Antonius Northern is a public servant in the truest sense—whether as an activist, artist, resident, or municipal employee, he has a record of bringing goodness into the city. He is focused on helping the City of South Bend foster a more inclusive economy. - - - - - The Studebaker Talks is an annual gathering on a former Studebaker factory floor to …

Andrea Cramer is the founder of Neighbor to Neighbor, a friendship-based network cultivating mutual relationships among the South Bend area’s refugee, immigrant, and non-immigrant communities. Growing up in rural Indiana, she never imagined that she would team up with the ACLU to sue the state BMV as an act of friendship. - - - - - The Studebaker T…

Juan Constantino is the executive director of La Casa de Amistad in South Bend, Indiana. For the inaugural Studebaker Talks, he shared his personal story of immigrating to the United States and finding a sense of purpose here in South Bend. - - - - - The Studebaker Talks is an annual gathering on a former Studebaker factory floor to listen to stori…

Kathe Streeter is the district coordinator of restorative justice and restorative youth leadership at the South Bend Community School Corporation. Using Circle process in her classrooms and meetings, Kathe gives children and adult learners a tool for sharing stories about their lives. - - - - - The Studebaker Talks is an annual gathering on a forme…

Magistrate Judge Andre Gammage presides over a variety of civil and criminal matters in the St. Joseph County Circuit Court in South Bend and teaches as an adjunct professor at the University of Notre Dame School of Law. In 2020, he gathered judicial officers, community leaders, and clergy to develop a series of four expungement clinics called "Fre…

Joe Molnar is a local demographer and proud 4th generation son of South Bend. He is the author of More People, a podcast and article series about how our city lost 50,000 people in 50 years and what we can do about it. Joe believes that Studebaker was only South Bend's prologue, so it's time to give up the ghost. - - - - - The Studebaker Talks is a…

Kathy Burnette is the owner of Brain Lair Books, a bookstore in South Bend focused on developing empathy and building community with inclusive books. In 2020, The Oprah Magazine included the store in their "125 Black-Owned Bookstores in America That Amplify the Best in Literature." She is on a mission to build empathy, one book at a time. - - - - -…

Last fall, we collaborated with South Bend City Church to host The Studebaker Talks: a gathering of people to listen to stories about South Bend's people, ingenuity, and progress. It was a special night. So starting this week, we're sharing the audio of those talks here on the podcast. And save the date: we're back at Building 112 on October 7, 202…

This week, guest host Pam Blair is reading "Between" from Groshonda McDonald’s book In The Process and reflecting on what it might be saying about our life together in South Bend. South Bend on Purpose is a podcast about place, belonging, and South Bend co-hosted by Jacob Titus, Dustin Mix, and John Garry. We enjoy conversations with the people who…

This week, we enjoy a conversation with Karen White, who has devoted over 28 years of service to South Bend as an elected official. We discuss her upbringing on Kenmore and Cherry Streets, how she learned a sense of responsibility to our community, and why we need to visualize the kind of city we want to become. South Bend on Purpose is a podcast a…

This week, we are reading "Paradise on Fire" by Jahnari Pruitt and reflecting on what it might be saying about our life together in South Bend. South Bend on Purpose is a podcast about place, belonging, and South Bend co-hosted by Jacob Titus, Dustin Mix, and John Garry. We enjoy conversations with the people who shape our city by practicing their …

This week, we enjoy a conversation with Alex Ann Allen. Alex is a South Bend-based artist best known for spending the past couple of years painting murals all across the city. We discuss Alex's path to becoming a muralist in her hometown, the joys and challenges of being a full-time artist, and her vision for a new mural festival right here in Sout…

This week, we are reading "Where We Are" by Gerald Locklin and reflecting on what it might be saying about our life together in South Bend. South Bend on Purpose is a podcast about place, belonging, and South Bend co-hosted by Jacob Titus, Dustin Mix, and John Garry. We enjoy conversations with the people who shape our city by practicing their purp…

This week, we enjoy a conversation with Joe Mittiga. Joe is a husband, father, and the second-generation owner of Corby's Irish Pub in the East Bank neighborhood. We discuss his path to being a small businessman, which includes a surprise (to us) stint at South Bend Lathe in its last days on Sample Street, the complexities of owning a bar during th…

This week, we are reading a selection from Galway Kinnell’s poem "When You Have Lived A Long Time Alone” and reflecting on what it might be saying about our life together in South Bend. South Bend on Purpose is a podcast about place, belonging, and South Bend co-hosted by Jacob Titus, Dustin Mix, and John Garry. We enjoy conversations with the peop…

This week, we enjoy a conversation with Antonius Northern. Antonius is a public servant in the truest sense—whether as an activist, artist, resident, or municipal employee, he has a record of bringing goodness to the city. He is currently helping the City of South Bend foster a more inclusive economy, particularly with women- and minority-owned bus…

