Most scary Halloween stories work because evil creatures or people threaten the protagonist is threatened by. “Torture the women!” Hitchcock famously said. But this year’s halloween story considers the question of “Who’s the monster?” something worth considering at any time of year, but especially in the fall. Cast Students from Christopher Ray’s W…

The days are getting shorter, a chill is in the air, and pumpkins are attacked mercilessly by knife-wielding maniacs: it must be Halloween season. It’s also one of the favorite times of year of Maxwell I. Gold, a Columbus native, author, and executive director of the Horror Writers Association. We discussed his work in weird and cosmic fiction, inc…

Blogger and food writer Sarah Lohman won not one but two 2024Ohio Book Awards: the Ohio Book Award in Nonfiction and the Reader’s Choice Award for her book Endangered Eating: America’s Vanishing Food. The Ohioana Library will present the Ohio Book Awards at the 83rd Annual Ohio Book Awards Celebration on October 29th, where you can meet the award w…

Singer-songwriter Ruth Moody will be in Columbus on September 27 with Six String Concerts. We discussed her new solo album “Wanderer,” her first in a decade, which reflects on motherhood, grief, and love. The album, recorded in Nashville, is deeply personal and resonates with her audience through its emotional vulnerability. She details the challen…

Poet George Bilgere, aka, Our Man in Berlin, drops by to discuss his latest, Cheap Motels of My Youth, which began at a café in Berlin and won the Rattle Magazine chapbook contest. We talk about his writing process, family, and approach to poetry in the digital age. He reads several of his poems, providing a fascinating glimpse into his creative li…

​Violinist Savannah Buist, cellist Katie Larson, and percussionist Michael Dause make up The Accidentals, who will perform in Columbus on March 12 with Six String Concerts. I spoke with Sav and Katie about their time as musicians, how the pandemic changed their musical abilities (think: engineering), and how they got to cowrite with some of their m…

If you’re looking for a break from the various crises filling our lives right now, you might find some solace in reading up on a volatile moment in the United States’ past. This week we talk to Columbus author Karin Cecile Davidson on her first novel, Sybelia Drive, which released on October 6th from Braddock Avenue Books. Sybelia Drive is interwov…

My father was a school administrator for many years and I heard his enthusiasm for schools throughout my childhood. So I was intrigued by the title of Doris Caceres-Schumick’s book Public School Teaching Sucks, Period.: A Memoir of a Special Education/ESL Teacher . She’ll be an author with the virtual 2020 Ohioana Book Festival on August 28-30, but…

Ohioana 2020 author Jodi Andes has worked at the Columbus Dispatch and was a senior investigator at The Ohio Attorney General’s office, where she conducted an inquiry into the con artist Bobby Thompson, the subject of her book, Master of Deceit. Listen in to hear why this conman was able to get access to the top American politicians of the time, li…

Kiya Renea Currently a doctoral candidate at Xavier University, 2020 Ohioana Book Festival author Kiya Renae has written three books: Through Her Own Eyes: This is Only the Beginning; It’s Ok to Be Broken: Highs, Lows, and Happy Mediums; and an as-yet untitled third book. Listen in to hear Ms. Renea share some of her writing and her story ahead of …

Along with her four sisters, Columbus, Ohio, resident Gabrielle C. Burton make up Five Sisters productions. Their recent YouTube release Old Guy features their late father Roger Burton as a man re-entering the acting field after having been away from it since the 1950s. His agent is played by Fraiser’s Peri Gilpin. Listen in to find out about The L…

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Connie Schultz published her first book Life Happens: And Other Unavoidable Truths, a collection of her columns for The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper in 2006. She followed this in 2007 with a book about accompanying her husband Sherrod Brown on his senate campaign, … and His Lovely Wife: A Memoir from the Woman …

I don’t normally post the transcript of my interviews, but this episode makes sense to have it available. Doug Dangler From a secret location in room 100 of 540 jack Gibbs Boulevard, this is Craft. I’m your host Doug Dangler. Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser, chief quality and patient safety officer for the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, has been dealing e…

While Ant-Man floats in the endless expanse of the Marvel Universe Quantum Realm, scientists like Professor Nadya Mason at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign work diligently to discover what the rules of quantum mechanics really are. Professor Mason’s January 13 Science Sundays talk at Ohio State is titled “Going Through the Quantum Tun…

Dino Tripodis started gracing Columbus radio nearly 25 years ago as part of the Dino and Stacy duo, and he’s transitioned to podcasting with Whiskey Business, more writing, and a return to stand up comedy. He dropped by WCBE recently to update me on his latest adventures.Oleh Craft: Exploring Creativity

The universe is endlessly vast and can seem incomprehensible. However, it’s not as incomprehensible as you might think. In his book Your Place in the Universe: Understanding Our Big, Messy Existence, astrophysicist Paul M. Sutter explains a lot about what we know of the universe. In my interview with him, we discuss the Big Bang, the Singularity, t…

