Best Steve Volan / Plateia Media Podcasts (2024)

1
097: Katarina Koch, Executive Director, Lotus Education & Arts Foundation, on Putting on a Festival Post-Pandemic 34:48

7d ago34:48

34:48

Our guest today is Katarina Koch. She's the fourth-ever director of the Lotus Education and Arts Foundation, the organization whose primary production is the annual Lotus World Music and Arts Festival. Since 1994 the Lotus Festival has presented musical artists from all over the world in multiple venues in downtown Bloomington, and on the streets b…

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096: Judy Sharp, Monroe County Assessor, on the Most Taxing Job in Town 34:23

8d ago34:23

34:23

Many local homeowners have...thoughts, about the assessed value of their homes. Some of those thoughts are ...less than charitable, especially when assessments go up dramatically. Today, we talk to the person doing the assessing...she has thoughts, too. Welcome...to The 812. Our guest today is Judy Sharp. She's been the Monroe County Assessor since…

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095 (032 Encore Presentation): Dr. Gloria Howell, Chair, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration Commission 30:34

9d ago30:34

30:34

(This is an encore presentation.) The city has dozens of boards and commissions, to contemplate big local issues and recommend or take action on them. What's it like to be on one...what's it like to chair one? Our guest is Dr. Gloria Howell. We learn about what the Dr. Martin Luthe King Jr. Birthday Celebration Commission does -- and it's more than…

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094: Ryne Shadday, Chair of the City/County Human Rights Commission 35:29

10d ago35:29

35:29

If your human rights have been violated in Bloomington or Monroe County, you have recourse. Our guest today is Ryne Shadday, chair of the city/county Human Rights Commission. (He's also chair of the Traffic Commission, but we'll leave that for another day.) He’ll talk about one of the oldest commissions in Bloomington, one with a proud history of s…

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093: It's Elected Officials All the Way Down: The812 Digest for the Week of June 11 34:11

11d ago34:11

34:11

Our first two excerpts are from interviews with members of the Monroe County Council. We get thoughts about the problems with the county jail and developing a new so-called justice system in the county from at-large member Cheryl Munson and District 4 member Jennifer Crossley. In the second half, we welcomed back at-large Bloomington city councilme…

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092: Jennifer Crossley, Monroe County Councilmember (D.4) 33:03

14d ago33:03

33:03

Our guest today is Jennifer Crossley. She's been the 4th District representative to the Monroe County Council since December 2021, when she was elected in a Democratic Party caucus to replace Eric Spoonmore, who resigned to become president of the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. When she took office, she resigned her position as chair of t…

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091: We Pass The Gavel...to Councilmember Isak Asare 35:13

15d ago35:13

35:13

Steve Volan passes the gavel and his hosting duties to at large councilmember Isak Asare, who was not satisfied with his first appearance on this show, and insisted -- insisted! -- on grilling your humble interlocutor about his time on city council. If you heard that original interview, or you've met the man in person, the force of his charm and ir…

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090: Councilmember Matt Flaherty, on Bloomington's Climate Action Plan 34:12

16d ago34:12

34:12

Matt Flaherty is an at-large member of the Bloomington City Council in his second term. One of his strongest concerns as a candidate and officeholder is climate change. He's been an avid participant in the discussions about local responses to climate change, and a close reader of the city's Climate Action Plan. We invited him back to discuss and re…

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089: Cheryl Munson, County Council At Large 32:21

17d ago32:21

32:21

Today's show features county councilmember Cheryl Munson, who's running for her fourth term. She is also an archaeologist (emerita) from IU Bloomington, who has done research here in the state of Indiana. We dig up her opinions on salaries, public safety, the convention center, and more. The 812 is a production of Plateia Media ©2024. All rights re…

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088: The Ball Is in His Court, and Her Court, and Your Host's Court: The812 Digest for the Week of June 4 34:45

18d ago34:45

34:45

On today’s digest, a current-events discussion, the county judicial system, and more about the campus in our city’s midst: Lucas Gonzalez, on the big issues he’s been covering for WFIU News; Judge Catherine Stafford on how the county’s circuit court works; Judge Stafford from another episode, on how the Eviction Protection Project has improved outc…

