Five Things
84 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 5 years ago - ★★★★ - 37 ratingsHow do the objects we love define us? What can we learn from the things we treasure? And how can we discover a life story through those objects? Five Things, from 89.3 WFPL and Louisville Public Media, explores those questions and more. +
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Episodes
Musician Clarence Bucaro has a two-person book club... with his mom
March 07, 2019 12:00 - 44 minutes - 41 MBClarence Bucaro is a singer-songwriter and a one-time stay-at-home dad. He's been making albums since 2000, with some twists and turns along the way. He's also in a two-person book club with his mom. #goals +
A Life Update from (Pastor) Joe Phelps
February 21, 2019 10:00 - 24 minutes - 22.5 MBThis week’s episode is an update from one of our previous guests, Joe Phelps. He was originally on the show in May of 2017, when he spoke about the unexpected loss of his son, his work as pastor of Highland Baptist Church, and that one time he got to hang out with Bruce Springsteen. It’s still one of my very favorite episodes we’ve ever done. Last fall, I reached out to him for a follow-up conversation, because I had heard he had retired from Highland Baptist, and I was curious about what he...
NYC Doorman Mario Landa Loves Tattoos and Tatooine
February 07, 2019 11:00 - 43 minutes - 39.7 MBI met Mario Landa probably 15 years ago, when he was the doorman in my apartment building in New York City. For five years, I saw him almost every single day. If you’re not familiar with what a doorman does, we’ll talk more about that in this interview. Spoiler: it’s a lot more than opening a door. We’ve kept in touch since I moved away from the city, and last summer I sat down with him in his apartment to do this interview. He cracked open a couple of beers, and his two little dogs scurried...
A Life Update from Musician Ben Sollee
January 24, 2019 11:00 - 20 minutes - 19.3 MBMusician Ben Sollee, who was first on the show in September 2017, gives us an update on his new daughter, his new day job, and his new side gigs. It's a lot.
Writer Minda Honey on relationship advice and the very best rice cooker
January 10, 2019 11:00 - 39 minutes - 35.9 MBWriter Minda Honey has an advice column for Louisville's LEO Weekly, and she's working on a memoir about her dating life. She also really, really loves her rice cooker.
Civil rights attorney Dan Canon is still a musician at heart
December 13, 2018 10:00 - 40 minutes - 37.3 MBAs an attorney, taking a case to the Supreme Court is about the highest goal one can aspire to -- and then actually winning that case, and helping change the lives of millions of Americans... it's a huge achievement. So what's a fellow to do next? If you're Indiana lawyer Dan Canon, and you just helped make marriage equality legal in all 50 states, it looks like this: make a run for Congress, while still maintaining a law practice, cooking for a growing family, and maybe picking up a guitar ...
Poet Maggie Smith, author of "Good Bones," finds freedom after viral success
November 29, 2018 10:00 - 40 minutes - 37.4 MBIt’s not often that a poem goes viral. But it happened in 2016, with “Good Bones” by Maggie Smith. I won’t read it for you now, but it’s short and you can find it online with a quick search. It speaks to anyone who’s concerned about the current state of our world -- which is probably most of us. It’s honest, and hopeful, and feels like a friend taking your arm, maybe a little bit too firmly, and saying, “We can get through this.” So I was delighted when I was asked to interview Maggie at the...
Checking in with Emily McCay
November 22, 2018 10:00 - 19 minutes - 18 MBChecking in with Emily McCay, who was a guest on this podcast in July of 2017. She was known around Louisville as "The Diaper Fairy," because of her cloth diaper business of the same name, which had also grown into a store and a community center for new parents. When we spoke last summer, she was in remission from acute myeloid leukemia.
