Bloomington Stories

Today's story is about a band, a song, and a brush with fame that's more cringe than cool. Thirty years ago, Bloomington danced to the electronic beats of Situation Grey, a college band known more for their covers than cutting-edge originality. Their lead singer—one of our hosts—dreamed of being an indie music maestro, but instead became the king of campus karaoke. Then, one fateful night in the e...

Sara Gardner came to town/ Turned her bike into a crown/ Rode the bus to sororities/ For shits and giggles-what a tease!/ Went out west to use her math/ Stacked up cash and came on back/ Opened the doors to a rainbow space/ Stuck some fake teeth in her face/ Trolls the town, leaves some aghast/ And now she's a guest on our podcast. Special thanks to Jon Hancuff for kicking off the episode. Sign up...

Today we talk about T-shirts that make you feel like a loser and T-shirts that make you feel like today is your day. We also discuss Jim from badknees, T-shirt whisperer, and Chris Mott, killer artist. You even get to hear one of his songs, "All the Dogs," from the PURPLE 7 album Jewel Finger. Find the link below. And while you're at it, go out and get yourself some street cred by pre-ordering one...

Bloomington Stories snags interview with media maven, Mike Conway ! Hold onto your fedoras, folks, because Bloomington Stories has just landed the interview of the century! Fresh off the press, we've got the lowdown on our chat with none other than Dr. Mike Conway, the head honcho over at the esteemed Indiana Broadcast History Archive (IBHA)! This sharp fella isn't just another suit, mind you. Dr....

Salvage yard. Does that phrase make you think of goats or ducks? Baby dolls? Unicycles? Barges? Field trips? The January 6 Insurrection? Hugging? Our guest, Bethany Robinson, is the vice president of JB's Salvage , a classic Bloomington business on the west side of Bloomington. We had the pleasure of getting the history of this salvage yard that her father, J.B. Robinson, started decades ago and b...

We take a conversational stoll through our town, this time joined by fellow podcasters Alex and Miles from " It's a Beautiful Day in the Gulch ." We talk about our shared love for Bloomington (the Gulch), but also our common experience of defending the decision to stay here. These Hoosier Alan Lomaxes tell us about Nighthawk, a local caped crusader, and his direct action crew. We also get to hear...

According to her recently published book, I Quit Everything, Freda Love Smith quit everything. But she does still talk, and we can prove it. And when she did do stuff, she played drums with The Blake Babies, Juliana Hatfield, Antenna, Gentleman Caller, Sunshine Boys, and Mysteries of Life among other 90s darlings. She wrote Red Velvet Underground, a cookbook/ memoir. However, once again we have no...

Rusty Peterson is the drummer in our band, The ShackUps, and the mysteriously sexy voice behind the Bloomington Stories intro. He is also a master carpenter and owns Rusty Peterson Construction. But we don't like to dwell on the things people are good at. In this episode, Rusty tells us about his experiences with nature, nudity, yoga cults, 10 gallon buckets of dumpster pie, and sinking boats. If...

Welcome to a resplendent edition of "Bloomington Stories," where we have the singular honor to present the esteemed Ms. Megan MacDonald! Our delightful guest, a radiant custodian of times bygone, is an eminent figure at the Monroe County History Center. In this scintillating episode, Ms. MacDonald, fresh from the razzle-dazzle of the city that never sleeps—New York City, spins marvelous yarns of t...

Rob Jordan works as a security guard at Bloomington High School North, but we found that he provides way more emotional security for students than he does guarding them from each other. During the interview, we talked about Rob's difficult upbringing in Kentucky, his deeply intuitive approaches to working with at-risk kids, donuts, knowing kids' names, the Chicago-to-Bloomington pipeline, body lan...

Tall swooning bamboo, the smoke of clove cigarettes, and classical piano . If you've taken a walk on the near westside of Bloomington in the last many decades, you may have had this sensory experience as you knowingly or unknowingly passed the home of our guest, Simeon Rodgers. Having made his way from a farm in the middle of Indiana to the prestigious Indiana University Music in the 1960s, Simeon...

The Flaming Lips took over Kirkwood for the annual Granfalloon Festival , which celebrates all things Kurt Vonnegut , but also, more importantly, seeks to make the humanities at IU sexy. Your cub reporters were on the scene, which sent us both into some time-tripping. Some of it has to do with our kids, so if you don't like hearing dads be nostalgic lil bitches about their kids, then skip to about...

Welcome to another episode of Bloomington Stories! In today's captivating episode, we explore the extraordinary experiences of a woman who found herself immersed in the vibrant and eclectic community of Bloomington, Indiana. From her involvement with a non-denominational charismatic cult to encounters with colorful characters, join us as we unravel her journey filled with intrigue, self-discovery,...

Summer in a college town, stolen TCBY signs, selling popcorn to John Cougar Mellencamp, and meeting one of your best friends in Sociology class after you've spent the night in jail. That's Jim Granato, our first guest. Jim grew up in Unionville, a little town right to the east of Bloomington. He and Josh became fast friends during high school, which is also when Jim found himself at home behind th...

In this inaugural episode of Bloomington Stories, Josh and Chris interview each other about their Bloomington origin stories. Along the way, they talk about very sad things like death and divorce and very happy things like constantly pissing your dad off on purpose and eating at Cracker Barrel with your grandma. We also address Ricky Martin, finite math anxiety, quarry swimming & cigarette smoking...