Best Screaming Is Serious Business Podcasts (2025)

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The serious business of scaring patrons at Indy Scream Park 43:23

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11h ago43:23

43:23

Anderson native Benjamin Nagengast comes by his bent for entrepreneurism and artistic design naturally. His mother founded a prominent design and engineering firm in the Anderson area, and his father was involved in several enterprises, including his own ceramic pottery business. When Ben was 10, his mother suggested the family start a pumpkin patc…

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What a state audit reveals about the IEDC, Elevate Ventures and more 27:16

2d ago27:16

27:16

Gov. Mike Braun’s administration last week released an audit the governor ordered last spring of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. — the state’s job creation agency — and related organizations, including the IEDC’s foundation as well as Elevate Ventures, the Applied Research Institute and other groups. From the beginning, the governor and Comm…

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Goodwill CEO expands programs, embraces mergers, tries new territories 1:02:40

12d ago1:02:40

1:02:40

Kent Kramer registered an inkling of his calling early in high school when he started working for a supermarket in his native Muncie. He loved helping customers, getting to know them better, examining what they were buying and seeing how they stretched their food dollars. After college he jumped onto the store management track with Sam’s Club, deep…

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Rugby star wants to make Indy the sport’s home field 45:06

16d ago45:06

45:06

Two months ago, one of America’s most prominent rugby players—both on the professional and international level—announced he was retiring at the age of 30. As a news event, this wasn’t on the level of an NBA All-Star retiring. But if you were a rugby fan or an alumnus of Indiana University, you probably knew the name Bryce Campbell, who had the dist…

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Pew Research’s Richard Fry unpacks gender gap in college enrollment 39:38

23d ago39:38

39:38

The gap between women and men attending college in Indiana continues to grow in favor of women. In raw numbers, 72,419 more girls than boys who graduated from Indiana high schools from 2009 to 2023 went on to higher education. Another head-jerking trend: The overall percentage of high school grads in Indiana who enroll in higher education stumbled …

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Dave Lindquist previews can't-miss events on 2025-2026 A&E calendar 31:14

1M ago31:14

31:14

Each year, IBJ publishes an A&E Fall Preview guide. And for the past two years, reporter Dave Lindquist has packed that guide full of can’t-miss events for the fall, winter and even into the spring. Dave pours over the schedules of dozens of organizations and event spaces in town to make his picks, which include big-time performances as well as the…

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Pete the Planner on whether buying a home is always a smart investment 44:39

1M ago44:39

44:39

Home ownership is viewed in many circles as a standard rite of passage for young adults. It indicates a certain financial wherewithal and the understanding that buying a home is an early key to building wealth. It’s supposed to be one of your most important investments. It’s the prime ingredient in what we consider the American Dream. And to be fra…

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'It all comes back to relationships,' says banker turned small-biz owner 52:58

2M ago52:58

52:58

Cindy Schum grew up in a troubled family situation and, as she describes herself today, was terribly shy and awkward. Still, she found ways to put herself in situations that could help her be more outgoing. She was great at working with numbers, and she gravitated to a career in commercial lending that put her in front of business owners who loved …

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She kept her job but hit the road, lived in a school bus and reclaimed her calling 55:31

2M ago55:31

55:31

Karmen Johnson certainly had the trappings of traditional successin her mid-20s: the corporate job in finance, the new house and a wedding inthe works. Then she took a hard left turn in the early 2020s and transformedworking from home to working and living on the road. She got a taste for what folks call van life—outfitting a truck, bus or van as a…

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Who’s afraid of the big, bad FAFSA? Here’s what families can expect this fall. 56:21

2M ago56:21

56:21

You might already be familiar with filling out the FAFSA form, or you might only know it by reputation. That reputation is somewhere between filing your annual income taxes and running an Ironman triathalon. Revisions, technology issues and widespread confusion over the availability of the form over the past two years might make it seem even more s…

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Christine Brennan on Caitlin Clark’s cultural influence and the WNBA’s growing pains 1:02:40

