In 2016, after 4 years of blogging about local Fishers news, I went back to my roots as a radio broadcaster. I had hosted several radio talks show in my day from the mid-1970s through 1982. I had heard about this thing called podcasting.
Once I investigated, it turns out to be a lot like doing radio. So, I read some books, did some online research, got some good advice from my good friend and tech guru Scott Fulton and plunged right in.
My first podcast in February of 2016 was Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness. He was kind to give me his time then and many times since. He is, not surprisingly, prominent in the listing below.
I decided to peruse all the data from my LarryInFisher.com local podcasts in 2023 and list those with the most listens. Although the local election in Fishers did not show much traction in those reading my blog, it did turn out to be popular among my podcast listeners. Half the top ten consist of podcasts tied to the November, 2023 Fishers municipal election (along with the school referendum).
So, here is a listing of the top ten LarryInFishers.com podcasts in 2023, based on the number of people listening. (NOTE: You have links to each podcast if you wish to listen)
10. David Giffel
David Giffel was appointed to fill the term of long-time Council Member David George and ran for a full term in the Southwest City Council District. He lost to Democrat Bill Stuart in a close race. David was quite relaxed during this campaign interview with myself and retired teacher Mike Fassold and answered all our questions. Whatever you may think of his political views, I like David personally. Perhaps that is why so many people listened to his campaign interview in this podcast.
9. Advance HSE
This is another podcast linked to the election, focused on the Political Action Committee (PAC) “Advance HSE” which advocated for passage of a property tax funding referendum for the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District. HSE Schools encompass the entire City of Fishers, but also include all of Delaware, Fall Creek and Wayne Townships. The PAC accomplished its objective when the referendum passed by a wide margin in the November balloting
8. New owners for Fishers & Geist Magazines
In 2023, I entered into an agreement with local publisher Tom Britt to provide content for his monthly publication Fishers Magazine. I am paid a small amount and provide Mr. Britt with news content for Fishers Magazine. Tom Britt sold the Fishers and Geist monthly magazines but supports them through a franchise arrangement. I recorded a podcast with Tom Britt, new Fishers Magazine publisher Allison Gatz and Geist Magazine owner Justin Biehl, to explain all the changes.
Todd is featured in 2 podcasts on this list. This is the interview Mike Fassold and I had about his re-election campaign. I have known Todd a long time and he was kind to once again provide time for us to hear his views on the campaign podcast.
6. Future Black Leaders, Fishers High School
At each HSE School Board meeting, the first item on the agenda is a “Snapshot of Success.” One such snapshot was of the Future Black Leaders club at Fishers High School. Through the school administration and the teacher sponsor, I arranged to record a podcast with three club members – Katrell Readus, Bailey Liner and Myla Cantrell. This was an honest discussion with these students on their club and what they do.
This is the second podcast on this list featuring City Councilor Todd Zimmerman…another city official, Jake Reardon McSoley, joins the podcast. We talk just after the official announcement of the new Fishers Community Center, to be located at 121st Street and Hoosier Road. Ground breaking for this new facility is set for early 2024.
4. Jody Britten – the Fishers Bubble
I moved to Fishers in 1991 and have always enjoyed living in this community. Jody Britten and her family have also lived in Fishers for a while and says she has many good friends here in the city. But she also travels extensively in her work. She wrote a blog post that caught my eye. She argues that most of us living in Fishers live in a bubble. In other words, we do not always understand how people outside Fishers see us. This podcast is worth a listen.
This was a close at-large election, but Republican Tiffanie Ditlevson did win a seat on the Fishers City Council. We discussed a number of subjects in this podcast about her campaign, including her time on the Hamilton East Library Board and her views on Moms for Liberty.
Unlike Tiffanie Ditlevson, Howard Stevenson came out on the short end of the at-large City Council election. Mike Fassold & I talked with Howard about a number of subjects and his campaign.
Number 1
It should be no surprise the number 1, most listened-to LaryInFishers.com podcast in 2023 featured Mayor Scott Fadness. The mayor had just provided comments to the Indianapolis Star and other local media outlets about the controversies surrounding the Hamilton East Library, serving Fishers and Noblesville. A library board policy reviewing books in the young adult section for possible reshelving in the adult book collection drew the ire of local author John Green, which created a bevy of publicity about our local community. The mayor has always made clear he doesn’t weigh-in on most social issues, but he did provide some measured comments about the library situation. I also talked with the mayor about some other subjects in this podcast, but most of the time was spent on the library issue. FYI, there has been a change in the membership of the library board and the controversial policy has been reversed by the new board majority.
So, that’s the list featuring the most-listened-to LarryInFishers.com podcasts for 2023, after a look at the data provided by my hosting company, Soundcloud. Based on that, the number of total listens to all my LarryInFishers.com podcasts for 2023 exceeds 10,000. Once again, thanks to all of you for reading this blog and listening to my podcasts. You are the only reason I do all this.