Five Things

Clarence Bucaro is a singer-songwriter and a one-time stay-at-home dad. He's been making albums since 2000, with some twists and turns along the way. He's also in a two-person book club with his mom. #goals +

This week’s episode is an update from one of our previous guests, Joe Phelps. He was originally on the show in May of 2017, when he spoke about the unexpected loss of his son, his work as pastor of Highland Baptist Church, and that one time he got to hang out with Bruce Springsteen. It’s still one of my very favorite episodes we’ve ever done. Last fall, I reached out to him for a follow-up conversation, because I had heard he had retired from Highland Baptist, and I was curious about what he was doing.

I met Mario Landa probably 15 years ago, when he was the doorman in my apartment building in New York City. For five years, I saw him almost every single day. If you’re not familiar with what a doorman does, we’ll talk more about that in this interview. Spoiler: it’s a lot more than opening a door. We’ve kept in touch since I moved away from the city, and last summer I sat down with him in his apartment to do this interview. He cracked open a couple of beers, and his two little dogs scurried around at our feet.

Musician Ben Sollee, who was first on the show in September 2017, gives us an update on his new daughter, his new day job, and his new side gigs. It's a lot.

Writer Minda Honey has an advice column for Louisville's LEO Weekly, and she's working on a memoir about her dating life. She also really, really loves her rice cooker.

As an attorney, taking a case to the Supreme Court is about the highest goal one can aspire to -- and then actually winning that case, and helping change the lives of millions of Americans... it's a huge achievement. So what's a fellow to do next? If you're Indiana lawyer Dan Canon, and you just helped make marriage equality legal in all 50 states, it looks like this: make a run for Congress, while still maintaining a law practice, cooking for a growing family, and maybe picking up a guitar once in a while.

It’s not often that a poem goes viral. But it happened in 2016, with “Good Bones” by Maggie Smith. I won’t read it for you now, but it’s short and you can find it online with a quick search. It speaks to anyone who’s concerned about the current state of our world -- which is probably most of us. It’s honest, and hopeful, and feels like a friend taking your arm, maybe a little bit too firmly, and saying, “We can get through this.” So I was delighted when I was asked to interview Maggie at the Writers’ Block Festival, an annual gathering put on by Louisville Literary Arts. She and I were onstage at Spalding University’s College Street Building on a Saturday morning, in front of an appreciative audience of writers, poets, agents, and publishers.

Checking in with Emily McCay, who was a guest on this podcast in July of 2017. She was known around Louisville as "The Diaper Fairy," because of her cloth diaper business of the same name, which had also grown into a store and a community center for new parents. When we spoke last summer, she was in remission from acute myeloid leukemia.

Today’s guest has two personalities, in a way -- in daily life, he’s Samuel Penn, 26 years old, grew up in Frankfort, Kentucky, then moved to New York City. He’s also a drag queen, named Gilda Wabbit, with huge hair, long fingernails, a big voice and a pretty filthy mouth. www.gildawabbit.com

Our guest is Mindy Thomas, host of "Wow in the World," a podcast for kids about science from NPR, and "Absolutely Mindy" from Sirius XM. Her actual hands aren't particularly tiny but she has some fake ones that have come in... handy. (Sorry not sorry.)

Idris Goodwin is a playwright and the (new) Artistic Director of StageOne Family Theatre in Louisville. Listen to find out what a breakbeat poet is, how a cookbook is like a play script, and his complicated relationship with Mary Shelley.

A dog, a houseplant, an old car for driving around town. These are the things valued by a busy touring musician-slash-restauranteur.

I first “met” writer Susan Piver when I read her book, “The Hard Questions: 100 Questions to Ask Before You Say ‘I Do’” which I recommend as an excellent guidebook for talking with your significant other before taking that big step. Later, I learned that she was a Buddhist and a meditation teacher, and I had the opportunity to spend some time with her in person at a retreat center. But don’t assume that her whole life has been blissful and super-chill -- she’s got some stories to tell.

Izio Rosenman is 83 years old, he was born in Poland, he spent his childhood in the Buchenwald concentration camp, and he has lived in Paris since the camp was liberated. Professionally, he was a physicist, a psychoanalyst, and an anthropologist. He 's got some thoughts on life.

Hey, it's Tara, here with a quick update. I know this feed has been quiet for the past little while, and I'm here to let you know that the next season of Five Things is coming up really soon! I've been working this summer on seeking out some extraordinary guests to interview, and I think you'll really enjoy hearing what I have in store. Starting September 6th, I'll have conversations with fascinating people including an 83-year-old Holocaust survivor, a drag queen, a lawyer who ran for Congress, a Buddhist meditation teacher who used to be part of the Guardian Angels -- and more. So, sit tight, thanks for listening, and I'll see you back here on September 6th.

Jesse Thorn, of NPR's "Bullseye" as well as "Jordan, Jesse, Go!" and "Judge John Hodgman," tells us about the highly idiosyncratic objects that sum up his highly idiosyncratic life. I recently learned that he is a devotee of "Antiques Roadshow," and I knew I needed to get him on Five Things. **Programming note: this is the last episode of the season! We're taking a break for the summer and will be back in the fall. In the meantime, might I suggest you peruse our archives? I bet your new favorite episode is just sitting there, unlistened. :)

This week’s guest is Angela Davis, a schoolteacher whose primary teaching tool is knitting needles. And this conversation between us arose from her first item -- I saw her at the theatre, wearing a gorgeous coat, and I had to ask her about it.

This week, we’ll hear from a woman whose job is to get kids psyched up about reading. And through that job, she met her hero.

Writer Leesa Cross-Smith is based in Louisville, and she’s just published her first novel, "Whiskey and Ribbons." Find out why she considered it a radical act to tell the story in the way she did, what’s her secret weapon when it comes to getting writing done, and the tweet so good… she put it on a coffee mug. http://www.leesacrosssmith.com/ https://www.oxfordamerican.org/magazine/item/1353-ain-t-half-bad

My guest this week is one of my very favorite musicians, Joe Henry. His brother Dave was one of my first guests on this show, and I was thrilled when Joe agreed to take part as well. He’s just released his fourteenth studio album, called “Thrum,” and he’s also produced records for a lot of amazing musicians, including Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, Ani DiFranco, and Allen Toussaint. He’s co-written songs with Roseanne Cash and with Madonna -- who happens to be his sister-in-law.