This week, we are reading selections from Audre Lorde’s poem “New York City 1970” and reflecting on what it might be saying about our life together in South Bend. South Bend on Purpose is a podcast about place, belonging, and South Bend co-hosted by Jacob Titus, Dustin Mix., and John Garry. We enjoy conversations with the people who shape our city …

This week, we enjoy a conversation with Beth Graybill, a resident of South Bend's near-west side historic neighborhood, who moved to the city with her husband and children two and a half years ago. Beth has found our city to be warm, welcoming, and gritty—and is refreshingly thoughtful about her decision to make a life here. We walked away from thi…

This week, we are reading Alice Walker’s poem “We Alone” and reflecting on what it might be saying about our life together in South Bend. South Bend on Purpose is a podcast about place, belonging, and South Bend co-hosted by Jacob Titus and Dustin Mix. We enjoy conversations with the people who shape our city by practicing their purpose. And read p…

This week, we enjoy a conversation with Mayor James Mueller about his time leading our City government during the pandemic. We discuss why he is not often active on social media and why he is hopeful for South Bend's future—and briefly entertain the possibilities of a new aquarium and the return of Pinhook public beach. South Bend on Purpose is a p…

This week, and every week in between interviews, we are trying something new. Our friend John Garry is joining the show to share "prose for the city" with us—shorter episodes that will contain a poetry reading and guided reflections. We asked John to share why we're trying this new kind of episode: "Poetry is a conversation with your community. I l…

This week, we enjoy a conversation with Pam Blair, a local artist and organizer of the Poetry Den—a community-based safe stage for the spoken word hosted at the Civil Rights Heritage Center. South Bend on Purpose is a podcast about place, belonging, and South Bend co-hosted by Jacob Titus and Dustin Mix. Conversations with people who shape our city…

We're back for a new, fifth season of South Bend on Purpose.By West.SB

This week we welcome Kathy Burnette to the podcast. Kathy is the owner of The Brain Lair, a bookstore in South Bend focused on developing empathy and building community with inclusive books. The store was recently included in The Oprah Magazine's "125 Black-Owned Bookstores in America That Amplify the Best in Literature" and next week is hosting a …

One year since the murder of Eric Logan and just weeks since the murder of George Floyd, our city is in the streets calling for justice. This week, we listen to these calls at the largest protest of the month in downtown South Bend. It occurred on the evening of Friday, June 5th, and was organized by Black Lives Matter South Bend and a group of rec…

This week we welcome Jenny Casas to the podcast. Jenny is a reporter for New York Public Radio’s Narrative Unit. She is New York based, via Chicago, where she reported on and produced season one of The City, USA Today's first narrative podcast about a 6-story tall illegal dump. We met Jenny when she began reporting for an episode of WNYC's The Unit…

This week, we podcast remotely with our friend and collaborator Chuck Fry, who is fresh off the release of his new hit video "South Bend, Lean on Me." In this conversation we discuss Chuck's road to South Bend, how he learned to tell stories, why he got out of bed to start creating things during quarantine, and the internal battles that come with b…

On this forty-fourth episode, we record remotely for the first time and are joined by Jason Miller for a long conversation about the state of belonging amid the pandemic. New episodes will release every other Wednesday. Jason Miller is a resident of South Bend and the founding pastor of South Bend City Church.…

Welcome to the third episode of our series documenting our Kickstarter-funded trip to South Carolina. On this episode, Jacob and Dustin are joined by Maria Gibbs and John Garry to reflect on a Saturday in Greenville, South Carolina where we were confronted with a widely gentrified city and unexpectedly met a supporter of Mayor Pete who had traveled…

Welcome to the second episode of our series documenting our Kickstarter-funded trip to South Carolina. On this episode, Dustin and Jacob are joined by Maria Gibbs and John Garry to reflect on a Friday in Columbia, South Carolina where we ate barbecue, knocked on doors in suburban and rural neighborhoods, and attended Mayor Pete’s final town hall in…

Welcome to the first episode of our series documenting our Kickstarter-funded trip to South Carolina. On this episode, Dustin and Jacob are joined by Maria Gibbs to reflect on our drive from South Bend to Asheville, North Carolina and interview her mother Cynthia Gibbs about her support for Mayor Pete and the political environment in her community.…

Welcome to the third and final episode of our three-part series documenting our trip to the Iowa caucus.On this episode, Dustin and I are joined by Maria Gibbs to reflect on our Monday in Dubuque on the day of the Iowa Caucus. We ate lunch at a quintessential dive bar, explored historic sites around the city, got to know an immigrant restauranteur,…

Welcome to the second episode of our three-part series documenting our trip to the Iowa caucus.On this episode, Dustin and I are joined by Maria Gibbs to reflect on our Sunday in Cedar Rapids and Grinnell and look forward to the Monday night caucus. We attended a Tom Steyer climate justice morning town hall in Cedar Rapids, visited a RAYGUN shop, d…