Gilda Wabbit, the opera-singing drag queen from Kentucky
November 15, 2018 10:00 - 36 minutes - 33.9 MBToday’s guest has two personalities, in a way -- in daily life, he’s Samuel Penn, 26 years old, grew up in Frankfort, Kentucky, then moved to New York City. He’s also a drag queen, named Gilda Wabbit, with huge hair, long fingernails, a big voice and a pretty filthy mouth. www.gildawabbit.com
Mindy Thomas wants to WOW you with her tiny hands
November 01, 2018 10:00 - 34 minutes - 31.9 MBOur guest is Mindy Thomas, host of "Wow in the World," a podcast for kids about science from NPR, and "Absolutely Mindy" from Sirius XM. Her actual hands aren't particularly tiny but she has some fake ones that have come in... handy. (Sorry not sorry.)
Playwright Idris Goodwin on Cassius Clay, Alice Waters, and Frankenstein
October 18, 2018 10:00 - 37 minutes - 34.7 MBIdris Goodwin is a playwright and the (new) Artistic Director of StageOne Family Theatre in Louisville. Listen to find out what a breakbeat poet is, how a cookbook is like a play script, and his complicated relationship with Mary Shelley.
Murder By Death's Adam Turla Likes Being At Home
October 04, 2018 10:00 - 35 minutes - 32.8 MBA dog, a houseplant, an old car for driving around town. These are the things valued by a busy touring musician-slash-restauranteur.
How to give away your most valued possession, with writer and meditation teacher Susan Piver
September 20, 2018 10:00 - 43 minutes - 40.3 MBI first “met” writer Susan Piver when I read her book, “The Hard Questions: 100 Questions to Ask Before You Say ‘I Do’” which I recommend as an excellent guidebook for talking with your significant other before taking that big step. Later, I learned that she was a Buddhist and a meditation teacher, and I had the opportunity to spend some time with her in person at a retreat center. But don’t assume that her whole life has been blissful and super-chill -- she’s got some stories to tell.
Physicist, psychoanalyst, and Holocaust survivor Izio Rosenman
September 06, 2018 10:00 - 38 minutes - 35.8 MBIzio Rosenman is 83 years old, he was born in Poland, he spent his childhood in the Buchenwald concentration camp, and he has lived in Paris since the camp was liberated. Professionally, he was a physicist, a psychoanalyst, and an anthropologist. He 's got some thoughts on life.
Quick update: new episodes coming Sept. 6!
August 24, 2018 17:25 - 39 seconds - 715 KBHey, it's Tara, here with a quick update. I know this feed has been quiet for the past little while, and I'm here to let you know that the next season of Five Things is coming up really soon! I've been working this summer on seeking out some extraordinary guests to interview, and I think you'll really enjoy hearing what I have in store. Starting September 6th, I'll have conversations with fascinating people including an 83-year-old Holocaust survivor, a drag queen, a lawyer who ran for Congr...
Don't try to shop for "Bullseye" host Jesse Thorn
May 31, 2018 10:53 - 41 minutes - 38.5 MBJesse Thorn, of NPR's "Bullseye" as well as "Jordan, Jesse, Go!" and "Judge John Hodgman," tells us about the highly idiosyncratic objects that sum up his highly idiosyncratic life. I recently learned that he is a devotee of "Antiques Roadshow," and I knew I needed to get him on Five Things. **Programming note: this is the last episode of the season! We're taking a break for the summer and will be back in the fall. In the meantime, might I suggest you peruse our archives? I bet your new fav...
Angela Davis Knits Her Life Together
May 24, 2018 10:00 - 35 minutes - 32.3 MBThis week’s guest is Angela Davis, a schoolteacher whose primary teaching tool is knitting needles. And this conversation between us arose from her first item -- I saw her at the theatre, wearing a gorgeous coat, and I had to ask her about it.
School librarian Lindsy Serrano isn't judging you
May 17, 2018 10:00 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MBThis week, we’ll hear from a woman whose job is to get kids psyched up about reading. And through that job, she met her hero.
