Big Talk

As Bloomingon attempts to position itself as a tech innovation and investment center for the state of Indiana, the city depends more and more on angel investors and established tech company owners like Pat East. He and his wife, Jamie, founded their pay-per-click firm, Hanapin Marketing, some 14 years ago. The company is now running so smoothly he’s able to …

Heather Bradshaw is a research scientist in the Indiana University Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences. She specializes in studying lipids — fats, to the layperson — and their presence and roles in, among other things, the marijuana plant and olive oil. The lipids in pot may one day be isolated and turned into medications that reduce symptoms and cure …

Author, journalist, and war correspondent Doug Wissing is writing a biography of Hoosier Benjamin C. Evans, Jr., one of the most powerful men in Washington spanning the presidencies of Lyndon Johnson through Ronald Reagan. Before this project, Wissing spent several stints embedded with US Army combat soldiers in Afghanistan, experiences that resulted in two books, “Funding the Enemy” and “Hopeless …

He’s been embedded with US Army forces in Afghanistan numerous times. He’s climbed into the mountain regions of that country to get to know the Pashtun people. He’s written two books on what he calls our “failed war” in that southwest Asian land. He’s communed with mountain people in Tibet. And he’s studied the history of beer brewing in Indiana. …

Campus sexual assault and rape have been in the news the past few years. Colleges and universities have taken steps to address the problem. Some say those steps have trampled the due process rights of the accused. Amelia Lahn is a local attorney who practices criminal defense and family law. Much of her business comes from people accused of sexual …

He started out as a deejay at WFHB and went on to become host of the popular Friday afternoon music show, Soul Kitchen, on Bloomington’s NPR station, WFIU. Brother William, as he’s known around town, is a lawyer, a civic volunteer, a teacher, and an aspiring Episcopal deacon. His story reaches as far back as the days of race and …

Jeff Isaac is a noted and outspoken professor at Indiana University’s school of political science. He’s the past editor of the academic journal, Political Science, and has written countless articles for scholarly publications and numerous books. The road he took to academia was never straight. A kid growing up in Queens, New York City, he played stickball and did his …

Jeffrey C. Isaac is a noted observer of the American and the global political scenes. He’s been the editor of the respected journal, Political Science, has written numerous books, and his articles appear often in news magazines and academic publications. The Indiana University professor is outspoken, taking to social media on occasion to voice his displeasure with leaders and developments. …

She is the grande dame of Bloomington politics. Charlotte Zietlow jumped into the political fray nearly fifty years ago when she and a rag-tag band of newcomers took over City Hall in the 1971 election. Since then she’s pushed for programs and ordinances as both a City Council member and a Monroe County Commissioner. She tells the story of how …

Sue Rall performs acrobatics high above a stage as an aerial silks artist. She’s also a drag performer, appearing regularly at The Back Door in weekly shows. On this episode of Big Talk, Rall speaks with Michael Glab about her drag character and her earliest introduction to the drag scene.