I find dystopian novels one of the most interesting forms of science fiction. From 1984 to Fahrenheit 451, authors have created futures that we fear may come to pass (if they haven’t already). Margaret Peterson Haddix is known for her juvenile and young adult series. In the Children of Exile series, she envisions a dystopian future that is still su…

Almost everyone has seen the hilarious comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail. From the Black Knight, the Taunting Frenchman, and the importance of knowing the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow, the film’s many funny moments have a place in the hearts of multiple generations. Eric Idle’s musical comedy Spamalot adapts the movie for the stage …

“I never learned to do taxes at school but I know the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.” The phrase “the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell” has become a common punchline in a lot of jokes online, but how much do people really know about mitochondria? Michael W. Gray gives Craft the chance to learn about some of the theories surro…

It’s here again: Halloween, that time of year when Craft goes a little crazy and gives the world a variety of questionable stories and interviews. We cover all the greatest Halloween hits: cannibalism, zombies, serial killers, where to buy super science supplies, and the scariest of all – politics. My thanks to great help from Sam Bloch, J. Randall…

Ohio author Celeste Ng is the 2018 Ohioana Fiction Award winner for her book Little Fires Everywhere. Listen in as we discuss what it’s like to win an Ohioana award; how she ensured that she got the details right about the setting for her novel, Shaker Heights, Ohio; and how she deals with seeing her own books or those of her friends in a bookstore…

Did your school have mandatory square dancing lesson? Mine did, which may be why I’ll never wear western plaid again. Humorist and participatory journalist Henry Alford has not only written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, Vanity Fair, and the Paris Review but also survived elementary school square dancing lessons. His most rece…

Actor Billy Boyd One of my favorite exchanges in the first Lord of the Rings movie occurs after Aragorn tells the hobbits to stop eating and get walking: Aragorn: Gentlemen! We do not stop ’til nightfall. Pippin: But what about breakfast? Aragorn: You’ve already had it. Pippin: We’ve had one, yes. But what about second breakfast? Merry: Don’t think…

Actor Thomas Ian Nicholas has appeared in many films, starring in Rookie of the Year and playing Kevin Myers in the American Pie franchise. He’s also a musician, producer, and writer. His latest work in production involves magicians and vampires, as well as traveling the country meeting his fans at Comic Con. Listen in for his description of a life…

Steven Wright is one of a handful of comics I’ve paid to see perform live, although that says more about how cheap I am than it does about comics. At any rate, it was great to talk to him and find out how he found his comic voice, what makes him laugh and what the favorite joke he’s written is. Steven Wright will be in Columbus on May 19 with CAPA.…

CEO and founder of Geben Communications, Heather Whaling is a fan of social media, not a surprise given her occupation. So the recent news about the Facebook privacy problems were of particular interest to her. Listen in while she describes the best ways for you to stay safe online as well as who her favorite social media accounts to follow are. We…

For legendary singer-songwriter John Gorka’s new album, True in Time, he casts his mind back to the past, with songs that explore memories and those we’ve lost. Join us as we discuss his songs and his songwriting. John Gorka will perform in Columbus on Friday, April 20 at the Kings Art Complex with Six String Concerts.…

Like many of us, Alberto Cairo is a polls-junky. Whenever election season comes around, he gets locked into the numbers. But for Cairo, it’s not just a seasonal passion; he’s devoted his academic studies to graphical representations of data in news media. Currently, he teaches data visualization at the University of Miami. Cairo became interested i…

Ohio State University alum Michael Kardos had a problem. How could he keep his son busy while he was writing? The solution: promise to write story chapters for his son if he played quietly for a time. In a classic case of unexpected benefits, Kardos discovered that writing for his son made him realize the importance of writing for a sense of wonder…

Christine Hayes is a Columbus native and columnist for the Short North Gazette. You might know her as Ramona Moon, the art car lady. Aside from gluing toys to her car, Hayes has edited a book of her father’s old newspaper columns and cowritten two books about Ohio’s lost restaurants. On this episode of Craft, Christine talks with Adam Hribar about …

Yo ho! Yo ho! It’s the pirate’s life for Steve! Ever since Steve Goble was a kid, he’s been enthralled with the adventure novel. Since he couldn’t be a pirate, Goble became a reporter for ten Ohio news publications and has written everything from crime reports to craft beer reviews to poetry. He has one book out now and is set to publish his second…

Tiny dinosaur! How small can we go with computers? What happens as materials get as tiny as the dinosaur I’ve shrunk to the size of a pen? Amanda Petford-Long is a distinguished physicist in the Materials Science Division of the Argonne National Laboratory and an expert in nano-scale materials. Join us as she discusses what nanomaterials are and wh…

Dustin Meadows has been doing stand up for eight years. He’s released two albums, founded an alternative comedy troupe called Whiskey Bear Comedy, and frequently hosts The Pop Culture mixtape. He stops by Craft to talk about his new album, No! The World Needs Laughter. You can frequently find him performing at Mikey’s Late Night Slice, but until th…

