Spotlight team is dedicated to this mission.
Join the conversation and help make the world better one conversation at a time!
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LIVE episodes of The Political Spotlight air on YouTube: Sunday - Thursday @ 9 p.m. (ET)
Link: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePoliticalSpotlight
Audio-only episodes can be found at the following Home Link: https://ThePoliticalSpotlight.fireside.fm
& All Other Podcast Hosting Sites!
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Connect with Kate Thornburg via email at
[email protected] or [email protected]
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Kate Thornburg has hosted 132 Episodes.
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#555 | Self Defense or Murder? Indiana's Castle Doctrine Under Review! | The Political Spotlight
November 10th, 2025 | 2 hrs 1 min
2nd amendment, boone county prosecutor, castle doctrine, gun laws, guy relford attorney, indiana, manslaughter, maria florinda rios del velazquez, murder, police investigation, self defense, whitestown metro police
Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey discusses the tragic death of a 32-year-old cleaning lady, who was fatally shot after accidentally arriving at the wrong house for work in Whitestown, Indiana, early Wednesday morning, November 5, 2025. This case deals with Indiana's Self-Defense Laws and the Castle Doctrine. #ThePoliticalSpotlight
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#554 | Buying Votes? | The Political Spotlight
November 9th, 2025 | 2 hrs 24 mins
2026 election cycle, campaign finance violations, campaign violations, commissioners office, contributing correspondent dr. katherine callahan, culp election committee, indiana, jennifer culp, jonathon culp, madison county, madison county council, madison county politics, madison county prosecutors office, todd culp
The 2026 midterm election cycle starts in less than 60 days (as of the initial broadcast of this episode: Sunday, November 9, 2025). However, that doesn't mean the campaigning hasn't already begun! The question then becomes: Is everything being done correctly? And what's all the fuss about Madison County Council's "newbie" Councilor Jonathan Culp? Has he really been using his county position to campaign for a higher seat, just 11 months into his first term as Councilor? What committee is he using to campaign? What will his campaign finance reports show? And has he really been buying votes? Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey welcomes contributing correspondent Dr. Katherin Callahan to the show to help break everything down! This will be an episode you won't want to miss! #ThePoliticalSpotlight
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#553 | Thursday, November 6, 2025 - Open Show! | The Political Spotlight
November 6th, 2025 | 1 hr 29 mins
east central indiana, free-association, indiana, local state national politics, media, muncie, open show, political commentary, state house
Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey kicks off the show on a pretty calm Thursday, November 6, 2025. This will be a free-association style show! Come one, come all... #ThePoliticalSpotlight
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#552 | The City of Muncie Finally Made the Paper! & 2025 Election Results! | The Political Spotlight
November 5th, 2025 | 1 hr 56 mins
2025 general elections, breaking news, communications director amber greene, doug walker, indiana, indiana state house, lt. governor micah beckwith, mayor dan ridenour, muncie board of works meeting, muncie city council, muncie indiana, muncie politics, ordinances, resolutions, the star press
Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey responds to an article in The Star Press about the recent Muncie City Council meeting held on Monday, November 3, 2025. Bilbrey then discusses the results of the general election held on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, in various states across the country. Indiana was not among those states, as this is an off-year election. Indiana's election cycle will resume in January 2026. But can Hoosiers learn anything from the results elsewhere to help decide what might happen next year? Tune in and find out! #ThePoliticalSpotlight
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#551 | The November 3, 2025, Muncie City Council Meeting Update! | The Political Spotlight
November 3rd, 2025 | 1 hr 59 mins
city councilor dale basham, local news story, mayor's executive assistant shareen wagley, muncie city council, muncie fire department, muncie indiana, muncie mayor dan ridenour, muncie politics, resolution 18-25, resolution 19-25, scumbag
Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey offers his analysis and commentary on everything that happened (or didn't) during the November 3, 2025, Muncie City Council meeting. #ThePoliticalSpotlight
