Doty Land Gregory Humphrey

The softer tone of our politics is recalled from the days when a young WDOR radio reporter put on a shirt and tie to cover national politicians.  Driving a Chevet to the Labor Day rally with Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro or thrilling to the enormity of President Ronald Reagan stumping for this tax policy, there is a reminder that our politics while still rough and tumble, allowed for less bombast and meanness among the electorate. If you yearn for politics the way it once was, this professionally produced podcast by Gregory Humphrey is your free trip to the mid-1980s. 

The 1883 blaze at the Newhall House in Milwaukee killed approximately 100 people.  The interesting people who had lodged at the hotel the night of the blaze, including Tom Thumb, an actor, politicians along with two chambermaids from central Wisconsin are part of a story about the intersections of life at the time of a tragic fire.  What brought those to the Newhall House that night? What caused the fire? How did those who survived do it, and how were they affected by their experiences that night? The book focuses on a handful of those who were at the Newhall that night through their lives before the fire, their activities the night of the fire, and in the years following the fire.  Host Gregory Humphrey has produced a professional podcast about an amazing book.
 

The world can be much more enjoyable when viewed from the perspective of a 9-year-old boy.  Rylan Spates, known to many as PB & Bacon 6,  shares his thoughts about everything from spiral stairsteps to rollercoasters.  He shows broadcasting savvy and makes for many enjoyable smiles and laughs along the way.  A wonderful podcast to start off a New Year!

With fondness and laughter Bruce Miller, George Manesis, and Gregory Humphrey trek back 41 years to reminisce about the Wausau, Wisconsin broadcasting school.  From how these young men saw themselves at the time, to how radio impacts their lives today, this podcast episode surely mirrors the hundreds of graduates over the years.  From the school owner, Ray Szmanda, to the iconic Scott Street Pub these three guys regale memories that will transport all those who once harbored 'radio fever' to a place of youthful nostalgia.  An episode that has a professional touch,  a human connection.

Fond memories of Gregory Humphrey's first day on WDOR radio with Elvis' music, recollections of Dan Rather one Sunday morning on a Texas radio station, and a severe thunderstorm in Sturgeon Bay when a Brewer baseball game is knocked off the air as callers light up the phone lines!  Funny memories with another Doty Land professional-sounding podcast.

With contemporaneous accounts of smiles and trying times while dealing with a friend's  Alzheimer's disease come stories of laughter and also tenderness.  The final chapter of the life of Albert Trull, and the way it weaved with the personal life of podcaster Gregory Humphrey as his father was dying, makes for a somber podcast.  But one that is aimed to reach out and ask what role all can play with the elderly people needing friendship and companionship within our communities.