Big Talk – WFHB

It took her a while as she tried out first one then anther field of studies through her undergraduate and graduate school years, but Angela Babb eventually realized she felt most passionate about how food is produced and distributed throughout both our nation and our world. In the wake of the controversy surrounding Bloomington’s city-sponsored …

The Lively Death Lady, Kel McBride, counsels people who otherwise wouldn’t think about their inevitable demises to plan their exits from this life. McBride has made a name for herself in this town as a founder of the Bleeding Heartland Roller Girls, the driving force behind ten years of Eroticon events, and as the head …

Sex educator and advocate, roller derby queen, and certified death planner, Kel McBride has made an indelible mark on Bloomington. She and Pizza X’s Jeff Mease have conjured a fun weekend for COVID-19 shut-ins beginning tomorrow. Their X-Hunt, “Bloomington’s quirky scavenger hunt” to benefit the Hoosier Hills Food Bank, kicks off Friday, February 26th, at …

Since first meeting Josh Johnson when the two worked at Farm Bloomington restaurant, Alex Ashkin has watched him become one of the city’s premier events and entertainment coordinators. Johnson struck out on his own to produce punk rock shows in Bloomington and has branched out to conceive and produce all kinds of nightlife events. Like …

Pronounced Chahng Ho, she was born and raised in a small village north of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, and came the the United States for college. After working around the country in human resources, she moved with her fiancé to Bloomington to live with his family during the lockdowns. When she wanted a wedding …

Alex Ashkin’s conversation with the author of “Forging Freedom: Black Women and thePursuit of Liberty in Antebellum Charleston,” continues. Part 1 aired Thursday, February 4, 2021 on WFHB, 91.3 FM. Host Michael Glab goes one-on-one with Bloomington’s most fascinating people every Thursday at 5:30pm.

The author of the book, “Forging Freedom: Black Women and the Pursuit of Liberty in Antebellum Charleston,” IU associate professor Myers has focused on the stories of black women who fought — and often gained — their freedom in the years prior to the US Civil War. She hopes to explode the myth that freedom …

Jeff and his long-time business partner and ex-wife, Helen “Lennie” Busch,” have run a Bloomington food empire for nearly four decades. When the pandemic and ensuing shutdown hit almost a year ago, their businesses, like so many others in this town, suffered. Still they survive, mainly because the pizza delivery business is running as strong-or …

With his long-time business partner and ex-wife, Helen “Lennie” Busch, Mease runs a food empire in Bloomington. Their One World Enterprises parent company operates Pizza X, Lennie’s, Bloomington Brewing Co., Hive, a catering service, an industrial kitchen open to other food entrepreneurs, and a Euro-style community garden on their 96-acre farm west of the city. …

With temperatures falling below freezing as we approach mid-winter, the city has opted to evict the tent residents at Seminary Square. Almost simultaneously, Beacon, Inc. (formerly the Shalom Community Center) announced the opening of a new low-barrier shelter in a large commercial gym facility near Switchyard Park. Beacon’s executive director appeared on Big Talk in …

Through the years many musicians have appeared on Big Talk. Back in December, we began to celebrate those musical guests by presenting their songs and work in a show dedicated to them. Now, a month later, we wrap up our celebration with music created and/or performed by the Indianapolis Children’s Choir, Travis Puntarelli, Jason Fickel, …

The second half of Alex Ashkin’s chat with Comedy Attic and Limestone Comedy Fest co-founder Jared Thompson. Part 1 aired last week, Thursday, December 31, 2020. Today’s Big Talk is our first program for the new year, marking the seventh year of Big Talks and the fourth year as a stand-alone program. Host Michael Glab …

Jared Thompson is co-founder of both the Comedy Attic and the Limestone Comedy Fest. Guest host Alex Ashkin finds out why the Comedy Attic has gained a national reputation as a venue performers want to play even though it isn’t located in a big city. Part 2 of this conversation will air next week. Host …

Guest host Alex Ashkin speaks with Doug Bauder, retired founding director of the Indiana University LGBTQ+ Culture Center. Host Michael Glab goes one-on-one with Bloomington’s most fascinating people every Thursday at 5:30pm.

Big Talk guests have included a stellar lineup of local musicians, some of whom have made national and international names for themselves. For a holiday season change of pace, we’re presenting songs, sung and played, by many of our previous musical guests on the program. Today’s edition features the Indianapolis Children’s Choir (founded by Henry …

The second half of our freewheeling, extended conversation with alternative newsweekly publisher, teacher, photographer, and curator Michael Redman. Part 1 aired Thursday, November 26, 2020. Host Michael Glab goes one-on-one with Bloomington’s most fascinating people every Thursday at 5:30pm.

One of this town’s long line of alternative newsweekly publishers, Michael Redman has also been a teacher, a film reviewer, a comic book shop proprietor, and he remains to this day a co-curator of the Bloomington Day of the Dead Community Altar, on virtual display during the COVID lockdown. He never became a rich man, …

She quit what she thought was her dream job to open her own business and hasn’t looked back since. A former acquisitions editor for Indiana University Press, Jane Kupersmith turned her love of coffee into the successful Hopscotch, a local coffeehouse and roastery. Still part owner of Hopscotch, Kupersmith now serves as assistant director of …

The second half of our conversation with songwriter, performer, storyteller, and radio personality Tom Roznowski. Go here for Part 1. [This edition of Big Talk originally aired Thursday, November 12, 2020.] Host Michael Glab goes one-on-one with Bloomington’s most fascinating people every Thursday at 5:30pm.

He’s not originally from Indiana (actually, upstate New York) but nobody knows the Midwest and the Hoosier State like Tom Roznowski. His book, “An American Hometown: Terre Haute, Indiana, 1927,” brings us to an era and a place like some magical combination tour guide and time machine. His radio shows have brought us plain folks …

The second half of our conversation with anthropologists Kathy Schick and Nick Toth, the founders of the independent Stone Age Institute. The duo, married for 43 years, met at an archeological dig and have been working together ever since to bring the history of humankind to other scientists and the general public. They work with …

They met nearly a half century ago on an anthropology dig. Since then, Kathy Schick and Nick Toth, now married 43 years, have spent their lives trying to understand human technology, adaptation, and evolution. The two founded The Stone Age Institute and they incorporate music into their efforts to bring bring their research findings to …

His father was an American emissary to Moscow and a Kremlinologist. He was born just as the Cold War threatened to turn hot. David Keppel began protesting and organizing against the madness of the nuclear arms race in the 1980s. Today he serves as an organizer for the Bloomington Peace Action Coalition and is a …

Lotus Education & Arts Foundation executive director Tamara Loewenthal faced a slew of challenges this year. Not only did she bring an almost entirely new staff on board but the COVID-19 pandemic forced her to turn the 2020 annual world music festival into a virtual affair. Most of Lotus Fest, starting tonight and running through …

The second half of our two-part conversation with Jim Poyser, playwright, environmental activist, and author. His book, “The Last Actor and Other Stories,” was published by Wordpool Press this month. Part 1 of our chat aired Thursday, September 10, 2020. Host Michael Glab goes one-on-one with Bloomington’s most fascinating people every Thursday at 5:30pm.