Big Talk – WFHB

With rage emerging as a driving force behind political, social, and cultural discourse in the United States, Indiana University associate professor Wright has been attempting to plumb the public’s psyche to find out why. He has concluded anger is now the “central emotion governing contemporary US politics.” He has found many people vote to hurt …

She came aboard to a state park wrecked by flooding in 2011. After building Paynetown’s Activity Center back up from the ground, interpretive naturalist Jill Vance oversees a dynamic program of tours, hikes, lectures, classes, and interactive activities showcasing Monroe Lake State Park’s dizzying variety of wildlife and plant species. Now, she’s spearheading a months’-long...

The 2024 Summer Olympic Games kick off later this month in Paris. One hundred years ago, Paris hosted the Games as well. One of the stars of that Olympiad was Harold M. Osborn, whose performance in France earned him the informal title, world’s greatest athlete. Osborn’s youngest daughter, Susan Jones, has collected and curated a …

The drummer for the fabled Bloomington post-punk band, Sally’s Dream, and a veteran of cable-radio WQAX (AKA Kwacks), Jackson was a music programmer for WFHB for 17 years. She’s now serving her second stint on the board and steers a ship that’s sailing smoothly. WFHB is healthier and stronger than ever in its 31st year …

When WFHB’s signal finally was beefed up to extend into Brown County, Pam Raider got the idea that the place should have a show dedicated to it. The Brown County Radio Hour came into being in 2010 after several years of planning and organizing. It’s a variety show featuring the artists, the performers, the essayists, …

She dreamed of being on the radio when she was eight years old. It wasn’t until she reached her 40s that Abby Noroozi finally got the chance when she volunteered at WFHB. She’d met and befriended former Music Director Christine Brackenhoff at Rock Paper Scissors, the noted Bloomington music tech PR firm. Noroozi watched Brackenhoff …

Tristra Newyear happened upon an historical marker in New Harmony revealing the spot as a one-time home of Frances “Fanny” Wright. Newyear discovered the Scottish-born American émigré was among the very first female newspaper editors, a teenaged author of a study of American customs and mores, an abolitionist, and a feminist who called for universal …

Documentary filmmaker Mitch Teplitsky discovered Spencer in Owen County one day as he and his wife took a Sunday drive. He was drawn to its picturesque square and its civic-minding people. Then he learned about Spencer Pride and the town’s reputation as a rural center for LGBTQI people and their allies. He’s approaching the finish …

The second half of our conversation with Peter Lopilato, founder of The Ryder magazine and the Ryder Film Series. Peter died in March this year and will be long remembered for his contributions to the Bloomington arts and culture scene. Peter joined us in 2016 in the WFHB studios for an interview that became part …

The founder of the Ryder magazine and the Ryder Film Series, Peter Lopilato helped define Bloomington’s arts and culture scene for nearly half a century. Peter died in March, 2024. He visited the WFHB studios in 2016 to record a short Daily Local News feature. Now, we present that entire interview, nearly an hour long, …

Elizabeth “Lizzie” Breckenridge  gazed into the heavens at night in Bloomington a century and a half ago. She scanned the vastness of space and contemplated an infinity of possibilities after completing her daily work as the paid domestic servant and nanny for the Wylie family. (Theophilus Wylie was a professor at Indiana University and a …

They hope to connect songwriters with audiences, audiences with songwriters, and songwriters with other songwriters. The Cosmic Songwriter Festival is all about connections. Founded by Fuentes and McDermott in December 2021, the nonprofit Cosmic Songwriter, Inc. has staged monthly showcases at the Orbit Room since then. Now, the two are working feverishly to produce the …

As part of our effort to create a comprehensive history of WFHB, Bloomington community radio, we are gathering a library of oral recollections. Among the recordings is that of Richard Fish, a long-time audio engineer and old-time radio program archivist. Fish was in on the development of WFHB as far back as the late 1970s. …

Named the director of the Monroe County Public Library system in May 2022, Grier Carson knew he’d face some daunting challenges. But he was surprised by the news he received when he woke up on January 15th this year, The brand new, award-winning Southwest branch building had suffered extensive damage thanks to an overnight flood. …

Like the robin and the crocus, Trashion Refashion is a sign of spring in Bloomington. This year’s runway show at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater is the 15th annual exhibition of clothing designs made of repurposed materials. Molecular biologist Bettina Kehoe is typical of the amateur designers who dabble in recycled  couture. They join artists and trained …

She taught herself how to play the guitar and now she wants to help young girls, trans kids, and those questioning their assigned gender learn how to play music too. Amy Oelsner, known to many around Bloomington as Amy O and leader of two bands, one named for her and the other called Brenda’s Friend, …

Audrey Heller, co-founder of the Jewish Theatre of Bloomington, has said it took a lot of chutzpah to start the stage company in South Central Indiana. The organization launched in 2005 and is reprising its very first production, “Another Antigone,” by academician and playwright A.R. Gurney. This iteration will be a staged reading with multiple …

With Bloomington’s music scene experiencing a renaissance in the wake of the pandemic, new performers are emerging and longtime singers, songwriters, and players are staging comebacks. They’re all entering (or re-entering) rapidly changing performance and recording environments. Guitarist Clements and WFHB DJ Nicki 7 last summer founded the nonprofit HooMac, the Hoosier Original Music...

A little more than a year after the Indiana legislature voted to bar state funding for the Kinsey Institute, the world-renowned human sexuality research center will remain part of Indiana University. The IU Board of Trustees voted on March 1, 2024 to keep the Institute after considering allowing it to spin off as an independent …

She’s been helping people trace their Hoosier roots as the maven of the Monroe County Public Library’s Indiana Room for years. Now, Friesel is spearheading the MCPL’s effort in getting the Hoosier Character digital map of the state in the 19th century off the ground. The map depends on oral histories and traditional sources to …

What started out as a side gig, a vanity project, has become Drew Wehrle’s day job. He and his brother Cole Wehrle founded the historical board game maker, Wehrlegig Games. Drew handles the production and business end of the operation while Cole is a noted game designer. They’ve produced two board games thus far: one …

He has bussed tables, washed dishes, waited on diners, bartended, managed restaurants, and now serves as the operations director for the Chocolate Moose. Jordan Davis realized early on in his career that making the dining out experience successful entails the efforts of many people, coming from many backgrounds, doing many jobs. His weekly No Dishes …

Koch (pronounced kaw) took the reins last July from longtime executive director Tamara Loewenthal and this year will oversee the 31st Lotus World Music & Arts Festival from start to finish. Koch runs the business end of the nonprofit Lotus Educational & Arts Foundation while Loewenthal, who remains on board as artistic director, concentrates on …

Online magazine Limestone Post has been publishing long-form articles on local issues as well as arts, entertainment, and cultural topics since 2015. With the slow demise of local daily newspapers, Limestone Media, the magazine’s parent company, hopes to fill the void with an emerging network of independent news sources in and around Bloomington. The nonprofit …

For twenty years, Steve Volan represented the downtown district in Bloomington’s city council. His 6th district map was redrawn, largely due to his own efforts, and he was forced to run for reelection as an at-large candidate last year. He lost but swiftly shifted gears and now is running for Monroe County Commissioner in this …