Big Talk

Bloomington is home to the most fascinating, creative, and successful people. Big Talk host Michael Glab goes one-on-one with different guests each week, learning about their lives, their hopes, and their accomplishments. Find out what makes this town so special on Big Talk. Tune in every Thursday at 5:30pm, immediately following the Daily Local News.

HooMac: J.C. Clements & Nicki 7

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 Association, in hopes of guiding musicians …

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Kinsey Institute Executive Director Justin Garcia

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 nonprofit in the wake of …

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Hoosier Character: Christine Friesel

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 mark where “the common and …

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Wehrlegig Games Games: Drew Wehrle

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 dealing with the aftermath of …

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No Dishes: Jordan Davis

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 podcast allows viewers to peek …

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Lotus Fest’s Katarina Koch

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 the arts, cultural, and performance …

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Daily News From Limestone Post

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 (since 2019) will serve as …

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Former City Council Member Steve Volan

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 year’s election. Volan talks about …

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Spyrodon Stratigos: “Strats”

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 entrepreneur, an actor, a cook, …

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Redbud Books: Hannah Airriess & Micol Seigel

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 book shop as well as …

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