The Pop of Culture team is readying Season 3!

As we celebrate the new year, we picked some of our favorite segments from last season, like our visit to the Ball State Studio Band, our delightful chat with comedian and cartoonist Dan Wright, the times we've ended up recording in the dark (which has somehow happened twice), and many more!

Surprise! It's our last episode of the year, so we're gifting it to you a little early!

This week, we're speaking with Meg Crane, the inventor of the home pregnancy test. Playwright (and Pop of Culture cohost) Jennifer Blackmer wrote a play about her story that's been produced across the nation—and now it's headed Off-Broadway. Also in this episode, NPR's Andrew Limbong joins us to break down the annual "Books We Love" list for 2025, and Maya Doss brings us a "WAYWO" with contemporary artist Audrey Barcio.

This week, we sit down with the multi-multi-talented Anwar Frazier. He recently won the 2025 Muncie Mayor's Arts Awards People's Choice, and he'll tell us how he's made a living drawing, painting, tattooing, candle-making, designing custom clothes... the list goes on. Then, we'll visit the Ball State Opera Theatre program as they prepare to present "The Elixir of Love" November 22 - 23. We talk to cast and crew about why opera is accessible—even in Italian! There's more: musician India Potter and baker Alexis Cooper of "Coops Creations" round out this rather full episode.

This week, we have an extended conversation with Kyren Monteiro. Kyren is an audio engineer and hip-hop artist with an audio production company in Marion. Before the release of his new album "Visionary," he joins us to talk about his creative process, the (accidentally) illicit record label he started at 16, and why he chooses to stay in East Central Indiana. We'll also hear "Reason Enough," our Beautiful Thing for National Adoption Month. And Maya Doss brings us her latest "WAYWO" with Laith Hicks!

This week, we speak to artists with work that reflect their communities: Henrik Söderström is a professor at Indiana Wesleyan University who has an exhibit at the Kennedy Art Center in Marion that required "a game of telephone" across the community. Aaron McDermott is an artist and the Vice President of the Pendleton Artists Society; he tell us about his new mural in downtown Pendleton and why having a group for local artists is so important. Also in this episode: how funding cuts continue to affect arts organizations across Indiana, and the return of Season 1 "WAYWO" guest Leonski Crosby!

The Pop of Culture team is off this week—and it's Halloween! So, we're listening back to some of our favorite spooky interviews, including: Brian Blair of Pumpkin Pulp (a masks and prop business in Muncie), Tommy Miller and Jason Kindred of the band Void King (purveyors of doom metal), and Riley McDermott (a young farmer). Join us... if you dare!

Where do electronic music artists go in Muncie? IPR's Ransom True takes us to a studio where the mixing decks are open for experimentation and collaboration. Also in this episode: Christina Diaz Gonzalez pivoted from a career as an attorney to write middle grade fiction and graphic novels. We'll speak with her and Ball State professor Jill Christman ahead of the 2025 Writer-in-Residence (events open to the public the week of November 3). And, Julie Lyn Barber sneaks us behind the scenes of the Actors Theatre of Indiana's production of Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein." Blücher!

This week, we continue our Beautiful Things series with Joseph Gross's "Jumping in Leaves," a short essay about the author and his son in autumn. Then, we'll visit with Robin Phelps-Ward and Kat Stephens-Peace about their artistic careers—and about Hue House, their art studio and community space for local creatives in the Murray building in Muncie. Also packed into this episode: all the details about Ball State PBS's Happy Little Fest, our arts calendar, and local artist (and recent college graduate) Mars Presswood answers our question "What Are You Working On?"

This week: how two fine arts organizations in East Central Indiana are adapting to attract audiences. We'll speak to Daniel Wiley with the Anderson Symphony Orchestra and Debra Lynn from "Opera Today!" in Fort Wayne. Also in the show: an audio postcard from muralists who gathered in Muncie to paint a bus (yes, really), and the return of "WAYWO" artist Maya Doss as a host!

Inside this episode: The Indiana Clay Conference is held every two years, and this year it's in Muncie! Organizer (and Ball State professor) Ted Neal talks about what goes into planning the event. We continue our Conversations Between the Coast with Christopher and Justin Swader, professional set designers who work across the country. And, we ask teacher and artist Sun-Young Gullery about "Indy In Inches, her exhibition of 56 Indianapolis small businesses and landmarks.