Writer Leesa Cross-Smith is Quietly Radical
May 10, 2018 10:17 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MBWriter Leesa Cross-Smith is based in Louisville, and she’s just published her first novel, "Whiskey and Ribbons." Find out why she considered it a radical act to tell the story in the way she did, what’s her secret weapon when it comes to getting writing done, and the tweet so good… she put it on a coffee mug. http://www.leesacrosssmith.com/ https://www.oxfordamerican.org/magazine/item/1353-ain-t-half-bad
Musician Joe Henry makes coffee for everybody
May 03, 2018 11:00 - 39 minutes - 36.7 MBMy guest this week is one of my very favorite musicians, Joe Henry. His brother Dave was one of my first guests on this show, and I was thrilled when Joe agreed to take part as well. He’s just released his fourteenth studio album, called “Thrum,” and he’s also produced records for a lot of amazing musicians, including Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, Ani DiFranco, and Allen Toussaint. He’s co-written songs with Roseanne Cash and with Madonna -- who happens to be his sister-in-law.
Manoush Zomorodi of "Note to Self" tells you why she still wears a watch.
April 26, 2018 11:00 - 37 minutes - 34.1 MBThe host of "Note to Self," a podcast about the human side of technology, tells us about the simple, small things that keep her grounded (and on time).
Mark Schultz, Playwright and Priest, on the Music of Theatre
April 19, 2018 11:00 - 40 minutes - 36.9 MBMark Schultz is the author of "Evocation to Visible Appearance," among other plays, and he's also a priest in the Episcopal Church. He was in Louisville for the premiere of his play at the Humana Festival at Actors' Theatre, and we talked about his fondness for black metal, Kurt Weill, and his husband.
Pomegranates and Ginger with Chef Anoosh Shariat
April 12, 2018 07:00 - 42 minutes - 38.6 MBThis episode's guest is Chef Anoosh Shariat, owner of two Louisville restaurants, Anoosh Bistro and Noosh Nosh. He grew up in Iran, learned classical “fine dining” techniques, and was a local pioneer in fusion cooking.
Cigar Boxes and a Jar of Marbles with Claude Stephens (Episode 58)
March 14, 2018 21:39 - 33 minutes - 30.6 MBMy guest this week on Five Things is Claude Stephens, who works as an educator at Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, just south of Louisville. But as he says, there are many other ways he moves through the world.
Benny Goodman, A Painted Pith Helmet, and the Theatrics of Religion with Vin Scelsa (Episode 57)
March 07, 2018 20:27 - 46 minutes - 42.9 MBVin Scelsa is a familiar name to anybody who grew up listening to FM radio in the New York/New Jersey area. He spent nearly 50 years playing music on the radio, starting out at a college station, then a couple of commercial stations, before heading to public radio.He was on the air the night that John Lennon died in 1980, and he turned WNEW's airwaves into a kind of virtual wake, with callers sharing their grief. Along the way, he interviewed everybody from David Bowie to Suzanne Vega to K...
Tattoos, Social Work, and Family with Disability Activist Amanda Stahl (Episode 56)
February 28, 2018 21:28 - 42 minutes - 39.5 MBAmanda Stahl works at Mattingly Edge, a Louisville organization that works with people with disabilities, with the goal of helping them live independently. Amanda has a masters degree in social work, and works at Mattingly as a counselor, talking with clients about personal and emotional issues. She has a disability herself and uses a wheelchair, so she has a particular understanding of some of her clients' specific concerns. I hope you'll listen as Amanda blows up some of the stereotypes th...
Haitian Music, A Wedding Ring, and a Grammy with Musician Dan Zanes (Episode 55)
February 21, 2018 22:15 - 34 minutes - 31.9 MBMusician Dan Zanes calls what he does "family music" or "all-ages music," not "children's music," because he really is playing for everybody. In talking with him, I learned about how he really sees his music and the way he plays as part of an effort toward social justice. We also talked about his new wife (they just got married in January!) and his Grammy award, and he turned me on to some super cool Haitian music.
