This week on the Hear Cincinnati podcast, host Brian Niesz is joined by community reporter Lucy May and senior real-time editor Pat LaFleur to discuss racial disparities in health care, easing COVID-19 restrictions in Ohio and Kentucky, and a local teen on her way to Harvard against all odds.

Later, anchor and reporter Kristyn Hartman joins the podcast to tell the story of a local couple who were granted a storybook wedding with the help of the community after they fell in love in hospice.

Listen to this episode in the podcast player above.

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SPARTA, Ky. —

There is a large-sized economic bind for top-selling trucks right now.

Even though they are in high demand from consumers, they are not selling at the moment due to forces out of their control.

Tens of thousands of the trucks are parked indefinitely at various locations around the country.

As you pass by the Kentucky Speedway near Sparta along Interstate 71, you can't miss them.

It's a good thing there are no social distancing rules for trucks.

They're packed tighter than rows of tobacco on several of the speedway's lots.

It's a springtime stockpile of Super Duty Ford pickups, gleaming in the sunlight.

They are silent symbols of an industry dilemma.

A global microchip shortage is having macro impact on Ford trucks like the ones there that were built in Louisville.

Multiple thousands are temporarily stored here until, well, somebody please pass the chips.

"I guess the speedway turned into a parking lot," quipped Rob Scott, who lives in Sparta.

When he first started noticing them last month, he didn't know what to think.

Usually, the process is to build them, ship them to dealers, sell them and you're ready to roll.

Now, it's build them, park them and wait.

Johnny Holt, a self-described truck guy from Owen County, is a regular at the Speedway when it is roarin' with race car action.

Now it is not part of this year's NASCAR schedule and someone has taken his parking spot.

"Kind of shocking," he said while looking over at the sea of Ford F-series pickups.

"It looks like there's more trucks there than on race day," he said in half-joking fashion.

The vehicles have been there for several weeks, waiting for parts.

"Everybody's been talkin' about it," Holt said.

Hoods were up and we watched work of some kind going on today as similar stockpiling scenes could be found in Detroit, Kansas City and Louisville.

We're told light axles for the trucks are made in Dry Ridge.

There has been no definitive word on when the semiconductor shortage will end.

"We're just worried about the economy with all this chip stuff," Holt said. "People are going to start losing their jobs."

Since there's no racing scheduled at the speedway anytime soon, it is one place with sufficient space for the trucks at whatever the current parking rate happens to be.

"Home of the speedway," Scott said with a laugh. "It has been here for several years. Been kind of interesting to see what goes on here in the middle of nowhere."