Bloomington Stories Podcast

06/29/2025

06/02/2025

New Episode! Tom Shelton, Hoosier Artographer. in a 1999 song, Tom Waits persistently asks, “What's he building in there?/ What the hell is he building in there?” In his humble garage art studio, Tom Shelton has been making magical “pictures,” often landscapes, rendered through the ordered lens through which he sees the world. In fact, a piece on Journey Indiana describes him as a “system painter.” Not only did we discuss his paintings but also his childhood, partially defined by his mother’s alcoholism, and his circuitous and beautiful life path.

05/03/2025

NEW EP! Stacy Bridavsky - Side A: Internet Cat, Side B: Cold Case

Most of us have that event in our life that seemed insignificant at the time but ultimately defined the trajectory of our life. For Stacy Bridavsky, it was an internet cat film festival after an exhausting day of orientation for a new job at an art museum in Minneapolis. It was here that her future husband Mike, also known as Lil Bub’s dude, fell head over heels for her. In less than a year, she was living with him (in sin) in Bloomington, which was where she learned of the heartbreaking and suspicious 2015 death of IU student Joseph Smedley, who was found dead in Griffy Lake with 66 pounds of rocks strapped to his back. Although it was ruled a su***de, Joseph’s family believed there was foul play. So does Stacy, who created the podcast A Heavy Weight to advocate for Joseph and his family.

05/01/2025

Ep gonna be delayed by a coupla days

03/19/2025

The man in the bathrobe is not the guest on our April episode, but he does streak through it.

03/16/2025

This is what happens when Chris shares a note with Josh to collaborate on interview questions. 'mJoshBennettandI'malittlebitch

03/01/2025

NEW EP! PowerPoint Love with Bloomington Singetons. Mallory Elver was tired of sitting on her couch, swiping left and right to look for love. Then, her pal Nicole Bennett discovered an alternative to internet dating in Indianapolis, and Bloomington Singletons was born. Months later, Nicole was standing in the front of a private room at Heartworks Brewery, pitching her friend Mallory to a crowd of live humans. Josh and Chris were on the scene, interviewing so many fascinating attendees — including the emcee, pitchers (one from Trinidad!), pitchees (including a standup comedian), and other gawkers and spectators. In the immortal words of so many 80s newsletters, “Fun was had by all.”

02/26/2025

Guys--Jon Wurster, the guy who made fun of Kupersmith for being in a cover band, is touring with a cover band. The ultimate long troll game.

02/07/2025

Eisenberg reppin' for the town.

02/01/2025

New Ep! Pam Thrash Pities the Fool Who Doesn’t Listen to This Episode: Pam Thrash's voice has been part of the soundtrack of so many of our lives in Bloomington. Currently the host of the popular Retro Lunch Hour on B97, Pam has been broadcasting tunes and joy on the radio waves for over thirty years. An ice-skating injury as a child sparked her DJ journey and began a wild ride of a life. Pam Thrash is living proof that, if you’re lucky enough to find the thing you love, you’d better hang onto it for dear life and be willing to pretend like you know how to do the things that will get you in the door. And did we mention that Mr. T once sent her flowers?

01/22/2025

This is exactly how Josh and I prep for the pod.