Door County Pulse Podcast

Former ABC News Senior National Correspondent Terry Moran and playwright Brian James Polak joined Myles Dannhausen Jr. for a roundtable discussion on journalism, playwriting and the arts in the age of Trump at the Door Kinetic Arts Festival.

Emily Elizabeth Baker didn’t consider indie authors to be “real” authors – until she became one herself. Now a novelist and founder of The Indie Author School, she joins Myles Dannhausen Jr. to open up about her unconventional path to authorship, the process of writing and independently publishing, book marketing and social media, and the mission behind her school, which is dedicated to turning writers’ ideas into published novels.

David Crowley, the Democratic nominee for governor, made a stop in the Door County Pulse Podcast studio during a swing through Door County Sept. 21 . He talked to Myles Dannhausen Jr. about why he entered public service and his stance on bringing down costs for residents, school funding, data centers, and bridging the urban/rural divide in Wisconsin. On Sept. 18, the Pulse invited Crowley and Republican nominee Tom Tiffany to appear on the podcast, and we are still working with Tiffany’s representatives to schedule an episode with the candidate.

If you think Tucker Carlson, Jerome Powell and Nancy Pelosi don’t have much in common, think again. They’re all Deadheads – the most ardent of Grateful Dead fans, who are everywhere, according to Dr. Eric Mlyn, a Distinguished Faculty Fellow at Duke University’s Kenan Institute for Ethics and lecturer emeritus at the Sanford School of Public Policy. Mlyn talked with Debra Fitzgerald about the first show that hooked him in 1976, and why a band that officially ceased to exist in 1995 following the death of its unanointed leader, Jerry Garcia, is in many ways bigger than ever today. He’s taught a class at Duke on the band for the past four years and he’s bringing that seminar to Door County’s Björklunden Oct. 4-7. 

Eleanor Corbin talks with Cherryl Fonfara and Mark Moede from Bayside Radio Theater, a performance group that specializes in live radio shows and has been together since 2023. Fonfara and Moede share their secrets behind the sound effects that elevate their performances from simple readings to immersive experiences. They highlight what Foley artists do, explain character voice, and share how radio theater offers performance roles without age restrictions. Fonfara also breaks down a radio theater script-writing process and shares excitement that comes with basing a story around a local Door County setting. Their upcoming show, "Shadows in the Night," is an original mystery set in Sturgeon Bay that will take place over two nights at the Granary in Sturgeon Bay on Oct. 9 and 10.

The Town of Gibraltar secured a big grant to fulfill a decades-old vision for an off-road path from the Settlement Shops to the north end of the town last month. Myles Dannhausen is joined by Debra Fitzgerald to talk about the trail, as well as a lawsuit to force action on the tug that has been sitting in the water in Baileys Harbor for five years. But first, they look back on what 9/11 felt like in Door County, and what we've learned - and haven't learned - in the years since.

Myles Danhausen Jr. talks with singer-songwriter, playwright, and performer Katie Dahl about her new musical-in-progress, The Northeast Corner, which explores the relationship between journalist Lorena Hickok and Eleanor Roosevelt. Katie discusses what pulled her to the story, who Hickok was, and the workshopping process.  They also dig into the collaborative nature of theater, the emotional stakes of writing for the stage, and why Door Kinetic Arts Festival is such a unique creative incubator. A public reading of the play will take place Sept. 25 at Birch Creek. Get details at doorkinetic.com.

The Town of Sevastopol is Door County’s second-largest municipality by population and land area, and second or third by equalized value (depending upon the year). So why doesn’t anyone know where it is? Even people who live there? Could it be because Sevastopol doesn’t have a post office, so all addresses are in Sturgeon Bay? Could it also be because there are four different geographic places also located there (Institute, Little Harbor, Valmy, Whitefish Bay)? What would happen if the town renamed Institute to Sevastopol? That’s a question Town Board Chair Dan Woelfel posed recently in a town newsletter. Debra Fitzgerald talks with him about the answers he received, as well as a slew of other town-related topics: the new business association forming, Rock on the Rock, the no wake-surfing movement, the Bay Shore Drive road safety movement, the Cave Point County Park Schauer Road project and what the town plans for the nation’s 250th birthday.

Sister Bay Marinafest is coming up on Labor Day weekend, and for many kids that means a visit to the boat-building tent put together by the Sister Bay Lions Club. John Ludwigsen joins Myles Dannhausen Jr. to talk about the origins of the popular event and the joy it brings to kids each year. But first, they discuss Cycling Without Age, a unique effort to the elderly or people with disabilities out of their homes and into the outdoors.

Cycling Without Age Door County

Cycling Without Age International

The name was the easy part for Nick Hoover, Nick Steingart and Nick Thomas when the three summer workers began playing music together in 2004, but finding gigs wasn't as easy back then. But they made magic when they connected with Fuzzy Sunstrom and convinced the owner of Fred & Fuzzy's to let them play a sunset gig on the water. Their weekly sets became a key part of summer for thousands of visitors and their fellow industry workers. This week The Nicks are back for three reunion shows in Sister Bay and Nick Steingart joins Myles Dannhausen Jr. to talk about the changes in the county's music scene and how the trio became The Nicks.