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087: Judge Catherine Stafford, Part II: On Evictions, and Their Impact on the Community 33:35

21d ago33:35

33:35

Today we explore why evictions are the whole community’s problem (hint: guess how many people currently experiencing homelessness lost their rented apartments?). We talk about it with Judge Catherine Stafford, one of two judges who handle evictions cases locally, and who was on the show yesterday to talk about the county judicial system in general.…

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086: Judge Catherine Stafford, on how the Monroe County Circuit Court system works 33:32

22d ago33:32

33:32

This show started by exploring Bloomington city government. But you're swimming in layers of local government. Recently we've expanded our scope to the other layers of government, like townships and the county council. This episode is our first crack at understanding the local judicial system. Our guest today is Catherine Stafford. She's one of Mon…

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085: The 812 Work Session with Lucas Gonzalez, City Government Reporter, WFIU News 33:15

23d ago33:15

33:15

Interviews on this show are typically with decision and policy makers in Bloomington and Monroe County. But some people know a lot about the city and can explain the issues well, who may never have been elected or appointed officials. This is the latest entry in our occasional series that we call The 812 Work Session. Today's Work Session guest is …

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084: Doppelgänger City, Part 2: How Campuses Infantilize Students 36:15

24d ago36:15

36:15

This episode is the second excerpt from a public talk Steve Volan gave last fall at the Collins Living-Learning Center in Bloomington, called "Doppelgänger Cities: A History of Campuses." The first excerpt was Episode 29 of The 812, posted February 23. As you may know, Steve was a member of the city council here for the last 20 years, in a district…

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083: How to Run Things: The812 Digest for the Week of May 28 31:17

25d ago31:17

31:17

Excerpts from recent interviews include county council at-large member and president Trent Deckard talks about leadership; county councilmember (D-2) Kate Wiltz talks about budgeting and the depth of county services; and Drew Bratton and Steve Versaw, board president and executive director (respectively) of BCT Management, Inc., the non-profit that…

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081: Kate Wiltz, Monroe County Council (D. 2) 32:06

29d ago32:06

32:06

We're plowing through a new landscape on the show: the wonderful world of county governance. Today we meet Kate Wiltz, the District 2 representative on the Monroe County Council. She talks about her district, explains the county budget process, some of her governing priorities, and how she decided to become a councilmember in the first place. The 8…

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082: Trent Deckard, Monroe County Council President, on the Study of Leadership 32:37

29d ago32:37

32:37

Is a leader born or made? Is it nature... or nurture? This show won't answer that question definitively...but if anyone can answer that question, it's our guest today. Trent Deckard is the second of the three at-large members of the Monroe County Council to appear on the show, and this year is the council's president. He talks about running for off…

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080: How the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre Survives As the City's Premier Performing Arts Venue 35:19

1M ago35:19

35:19

Shakespeare needed his Globe Theatre; Bloomington needs its Buskirk-Chumley. The former Indiana Theatre is more than a century old, has been a publicly-owned 600-seat venue since the 1990s, and is still an eye-catching downtown landmark. How it got to be that way -- and how it survives -- are our topics today. Our guests are Steve Versaw and Drew B…

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079: Lo[ca]l [Governments]-A-Palooza: The812 Digest for the Week of May 21 36:02

1M ago36:02

36:02

New to town, maybe? You deserve a gentle intro to the breadth of local governments. Note that we use the plural: this show is beginning to dig deeper into offices other than just within the city of Bloomington. Today's episode is a good cross-section of what different local governments do. Along with a long-sought-after interview with city councilm…

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078: Dan Combs, Perry Township Trustee, on the Phenomenon of Townships 33:17

1M ago33:17

33:17

Townships are subdivisions of counties. Townships aren't much of a deal in most of the rest of the country, but it turns out that, in Indiana, they're still kind of a big deal. Monroe County is divided into 11 townships. Except for a couple of thousand people in Van Buren Township, and a couple of dozen in Richland Township, the 80,000-plus residen…