Lori Erickson grew up on a farm in Iowa and grew up reading adventure novels by John L. Stoddard that inspired her to travel the world. In her newest book, Holy Rover, Erickson explores her love of travel and her personal spirituality. Join Lori Erikson and Doug Dangler as they talk about spirituality, the declining monastic culture, and, in a more…

Matthew Kahle is an associate professor at Ohio State and researches topology, geometry, probability, statistical mechanics, and combinatorics. He’s also enamored with Archimedes, one of the foremost mathematicians, scientists, inventors, and engineers of the ancient world. Kahle first heard about Archimedes while he was teaching a summer camp, but…

Want a Marvel-DC cross-over on the silver screen? Well, the studios probably can’t hash out that legal mess, so you’ll have to settle for watching two radio shows collide. Johnny DiLoretto, host of Cinema Classics and WCBE Community Relations Coordinator, stops by Craft to talk about what it’s like to fundraise for public radio. In another twist, D…

Rebecca Walker Reczek, Ohio State associate professor of marketing, will appear on January 21 at the Ohio State University’s Science Sundays where she’ll discuss “Do Healthy Diets Make Empty Wallets? How Consumer Beliefs Shape Food Choice.” Tune in to hear how she studies consumers and what beliefs may be hindering getting the most for your money a…

In the summer of 1992, I had moved to Columbus with my wife so she could attend medical school. I was working odd jobs, including a lunch and dinner shifts at a seedy Italian restaurant I was convinced was run by the mob. Between shifts, I hung out in my smelly uniform at a nearby library, looking through novels and CDs. One odd cover photo caught …

Journalist, novelist, and public speaker Masha Hamilton is the 2017 John E. Nance writer in residence with the Thurber House and will appear with Evenings with Authors on November 14. She’s covered conflicts across the globe, from the fall of the USSR to the Intifada. Listen in as we discuss her work, teaching, and life.…

I’ve tried to meditate, but never got it to work. I’ve focused on my breath, let ideas go past unnoticed, and still haven’t gotten to the peaceful state described in writings about meditation. Serenity now! Ohio State University Associate Professor of Psychology Ruchika Prakash says that meditation is actually very difficult. She’ll be the November…

Brian Kilmeade, co author of three books, will appear with the Thurber House Evenings with Authors series on Thursday, November 2 to discuss his latest Historical Thriller “Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans: The Battle that Shaped America’s Destiny.” Listen in for our discussion of Andrew Jackson This episode is dedicated to David S.…

Italian cemetery If it’s Halloween, it must be time for a Craft Halloween special. Here it is: all the heartwarming family fun you could ask for in a show filled tenderness, beauty, and a pile of cats and dogs burning in front of a dissatisfied witch. Huge thanks to my actors: Kristin Green and Samantha Stark, from Columbus’s own It’s All Been Done…

Ohioana Marisa Silver was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio and has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, an O. Henry Prize, and, on October 6, a 2017 Ohioana Awards. Join us as we talk about her time in Ohio (think overcast skies), her background working in Hollywood, and how she became a writer. For more on her visit to Ohio, check out the Ohioana Faceboo…

If you’ve watched CSI: Las Vegas, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, and CSI: Cyber or even CSI: Pickerington and wondered what really happens during a crime scene investigation, then Lisa Black is the author for you. She spent five years working at the Cuyahoga County morgue doing chemical analysis on evidence from crime scenes and she’s used knowledge gained f…

Sally Fingerett was raised by wolves. Her words. Join us for an exploration of the childhood of this singer-songwriter and founding member of Four Bitchin’ Babes, how being Jewish and born on Christmas Day affected her, and the ways that having an extended family formed her sense of community. Don’t you wish you were raised by wolves? Sally Fingere…

Actor, producer, and author Bruce Campbell has been in a lot of movies that I’ve enjoyed, like the Evil Dead movie franchise, which is now a TV show on Starz Channel (Ash vs. Evil Dead). But perhaps my favorite is Bubba Ho-Tep, in which Campbell stars as an aged Elvis Presley confined to a retirement home and menaced by an ancient Egyptian mummy. I…

Ohio State Professor Nick White had a secret, one he didn’t want to tell himself or anyone else: he was gay. But, like most secrets, it eventually came to light, for him in a surprisingly hopeful way. The protagonist of his new novel travels a similar path but with a much more tragic outcome, being sent to a conversion camp as a youth. Listen in to…

A nightmare scenario: cheap Nordic prices and a wild population. Join us.Oleh Craft: Exploring Creativity

Columbus comedian Leslie Battle is no stranger to struggle. What makes her special is the ability to make others laugh with her at life’s trials and oddities. Listen in as we discuss the decidedly unfunny event that led her to comedy, why her son’s friends may see her in a new light, and what unexpected crowd she scores big with.…

Ohio State University Associate Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Theatre Jennifer Schlueter is a playwright and her latest, Patience Worth, premiered in March in St Louis and will have a two-day run on May 19-20 at Ohio State. We talked recently about the play, its background, and how historical documents can tell their own storie…