99.1 WQRT-LP Indianapolis

Real Life, Revised is a reading series of stories, poems & other truths featuring Indiana writers and produced by Sam Ferrante and John Strauss, with the support of Indiana Humanities, the Butler University MFA Program in Creative Writing, Booth magazine and WQRT. For show times and to join us for open mic opportunities, check us out on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/reallife_revised.

 

 

        00:07 - Open - Sam Ferrante
        00:45 - Thanks to.... Butler MFA, Booth journal, Indiana Humanities, WQRT
        01:15 - Sam reads "USCIS. Take 4 — A Photo" by Noor Hindi
        03:08 - Tylyn Johnson
        05:11 - Autumn Pryor
        11:56 - Nick Setnik
        15:37 - JD Amick
        20:35 - JD: Why Real Life, Revised
        21:50 - Dante Fratturo
        28:16 - Steph Harris
        29:45 - Alessandra Lynch
        34:15 - Kandace Kyere
        36:48 - Wrapup / Readings Update - Sam
        37:36 - Promo for May's RLR - Sam
        38:07 - Closing credits - John Strauss
        38:40 - Music Out

Lee Alig and Steve Mannheimer sit down with architect Jonathan Hess, executive principal of Browning Day. As Indiana’s 2025 AIA Gold Medal winner, Hess reflects on his 40-year career and what it means to live up to his oath to “make no ugly.”

Hold onto your fedoras: On the next episode of Radio Free Book Club, Ken Honeywell, Alex Mattingly, Steve Woods, and Carol Divish head back to 1932 to tag along with P.I. Hicks McTaggart on his search for a missing cheese heiress in Thomas Pynchon’s 2025 novel Shadow Ticket. Spoilers abound.

Real Life, Revised - A reading series of "stories, poems & other truths" featuring Indiana writers and produced by Sam Ferrante and John Strauss, with the support of Indiana Humanities, the Butler University MFA Program in Creative Writing; Booth, a journal; and WQRT Radio, part of the Garfield Park Creative Community from Big Car Collaborative.

This show was recorded March 8, 2026. Our next live event, featuring invited readers and open-mic opportunities, is April 12 at 4 p.m. at Indiana Humanities, 1500 N. Delaware St. in Indianapolis.

 

00:00 - Open - Sam Ferrante
01:50 - Sam reads "To the Woman Crying Uncontrollably in the Next Stall" by Kim Addonizio.
02:55 - David Strange
08:35 - JD Amick
12:50 - Cayden Crouch and Mazzy Booth
17:20 - Natale Solmer
22:30 - Tylyn Johnson
26:45 - Joy Hernandez
32:20 - Ellie
37:20 - Sam Ferrante - Close
38:05 - John Strauss - End Credits
38:30 - Music Out

THE LIBRARIANS | guest: Mary Ann Laker | air date 3/7/26 | FLICK FIX | WQRT

Who better to confront an unsettling documentary about book banning than Mary Ann Laker, an IPS high school librarian for 40 years (and Anne’s mom). THE LIBRARIANS (2025, dir. Kim A. Snyder) probes the political and personal stakes as intellectual freedom is threatened across the country, and prompts Mary Ann’s real-life stories about how books can—and do—change students’ lives.

Anne gets excited as the voice of “YOU'VE never SEEN??” performs the phrase in real time … and bugs Anne about never having seen MAJOR LEAGUE (1989, dir. David S. Ward), an all-American goofy-ragtag-misfit-slapsticky-underdog-triumph tale with a touch of vulnerability (and Wesley Snipes in his prime).

Lee Alig and Steve Mannheimer interview Brian McCutcheon, owner of Ignition Arts in Indianapolis. They discuss innovative fabrication for the arts and industry, and pursuing partnerships with emerging artists around the world.

Binx Bolling is on a search—and Susan Neville, Dan Barden, Anne Laker, and Ken Honeywell join him as they discuss The Moviegoer, Walker Percy’s National Book Award-winning debut novel from 1961, at the February 2026 meeting of Radio Free Book Club. 

00:00: Sam Ferrante, opening.
02:28 - "Object Permanence" by Nicole Sealey, read by Sam Ferrante
03:35 - Korie Griggs
09:23 - Skylar Dingledy
13:42 - Katie Hilton
18:05 - Aaron Thomas
22:47 - Bek Primrose
28:10 - WQRT Acknowledgment, Sam Ferrante
28:18 - Cayden Crouch
34:05 - Logan Taylor
39:28 - Butler MFA and Indy Reads acknowledgment, Sam Ferrante
39:55 - Shepherd
44:35 - Rob Stapleton
50:05 - Kandace w/ a K
55:13 - Close, Sam Ferrante
55:50 - Closing credits, John Strauss
56:15 - Music Out

Lee Alig and Steve Mannheimer interview Pauline Moffat on the origins of IndyFringe and The District Theatre. The scene provides ongoing opportunity for emerging playwrights and actors on a repurposed block of Mass Ave in Indianapolis. 

Radio Free Book Club starts the new year the same way it started last year: talking about the latest winner of the prestigious Booker Prize. This time, it’s David Szalay’s novel Flesh. Robin Beery, Sarah Layden, and Matt Gonzales join Ken Honeywell for the discussion.