Biking, Technology, and Our Place in the Universe with Conductor Teddy Abrams (Episode 54)
February 15, 2018 02:24 - 43 minutes - 39.6 MBThis week’s guest is a big thinker, with his head in a million different places. He’s got a very public job that puts him in touch with a lot of people -- and the ensemble he leads had the number 1 classical album in the country last year -- but this was a rare opportunity to just sit down and talk with Teddy Abrams, music director of the Louisville Orchestra.
Body Image, Orchids, and Rescue Dogs with Angie Fenton (Episode 53)
February 07, 2018 22:28 - 41 minutes - 38.1 MBThis week's guest is Angie Fenton, a name that’s familiar to many Louisville TV viewers -- she’s frequently seen on WHAS 11, as a contributor to their morning news show. She seems to be everywhere -- emcee-ing a gala event, reporting on happenings all around the community. She’s the editor-in-chief of Extol Magazine, which she runs with her husband, Jason Applegate, and as of December (after our interview was recorded), she's also the editor-in-chief of The Voice-Tribune, a society newspaper.
Magic, Music, and the Sunny Side of the Bay with Brett Schneider (Episode 52)
January 31, 2018 23:23 - 36 minutes - 33.2 MBThis week’s guest is a performer who specializes in hiding what he’s actually doing onstage -- and directing your attention elsewhere.
Episode 51: Author Frank Bill on Martial Arts, Inspiration, and Raccoons
January 24, 2018 23:24 - 38 minutes - 35.3 MBMy guest this week is an author based in Corydon, Indiana, not far from Louisville. Frank Bill has just released his third book, a novel titled The Savage. It’s a post-apocalyptic tale of survival, set in and around Corydon after the economy has totally collapsed, and civil society along with it. In a word: it's intense.
Episode 50: Writer Hannah Drake on Family, Taking Chances, and Picking Cotton
January 18, 2018 01:56 - 41 minutes - 37.9 MBHannah Drake is a poet, a spoken-word artist, and a cultural producer with Ideas xLab, which works at the intersection of health and art. She’s someone who thinks deeply, feels deeply, and communicates brilliantly. All of Hannah’s items were fascinating, but one in particular resonated with me in a way I didn’t expect.
Episode 49: Inmate Actor James Prichard on Shakespeare, Friendship and Regret
January 11, 2018 04:50 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MBThis week, my guest is someone who spends some of his time in creative work, but it’s not something he ever imagined he’d do. James Prichard is a member of Shakespeare Behind Bars, a theatre troupe based at the Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in LaGrange, Kentucky. That also means -- he’s incarcerated there.
Episode 48: "Ask Me Another" Host Ophira Eisenberg on Parenting, Orchids, and Snow Globes
December 14, 2017 04:58 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MBThis week's guest on Five Things is Ophira Eisenberg, stand-up comedian, writer, and host of the NPR comedy game show Ask Me Another. She's also got a new comedy special just out, called "Inside Joke," which she taped when she was about 38 weeks pregnant with her first child. She was 43 years old and never thought she'd be a mother -- and she is very honest about some of those concerns that first-time moms have, but rarely share in public. We had a great conversation about some of the things...
Episode 47: Writer Kayla Rae Whitaker on Imposter Syndrome, Pencils, and Peanuts
December 07, 2017 05:19 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBKayla Rae Whitaker is the author of "The Animators," a novel published earlier this year by Random House. She's a Kentucky native who recently moved to Louisville after several years in New York City. Among other things, we talked about what it's like to come back "home" and how she finally learned to accept her (gorgeous) curly hair. Kayla's essay for Lenny on imposter syndrome: http://www.lennyletter.com/life/a1000/my-imposter-year-kayla-rae-whitaker/ Kayla's essay for BuzzFeed on getting ...