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#550 | Finally... Resolution 19-25! Plus: Bilbrey Is a Scumbag! | The Political Spotlight
November 2nd, 2025 | 2 hrs 30 mins
city councilor dale basham, local news story, mayor's executive assistant shareen wagley, muncie city council, muncie fire department, muncie indiana, muncie mayor dan ridenour, muncie politics, resolution 18-25, resolution 19-25, scumbag
Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey discusses the upcoming Muncie City Council meeting, scheduled for Monday, November 3, 2025. Specifically, Bilbrey covers Resolutions 18-25 and 19-25. The latter being Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour's proposal for a new $11 million fire station construction project, which he has been trying to push through for the last two months. Then, Bilbrey mentions being a "scumbag" due to his thoughts and comments about a recent local news story... or maybe, everyone else just isn't smart enough to understand complex thoughts. #ThePoliticalSpotlight
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#549 | Biased News! Plus: Muncie Recovery OPCO LLC & The BOW’s Meeting! | The Political Spotlight
October 30th, 2025 | 1 hr 56 mins
bias, board of works meeting, delaware county government, delaware county politics, doug walker, indiana, indiana treatment centers, mayor dan ridenour, mental health facility, muncie city government, muncie politics, muncie recovery opco llc, prairie creek reservoir, the star press
Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey discusses the bias of The Star Press in their coverage (or lack thereof) concerning the Muncie City Government. Additionally, Bilbrey reviews the Muncie City Board of Works Meeting from Wednesday, October 29, 2025, and provides the latest update on the Delaware County Mental Health Facility. #ThePoliticalSpotlight
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#548 | Wasting Time, Drawing Lines! | The Political Spotlight
October 29th, 2025 | 2 hrs 6 mins
anderson politics, board of works, contributing correspondent, dr. katherine callahan, governor mike braun, indiana politics, local, lt. governor micah beckwith, madison county politics, national politics, redistricting congressional maps, special session of the indiana general assembly, state, white house
Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey welcomes contributing correspondent Dr. Katherine Callahan to the program to discuss the redistricting nonsense that Indiana Governor Mike Braun and other bumbling elected officials are currently trying to make happen. All because the White House wants it. This is a national, state, and local politics topic! Keeping Katherine on topic is always a challenge... Bilbrey really tried this episode! #ThePoliticalSpotlight
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#547 | Continually Being Right Gets Tiring! | The Political Spotlight
October 28th, 2025 | 1 hr 33 mins
delaware county politics, delaware county republican party, gop, grand jury investigation, indiana lt. governor micah beckwith, indiana politics, lincoln day dinner, state of indiana
The Delaware County Republican Party hosts its Lincoln Day Dinner, and Indiana Lt. Governor Micah Beckwith continues to find himself in hot water! Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey explores all this and more! #ThePoliticalSpotlight
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#546 | Records, Updates, Scandals, & Shake-Ups! (Local & State)! | The Political Spotlight
October 26th, 2025 | 2 hrs 36 mins
child abuse, child molestation, city council, dan ridenour, dustin clark, flatland resources, henry county politics, henry county sheriff's department, indiana general assembly, indiana governor mike braun, indiana politics, indiana's lt. governor micah beckwith, john sproles, jonathan peternel arrest, mentor, middletown and knightstown police departments, muncie fire department, muncie mayor, muncie politics, nathan peternel, new fire station 5, redistricting, ridenour administration, special session, sproleswatch
After a week off, Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey returns with updates on the City of Muncie’s newly released records, the latest news about Sheriff John Sproles of Henry County, Indiana, and other issues within Henry County’s law enforcement community. Bilbrey also covers the arrest of a person connected to Indiana's Lt. Governor and rumors that Governor Mike Braun will call a special legislative session on redistricting in the coming days. #ThePoliticalSpotlight
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#545 | Analysis of Action Taken on Muncie's Ordinance 30-25 (2026 Budget)! | The Political Spotlight
October 20th, 2025 | 2 hrs 13 mins
