The IBJ Podcast with Mason King

COVID-19 vaccinations are underway, with tens of thousands of shots administered here in Indiana. But how many doses are available and who is receiving them? And of course, the question on many people’s minds: When can I get a vaccine? Or when can my parents get one? IBJ reporter John Russell has been looking for answers. So we invited him onto the podcast to tell us what he’s learned.   (Vaccine...

In a discombobulating year that has turned everything from the world economy to a simple trip to visit your relatives upside down, it’s not particularly important that many college football teams were able to eke out a full season—but it was an impressive feat nonetheless. And no team was more surprising than the Indiana University Hoosiers. Although the team clearly was on an upward trajectory un...

Lawmakers are required to do just two things in 2021—pass a budget to take effect on July 1 and redraw legislative and congressional district maps based on Census data that will be released later this year. The former occurs every two years; the latter every 10. But it's the budget that is likely to give lawmakers the most fits. After all, the state took in $1.4 billion less in tax revenue than th...

When not-for-profits started filling your inbox with requests for donations on Giving Tuesday last week, did you respond to any of them? If so, was your contribution part of a larger plan for giving? Or were you moved by a particular message and donated on the spot? And does it matter? Giving — and how it fits into your larger financial planning — is the subject of this week's podcast with Peter "...

Bloomington-based Cook Medical announced last week that it will invest $7 million to help build a $15 million medical device manufacturing facility at 38th Street and Sheridan Avenue that is expected to be transformational for the lower-income neighborhood on the northeast side of Indianapolis. Cook has partnered with Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana, The Indianapolis Foundation, Impact Cent...

The NCAA announced last week that it is in negotiations with local officials to hold its entire March Madness tournament—not just the Final Four, but every single game of the event—in Indianapolis this spring. It's part of an effort to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the teams participates and the officials who are involved. The tournament would be treated as a virus-free bubble, similar to the...

Dozens of organizations and governmental agencies across central Indiana are trying to address hunger and food insecurity. Schools provide meals to students. The federal government sends food assistance to low-income Hoosiers. Not-for-profits as big as Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana and as small as church food pantries are trying to make sure families have enough to eat. Enter a new effort—Food Sec...

In a state that routinely rewards Republican candidates, Democrats were expected to have a somewhat breakthrough year here. Sure, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Dr. Woody Myers, wasn't expected to do well. But in the 5th Congressional District, Democrats had high hope for Christina Hale in a race against Republican Victoria Spartz. And they spent heavily in an attempt to knock off several...

If you think saving effectively for retirement simply means knowing the total amount of money you need on the day you tell your boss sayonara, you've only done part of the calculation. After all, "knowing" that number — which is really a misnomer, given that almost none of us know how long we're actually going to live in retirement — doesn't tell you anything about how to get to the number. That's...

Artists of all kinds have been hit hard by the pandemic. The theaters, galleries, concert halls and other venues that share their work closed in the spring and at least part of the summer. Many performing arts groups canceled their 2020-21 seasons altogether, while others are going virtual. Yet, the social justice movement that erupted this summer and even the pain caused by the pandemic have prov...

Back in March, as the pandemic was unfolding in Indiana, podcast host Mason King talked with Eddie Sahm, who owns the Sahm's restaurant group with his father. At the time, Eddie talked about the company's pivot to providing meals to Second Helpings, in part to keep their staff employed, and converting some of the restaurant to marketplaces. Six months later, King catches up with Eddie about which...

Election Day is just weeks away and, already, thousands of Hoosiers are voting early in person and through mail-in absentee ballots. So podcast host Mason King talks with IBJ politics reporter Lindsey Erdody and Andy Downs, director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Purdue University-Fort Wayne, about how the races are shaping up. They break down battles for the Governors' Office an...

Does Indianapolis need a new vision? A new strategy for its economic development, talent attraction and overall economy that will take the city into the next 40 or 50 years? A growing chorus of community and business leaders are saying yes, says Nate Feltman, co-owner and CEO of IBJ. He says the city's long-time strategy related to conventions and sports will continue to be a part of its strengths...