Episode 46: Kentucky Poet Laureate Frederick Smock on Fossils, Travel, and Paying Attention
November 30, 2017 03:26 - 38 minutes - 35 MBThis week's show was recorded live at the Writers' Block Festival in Louisville, Kentucky, in October 2017. Kentucky's Poet Laureate, Frederick Smock, was my guest -- we talked about how children are natural poets, how his father taught him to be a professional "noticer," and what writers can learn from rejection.
Holiday Rebroadcast: Pastor Joe Phelps on Loss, Family, and Bruce Springsteen
November 23, 2017 13:47 - 40 minutes - 36.9 MBThis week, we're sharing a rebroadcast of one of our most popular episodes: a conversation with Joe Phelps, pastor at Highland Baptist Church in Louisville. He's recently announced his retirement after 20 years of service. After nearly 50 episodes of Five Things, I can honestly say that this is one of the conversations that has most stuck with me.
Episode 45: Fred Johnson on Shakespeare, Running, and PTSD
November 15, 2017 21:54 - 47 minutes - 43.9 MBMy guest this week has been in situations that I can only imagine -- four deployments with the US Army will put you in harm’s way on a regular basis. Fred Johnson is a retired Army colonel who now describes himself as a “professional volunteer,” as he’s trying to find his path after nearly 30 years in the military. He’s written a book about his experience, called Five Wars: A Soldier's Journey to Peace -- he says the fifth war was after he came home and tried to reintegrate into civilian lif...
Episode 44: Writer Amy Bammel Wilding on Goddesses and Community
November 08, 2017 23:29 - 39 minutes - 35.9 MBThis week's guest on Five Things is writer and community leader Amy Bammel Wilding. She's the creator and lead facilitator at Red Tent Louisville, which she describes as a gathering place "dedicated to witnessing and inspiring the reawakening of the Sacred Feminine." A collection of guided meditations that Wilding wrote for gatherings at the Red Tent has just been released as a book, "Wild & Wise: Sacred Feminine Meditations for Women's Circles and Personal Awakenings."
Episode 43: Writer Victor LaValle on Comic Books, Metallica, and Malcolm X
November 02, 2017 03:59 - 43 minutes - 40.3 MBThe first Victor LaValle book I ever read was his 2012 novel, "The Devil In Silver." It's a masterful blend of horror and social commentary -- horror's not typically my thing but I loved it. LaValle has won all kinds of awards and accolades, and his latest book, "The Changeling," not only received glowing reviews, but it's in development for a television series. His recent comic book, "Victor LaValle's DESTROYER," is a continuation of the Frankenstein story with a Black Lives Matter twist. W...
Episode 42: Dawn Howard on Political Transformations and Facing Fears
October 26, 2017 02:14 - 42 minutes - 39.4 MBThis week's guest on Five Things is an accountant who's finally figured out how to use her skills to support the things she believes in. Let me explain -- Dawn Howard has experienced a political transformation over the past few years. She describes herself as a former Republican who is now "super-left," as she says, and she says that change started when she broke her ankle while living in Ireland. (Listen to the episode to learn how that makes sense together.) She recently quit her job as a ...
Episode 41: Actress Reshma Shetty on Hard Work, Motherhood, and a Stuffed Penguin
October 18, 2017 21:09 - 43 minutes - 40.3 MBReshma Shetty and I met nearly 20 years ago in Lexington, Kentucky, when she had just moved to town for graduate school in music and I was working at the university. Later, we both lived in New York City, right around the corner from each other. I helped her practice her lines when she had an audition for a TV show that turned out to be her first big gig: the role of Divya Katdare on USA Network's Royal Pains. That show has now ended after 8 seasons, and Reshma had her first child a couple o...
Episode 40: NPR's Sam Sanders on Trying New Things and Being a Grownup
October 12, 2017 02:36 - 41 minutes - 38 MBNPR reporter Sam Sanders was one of the breakout stars of the 2016 election season. He's now the host of his own podcast (and radio show), called It's Been A Minute, in which he talks with newsmakers, artists, and other reporters about everything from music and television to a round-up of the week's news. It's been described as a show for people who are exhausted by the news but can't stop — which probably describes many of us these days. I was delighted to talk with Sanders recently, althou...