Welcome to the first episode of our three-part series documenting our trip to the Iowa caucus.On this episode, Dustin and I are joined by Maria Gibbs and John Garry to reflect on our Saturday in Waterloo, IA. We attended Mayor Pete’s morning town hall at The National Cattle Congress, knocked on seventy-one doors to get out the caucus, visited Joe B…

On Monday, August 12th we hosted the final live event at Ironhand Wine Bar inside The Amory. We interviewed Brad and Regina Emberton, the duo behind The Armory's transformation, and enjoyed an evening of eclectic vinyl spun live by Ethan Marosz, tours of the building, and spirited conversation. For a visual glimpse into the evening, read our story …

This episode, though part of our live series, is a throwback to the season two format of the two of us in the studio with a guest. We interviewed Aaron Perri, Executive Director of Venues Parks & Arts, about his work to re-imagine the future of Howard Park, South Bend’s oldest and largest park. Our wide-ranging conversation explores Aaron’s history…

On Tuesday, June 25th we hosted the third of these live events in The Lauber Kitchen and Bar, a newly-opened restaurant inside the historic J.C. Lauber Building. We interviewed Frank Perri, the building’s owner and developer, and Patrick Whittling, a partner in the project, who, separately and together, are rapidly changing the landscape of South B…

Neighborhoods, and the streets that run through them, are the lifeblood of our city, the spaces where daily life unites with culture, art, and business. Streets like Western Avenue, at once owned by everyone and no one, are often an emblem of pride for the surrounding residents, but without investment can deteriorate into a blemish on the neighborh…

Three years ago, a local couple purchased a seemingly nondescript printing plant in downtown South Bend for $240,000. In the coming months, together with eight additional partners, the couple would gather $6 million to undertake what is perhaps the city’s most ambitious and risk-laden side project in recent history.Their goals: contribute to the ci…

For anyone, owning a building and business in downtown South Bend over the past twenty-eight years has been anything but easy. How people conjured up the courage to invest in South Bend after watching decade after decade of near-constant decline and demolition is beyond us. Mark McDonnell did it and is the subject of today’s episode. A couple days …

It is difficult to imagine a world where INVANTI, West.SB, South Bend on Purpose, and Vested Interest exist without Pete Buttigieg first being elected mayor. His resurgent vision and talented administration have turned South Bend into a “shining model of urban reinvention.”But the resurgence cannot stop at city hall. South Bend and the countless Am…

In Season 2 of South Bend on Purpose, we talked to twelve people about their purpose – why they're doing what they're doing in South Bend. People in public service like Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Kareemah Fowler, or Shawn Henderson, who grew up on Haney Street and went on to become the principle of Riley High School. Entrepreneurs like Dave Matthews, Mi…

In this episode we talk with Kintae Lark, the founder and owner of Inspiration Barber-Salon and Inspiration School of Beauty Culture. Kintae brings a unique perspective to this season because for him, life in South Bend has been anything but easy and yet his will to contribute is more palpable than most.Our conversation weaves through stories of Ki…

In this episode we talk with Max Brickman, the managing director of South Bend-based venture capital firm Heartland Ventures. Max is originally from Wisconsin where he started his first business at the age of 14, eventually landing in South Bend to follow his then-girlfriend as she attended Notre Dame. Our conversation centers around how he decided…

In this episode we talk with Chuck Nelson, the Executive Director of The Judd Leighton Foundation. Chuck was born in Plymouth, Indiana, but soon moved to South Bend, first living on the West Side and later moving to a hot just South of Notre Dame. Our conversation centers around his current interest in economic development and entrepreneurship, Not…

In this episode we talk with Santiago Garces and Brian Donoghue, South Bend’s Chief Innovation Officer and Director of Civic Innovation, respectively. Santi comes to us from Bogota, Colombia while Brian comes from Youngstown, a city that, similar to ours, experienced painful industrial decline and decay. Our conversation centers around the founding…

In this episode we talk with Marian Hodges, the VP of Operations at South Bend-based technology firm Data Realty. Like our previous episode with Robert Ramsey, Marian falls into the category of people who are from a distant land, but have found a strong purpose working here in South Bend. Our conversation and her initial interest in the internet, h…

In this episode we talk with Robert Ramsey, a relatively new resident of South Bend who intentionally moved here in an effort to “get back to the Midwest” and more specifically, to get back to Midwestern culture. Robert and I connected through the West.SB site and I was quickly captivated by his thoughts on South Bend’s value proposition for people…

In this episode we talk with Dave Matthews, a real estate developer who was raised in South Bend and later made the decision to move back and become an entrepreneur. Dave is most well known for his investments in the East Bank as he has developed townhomes across from the Morris and helped bring restaurants like Render and Baker & Rose to the neigh…

In this episode we talk with Shawn Henderson, the head principal at South Bend’s Riley High School. Shawn brings a unique perspective to this role because he grew up on Haney Street just a couple blocks from the school. Our conversation weaves through stories of Shawn’s upbringing and career that together illustrate first, how a kid from the South …