2M ago1:02:40

1:02:40

In this episode of the IBJ Podcast, USA Today columnist and sports broadcasting veteran Christine Brennan speaks with IBJ's Mickey Shuey about "On Her Game," her bestselling unauthorized biography of Indiana Fever’s star Caitlyn Clark. Brennan explains how a chance encounter at the Olympic swimming trials led to a whirlwind book deal, and why Clark…

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Indy’s fast-rising chief of community outreach on potholes, curbside recycling, rural roots 49:10

3M ago49:10

49:10

Natalie van Dongen grew up in a small farming community outside a modest city in central Illinois. She spent most of her youth either in school or in the woods by her home. Approaching high school graduation, she wanted to study theater in college and definitely didn’t want to go to Butler University, where both of her parents graduated. But that’s…

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Can Indy's All-Star moment shine without Clark? 39:46

3M ago39:46

39:46

Host Mickey Shuey unpacks the high-stakes arrival of the 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis—and explores what it means that the league's biggest star, Caitlin Clark, is sidelined. With thousands descending upon the Circle City. Featuring interviews with WNBA Chief Growth Officer Colie Edison, USA Today columnist Christine Brennan, sports ma…

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Indiana’s first Miss Basketball on Caitlin Clark and 50 years of progress 56:29

3M ago56:29

56:29

We’ve hit a head-spinning milestone in the history and development of women’s basketball in Indiana. This week, Indianapolis is hosting the WNBA All-Star Game and all of its related festivities, coming amid an unprecedented surge in popularity for women’s basketball. The top vote-getter for the game is Caitin Clark of the Indiana Fever—a team that …

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“Am I crazy for doing this?” asks attorney turned bookstore owner 1:01:31

3M ago1:01:31

1:01:31

Independent bookstores have been on the retail death watch for a few decades now. But, as one American author might put it, reports of their impending demise have been greatly exaggerated. For many, the recipe for success is local ownership, strict attention to local needs and concerns and calendars packed with special events to help create a sense…

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Pete the Planner’s advice for Gen X’s retirement dilemmas 52:16

4M ago52:16

52:16

Coming after the baby boomers, Generation X is often referred to as “the forgotten generation,” the self-reliant generation and perhaps the last free-range generation. Today, you certainly could argue that it's becoming the financial-panic generation. The first Gen Xers hit the workforce right around the time pensions gave way to 401(k) accounts wi…

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Purdue's plans for downtown Indy extension and city's move to fix West Street 42:50

4M ago42:50

42:50

Nearly one year ago—July 1, 2024—the urban university in downtown Indianapolis known as IUPUI—or Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis—officially split into two separate campuses. This created Indiana University Indianapolis, a standalone campus in the IU system, and Purdue University in Indianapolis, which is considered an extension…

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CEO of fast-growing Indy housing developer on urban and suburban markets, being ‘a joiner’ 49:18

4M ago49:18

49:18

Indianapolis-based housing developer Onyx + East recently scored a three-peat on IBJ’s annual list of fast-growing companies—all of which were on the watch of CEO Kelli Lawrence. She took the top job in 2019, when its annual revenue was about $19 million. By 2024, its annual revenue had climbed to $90 million—a nearly 375% increase over five years.…

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Doug Boles on his ‘physically and emotionally draining’ May in dual role for Speedway, IndyCar 49:35

4M ago49:35

49:35

Doug Boles already had his dream job as president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 2013. Then Roger Penske, owner of both IMS and the IndyCar Series, asked him to be president of IndyCar following the departure of Jay Frye in February. The pitch: Boles would retain his first job while also taking on the second. “It wasn’t something that I expec…

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How Irsay’s daughters carved out big roles with Colts and could handle succession 44:34

4M ago44:34

44:34

With an estimated value of $4.8 billion, the Indianapolis Colts franchise is arguably the best-known family-owned business in Indiana. While we reflect on the passing of team owner Jim Irsay, who had significant influence on building the physical plant and identity of modern Indianapolis, we have the luxury of knowing that three more Irsays are in …

