Interesting Indiana Podcast

What does Joe Dimaggio, Muhammad Ali, Rudolph Valentino, Red Grange all have in common? They were all married at the Crwon Point Courthouse in Indiana.  Bruce Woods, the Lake County Indiana Historian talks with us about the famous Marriage Mill that once married couples 24/7.

Indiana has its share of notable filmmakers. Sydney Pollack, Angelo Pizzo, John Hancock, Fred Willamson. You name it.  We interview one of the next generation of Hoosier film directors. Kendall started making films in her hometown of Munster, IN and has continued her passion ever since. Her first feature, When Jeff Tried to Save the World, stars Jon Heder and Jim O'Heir.  Filming took place in Lansing, IL, just over the border from her hometown.  You'll enjoy this quick interview with a budding talent with great things to come.

We first heard of Mont Handley while watching the hit show Shark Tank where entrepreneurs pitch their businesses to Mark Cuban and his team of sharks.  His product Pitt Moss was amazing and can have a large impact on our environment and how we grow food. Little did we know at the time that he was an Indiana Native! We talk about his experience on Shark Tank, his journey to create Pitt Moss and what successful entrepreneurs need to know to get their ideas out there and create a successful business. 

Few professional wrestlers have had as long and as colorful career as Jimmy Valiant the Boogie Woogie Man. Jimmy grew up in Hammond Indiana and began traveling the wrestling circuit in the late 60s.  He gained a strong work ethic from mentors like Dick the Bruiser and Frank Zela, aka Boris Karloff. We talk about his rise in the wrestling world to the WWWF which became the WWF and now the WWE and his days punching and slamming with the likes of Rick Flair, Bobby the Brain Heenan, Jerry Lawler, Dusty Roads and others. Jimmy Valiant's enthusiasm is infectious so get ready to rumble with a Hoosier icon. 

Plastic. It's been a lifesaver and helped us to progress in ways we couldn't imagine a hundred years ago.  It has also become one of our greatest environmental concerns in recent years.  For our first Indiana Business spotlight we talk with Brent Grafton of Green Tree Plastics about the challenges of recycling our most troublesome materials and creating useful products to keep plastics out of our waste stream.  Green Tree Plastics is located in Evansville, Indiana and has shipped products all over the country. More importantly they have interacted with hundreds of thousands of kids around the country to show the possibilities in engineering.  

Hoosiers and Rudy are not only great Indiana sports films, they are considered two of the best sports movies of all time. We talk with Angelo Pizzo, who along with director David Anspaugh created both films. He's also written dozens of other screenplays and produced other movies such as My All American starring Aaron Eckhart.  So join us as we talk with Angelo as he strolls the streets of Bloomington and talks about his days growing up close to the Indiana University campus, his career in Hollywood, working with Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper and thoughts on scriptwriting. 

Tim Stoddard had an impressive career as a relief pitcher in the Majors for 13 years but his accolaides don't stop there. Stoddard was also part of the Undefeated state champion East Chicago basketball team and an enforcer on the NC State NCAA championship team. Even with those accomplishments you may remember him as the gruff pitcher with a big butt from the family sports movie Rookie of the Year.  We talk with Stoddard about his days growing up in East Chicago to living across the country while playing for the Cubs, Orioles, Padres and Yankees.   Get to know an Indiana sports legend on this episode of the Interesting Indiana Podcast.   

Ferid Murad won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1998, but thats not the extent of his accolades.  He also won the ALbert Lasker Award for Basic Medical research has earned multiple honorary doctorates and has taken on executive level positions at numerous medical facilities and companies including Abbot Labs, Stanford, University of Texas and George Washington University.  This guy from a working class family in Whiting, IN has traveled the globe, met kings and queens from 15 countries and still works 80+ hours a week doing what he loves.   We talk with him about his Nobel experience, the research he has done on nitric acid and growing up in Whiting, Indiana. 

Barnett is not just a New York Knicks legend, but a basketball legend.  From the historic Indiana state championship game in at the Butler field house in 1955, which was the first time two all black teams competed for the trophy, to his two NBA Championship rings with the New York Knicks.  We talk with Dr. Barnett about his formative years growing up in Gary Indiana, playing college ball at Tennessee State and pursuing higher education while storming the courts in the NBA. We also discuss his NBA relationship/rivalry with anotherhall of famer Oscar Robertson.  We talk about race and racism in the sports world during the 50s and 60s and the hope for the youth today.  An insightful discussion with a great man and a part of Indiana history.  Enjoy. 

John Hancock is known for many films that could not be more different from each other.  His first feature, Let's Scare Jessica to Death, is a cult horror classic.  Bang the Drum Slowly, a baseball sports drama, featured a young Robert DeNiro as a catcher with a terminal illness. And the holiday classic Prancer is well, ya know, a holiday classic.  Hancock has also directed numerous plays, television shows, commercials and many other notable films, most recently the independent drama The Looking Glass which was filmed in Northern Indiana.   Paul Nelson talks with John about his childhood days romping through the fruit farm his family owned near LaPorte as well as his long career in film and television.  We learn a little about independent filmmaking and some of his personal preferences when tackling a media project.  This is a must listen episode for anyone with a passion for filmmaking and storytelling as well as those who want to know more about Indiana's notable alumni. 

Interesting Indiana has a conversation with Olympic runner David Neville who won a Bronze medal in the 400m and Gold medal in the 4x400m relay in the 2008 Olympics. Neville grew up in Highland and Merrillville Indiana and was a standout runner at Merrillville High School as well as Indiana University. In college Neville was also a five time NCAA All American and 2004 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. We talk with David about the sacrifices and training to be a high level track athlete and what he has learned over the years to help him in his coaching career at Taylor University. 

Being an astronaut is probably one of the most elite professions in the world.  On this episode we talk with Col. Jerry Ross, a Lake County Indiana native and current world record holder in space walks.  Mr. Ross helped with the construction of the International Space Station as well as planning and preparation for dozens of space shuttle missions.  We talk about his days growing up just south of Crown Point, getting higher education at Purdue University and accomplishing remarkable goals at NASA.

For the inaugural Interesting Indiana podcast we interview a legend of sports and big screen.  Fred "The Hammer" Williamson grew up in Gary, Indiana before becoming a standout athlete at Northwestern University and eventually an NFL legend who played in Super Bowl I.   Fred leveraged his fame as an outspoken defensive back in the NFL to a long standing career in Hollywood.  He was one of the most popular actors in the Blaxploitation era, but way more importantly, Fred sought to produce movies on his own terms.  He has appeared in over 100 movies and has produced dozens of them.  Mr. Williamson always speaks his mind and this interview is no different.  We learn about his days growing up in Gary, Indiana and his thoughts about the state of the film industry today.  Get your helmet on and prepare to lineup against "The Hammer."