2026 budget process, muncie city council, muncie city councilor nora powell, muncie mayor dan ridenour, muncie politics, ordinance 30-25
After thoroughly reviewing the audio from the Muncie City Council meeting on Thursday, October 16, 2025, Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey is prepared to share his analysis and final thoughts on this year's budget process, which the City of Muncie has been working on for several weeks. #ThePoliticalSpotlight
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#544 | It Is... What It Is! | The Political Spotlight
October 16th, 2025 | 1 hr 34 mins
accountability, city councilor nora powell, communication, muncie city council meeting, muncie mayor dan ridenour, proposed 2026 budget, tech issues, total shit show, transparency
Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey summarizes the recently concluded Muncie City Council meeting (Thursday, October 16, 2025). #ThePoliticalSpotlight
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#543 | Disrespect Toward Taxpayers! | The Political Spotlight
October 15th, 2025 | 1 hr 50 mins
2026 budget process, anderson, city clerk, city council, city council meeting, commissioners pass ordinance to cary guns, councilor dale basham, councilor nora powell, county council, delaware county, disrespect toward taxpayers, emails, grant county, indiana politics, investigative powers, local politics, madison county, marion, mayor, muncie, muncie city council, muncie mayor dan ridenour, resolution #17-25
The system is designed so that, regardless of who is in charge, the type of government, or the situation, it allows or even encourages elected and appointed public servants to be disrespectful toward taxpayers. Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey covers a few odds and ends as he waits for the big meeting for the City of Muncie on Thursday, October 16, 2025. #ThePoliticalSpotlight
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#542 | Access, Emails, and an Investigation! | The Political Spotlight
October 14th, 2025 | 2 hrs 6 mins
2026 budget process, board of works, city attorney, city clerk's office, city of muncie, councilor dale basham, emails, executive assistant shareen wagley, investigatory powers, muncie city council, muncie city fire department, muncie mayor dan ridenour, muncie politics, open door complaint, open door laws, open door violation, public access counselor, record requests, resolution 16-25, resolution 17-25
Counting down the minutes, hours, and days until the Muncie City Council meeting on Thursday, October 16, 2025. Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey updates everyone on the Public Access Complaint, reviews some emails, and shares his desire for the City Council to investigate the Resolution 16-25/17-25 fiasco! #ThePoliticalSpotlight
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#541 | Muncie's Proposed 2026 Budget Process - TAKE 2! | The Political Spotlight
October 12th, 2025 | 1 hr 33 mins
2026 budget process, apra, aubrey crist, city attorney, city clerk, city controller, city councilor dale basham, city councilor nora powell, city of muncie, council's investigative power, craig wright, indiana politics, insurance, mayor dan ridenour, muncie city council special meeting, muncie politics, record requests
The goal should always be to move forward, not backward, especially in government. However, right now, the City of Muncie, Indiana, is taking two steps back and going in circles! Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey guides the audience through starting over with TAKE 2 of Muncie's Proposed 2026 Budget Process. This should be the week something happens, but then again, who knows? It's all a waiting game. #ThePoliticalSpotlight
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#540 | There Is Nothing More That Can Be Sacrificed! | The Political Spotlight
October 9th, 2025 | 1 hr 47 mins
2026 budget, contributing correspondent dr. katherine callahan, council meeting, indiana, madison county, madison county chief deputy prosecutor andrew hanna, madison county politics, politics, released on her own recognizance, sharon bailey barker, steven sumner, us marshals
Muncie is still Muncie... Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey is on a mission to find the local newspaper—more on that soon! But for this 540th episode, Bilbrey invites Dr. Katherine Callahan back to the program to discuss the current situation in Madison County government. The Council continues to double down on its outdated, backwards thinking, and members of the Madison County Sheriff's Department have had enough! The president of the FOP, a deputy who has served for several years, resigned his position while speaking to the Council on Thursday evening, October 9, 2025. He is the first of many, Bilbrey is afraid. Things could get really, really bad before they ever get better—if they ever get better! #ThePoliticalSpotlight