Playwright, professor, and entrepreneur Andy Black is a prolific playwright, professor (teaching and working on his PhD at Univ. of Missouri), and advisor to businesses and organizations. Andy has coached me for the past five years, and I have benefited greatly from the way Andy incorporates storytelling and narrative into his methods. It is a big part of the way he has successfully integrated his creative life and business life. In this episode, Andy and I have a conversation about how storytelling can help us convey ideas, and also make us better listeners.

This episode took me back 25 years, to my undergraduate years at Northwestern University. It was an honor to speak with the COO of Duke Realty (and Indy Chamber Board Member), Steve Schnur, about the improbable 1995 run by the Northwestern Wildcats football team, for whom Steve started at quarterback. The team opened the season by upsetting Notre Dame, and continued with wins over heavy favorites like Michigan, Penn State, and many others to win its first Big Ten title in almost 50 years. Steve talks about his life experiences leading up to that season, and recalls one of sports’ all-time greatest Cinderella stories.

In October 2020, Indianapolis lost one of its most influential civic leaders of the past 30 years, Tamara Zahn. Tamara led Downtown Indy (formerly Indianapolis Downtown, Inc.) for over 20 years, in an era that saw billions of dollars in new investment in Indy’s downtown. We remember Tamara and talk with two of her Tamara’s close friends and collaborators, Julia Saltsgaver and Polina Osherov.

Aaron Renn has spent over two decades as an observer, analyst, and writer about the unique characteristics of American cities. Before relocating to Indianapolis in 2019, Aaron was Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute from 2015-2019. In this episode, Aaron discusses how he turned his passion for cities into a career. He further discusses how Indianapolis can build upon its unique strengths to grow its economic base.

Wildstyle Paschall (aka Wildstyle DaProducer) is not only a well-known Indianapolis-based music producer and photographer, he is an activist and ambassador who helps marginalized communities. In Episode 1 of Michael Loves Indy, Wildstyle and Michael have a wide-ranging conversation about art, music, the history of Indiana Avenue, and other topics facing Indianapolis.