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077: Dave Rollo, Councilmember (D-4): 33:05

1M ago33:05

33:05

The 812 has finally landed its interview with the elusive Dave Rollo, the senior member of the Bloomington city council. In this wide-ranging interview we discuss the carrying capacity of the city in light of the approval of the enormous new Summit District, as well as greenways, urban deer, and more. The 812 is a production of Plateia Media ©2024.…

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076: Michael Hunt, Monroe County’s Chief Public Defender 36:50

1M ago36:50

36:50

We're starting to invite guests beyond the humble municipality of Bloomington; we're expanding to the humble county of Monroe, to meet some of the people who make the county tick. The Sixth and 14th Amendments to the Constitution guarantee the fundamental right of the accused to counsel regardless of their ability to pay. Today we meet the embodime…

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075: Geoff McKim, on How Monroe County Government Works 37:08

1M ago37:08

37:08

The 812 is slowly expanding its horizons to include governments beyond the city of Bloomington. There are many people whom we’ve interviewed on this program for their knowledge and experience, yet no one is in a better situation to explain Monroe County than our guest today, Geoff McKim, who’s been a member of the county council since 2009 and is i…

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074: The Statehouse, Digest for the Week of May 14 36:06

1M ago36:06

36:06

We look back at recent interviews, whose unifying theme seems to be money and how it flows throughout government. Excerpts from last week include: The mechanics of how the legislative process in the Statehouse works, with Indiana’s Own Dana Black, host of the Turn Left podcast the advent of a new organization that tries to pair up worthy projects w…

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073: Understanding the MPO with Pat Martin, Senior Transportation Planner 31:47

1M ago31:47

31:47

How do city road projects get funded? Oftentimes, they're a mix of local, state and (a lot of) federal dollars/ If you've ever wondered why road projects take a long time to come to fruition, today we explore the filter through which those federal dollars flow. Bloomington is the center of a metropolitan area. Metropolitan areas, especially ones th…

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072: Indiana's Own Dana Black, Explaining the Statehouse' Impact on Cities 35:11

1M ago35:11

35:11

On this show about local government, we're thinking today about the state, and how it affects local government. Dana Black is host of the Turn Left podcast and an inveterate watcher of the Indiana General Assembly. We discuss topics like home rule, annexation, the regulation of rentals, and other legislation that has impacted cities like Bloomingto…

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071: Jessica McClellan, City Controller, Follows the Money 33:02

1M ago33:02

33:02

Jessica McClellan recently left her job as the elected Monroe County Treasurer to join the new Thomson administration as the City of Bloomington's new Controller. In short, no one has followed more money than her. She explains the byzantine process of municipal budgeting and compares it with her previous experience. The 812 is a production of Plate…

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070: CORRECTED John Zody, on Housing and Community Investing 35:57

2M ago35:57

35:57

[EPISODE CORRECTED. Enjoy this episode as it was meant to sound!] Our guest today is John Zody. He's the executive director of CDFI-Friendly Bloomington. Community deveopment financial institutions, or CDFIs, are lenders with missions. CFB connects the dots between mission-based lenders and projects that need special kinds of non-standard funding, …

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069: Historic Preservation, A Safe and Civil City, and How to Start a Festival -- The812 Digest 32:32

2M ago32:32

32:32

The812 is back from its hiatus! To get you reacclimated, it's a Monday-digest addition of the week of interviews from before our mid-April hiatus. We'll hear excerpts from interviews with: Noah Sandweiss, the city's Historic Preservation Program Manager Shatoyia Moss, the city's Safe and Civil City Director and Mat Alano-Martin, stand-up comedian a…

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068: Noah Sandweiss, the City's Historic Preservation Program Manager 36:58

2M ago36:58

36:58

How does a building get declared "historic"? Who decides what should be saved or not? We find out some of the answers today, from the guy who sets up the questions. Noah Sandweiss is the new program manager for historic preservation for the city. In our interview, he unpacks the portfolio he's charged with, which includes working with federal and s…

