Will politics continue to get worse? What will be the fate of Martha McSally? What is the future of news? That's REAL news. Welcome to the politics issue of On the Grid! Now that the dust has settled on the 2018 election, we have Jim Small with Arizona Mirror to take a look back and a look forward. Jim has a long history of covering politics in Ari…

The creators of the Phoenix Film Festival have something new up their sleeves and it is the inaugural Peoria Film Fest Oct. 19-21, at Harkins Arrowhead 18. The festival will include a curated collection of films ranging from full-length features and documentaries to shorts. The drama “What They Had” will kick off the festival, written and directed …

The #RedforEd movement rode a wave to the doorsteps of the Arizona Capitol with a falling crest resulting a budget approved by state lawmakers and Gov. Doug Ducey giving teachers a pay raise of about 20 percent by 2020. The movement won over broad support and the sea of red was a sight to see. But with a big election looming, what is next for publi…

Valley resident Myrlin Hepworth has built his career on words, words that eventually evolved into hip-hop. The work of this poet and musician has been featured on NPR and after the release of two mixtapes, he just launched his first album called Remember Why on April 15. A new music video is due out June 1. But another side of his lifestyle is as a…

Podcast lovers, this is the episode of On the Grid for you! In episode 23, we explore four local podcasts that make their subject matter the Valley of the Sun and all things in it. Consider this recording a podcast about podcasts. The meta episode if you will! Actually, the Valley is home to many cool podcasts, but unfortunately, we only had an hou…

The March 5 deadline President Donald Trump set to essentially end the DACA program has come and gone. And little has changed. But that doesn’t mean DACA recipients are in any less limbo than before. So for our third and final episode of our DACA series, we have Phoenix immigration lawyer Juliana Manzanarez on the show. She shares her insights on w…

At the young age of 21, Patrick Morales was elected to the Tempe Elementary School District Governing Board with a desire to change the status quo. But entering politics isn’t the only way to make a difference. He is also an activist for immigrant rights and our guest for the second installment of our three-part series on DACA. Like our previous gu…

Wishing deportation on an immigrant is really easy if you’ve never actually spoken to one. This sentiment comes from Karina Ruiz, Arizona Dream Act Coalition president. She instead urges people to learn about those who were brought to this country by no choice of their own. You may be surprised to learn she had no interested in being uprooted from …

Cult film phenomenon The Room has become so influential that James Franco made a movie about it called The Disaster Artist which opens nation-wide next Friday. Tommy Wiseau's "so bad it's good" movie stars Phoenix resident and host of On the Grid Philip Haldiman. Well, for this episode of the podcast the tables are turned. Producer Chris Ayers inte…

Kimber Lanning might be the quintessential On the Grid guest. She’s spent most of her life in the Valley and from a young age she started contributing to the character of our metropolitan area. At 15, her first job was Zia Records, and at 19, she opened local independent record store Stinkweeds, later opened venue/art gallery Modified Arts and then…

There are so many reasons to listen to this, our 17th episode of On the Grid! Not only because we have playwright/actor/etc./etc. Ashley Naftule on to talk about his new play “Ear,” based loosely on painter Vincent Van Gogh. But also because it marks a point of closure. This will be Space 55’s last major production at its 7th Street and Pierce loca…

Consider this episode of On the Grid a precursor to the weekend. For our 16th installment of the podcast we sat down with Valley resident and all around multi-faceted artist Ali Tomineek. At the young age of 20 years old, Ali’s newest album Friday Flow peaked at the #1 spot on the Billboard Heatseeker Mountain chart in May. A true child of the new …

You don't have a thriving metropolis without arts and culture, and that includes a vibrant literary scene. Well, the city of Phoenix recently took a big step in that direction by creating their first poet laureate. That would be OUR poet laureate, and On the Grid is honored to have her on the show. In December, Rosemarie Dombrowski was chosen for t…

