Big Talk – WFHB

His story can be read as a mini-history of Bloomington from the 1960s through today. “Strats’s” involvement with the Ashram; The Tao, The Gables, and The Uptown Cafe restaurants; and his work on the film, “Hoosiers,” all are legendary landmarks in the chronicle of this town. An inveterate raconteur, Strats has been a teacher, an …

They’re starting a new business in Bloomington but they’re not looking to become rich. Hannah Airiess and Micol Seigel are part of a collective opening a new book shop and gathering place in January 2024. They’ll open the doors of Redbud Books at 408 W. Kirkwood Ave. The nonprofit Redbud Books will be a community-curated …

Perhaps the only thing they love as much as music is teaching. Kleesattel and Williams get to do both as co-directors of the Bloomington branch of the New Horizons International Music Association. New Horizons Bloomington is an adult beginners orchestra that meets weekly at the Bell Trace Senior Living center. Newcomers to playing symphony orchestra …

Her two books thus far have reflected her passions. After visiting Russia as a 16 year-old and becoming a devoted Russophile, Tristra went on to pen the epic historical fantasy “The Tomb and the Stone,” set in Siberia. Recently, she’s become entranced by the 19th century Indiana utopian outpost, New Harmony. Fittingly, her new book …

His business card reads “Entertainer.” More specifically, Tim Reed is a composer, pianist, actor, writer, and piano & voice teacher. He’s putting on a big show Saturday, November 11, 2023 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater featuring performances by him, his friends, his students, and even members of the Indiana University ballet. The family-friendly program will include …

We continue our conversation with musician, performer, and teacher, Sarah Flint. The founder of WFHB’s Youth Radio, she continues to make music, live and recorded, and she offers music lessons online and in her Courthouse Square studio. Part 1 of our talk aired Thursday, October 26, 2023. Host Michael Glab chats with Bloomington’s most fascinating …

She fell in love with music as a kid, listening to the bands playing late into the night in her family’s first floor restaurant. She obtained her FCC broadcaster’s license at the tender age of 14. Sarah Flint went on to become a well-traveled singer and guitar player. She founded Youth Radio at WFHB and …

Co-publisher Piser and editor Beach crew the Bloomington editorial office of the humor magazine, Funny Times, along with co-publisher (and heiress to the empire), Renae Lesser. Founded by Renae’s parents Sue Wolpert and Ray Lesser in the Cleveland area in 1985, Funny Times continues to print a monthly magazine chock full of cartoons — many of …

Curiosity drove Debby Herbenick into the field of sex research and education. Almost immediately upon entering the field, she learned much — if not most — of what she knew about sex was wrong. Since then, she’s devoted her life to helping the rest of us shake off our misconceptions and misinformation about that universal …

The labor historian and associate professor of labor studies at Indiana University picks up where last week’s Part 1 left off. High profile strikes in the United States may be symbolic of a rebirth in labor unions. Bloomington and IU both are affected by unionization at Starbucks. Varga speaks of what he’s dubbed “The Great …

With the President of the United States at the UAW strikers’ picket line in Detroit as we record, Joe Varga joins us to talk about labor unions and the upswing in their influence. America’s labor history has been fraught with controversy, animosity between business owners and the rank and file, and even violence. We discuss …

[Please Note: This recording contains two three-plus minute long spans of silence so we could live pitch for this year’s Fall Fund Drive.]   With the 30th annual Lotus World Music & Arts Festival coming up at the end of this month, we’ve reached back into our archive for our 2019 conversation with then-executive director, …

[PLEASE NOTE: This episode contains two three-minute spans of silence so we could live pitch for our Fall Fund Drive. The first starts at 0:42 and ends at 3:42; the second starts at 21:39 and ends at 24:39.]   The United Way of Monroe County will soon be no more. It’s not going away; it’s …

He fell into the chair position almost by accident. Seemingly every other person in Monroe County capable of leading the party was running for office or working a campaign. David Henry promises he’ll only hold the reins for a short time but the truth is he loves politics: the game, the work, the issues, the …

The last of three Big Talk conversations with people whose job it is — and whose passion it is — to keep our Bloomington and Monroe County waters clean. We visited with Maggie Sullivan of Friends of Lake Monroe on August 17, 2023 and Michelle Cohen of the Lake Monroe Water Fund August 24th. Today, …

The second in our series of Big Talk interviews on the health and future of Lake Monroe, This week, Michelle Cohen, executive director of the Lake Monroe Water Fund, joins us. Deep Dive is a cooperative effort of WFHB News and Limestone Post magazine. Please read the Limestone Post article, How Healthy Is Lake Monroe …

Take a Deep Dive into Lake Monroe. WFHB News, Big Talk, and the Limestone Post have worked together to produce an in-depth look into the quality of the water in Lake Monroe. The source of our drinking water and a year-round site for recreation and an escape into nature, our lake faces challenges. Our guest …

They’re obsessed. And they want to share their obsession with you. Aja Essex and Josh Brewer run Cicada Cinema, a pop-up, volunteer-run movie theater in Bloomington. The two schedule film showings in locales all around town, sometimes indoors, sometimes outdoors. Cicada’s offerings range from esoteric art films to low-budget black-and-white horror movies. Essex and Brewer …

Our chat with NAACP branch president Maqubè Reese and her colleagues and friends, Monroe County Prosecutor Erika Oliphant and legal researcher and advocate Guy Loftman, continues this week. Reese and Loftman recount how their childhood families nurtured their worldviews and their future. Oliphant talks about her responsibility to address wrongs and inequalities within the county …

Joining us in the WFHB studios with her colleagues, Monroe County Prosecutor Erika Oliphant and legal activist Guy Loftman, Reese talks about the historic civil rights organization and the work it’s doing locally. She stresses the importance of thinking on a micro level, acknowledging injustice and racism in the wide world but concentrating on listening …

The executive director of the nonprofit antipoverty organization, the Rev. Forrest Gilmore, joins us again to update listeners on the state of homelessness and hunger in Monroe County and what Beacon is doing about those problems. Formerly known as the Shalom Center, the organization changed its name in 2020 to better reflect the various projects …

She was the first hire of the new nonprofit in early 2021. The executive director of the Lake Monroe Water Fund, Michelle Cohen, hit the ground running and already has started programs to help upstream landowners control erosion and runoff that affects the waters of the lake. One of 48 such fundraising and activist organizations …

Last week, Jeffrey began telling the genesis story of Bloomington’s community radio station. When he left off, the dreamers who’d held on to the idea for years were stymied once again. He picks up this week with the ultimately successful start up of WFHB. He also talks about his lifelong love for broadcast radio and …

He held on to the dream for almost two full decades before WFHB went on the air. While he was living in a converted garage with no plumbing in 1975, Jeffrey Morris began making plans to start up a community radio station here in Bloomington. A revolving cast of friends and like-minded dreamers came and …

A veteran of community radio as well as nonprofit fundraising, Brooke Turpin came to WFHB during the pandemic and has professionalized the station’s efforts to support and market itself. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Turpin worked for the grandmama of community radio, KPFA in Berkeley. The flagship of the Pacifica Network …