Third Space Indy

This week, I sat down with my good friend Lily Groot in her studio, with her greyhound Nancy asleep a few feet away. Lily is a painter, muralist, and printmaker, and we spent our time talking about why she’s so inspired by flowers, her Print Bike, and how Indy is a lot cooler than even we tend to give it credit for. I had a great time catching up with Lily about art, movies, and more.

Lily has her first solo show in 10 years, Spare Time, coming up December 4th, 2026 at Re:Public.-

Sponsors

Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival: indylgbtfilmfest.com

City Rising: cityrising.org

Music

Jennasen, “Scared Rabbit”

Timestamps

00:00 Cold Open

02:24 Intro

03:32 Meet Lily

08:19 Why Flowers

13:36 The Print Bike

20:30 Speakeasy City

28:41 Movies & Hangouts

38:58 Third Spaces

47:38 Korie’s Question

49:49 Spare Time

53:07 Choosing Inefficiency

58:29 Christmas Wishes

1:04:32 Favorite Flowers

1:06:16 Find Lily

This week, I sat down with Korie Griggs at Highland Park on the east side of Indianapolis. Korie is a poet, author, co-founder of Each Other’s Books, and she’s fresh off two hip replacements, all while about to release her new book, And So It Is. We talked about finally being able to say yes to things, carrying grief in the body, and being in right relationship with the land around us. I really enjoyed chatting with Korie today (and getting heckled by a squirrel named Kevin)

Sponsors

Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival: indylgbtfilmfest.com

City Rising: cityrising.org

Music

Jennasen, “Scared Rabbit”

Timestamps

00:00 Cold Open

02:00 Intro

03:19 Meet Korie

04:03 New Hips

14:13 The Books

18:07 Literary Ancestors

23:12 Ingles to Indy

30:01 Highland Park

31:41 Third Spaces

40:00 Art & Coffee

43:24 Living Freely

48:39 The White River

54:02 Simpler Living

58:01 Media & Fiction

1:03:50 Closing Questions

1:08:22 Find Korie

This week, I swung by Market Mix on 38th Street, right next to Blue Mind, and just talked to whoever wanted to sit down with me. I got to chat with Davi (and Yuvi the cat), Edith Conchas, Ben, Dillon Lockwood, and Harsha about what brought them to Indy, what keeps them here, and where they find community. It was a beautiful fall day and a really fun way to meet some new neighbors. I hope you enjoy.

Sponsor

City Rising: https://cityrising.org

Music

Jennasen, “Scared Rabbit”

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

00:33 Davi

04:03 Edith

14:12 Ben

28:22 Dillon

37:50 Harsha

This week, I sat down with Tyler Fenwick, a Mirror Indy reporter and organizer with the newly formed Indiana Local News Guild, to talk about labor organizing and local journalism. Tyler talked about why you don’t have to wait for things to go bad before you organize, and what it feels like to speak up on behalf of your coworkers. We also got into the small town newspaper vibe Mirror Indy brings to the city and some of the more memorable people he’s met on the job. I really enjoyed chatting with Tyler today about unions, journalism, Alan Jackson, and more!

Sponsor

City Rising: cityrising.org

Music

Jennasen, “Scared Rabbit”

Links

Mirror Indy: mirrorindy.org

Indiana Local News Guild: inlocalnewsguild.com

Timestamps

00:00 Cold Open

01:00 Intro

02:06 Meet Tyler

05:18 Why Organize

08:22 Organizing Quietly

11:20 Going Public

14:46 Recognition

17:17 What’s Next

21:31 Labor History

25:08 Local Journalism

28:43 The Labor Beat

31:08 AI & News

32:58 Supporting Mirror Indy

37:26 Third Spaces

41:35 Indy Stories

44:34 Two Years Ago

46:55 Alan Jackson Christmas

49:28 Next Guest Question

50:51 Where to Find Tyler

52:30 Outro

This week, for my birthday episode, I handed the mic to Patrick Armstrong, who guest-hosts the podcast. We talked about what a third space means to me now, a year and a half into the show, plus introversion, making Reels, and how I think about success. This was a moment to talk through a bit of self-reflection as I complete 2 full years in Indianapolis. I hope you enjoy.