Sesame Street just introduced its first new Muppet to the show in more than a decade. Her name is Julia and she is autistic. The 14th episode of On the Grid is here for your listening pleasure and we talk to the puppeteer who brings her to life, Stacey Gordon. Hang out with us as we dig deep into the evolution of Julia and dissect the anatomy of a …

Remember when pretty much the only place to see stand-up comedy in the Valley was the Improv in Tempe? Well, now you can see it every night of the week at dozens of venues throughout this sprawling land. The stand-up comedy scene has taken off in the last decade, from wannabe comics coming out of the woodwork at open mics to national names commonpl…

Episode 12 of On the Grid is yours now to listen to. But to do the episode full justice, you should listen sometime after the evening news. That's because we have Russ Kazmierczak, host of Phoenix Tonight, the Valley's live, local, late night talk show, produced and performed monthly at Space 55 in downtown Phoenix. He's been behind the desk (just …

It's a family affair for On the Grid's first episode of 2017. Host @PhilipHaldiman interviews his brother, @SamHaldiman, who is about to launch the second long-form theater in Phoenix, which will help expand an artistic community long-bolstered by @TheTorchTheatre. They discuss Sam's new enterprise, @SecondBeatTheater, life in the creative landscap…

The Trunk Space episode is here! All stripes of artists have found a safe home in this uniquely Phoenix landmark, long located at Grand and 15th avenues. The beloved venue is in a transitional period right now, but it will soon have a new permanent home (likely in December), with all kinds of new opportunities. Take a listen to our 10th installment…

The lines of connection are more visible than they've ever been before thanks to social media. Now more than ever it's easier to come together. There is such power in this. And that's the theme of episode 9 of On the Grid, in which we interview social media guru Jeff Moriarty. He's the man behind the Ignite events (check out Ignite Music, Oct. 28!)…

On the Grid and Jenny Poon are in cahoots! For Episode 8 of the podcast, we talk to the entrepreneur about her co-working space Co+Hoots, which is expanding to a new midtown Phoenix office with a goal of gaining 1,000 new members. The 14,000-square-foot building is three times the size of her previous location and will open Sept. 30. And she’s got …

Undertow is the hottest and newest bar attraction in Phoenix and we've got everything you need to know and the man behind it. On episode 7 of On the Grid we sit down with Wesley James to give us the down low. And stick around until the end when we remember another great Phoenix underground bar. A place some of may you remember -- the downtown haunt…

Welcome to episode 6 of On the Grid! Lovers of live theater won't want to miss it it. Ron May with Stray Cat Theatre is on to discuss his biggest production yet, Green Day's American Idiot, opening Friday. Put it on your list of things to do this summer. And make this your stop for a great conversation about theater in the Valley.…

The Phoenix Comicon is just around the corner, so in honor of the behemoth pop culture event, the fifth episode of On the Grid brings you the cult interviews. Opening the show is Victor Moreno with Cult Classics and Geekly Phoenix. He'll be talking about his newest project JumpCut! presents REPO MAN,May 27. Then we take a look back at the viral sen…

The David Wright House in the east Phoenix neighborhood of Arcadia is going dark. But you have a few more opportunities to catch a glimpse of the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home, including a four-film series curated by No Festival Required that will be showing on the grounds of the Wright House, during selected days in April in May. Episode…

Be afraid! The Satanists are taking over the world. Or at least that's what they would like you to believe. Actually, you'd be surprised to learn what the Satanic Temple is all about. Virgin sacrifices and devil worship. No, not so much. Learn more by listening to episode 3 of On the Grid, your source for long form Valley of the Sun discussion.The …

Episode two is all about envisioning. Envisioning what the world could look like outside your front door. Envisioning what you want for yourself, and envisioning what our city could be. Imagine walking Indian Steele Park and envisioning how it could become a true urban park. Or think about the Arizona Canal and what could be done to add character a…

Welcome to the first episode of On the Grid! On the Grid is a podcast about the makers, creators and news breakers that are helping to transform Phoenix, AZ into the thriving cultural metropolis we know it can be. Hosted by Philip Haldiman and produced by Chris Ayers.By Halftone Audio