When the pandemic hit and the Big Ten and NCAA last spring began canceling sports events — many of them planned for Indianapolis — the Indiana Sports Corp. didn't go into hibernation. Instead, it went to work, trying to figure out how to be a player in whatever the sports world would become. The result is an idea that appears to have captured the fancy of a number of colleges and athletic conferen...

Since the pandemic began, Peter "Pete the Planner" Dunn has been talking on the IBJ Podcast and writing in the pages of IBJ about the need to get your discretionary spending under control to deal with the current economic downturn. But now, Pete has a new message to those who are stable: Spend some money at your favorite restaurant. We all know that restaurants have been devastated by the pandemic...

When Katara McCarty sees a need, she tries to find a solution. That's what led McCarty and her husband to start a church, a center for kids and a school in Africa. Now, McCarty has a new project—a smart phone app called Exhale that is meant to help women of color cope with the stress, mind their mental health and develop confidence to achieve their goals. McCarty talks with IBJ reporter Anthony Sc...

IBJ health reporter John Russell has been covering Indiana University Health's plans to expand the Methodist Hospital campus by eight blocks, or 44 acres, anchored by a new $1.6 billion hospital. The campus also will consolidate the operations of University Hospital, the Simon Cancer Center and much of the IU School of Medicine, all of which will move from the IUPUI campus. Russell joins podcast h...

The pandemic has been a boon for the home design and renovation industry, as many people scramble to create office space, improve their yards and make other changes to make life in quarantine more acceptable. So podcast host Mason King talks to three industry experts about what clients now want, how the pandemic has affected their companies and how they work safely in clients’ homes. They are: int...

Six months into the pandemic, parents are still struggling with what COVID-19 means for the kids. Should they be in school? Can they go on play dates? Can they hug grandma? Of course, in many cases, there are no black and white answers to those questions. But host Mason King gets some educated opinions from Dr. James Wood, a pediatrician at Riley Children's Health and an expert in pediatric infect...

As the pandemic has stretched into months and the days seem to melt into each other, a vast majority of remote workers are burning out, according to a recent survey from Monster.com. At the very least, many are mired in remote working ruts. And the volume of boring and unnecessary video meetings just makes it worse. As some workforces face at least several more months of working from home, burnout...

The pandemic has raised all kinds of new questions about college and student loans—and the value of an online education versus attending in person.  Plus, what do you do if you graduated in May and still don't have a job? Host Mason King explores those issues and more with IBJ columnist Peter "Pete the Planner" Dunn. Also, read Dunn's latest column here. The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by the la...

Windsor Jewelry, located just south of the Circle on Meridian Street, was one of the businesses hardest hit by the riots that followed Black Lives Matter protests at the end of May.   The vandalism and looting came just days after Windsor Jewelry reopened following the pandemic shutdown.    The store is open again now, and the owner, Greg Bires, talked with podcast host Mason King about the one-tw...

Diana Brugh is a microbiologist with experience working with bacteria- and virus-killing ultraviolet lights. Her husband, Jason Brugh, is one of the state’s foremost robotics experts. And together, they've created a coronavirus-killing robot that they've just moved into the market.   UVNinja Lux is the first product from the couple's newest company, AutoBio Reduction. It moves around a workplace (...

Dr. Virginia Caine has been in charge of the Marion County Public Health Department since 1994. Over her tenure she has fought waves of public health crises including HIV and AIDS, the H1N1 pandemic in 2009 and the ongoing scourge of black infant mortality. But never has she taken such a visible and constant public role of authority as she has over the last five months of the coronavirus crisis. F...

Before the pandemic hit Indianapolis in March, some 155,000 people were working regularly downtown. In the weeks after Gov. Eric Holcomb ordered all non-essential workers to go home, just 5% or so of those workers remained. Essentially, the Mile Square became a ghost town. Today, some of those workers are returning. Many restaurants are open again. And a few offices are open. But IBJ reporters Sam...