High School dropout is not how you might expect to begin a conversation about a new examination of John F. Kennedy. But the man who made this new docuseries about Kennedy is no ordinary high school dropout, Ashton Gleckman grew up in Carmel, and before he decided not to finish school, he had recorded a music album, he launched a successful YouTube channel, and since then, he has composed a lot more music for film and got into making films himself. His eight-part series for the History Channel is simply entitled “Kennedy.” Ashton Gleckman spoke via Zoom with WFYI’s Ray Steele.

“Frozen: The Musical” is part of the current Broadway in Indianapolis season, and it’s a homecoming for one of its lead cast members. Evan Duff is from Fishers, a graduate of Hamilton Southeastern High School. He is portraying the Duke of Weselton in the touring production of Frozen, and he spoke recently via Zoom with WFYI’s Ray Steele.

In 1995, Indiana began restoring the river otter population by introducing 303 otters at 12 sites around the state. 

It’s an old trail bell. But it’s not just any old train bell. It’s also the biggest prize in college football in Indiana. Literally. “It is a big bell. I think it weighs 350 pounds,” said Dr. Scott Feller, president of Wabash College in Crawfordsville, an hour northwest of Indianapolis. The bell is the Monon Bell, and Wabash doesn’t have it right now. The bell currently resides on the campus of Wabash’s rival, 30 miles south in Greencastle.

It’s because the new HGTV show “Buying Back The Block” tells the story of Mike and his wife Kyra literally buying the block in the Kennedy-King neighborhood in Indianapolis where Mike grew up. They bought six homes, some of which Mike lived in when he was young, and two of which he and his family were evicted from. “Those couple made it. I can feel all of it. It takes two,” Epps said.

The American south has been a hostile place for Black people for much of this country's history. In the 1840s, some Black families decided to look for something better. They undertook a dangerous journey to the north and west to Indiana, and one of the most notable places where they settled was in Grant County, northeast of Indianapolis.

Recently part of Indiana Avenue got a new name. It’s now Madam Walker Way, named for Madam CJ Walker, the legendary creator of beauty products and the namesake of the historic Walker Theatre -- now the Madam Walker Legacy Center. The center's leadership also released some big plans for the next few years leading up to its 100th anniversary. WFYI’s Ray Steele recently spoke to Kristian Little Stricklen, the president of the Madam Walker Legacy Center, about those plans.

Other than his friendly rival Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly was perhaps the person most synonymous with the golden age of the movie musical. Most everyone knows about “Singing in the Rain”, but one of Gene’s most technically difficult dance scenes is from another movie, “Summer Stock.” That movie almost did not happen in part because of Gene’s very famous costar. The new book “Come On, Get Happy” is about the making of “Summer Stock.” The authors are film historians David Fantle and Tom Johnson. They spoke to WFYI’s Ray Steele.

Briah Golder is a percussionist from Indy. She recorded her first album at the age of 16. She is performing at Daptoberfest in Indianapolis at the Edna Martin Christian Center this Saturday, October 14. Besides sharing her gift with her fans, she is helping to teach other young people to embrace their own artistic gifts through a nonprofit called BRAVE. Briah Golder spoke to WFYI’s Ray Steel

The stars of the play “Grandmothers Incorporated” are exactly what the title of the play implies. “Grandmothers Incorporated” was written by a pair of local writers; Crystal V. Rhodes and Lily Barnett Evans, and it's about to be performed in Indianapolis for the very first time at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Center. Sandra Gay, the director of the play and two of its stars – Betty Meriweather and Larry Keough – joined WFYI’s Ray Steele to talk about it.