The 812 - Steve Volan / Plateia Media

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116 [S2E19]: Jody Madeira, Candidate for County Commissioner (D3) Sep 16, 2024

Show notes

Today, we talk with the first of the two candidates vying for the marquee local race this cycle: Jody Madeira, the Democratic nominee. She's an IU law professor in her first political run, up against Joe Van Deventer, the director of the city of Bloomington's street division. (We've invited him and he's agreed to appear on the show; we look forward to publishing that show soon.)

We talk with Jody Madeira about her reasons for running, what she brings to the table, and how she would govern the county, particularly with respect to how land should be used...or not.

The Last Pitch we throw out today is about a teeny tiny little pet peeve for this former elected official: a misunderstanding of procedure embodied in a single word that unnecessarily makes local government more opaque.

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115 [S2E18]: NPR's Eric Deggans on the Media, Journalism, and Bloomington (2 of 2) Sep 13, 2024

Show notes

This is the second of two episodes released today (note: we strongly recommend listening to the previous episode first), part of our conversation with NPR's Eric Deggans, an alum of the IU School of Journalism, back in Bloomington to speak at its successor, the Media School.
Among other topics, Eric Deggans talks about the reasons he went from music to television criticism; Bloomington's neighborhoods -- and its vibrant music scene -- in the eighties; and the racial dynamics of being a mostly-Black band while playing throughout Indiana back then. (Host Steve Volan even asks for pointers on interviewing from a top-notch interviewer and instructor, and gets the advice he hoped for.)
PS: Our second big news today: our homepage now has a working button called "Donate"! If you like the work we're doing at The812, we hope you'll consider becoming a financial supporter. See more today at the812show.org.

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114 [S2E17]: NPR's Eric Deggans on the Media, Journalism, and Bloomington (1 of 2) Sep 13, 2024

Show notes

Eric Deggans is the TV critic for National Public Radio, as well as a media analyst, and guest host. Before NPR, he was by turns a TV/media critic, music critic and reporter for the Tampa Bay Times, the Asbury Park Press, the Pittsburgh Press and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He's the author of the book, "Race-Baiter: How the Media Wields Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation," published by St. Martin's Press.

A 2024 inductee into Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame, he's also an adjunct instructor at both Duke and Indiana, where he got his degree in journalism in 1990. During his recent visit to teach a seminar at IU's Media School, we spoke about the modern media landscape, as well as his multifaceted career -- undeniably rooted in his seven years in Bloomington, where he lived on campus and off. Along with his journalism studies, he worked at the Indiana Daily Student while being a drummer in a band that got signed to Motown Records.

This is the first of two episodes released today; the second one is Part 2 of this wide-ranging conversation.

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113 [S2E16]: The Rev. Bill Breeden on War, the Death Penalty, and Protesting in Indiana Sep 11, 2024

Show notes

The Reverend Bill Breeden is perhaps most famous for a protest in 1987, when he stole a street sign in his nearby hometown of Odon, Indiana. It was named for John Poindexter, the admiral convicted of multiple felonies in the Iran-Contra affair during the Reagan administration. But that affair was the tip of the iceberg for this minister emeritus of the Bloomington Unitarian Church, who's had a long career as a peace activist. We talk about how anti-war protests, and the policing of them, have changed in Bloomington since the 1980s, and catch up with his more recent work as an opponent of the federal death penalty.

In our Last Pitch today, we ask: consider the ostrich and its plumage. How would the city work if we applied...strategic ostrich thinking?

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112 [S2E15]: Measuring Monroe with County Surveyor Trohn Enright-Randolph Sep 09, 2024

Show notes

Our guest today is Trohn Enright-Randolph, Monroe County Surveyor. He explains how his work is crucial to everything regarding the use and ownership of land in Monroe County -- if you don't know where the property lines are, well, it's pretty much chaos. Besides measuring those, though, he's involved in drainage and stormwater management, and is an integral part of county planning. He also talks about his advocacy for trails and connecting them to regional and statewide trail networks. Why is this an elected job? Ask the Indiana Constitution -- it's been called for in that document for 175 years. He'll tell us more about that too.
In today's Last Pitch: the definitive argument for why Bloomington needs to keep building more housing -- just look at IU's enrollment numbers. The latest ones are out, and they show a clear pattern.

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111 [S2E14]: The Pipsqueakery: A Rescue and Sanctuary for Domestic and Wild Animals Sep 06, 2024

Show notes

Originally started in 2013 to rescue hamsters, The Pipsqueakery has expanded to become an animal rescue (which adopts out domesticated creatures) and sanctuary (which cares for wild creatures). Along and in consultation with Wildcare, which focuses on wildlife, and the city of Bloomington's Animal Control division, which focuses primarily on dogs and cats, the Pipsqueakery is part of the notable local public-private spectrum of animal care. We talk with veterinary assistant Amy Clark and director of wildlife rehabilitation Katie Lo about their work...which includes a couple of animals they brought into our studio. (Yes, it's our cutest show ever.)

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110 [S2E13] Megan Betz of Mother Hubbard's Cupboard Sep 04, 2024

Show notes

Our guest is Megan Betz, the CEO and President of Mother Hubbard's Cupboard, the Bloomington community resource center that's one element of the local emergency food sector. She lays out how, acting from the belief that food pantries won't end hunger, the Hub strives to be more than a food pantry; they try to tackle the root causes of hunger by building relationships and community through initiatives like their community garden and their farm-to-family program.
Later on in the program, the Last Pitch looks at local Gaza protests and sees another border: the one between town and gown.

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109 [S2E12]: Duncan Campbell, the Eminence Grise of Historic Preservation in Bloomington Aug 30, 2024

Show notes

Duncan Campbell is an advisory member of the city's Historic Preservation Commission, and before that was a voting member for its first 16 years. He's also a former professor of architecture, planning and preservation at Ball State University, where he directed the graduate program in historic preservation. We talk with him about the background and history of preserving buildings, the definition of historic districts, how the preservation of buildings has played out in Bloomington over the past several decades, and the story of how he came to his profession.
Also in this show: a Last Pitch about the Council's annual high-stakes choice in the game that is the annual city budget.

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108 [S2E11]: Monroe County Clerk Nicole Browne, on Managing the Documentation of Courts and Ballots Aug 28, 2024

Show notes

Clerk Browne's duties include providing the clerical services needed for the county court system to function, as well as administering elections in the county, whether local, state or federal. We talk about the logistics of voting in Indiana, clear up confusion about similarly titled offices like that of the Bloomington City Clerk, and talk about the biggest things that people don't get about her job.
Later in the show, for those new to town, we give our list of the five most significant news topics of local concern.

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107 [S2E10]: How the 4th Street Festival of the Arts Dominates Labor Day Weekend Aug 26, 2024

Show notes

Our guests today are Dawn Adams and Juliet Roberts, who are part of the committee that puts on the Fourth Street Festival of the Arts, the community's biggest annual arts event, where tens of thousands of pedestrians view the wares of more than 100 painters, sculptors, jewelers and other visual artists, not to mention the performing arts stages the Festival hosts. It's taken place ever Labor Day weekend since 1977, and this year's festival promises to be as big as ever. We talk with Adams and Roberts about what to look forward to this weekend, how the festival comes together, and even how volunteers can pitch in.
Later in the show, we present our orientation to the city for all those people wjo just got oriented to the IU campus. (Hint: find it at our website under the Articles tab.)

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