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Explaining the Indy 500 tumult, Team Penske scandal and firings, and what’s important 49:17

5M ago49:17

49:17

The week between qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 and the actual race is usually pretty quiet from a news perspective. But there’s nothing usual about the last week in this year’s Month of May. Major penalties assessed to two cars owned by Team Penske—including the car driven by two-time defending champion Josef Newgarden—inflamed long-running c…

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Whatever happened to downtown’s elevated People Mover? 23:56

5M ago23:56

23:56

You may have become so used to them that you no longer notice, but snaking through downtown Indianapolis’ northwest quadrant are the remains of a revolutionary public transit system that transported riders on elevated tracks 30-feet high. It was called the People Mover, developed for $44 million by Clarian Health Partners, the hospital system now k…

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Pete the Planner on student loan collections, recessions, stagflation (and holding our breath) 36:05

5M ago36:05

36:05

These are uncertain times for the U.S. economy. We’re in a grace period for many of the Trump administration’s promised tariffs on dozens of trading partners. U.S. consumer confidence plunged again in April, hitting its lowest level since October 2011. First-quarter gross domestic product for the U.S. hit negative territory for the first time since…

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Inside the Legislature's wild session on tax breaks, hospitals, IEDC and more 1:11:09

5M ago1:11:09

1:11:09

In the early hours of Friday, April 25, Indiana legislators passed a $46.2 billion budget for state expenses over the next two years—specifically, from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2027. Legislators knew going in that state revenue to fund the budget would be tight, and they got a nasty revenue forecast with about a week to go in the session. The last…

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Indiana NIL guru says settlement threatens 'what we love about college sports' 44:46

6M ago44:46

44:46

Any day now, a federal judge is expected to give final approval to a $2.8 billion settlement of three antitrust lawsuits that could dramatically alter the landscape of college sports. And given the tumult since the creation of the transfer portal and name, image and likeness opportunities for athletes, that’s saying something. In addition to awardi…

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UConn champion Kelley Gay applies on-court lessons as corporate VP in Indy 47:15

6M ago47:15

47:15

Comparing company employees to a sports team is a well-worn management trope, but Kelley Gay knows as well as anyone the value of translating the experience of a championship-level athlete to the corporate world. She graduated from one of the most lauded team cultures in the history of college athletics: the University of Connecticut’s women’s bask…

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Maureen Weber on the importance of early learning, leadership and failure 23:29

6M ago23:29

23:29

This week’s IBJ Podcast features a conversation from our Forty Under 40 awards breakfast last week with Maureen Weber, the winner of this year’s Alumni Award. Maureen was originally a Forty Under 40 honoree in 2010. Back then, she had just finished reorganizing the Indiana Department of Education and had taken a job as director of community outreac…

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Could a tax credit upgrade help make Indiana a film and media hub? 36:56

6M ago36:56

36:56

In this era of online entertainment, you could switch to a steaming service this very second and watch one of many classic movies filmed in Indiana. You would be hard-pressed to find many movies and TV shows that recently were filmed in Indiana—even those where the stories are set in Indiana. Other states, including several of our immediate neighbo…

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Born in Mumbai, TED expert bringing global sports leaders to Indy 43:32

7M ago43:32

43:32

Neelay Bhatt was born in Mumbai, India, and didn’t move to Indiana until 2006, after he finished a graduate degree in sports administration. But he found a home here because he speaks the language of sports and developed a strong network of local sports executives. In 2023, he founded a consultancy in Carmel that focuses in part on master planning,…

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Pete the Planner on the Social Security cliff and potential for benefit cuts 43:14

7M ago43:14

43:14

If you’re of a certain age—or you anticipate being of a certain age—and you’ve been keeping up with the news lately, there’s a lot out there that can trigger your anxiety. Today we’re going to talk about Social Security. As you likely know, Social Security provides a modest amount of money every month to retirees from a fund that collects payroll t…

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Former NBA exec on joining Pacers’ parent firm, Caitlin Clark’s potential, deal with Kevin Hart company 50:58

