Space is the place, but first we’re headed to the ring to find the local wrestling scene, because, oh yes, western Mass. has a wrestling scene.  

Perry Von Vicious, a.k.a The Human Monster Truck, joins us in the studio to give insight beyond kayfabe, a lay of the local wrestling landscape, his start in the industry and what you can expect at the match up on Memorial Day Weekend to defend his title. 

Then, we head to space as we hear that it is not only the place, but the homeland of Sun Ra Arkestra. The collective has been innovating in jazz, funk and beyond for over 7 decades and are stopping in Northampton on May 18. We check in with the team bringing the legends to the valley, Ruth Griggs of Northampton Jazz Festival and Jim Olsen of Signature Sounds about collaborating for this show, and about the sonic legacy Sun Ra engenders. 

While we’re off in space, we talk to Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed of Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College, applies the scientific method to more terrestrial issues and shows us how you too can do the same.

Music is the food of active minds, and that’s just science. Plus, Fridays are typically the time that The Fabulous 413 gets its music on, so we’re excited to meet those for whom a musical journey is just beginning. 

We head to STEM Middle Academy with Rachel Rivard and Carolyn Dufresne of the Community Music School of Springfield (CMSS) to check out the 6th grade woodwind band, one of the classes that participate in the Sonido Musica program and benefit from the Play It Forward Drive. We hear from the students and teachers on the greatly positive impacts of having music in the curriculum.

Then, for Live Music Friday, a western Mass. fixture makes a pivot in sound and a change in lineup to reinvent itself for a wider sonic perspective. Splendid Torch has risen from the bones of Mamma’s Marmalade with their latest album, “Icon,” for which you can join their release celebration tonight at The Drake in Amherst. 

Plus, if you were also heartbroken at the departure of our Hampden County wine friend Michael Quinlan, you’re in for a treat with the cameo in today’s wine Thunderdome at State Street Fruit Store.

There are a lot of old mill buildings in western Mass., and a lot of those old factories are finding new lives and new industries to fill their halls.

Frankly, there’s so much to find in these spaces that we spend our whole day in one in North Adams,, Greylock WORKS. 

We chat with designer and architect Salvatore Perry about his and co-founder Karla Rothstein's vision to bring function, community and utility together in the many-purposed space, while exploring some of those spaces ourselves.

We talk with one of the artist creating in the space, Julia Dixon, walk through the barrels of the Berkshire Cider Project with Kat Hand and Matt Brogan and stretch out in the newly expanded studios of Greylock Yoga with owner Nicole Rizzo. Plus we gush about the goodness and connections food brings with chef, artist and farmer Tu Le at his restaurant State. 

We are taking the good with the worstest and sometimes blending the two! 

Author Heidi Stemple’s latest work is a complete amalgam of poetry and narrative fiction. "The Poetry of Car Mechanics" measures family trauma against self-discovery and nature in a way that try really hard not to spoil when she visits the studio to talk with us. We find out about her process of weaving plot through this mixed format.

We also head to Amherst Nurseries, where trees are the lay of their agricultural land and have been for decades going. Owner John Kinchla walks us and the new head of CISA, Jennifer Core, through the rain-soaked acres to see their innovative growing methods. Plus, he provides insight to the real extent of some of the federal cuts to agriculture from a landscaping perspective. 

Then word nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster, drudges up some better words for us to use for things that are terrible, so that even at our lowest, we can still use fun language to describe our catastrophic and awful circumstances.  

Today has a proper patch of aligned alliteration.

First, fandom, which is what we have for Randall Poster, who has been the music supervisor for over 200 films and TV shows. Starting this weekend, The Triplex Cinema will host him for conversation with a program to highlight his work and the films that inspire him. We bring the hidden aural gem onto our show to talk about soundtracks v.s. scoring, the nature of curation and more. 

Now onto farms, so we head into the north Berkshires. Against the backdrop of a massive limestone quarry, the woman and queer-led Full Well Farms has been thriving for 8 years, shifting focus from dairy to sustainable practices. Owner Meg Bantle, whose family has been working the land for over a century, takes us on a tour of the regenerative farm, explains the goal to address local food inequities and how flowers help succeed the farm’s mission.

And lastly, funding cuts, which are on all of our minds as of late. State budget cuts are affecting Cutchins Programs for Children and Families. Established in the 1980s as an alternative to the state hospitals, the organization provides programming to help children with school, medical treatment and much more. Director Tina Champagne joins us to talk about their work and the challenges these cuts present.

Today our size is shifting to get larger and smaller simultaneously. 

We talk with Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed of Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College, who explains the proposed cuts to NASA and the NSF and the potential impact on both academic institutions (like the five colleges) and American astronomical research as a whole. 