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067: Shatoyia Moss, Bloomington's Safe and Civil City Director 33:21

2M ago33:21

33:21

How does a community deal with issues that aren't obviously the business of a city government? Cultural issues can overwhelm even the most well-intentioned administration. What does it take to keep a city peaceful beyond law or code enforcement? Our guest is Shatoyia Moss, the Safe and Civil City Director for the City of Bloomington, who works in t…

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066: Mat Alano-Martin, Co-Founder of the Limestone Comedy Festival 35:02

2M ago35:02

35:02

Mat Alano-Martin is a professional stand-up comedian who got his start at the city's first comedy club, the Comedy Attic. In 2013, he and the owner of the club, Jared Thompson, created the Limestone Comedy Festival, which is now entering its eleventh year. We learn from Mat what it takes to launch a comedy festival, and how Bloomington helped nurtu…

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065: The Lineup for Tuesday, April 16 3:27

2M ago3:27

3:27

Our planned guest fell through for today (it wasn't Dave Rollo...but it could've been you, Dave). We're presenting the Lineup of public meetings happening in City Hall today on its own. Full episodes coming the rest of this week. The 812 is a production of Plateia Media ©2024. All rights reserved.By Steve Volan / Plateia Media

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064: The Digest for the Week of April 9: Children and Homelessness; Sustainability and Economic Development; Greenways and Protected Bike Lanes 30:30

2M ago30:30

30:30

After the eclipse hubbub died down, we interviewed several interesting people. On today's highlights from last week's interviews, clips from: Emily Pike, director of New Hope, the only shelter in the county for families experiencing homelessness; lex Crowley, the city's former director of ESD; and Hank Duncan, the city's bike and ped coordinator. (…

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063: The 812 Overtime -- More about Public Buses and Public Banking 36:15

3M ago36:15

36:15

Today's episode is not just one, but two doses of The 812 Overtime, extra segments recorded for us by recent guests who just had too many interesting insights for us to fit into our regular half-hour interviews. It's a couple of good, deep dives into local government. Our first Overtime interview we made back in March with John Connell about Bloomi…

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062: Hank Duncan, City Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, on People Who Walk and Roll 34:15

3M ago34:15

34:15

Hank Duncan, who works in the city's Planning and Transportation Department, is the city's Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator. He explains his role in how pedestrians, cyclists, scooter users, wheelchair users, stroller-pushers and more get around town. We discuss protected bike lanes, sidepaths, sidewalks, greenways, curb cuts and more. The 812 is…

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061: Alex Crowley of the Indiana Energy Independence Fund: On Economic and Sustainable Development 37:17

3M ago37:17

37:17

From 2016 to 2023, Alex Crowley served in the Hamilton administration as Bloomington's director of Economic and Sustainable Development. Since last summer, his new role is as executive director of the new Indiana Energy Independence Fund. In the second half of the show, he'll explain what a "green bank" is and his new job running one. In the first …

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060: Emily Pike, Director of New Hope for Families, on Children Who Are Homeless 33:55

3M ago33:55

33:55

How much do you really know about the typical homeless person? Are you sure, or are you just making assumptions? Homelessness among children, for example, is a significant thing. Our guest today is Emily Pike, the executive director of New Hope for Families, the only shelter in Monroe County dedicated to helping children under the age of 18 experie…

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059: Eclipse Clips -- How Bloomington's Preparing and Celebrating the Big Event 32:39

3M ago32:39

32:39

To everyone visiting Bloomington, and about to make Monday the largest tourism event in the city's history, this episode is for you. The 812 podcast is all about explaining how the city of Bloomington works. In the first half of today's episode, we talk with Michael Large from the Public Works Department John Connell, general manager of Bloomington…

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058: Michael Large, Public Works, on Trash and 36:02

3M ago36:02

36:02

When you hear the words "public" and "works"... what do you think of first? Potholes, maybe? Street paving? Yeah, that's not uncommon. But it definitely depends on the city you're in. In Bloomington, Public Works does everything from animal control to sanitation. Michael Large, the Operations Manager for the city's Public Works department, lays it …

