Who Gets What?

Rachel Blakeman, director of a Purdue-based community research institute in Ft. Wayne, IN.  talks about the economy, public health, and infrastruture of Indiana's second city.  Home ownership and transportation are among the many topics discussed.  

Jerry King is chair of "Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence," which works to reduce gun violence.  Reducing ability to acquire guns, and to reduce access to guns inside homes, are among the activities of this organization.  

Broadway Across America, a national, privately-owned company, manages broadway touring shows in 48 American cities.  For Indianapolis, and Salt Lake, the group sales manager is Chris Schneider, who describes differences between cities both in culture and marketing.  An example of differences is Book of Mormon, which performs five to ten minutes longer in Salt Lake than elsewhere because "laugh times" are longer there.  Some towns support lesser-known plays and shows, while others require well-known traditional presentations.  

We came across The Rhythm Discover Center just a few years ago.  It was located in a lower level location near the corner of Illinois and Washington Streets.  Our guest, Joshua Simonds, is executive director of the sponsoring organization, The Percussive Arts Society, with more than 5000 members world wide. This conversation considers the nature of percussion, names of outstanding contemporary players, hearing protection, and the annual convention in Indianapolis.   

John Shertzer leads The Medal of Honor Foundation which is closely associated with The Congressal Medal of Honor Society.  Since The Civil War 3,530 medals have been awarded.  Sixty five holders survive and provide personalized educational opportunities throughout the country, including at the Medal of Honor Museum on The Yorktown in Charleston, S.C.  An important topic discussed here is patriotism.  Our guest also has been active in Kiwanis, Key Clubs, and The Society of Professional Journalists.  

In less than a decade, 1st Maker Space has created powerful tools to educate.  They have been adopted in five states and serve more than 100,000 students every year.  Our guest, company founder Kim Brand, describes both the the educatinal theories and practices that engender creativity in students.  

Andrea Howe edits The Princeton Daily Clarion which was founded in 1846.  She attends civic meetings, writes news stories, organizes the personals column, advises about crossword puzzles, and enjoys the comics page.  Princeton is the county seat of Gibson county and is located about 25 minutes north of Evansville.

Shelbyville-based Lee Marks, photography dealer and consultant, describes her work representing photographers.  She is a founding member and past president of the Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD). While maintaining a broad inventory of photography and working with many private collectors, LMFA has increasingly focused on representing the work of a select group of contemporary photographers. Their work has been acquired by major collectors such as Sir Elton John, corporations such as Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, and museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Houston Museum of Fine Arts, TX; Art Institute of Chicago; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Social Psychologist Sara Konrath* discusses the personal happiness that arises through the act of giving.  She also considers how to teach empathy.  An old line is "It is better to give than to receive," which plays out at a practical level in this discussion.     *Sara Konrath is a social psychologist and Associate Professor who directs the Interdisciplinary Program on Empathy and Altruism Research (iPEARlab.org) at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

The new book by Sheila Suess Kennedy and Morton Marcus, "From Property to Partner:  Women's Progress and Political Resistance," describes the trajectory of women's emancipation over the last century.  Both commentary about history and extensive statistical data are provided in their 80-page review.  

John C. DePrez Jr. , former editor/publisher of The Shelbyville News, and now editor of The Indiana Economic Digest, talks about the history and prospects for potentially successful modern journalism.  

Morton Marcus discusses the recently-released Indiana Univerisity Strategic Plan.  He considers priorities he would reduce or eliminate, such as collaborating with others towards economic development, and goals he would include or emphasize, such as teaching teachers.  John then questions the value, in general, of strategic plans, which, he believes, do not produce tangible results.  

According to Gene Tempel, who is Founding Dean Emeritus, Professor Of Philanthropic Studies, IU Lilly Family School of Philantropy, more than $400 billion per year supports projects and causes, and, he believes, this is democracy in action, because individuals who find themselves unable to modify public policy and national budgets can express their views by giving personal money to favored ideas.  Other topics here are the relationships between giving and receiving, naming rights, and tax policy.  

Jody Peacock is Chief Executive Officer of Ports of Indiana.  He is responsible for three major ports:  one, Burns Harbor, in Northwest Indiana, and two on the Ohio River, Jeffersonville and Mount Vernon.  In this discussion, Jody describes the immense influence of these locations.  They are among the best ways to ship anything in to and out of The Midwest.  

Andy Kirby and Shawn Fulton tell us about The ARC of Indiana which was established in 1956 by parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities to build a better and more accepting world for their children.  Among its purposes is to promote "supported decision making," a powerful modification in the concept of guardianship.  

While serving as an Indiana legislator in the 1960s, Ned Lamkin was part of a group that created unified government in central Indiana.  This was the consolidation of numerous units of government into a larger organization.  At the time, Ned also advocated for mini government under the hypothesis that small units should have powers such as implementing parking regulations.  The topic is relevant today when county government appears inadequate to the general needs of the region.  

What do   primogeniture, seats in churches and classrooms, the alphabet, gender, chance, merit, personal height, and first-come/first-served     have in common?  The answer, according to Morton Marcus in this unique lecture, is each is used to allocate authority, position, and scarce resources.  

Every state, and many territories and tribal governments, have publicly-funded entities to protect our residents from sexual violence.  Ours is headed by Beth White, who works to increase sensitivity to these problems.  Among her many points is "we never, repeat never, blame the victim," and even the word "victim" is being replaced with the word "survivor."

Shawn Curtis teaches a fascinating and appropriate combination of subjects at an Indiana high school, and each of his subjects is being debated in legislatures and governors' offices.  Those subjects are history, economics, and home economics such as personal finance.   By mentioning personal challenges with some of his teachers, he demonstrates how to keep students interested.

What is the relationship between the study of cullinary science and history?  John Cooney, teacher of history at IVY Tech Community College, answers that question and others.