Middle America
“Middle America” is a podcast and radio show using history, storytelling, and music to discuss the world that surrounds us. Narrated by the fictional protagonist Wendell Bauer, episodes give both true history of the Central Illinois area and fictional memoir of a resident. Locally created music complements the stories to provide further emotional impact and insight.Topics discussed by “Middle America” thus far have included Illinois abolitionists, the French origins of the Midwest, philanthropist Lydia Moss Bradley, Chicago’s earliest settlers, Prohibition-era gangsters, and comedian Richard Pryor, among others. Along the way there are outlaws, adventure, murder, mutiny, loss, charity, love, and finally progress. www.patreon.com/midamericapod www.facebook.com/midamericapod www.instagram.com/midamericapod www.twitter.com/midamericapod midamericapod.bandcamp.com middleamericapod@gmail.com
Podcasting since 2019 • 15 episodes
Middle America
Latest Episodes
DIY - Punks in Peoria and Our Misfit Family
14. Wendell details some artists and venues from the history of the Peoria, Illinois underground punk music scene including Bloody F. Mess."Middle America" is a podcast using history, storytelling, and music to talk about all of the issu...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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29:06
Distilling - Almiran Cole and Ownership
13. Wendell remembers the man who pioneered whiskey distilling in Peoria, starting the trend that would create "The Whiskey Capital of the World" in the late 1800s. Wendell also discusses a painful creative split."Middle America" is a po...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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25:00
Domesticity - Betty Friedan and the Problem That Has No Name
12. Wendell discusses the woman who sparked the second wave of American feminism, Betty Friedan along with his own domestic depression during a pandemic."Middle America" is a podcast using history, storytelling, and music to talk about a...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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25:14
Toxic - Matt Hale and Cultural Poison
11. Wendell discusses Central Illinois's ugly history of white supremacists through the story of Matt Hale and World Church of the Creator."Middle America" is a podcast using history, storytelling, and music to talk about all of the issu...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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25:16
Seeker - Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, Becoming, and Unbecoming
10. Wendell discusses the life of the first non-indigenous permanent resident of Chicago, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, as well as the events leading to his own life inside and outside of Chicago."Middle America" is a podcast using...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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25:08