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Cultural Manifesto

Cultural Manifesto

Written by: WFYI Public Media
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About this listen

 Each week on Cultural Manifesto, Kyle Long reveals stories and sounds from the creative frontlines of the past and present. Through music, archives and artist interviews, discover how creators shape meaning with sound, in Indianapolis and well beyond. Tune in each week to this WFYI Public Media show for discoveries that will delight your ears and expand your understanding of our shared world.2024 WFYI Public Media Music
Episodes
  • Indianapolis musician, writer and rapper Foosie on his debut album, All-American Ghetto

    Indianapolis musician, writer and rapper Foosie on his debut album, All-American Ghetto
    Apr 29 2026
    Indianapolis-based rapper, musician, and writer Foosie discusses his debut album, “All-American Ghetto.” The album draws on his life — from growing up in Indianapolis’ Mapleton-Fall Creek neighborhood to serving a 20-year prison sentence. During his incarceration, he learned to play acoustic guitar and developed his voice as a writer through the Indiana Prison Writers Workshop. In this conversation, Foosie reflects on that journey — and on the music and family that shaped him, including his uncle, Vonzell Wheeler of the legendary Naptown soul group The Vanguards.
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    42 mins
  • The secret history of Radio Free Naptown

    The secret history of Radio Free Naptown
    Apr 22 2026
    In 1968, a group of young Indianapolis broadcasters made history — they built their own radio station from scratch, without a license, and dared the FCC to stop them. For four years, Radio Free Naptown brought underground music to the city, from Captain Beefheart to Gil Scott-Heron, broadcasting from makeshift locations that at one point even included a horse pasture. They didn’t call it pirate radio; they called it bootleg. Co-founders Steve Everitt and Don Worsham tell the inside story of Radio Free Naptown.
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    55 mins
  • Software, the feminist synth-rock band that broke barriers for women and LGBTQ+ musicians in Indianapolis

    Software, the feminist synth-rock band that broke barriers for women and LGBTQ+ musicians in Indianapolis
    Apr 15 2026
    Hear a conversation with members of Software, a feminist synth-rock band that broke barriers for women and LGBTQ+ musicians in 1980s Indianapolis. Software performed at iconic venues including The Vogue and The Hummingbird. The band also played at Labyris, a feminist bar in downtown Indianapolis that served as a safe space for the city’s lesbian community. A new anthology of Software’s music, Haven’t You Had Enough, will be released on Record Store Day
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    44 mins
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