Sponsor

City Rising: https://cityrising.org

Music

Jennasen, "Scared Rabbit"

Timestamps

00:00 Cold Open

01:04 Intro

02:29 Angela Davis

07:21 Why This Episode

12:02 Content & Reels

20:26 Defining Third Spaces

30:12 Presence & Introversion

41:13 Year Highlights

44:02 Picking Guests

53:14 Canned Questions

1:10:15 Defining Success

1:18:25 Where to Find Patrick

This week, I sat down with Lindsey Cornett, who's running for the IPS School Board in District 4, to talk about public schools and what they mean for a city. Lindsey has been through a lot over the past few months just to stay on the ballot, and she walked us through it all. We also talked about why kids are our neighbors, whether you have them or not, and why she still has so much hope for IPS. I really enjoyed chatting with Lindsey today about schools and community. I hope you enjoy.

Sponsor

City Rising — cityrising.org

Music

Jennasen — "Scared Rabbit"

Timestamps

00:00 Cold Open

01:12 Intro

02:33 Meet Lindsey

04:48 Why Run

09:05 Ballot Battle

14:58 IPEC & Governance

23:13 Hope & Goals

28:54 Neighborhood Schools

36:35 Funding & Equity

40:23 Down-Ballot Races

42:49 Third Spaces

51:19 Enroll Indy

57:20 Meeting Update

59:19 Guest Questions

1:05:11 Wrap Up

This week I sat down with Michael and Madeleine Janssen, the founders of Circle City Flea and Lucky Duck Ventures, to talk about bringing an outdoor flea market back to Indianapolis. We got into why markets right now, why businesses struggle to find retail space, and what it means to build an authentic space of just another market. I really enjoyed this conversation and hope you do too!

Sponsor

City Rising — cityrising.org

Music

Intro: Lily & Madeleine - "Rabbit"

Outro: Jennasen — "Scared Rabbit"

Timestamps

0:00 Cold Open

1:58 Intro

2:43 Meet Michael & Madeleine

5:30 Why a Flea Market

15:45 Circle City Flea's Home

26:20 Markets & Local Economy

39:45 Canned Questions

53:24 Flea Design & AI

1:05:02 Closing Question & Where to Find Them

This week, I sat down with Christine Page, executive director of the Indiana Barn Foundation, to talk about moving back to Indianapolis after 30 years away. Christine talked about the shuffleboard club she ran in Florida and what eventually led her to come back home to Indiana. I really enjoyed chatting with her about how the city's changed since she left, the interstate's effect on our neighborhoods, and barns. I hope you enjoy.

Sponsor: City Rising — cityrising.org

Music: Jennasen — "Scared Rabbit"

Timestamps:

00:00 Cold Open

00:47 Intro

02:30 Meet Christine

04:31 Shuffleboard Club

19:12 Returning to Indy

23:22 Getting Involved

28:25 Interstate & Urban Planning

35:35 Third Spaces & Historic Buildings

49:53 Barns

59:46 Closing Thoughts

1:07:43 Where to Find Christine

Today's guest is Jennifer Magley, a local content creator, emcee, and sidequester. She recently finished her 100 stages in 365 days quest, and I'm fortunate to have sat down with her at Borage in Speedway as one of her final stages before she rounded it out with stage 100 on the Conversation Piece podcast. Jennifer has long been one of the most requested guests for the show, and I'm so thankful because she's electric, and I hope you hear how much genuine fun I had talking with her.

SPONSOR

City Rising — cityrising.org

MUSIC

Jennasen — "Scared Rabbit"

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Cold Open

01:08 Intro

01:59 Meet Jennifer

02:25 Borage & Safe Spaces

05:47 Brownsburg vs. Indy

09:15 Stooge Quest & Pat McAfee

12:39 Community & Belonging

18:24 Stage Quest Stories

26:24 Wardrobe & Style

30:04 City Rising Question

35:00 Money & Investment in Indy

38:43 Husband Rob

42:06 Talking to Women

54:13 Style Evolution

58:03 Crisis & Booking Gigs

01:03:22 Community & Privilege

01:15:00 Where to Find Jennifer

This week I'm talking to my friend Fred Miller, AKA MF Fred. You may know him from his whiteboard videos or the Flock Camera bike tour he ran just this past weekend. Fred has been on my list of people to talk to for a long time, and we finally found some time to sit down in Garfield Park to talk about everything from the origin of the whiteboard, growing up around a megachurch, and what it means to rethink how we treat our public spaces.

City Rising — cityrising.org

Intro Song: "Spitting Up Blood" by MFFred

Outro Song: "Scared Rabbit" by Jennasen

00:00 Cold Open

01:21 Intro

02:19 Meet Fred

04:38 Freelance & Job Search

11:46 Origin of the Whiteboard

17:09 Content & Views

24:33 MF Fred Origins

24:57 Garfield Park

34:07 What is a Third Space

42:26 Lost Third Spaces

55:04 Indy Stories

59:02 Repairing the Commons

1:07:19 Closing & Where to Find Fred