Episode 39: Lebowski Fest Founder Will Russell On Loss, Monsters, And Bowling
September 20, 2017 21:35 - 47 minutes - 43.2 MBWill Russell founded Lebowski Fest, a yearly celebration of the Coen Brothers’ movie that then spread nationwide. He owned two stores, Why Louisville, that sold t-shirts and other work made by local artists. Then he got a big, ambitious idea -- around the same time that his mental health started to falter. After a very public meltdown that included several arrests, a declaration of bankruptcy, Will Russell is ready to talk about his experience -- what got him there in the first place, and wh...
Episode 38: Opera Singer Christine Brewer On Being Prepared — Or Not
September 13, 2017 21:26 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MBThis week’s guest is world-renowned opera singer Christine Brewer, a Wagnerian soprano who’s performed on just about every stage and with every company you can imagine: the Metropolitan Opera, The London Symphony Orchestra, English National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and more. She’s collaborating with composer John Williams -- you know, the guy who wrote the Star Wars music -- on a new album. She's also delightfully down-to-earth.
Episode 37: Musician Ben Sollee on Polaroids, Coffee, and the Legend of Zelda
September 07, 2017 02:22 - 47 minutes - 44 MBMy guest this week, Louisville-based musician Ben Sollee, has been recording and touring since 2008, so he's done a LOT of interviews over the years. He's good at talking about his music, how he makes it, why he does what he does, and the environmental and cultural issues he wants to advocate. But this exercise of selecting physical objects is a way to get someone like Ben out of the usual "artist interview" routine, and even if you've heard him interviewed before, this conversation was some...
Episode 36: Baker Tom Edwards on Self-Reliance and Beets
August 30, 2017 21:31 - 23 minutes - 21.8 MBEach week on Five Things, we meet a guest who has selected five physical objects that have been resonant or important in his or her life, and we learn about that person from those things. Usually we sit in a quiet studio at Louisville Public Media, but for this week’s interview, I went to visit Tom Edwards at his business, the MozzaPi cafe. It’s a huge brick and wood space, with giant doors that open onto a peaceful wooded area. So at various times in this conversation, you’ll hear a train g...
Episode 35: Actor Teresa Willis On Marriage, Ambition, And Her Very Famous Cousin
August 24, 2017 03:22 - 40 minutes - 36.8 MBA situation almost guaranteed to produce dread: when your friend says, "Hey, I'm performing the one-woman play that I wrote about my life, you should come!" I hadn't known Teresa Willis all that long when she invited me to come see "Eenie Meenie," but I wanted to be supportive, even though a solo autobiographical show sounded like a cringe-inducing couple of hours. As it happened, however, the show was terrific: smart, funny, self-deprecating, enlightening, and authentic -- much like Teresa ...
Episode 34: Author Patrick Wensink On Gorillas And Creative Resilience
August 17, 2017 02:33 - 35 minutes - 32.3 MBOn this week’s episode of Five Things, our guest is writer Patrick Wensink, a novelist whose first-ever children’s book is coming out next week. "Go Go Gorillas” was inspired by Wensink's visits to the zoo with his young son, when he wondered why the gorillas were always sleeping during the day. The book suggests that maybe the gorillas are partying all night! Wensink has been based in Louisville for several years, and recently moved with his family to Portland, Oregon, so he can attend grad...
Episode 33: Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio
August 10, 2017 03:37 - 38 minutes - 35.1 MBOn this week’s episode of Five Things, my guest is Matt Jones, the host of Kentucky Sports Radio and the co-founder of the New Kentucky Project. He’s best known for being a professional fan of Kentucky basketball, but he’s also an attorney with several years of practice under his belt. We talked about an experience in law school that changed his life, about how winning a golf tournament at age 10 made him feel, and about an important novel given to him by his childhood pastor.