7M ago50:58

50:58

Joey Graziano was an executive vice president for the NBA with global responsibilities when he began working with Pacers Sports & Entertainment on the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis. The way he tells it, Graziano soon became convinced that the Indiana Pacers, Indiana Fever and the city of Indianapolis on the whole presented enormous pote…

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Tech founder on building teams, loving pivots, fostering startup hustle in high schools 51:55

7M ago51:55

51:55

Scott Lingle grew up in Indianapolis with parents who were always looking for ways to bring in extra money and eliminate debt. Their entrepreneurial pursuits included flipping more than a dozen houses and rehabilitating a host of other products for resale. Scott Lingle knew early on that he wanted to be in sales. After a distinguished career in the…

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Third-gen Indy hotelier on industry ups and downs, $43.5M Ball State project 48:33

8M ago48:33

48:33

Based in Indianapolis, the Schahet family has been managing and developing hotels since the 1960s. The family firm Schahet Hotels currently has nine properties in its portfolio, mostly in central Indiana, with a 10th hotel under construction in Muncie and an 11th in the final planning stages. There’s still room in the lodging industry for mom-and-p…

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Marsh Davis on a career saving Indiana landmarks, bringing right people to the table 50:36

8M ago50:36

50:36

Indiana has been a national leader in historic preservation for decades. Hoosiers have a strong record for studying, cataloguing and saving homes, churches, farms, factories, covered bridges, monuments, courthouses, hotels, libraries and even entire commercial districts and neighborhoods deemed to have historic value. Since being founded in 1960, t…

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The risks tariffs pose to Indiana’s manufacturing-heavy economy 33:34

8M ago33:34

33:34

Podcast listeners might remember about three months ago when regular guest Pete the Planner predicted that President Donald Trump’s plans for tariffs could have a pronounced effect on some elements of Indiana’s economy. Trump wasted little time once his second term began last month, imposing or thratening to impose a barrage of tariffs on many of A…

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With billions at stake, hyperscale data centers become charged issue in Indiana 34:59

8M ago34:59

34:59

You don’t need to be too technically savvy to pick up on the charged atmosphere surrounding large-scale data centers. Various technology-heavy industries need data centers as a kind of way station and storage point for all the electronic information they generate and process. As technology evolves at a breakneck speed, the size of these centers gro…

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A preschool, a church, a pickleball palace—tracking the transformations of Indy’s vacant Marsh supermarkets 34:52

8M ago34:52

34:52

Founded in central Indiana, Marsh Supermarkets Inc. at its peak operated well over 100 stores, with a critical mass in the nine-county Indianapolis metro area. In 2017—11 years after a private equity firm took ownership—just 63 stores remained. Marsh declared bankruptcy in May 2017. From those 63 stores, Marsh closed the majority and sold 26 to Kro…

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The latest on downtown soccer stadium, $78M Fever facility and Simon hotel/concert venue 43:06

9M ago43:06

43:06

It’s time to unpack the latest developments in Mayor Joe Hogsett’s plan to establish a Major League Soccer team in downtown Indianapolis. Among other things, the team needs a stadium to play in. The city earmarked about 16 acres in the southeast quadrant of the Mile Square and held discussions with MLS officials. We were left with a cliffhanger: Ca…

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Pete the Planner on Trump's second term, rising inflation and the impact of the LA wildfires on housing 32:45

9M ago32:45

32:45

The official release date of this episode is Jan. 20, which not coincidentally is Inauguration Day. President Trump will outline his vision for second term, but we already have a sense of what to expect in terms of economic policy. Four of the biggest themes are prioritizing tax cuts, decreasing regulation in several major industries, increasing ta…

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Inside the mind of a rising Indy apartment developer 44:36

9M ago44:36

44:36

After five years leading apartment development for Indianapolis-based real estate firm Birge & Held, Jarod Brown decided he wanted a business with his name on the door. So he struck out on his own in late 2022 and soon hung his shingle for Brown Capital Group on an historic building in Broad Ripple. As a developer, he hit the ground running with an…

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Dave Lindquist previews can't-miss entertainment in 2025 30:46