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057: Catie Pilachowski, Chair of the IU Astronomy Department 33:34

3M ago33:34

33:34

Professor Pilachowski, Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, and the Daniel Kirkwood Chair of the Astronomy Department at Indiana University, has been planning for Bloomington's April 8 eclipse for many years. She talks about its significance astronomically, its impact on people locally, her career in astronomy, and shares the plethora of activitie…

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056: Tim Street, Director of Parks & Recreation 32:06

3M ago32:06

32:06

Our guest today is new director of Bloomington Parks & Recreation, Tim Street -- and not once...not ONCE was the word "pickleball" mentioned. But he talks with host Steve Volan about the breadth of city parks issues, including the remediation of invasive trees, the state of the Farmers' Market, programs they're sponsoring for the coming eclipse, an…

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055: The Digest for March 26: On Water, Public Transit, and Food Trucks 35:13

3M ago35:13

35:13

A look back at interviews The 812 has conducted with: Communications Director Holly McLauchlin of City of Bloomington Utilities, about how the local water works works: General Manager John Connell of Bloomington Transit, about how the local system of busses is so bussin' and Jordan Davis, host of the No Dishes podcast about the local restaurant sce…

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054: John Connell, General Manager of Bloomington Transit 31:35

3M ago31:35

31:35

BT General Manager John Connell gives The 812 an overview of the state's busiest bus system per capita, its scope, how it works, and what's next for public transit in Bloomington, including an update on the Green Line, soon to be the city's first bus rapid transit line. The 812 is a production of Plateia Media ©2024. All rights reserved.…

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053 (006): Encore Presentation -- Matt Flaherty, Councilmember At Large 34:31

3M ago34:31

34:31

After the Lineup for Thursday, March 28, we revisit our interview with At-Large Councilmember Matt Flaherty, recorded in January. He discusses how the city can take significant climate action and decarbonization by rethinking policies on development, utilities and parking. The 812 is a production of Plateia Media ©2024. All rights reserved.…

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052: Jordan Davis, Host of the No Dishes podcast, on the City's Restaurant Scene 34:03

3M ago34:03

34:03

Our guest today is Jordan Davis, director of operations at the Chocolate Moose. He's also host of the No Dishes podcast which is all about the local restaurant scene, and a board member for Visit Bloomington, the local convention and visitors' bureau. Among other things, we talk about his career in food service, the Chocolate Moose's history, the g…

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051: Holly McLauchlin, Communications Director for City of Bloomington Utilities, on How Our Water is Managed 32:47

3M ago32:47

32:47

Water, water everywhere, but every drop you drink, dear city dweller, is cleaned somehow. Who delivers -- and takes away -- your water? We talk with Holly McLauchlin, the communications director for City of Bloomington Utilities. She'll explain the ginormous operation that provides us drinking water, carries off and cleans our wastewater, and dispe…

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050: On the Mindset of Candidates, and the Local Media Landscape: The 812 Digest for the Week of March 19 33:45

3M ago33:45

33:45

On this Digest episode we look back at people whom we've interviewed to explore how they became candidates. We'll hear segments from former fire chief Jason Moore and now-city councilmember Courtney Daily about their origin stories, and a longer look at how Jonas Schrodt, who ran last year for an at-large seat and whom we interviewed last week, fou…

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049: No Show Today 0:56

3M ago0:56

0:56

Sorry, Bloomington! No public meetings to promote and all our guest prospects fell through. We'll be back with a full schedule next week. The 812 is a production of Plateia Media ©2024. All rights reserved.By Steve Volan / Plateia Media

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048: Jonas Schrodt: The Candidate's Tale 34:25

3M ago34:25

34:25

What it's like to run for local political office for the first time? What motivates people to run, and how does a campaign make affect a candidate's self-esteem? Our guest today is Jonas Schrodt, the local stand-up comedian and winemaker who ran among six other candidates for one of three at-large seats on the city council last year. We do a post-m…

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