Then, just to narrow our aperture a bit, we explore books all over the four counties! All week, Mass Kids Lit Festival will host events for kids of all ages and their grown ups all over western Massachusetts. It’s their first year expanding into the Berkshires, and we chat with organizer Courtney Andree about bringing Children’s Book Week to the Bay State and the many authors your little one can meet and collaborate with in the coming days.

Speaking of narrowing, a much beloved event with a long running history at the Shea Theater in Turner’s Falls has had to put a pause on this year’s occasion. The Immigrant Voices performance has gathered many students, clients and alumni of the Center for New Americans to share talent and culture with the community. Director Laurie Millman joins us to talk about the hard decision to put the series on hiatus and the shift in circumstances her organization is seeing. 

Today we've got copious amounts of music, some joy of saving the planet and two sterling examples of resisting labels within one’s artwork. 

One of our neighbors to the north is about to make a visit to the area, Canadian independent artist JayWood. We chat with him about his day job as a postal worker, the impact that grief has had on some of his most poignant works and the clandestine meeting that lead to his collaboration and tour with tUnE-yArDs. 

And, right here at home, singer-songwriter Kris Delmhorst just released a whole new album in March and will celebrate the accomplishment at the Iron Horse next week. After two years of begging and pleading, we finally get her into the studio to talk about the wealth of musical talent within her family, the wide variety of sounds that find her fretboard and what spurred her to collaborate with so many folx on this batch of songs. 

Plus, in Lenox, although we are in troubling times, not all news is bad news. At Dare Bottleshop with Ben and Mary Daire, we taste through some vineyards that are engaged with more sustainable growing practices and learn about their event with climate optimist and local author Anne-Therese Gennari next Tuesday.

We’re looking at the center of a couple of venn diagrams and the overlapping circles that bring those centers together. 

For instance, the artistic circles often overlap through the fantastic venues we have in the area. At the Shea theater, Nero Orchestra will conclude its season tomorrow night, and on that same stage the next night, Eggtooth Productions will bring in partners in unconventional theater, Karen Montanaro and Jack Golden. Additionally, Eggtooth will soon host a production of Sarah Ruhl’s “Orlando” at the Academy of Music.

 So we chat with Cailin Marcel Manson of Nero Orchestra, Linda Tardif of the Shea Theater and Linda McInerney of Eggtoth Productions about the performances and art spaces that have crossed their respective streams. 

And in Amherst, some intrepid art students are taking on a daunting task of making picture books about slavery. We head to UMass Amherst to meet a handful of students with books that are a part of the exhibit, “Sowing History, Reaping Justice,” to hear about their experiences in creating these works. Plus, we gain insight from some of the academic stewards in the topic of slavery in children’s books, Clark University professor Raphael Rogers, and the history of enslavement Canada and the U.S. north, UMass professor and Slavery North Initiative Director Charmaine Nelson.

Today we're spending all our time in higher education. 

Merriam-Webster Senior Editor and UMass Amherst alumna Emily Brewster joins us on the upper floors of the W.E.B. Du Bois Library to meet with digital content editor Lauren Hubbard. She introduces us to the library’s most notorious residents, the peregrine falcons, with names that should be of particular interest to our Word Nerd. The birds making their roost and catching attention with eggs close to hatching. 

And, just down the street at Amherst College, there is a revered literary publication called “The Common” that is celebrating its 25th year of publication. And on the last day of National Poetry Month, we talk with Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Acker and student interns Kei Lim and Aidan Cooper about the place of poetry and prose in a nation that continues to chip away at the arts.

We’re bringing up the lights on cool community action. 

Starting May 1, the fourth annual Easthampton Film Festival will kick off, with 4 days of panels, workshops, concerts and more than 30 films in a wide range of genres. We hear from organizer Chris Ferry about putting this event together, and creating community among the filmmakers in the area

We also get to talk with folx involved in a western Mass.-focused feature film that is premiering at the festival, “Tallywacker” directed by Brendan Boogie. To hear about the filmmaking process and the vital role of music, we speak with the film’s inspiration and lead, Jeremy Macomber-Dubs, co-star Chris Goodwin and assistant producer and actor Rebecca Macomber. 

And, we discover a new farm that is hoping to bring fresh produce and food equity to its neighborhood. Nordica Community Farm sits on a nicely hidden 11-acre plot in Springfield that nearly was razed and developed, but through community action and community partners, this small CSA allows you to pick your own herbs among a burgeoning orchard. We speak with owners Anne Richmond and Todd Crosset with CSA Member Ariana Williams about the triumphs and trials of city growing.