9M ago30:46

30:46

2024 was a big year for entertainment in Indianapolis. Taylor Swift came to town for three concerts of course. But major sports events including NBA All-Star Weekend, the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials and Indianapolis 500 included multiple concerts and arts events. Even celebrations around the eclipse featured music and the arts. So will 2025 be a l…

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Mission of Indy furniture maker ‘is about building other people up’ 38:13

10M ago38:13

38:13

Indy-based Furniture maker Purposeful Design LLC—which lives under the umbrella of the nonprofit Sagamore Institute—works with local relief organizations to recruit people who have struggled with addiction, homelessness, incarceration and other obstacles to self-sufficiency. As apprentices and craftspeople, the workers learn skills that can help th…

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Josef Newgarden, Indy 500 champ and avid investor, also races against S&P 500 34:48

10M ago34:48

34:48

IndyCar and Indy 500 champion Josef Newgarden doesn’t take his hands off the steering wheel when he leaves the cockpit of his No. 2 Chevy. He enjoys being a very hands-on caretaker of his career, business interests and financial life. As he says in his IBJ Podcast interview this week, “Maybe I’m just too type-A, but I want to know where every dolla…

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Why size matters when it comes to concert venues in Indy 43:53

11M ago43:53

43:53

Indianapolis-based concert company MOKB Presents recently announced plans to open a 1,200-capacity venue in early 2026 at the former site of Well Done Marketing in Fountain Square’s Murphy Arts Building. The plans for a new indoor venue means outdoor concerts at shows at the Hi-Fi Annex — located in the parking lot outside the Murphy building — wil…

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Inside jeweler’s decision to close one of downtown’s oldest businesses 38:28

11M ago38:28

38:28

Windsor Jewelry has operated within a stone’s throw of Monument Circle since the year 1919. Some of its client relationships go back five generations. It has been owned by only three people: its founder, Sig Asher; then Asher’s son-in-law, Herman Logan; and then Greg Bires, an employee who bought the business from Logan in 1998. It has survived the…

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Pete the Planner on Trump’s potential impact on investors, taxes, inflation and the auto industry 35:48

11M ago35:48

35:48

Donald Trump is headed for a second term in the White House. The pundits have had ample opportunity to dissect the political implications of his victory. For this week’s podcast, we wanted to explore the potential financial repercussions of a new Trump administration. There’s no mystery about his fondness toward tariffs—the taxes applied by the gov…

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Inside the plan to extend life expectancy for residents of five Indy neighborhoods 39:27

11M ago39:27

39:27

One way you can gauge the health of a city is the number of cranes on its skyline. One of the biggest contributors of cranes over downtown in the last two years has been the $4.3 billion IU Health hospital campus under construction just south of Methodist Hospital. It’s a generational development for that side of downtown, but IU Health officials w…

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What Indy tourism guru Chris Gahl learned from his father’s murder, surviving cancer 44:41

12M ago44:41

44:41

Last week’s edition of the IBJ Podcast featured Chris Gahl, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Visit Indy, unpacking the strategy for promoting Indianapolis to a worldwide audience during Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. As promised, we have a follow-up interview with Gahl this week that is so different from last week’s that we neede…

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How Taylor Swift will give Indy a massive platform to promote itself 39:45

12M ago39:45

39:45

Does anyone need reminding that Indianapolis is less than two weeks away from hosting Taylor Swift and the last U.S. dates for the Eras Tour? There of course are three shows scheduled Nov. 1, 2 and 3 in Lucas Oil Stadium, and more than 50 related events planned across the city to entertain fans over what essentially will be a major holiday downtown…

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What’s the potential impact of Lilly’s $4.5B ‘medicine foundry’ in Lebanon? 29:48

1y ago29:48

29:48

The LEAP Research and Innovation District under development near Lebanon represents a shift in the way economic development officials are working to attract companies to Indiana and create jobs. Its detractors have objected to the strategy by the Indiana Economic Development Corp. to corner thousands of acres of rural land for the project. Some are…