In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Cinde Wirth to talk about what it means to run in Indiana’s 6th Congressional District, a region that stretches from the south side of Indianapolis through places like Columbus, Shelbyville, Madison, and a wide range of rural communities in between. It is a district with different geographies and different local identities, but as our conversation makes clear, many of the biggest struggles people face are remarkably similar.
We talk about affordability first, because that is the issue that keeps surfacing everywhere. Whether in suburban areas, manufacturing towns, or rural counties, families are feeling squeezed by healthcare costs, housing pressures, rising utilities, transportation needs, and underfunded schools. Dr. Wirth draws on her background as a teacher, scientist, and former congressional legislative fellow to explain why these are not isolated problems, but connected consequences of policy choices that have failed to keep working families at the center.
Healthcare is a major focus of the conversation, especially the need for lower prescription drug costs, stronger mental health access, and structural reform that treats care as a public good rather than a private burden. We also discuss wages, childcare, antitrust enforcement, immigration, reproductive rights, campaign finance, rural broadband, and the growing pressure being placed on rural communities through projects like data centers.
What stood out to me most was Dr. Wirth’s emphasis on listening, showing up, and being accountable to people whether they voted for her or not. She talks about representation not as performance, but as service, and about the importance of earning trust through honesty, accessibility, and long-term thinking.
This episode is a conversation about what public leadership looks like when it is grounded in real life rather than political theater.
