First, a quick note: We’re doing a survey. We want to know what you think about the show – even if you’ve just started listening! What’s working – or not working? How do you listen? We’d love to hear from you, and as an added incentive, we’ve got some classic public radio swag that we’ll be giving to a few lucky survey-takers. Follow this link. C'mon, it'll be fun!

Did anyone ever give you a mixtape? It’s a pretty great feeling. A collection of songs they put together just for you. It was a key part of both friendship and romance in the '90s. The cassette with the handwritten list of songs, the way even the songs you wouldn’t have liked in any other context turned into something emotionally resonant. The fact that you’d been thought of.

So we decided to make you a mixtape this week. Maybe it’s not quite as personal. And the songs on the tape are actually stories. Still, there’s a variety, and it felt good to put them together for you. There are a few stories about people who do their work out of the limelight. Sometimes right behind it. There’s a story about what happens to your relationship with your father once he finally retires. There are some poems. And, in keeping with the spirit of romance that a mixtape provides, we also sent out a reporter to determine whether love is real.

1. Some About That Bass

Natalie Ingalls is in a band, but that doesn’t mean she understands what the bass is all about. She got some bassists to explain it to her.

Natalie produces the “I'm No Expert” podcast at the Indiana University Media School and struggles with barre chords on her guitar in her spare time.

2. Blinded By the Lighting

Jack Lindner decided he’d heard enough from actors and directors. He wanted to hear what it was like to work behind the scenes. Or maybe, in this case, in front of the scenes. To warm us up for that, this segment starts with a poem by Tonia Matthew, called “Concert Hall.”

Jack is an intern at Inner States and Podcast Manager for IU Student Television.

3. Workin’ At Night’s All Right

Helen Rummel’s a night person, and all that time around other people in the wee hours, she developed a theory: people are more open and honest, maybe even vulnerable, at night. She talked with a couple other people who work at night to find out. Before her story, we have another poem, because ghosts come out at night, too: “Notes on Being a Ghost,” by Erica Anderson-Senter.

Helen is the editor-in-chief of the Indiana Daily Student.

4. Dad Moon Rising

Meredith Hemphill’s dad, Tim, retired recently. That changed their relationship, and she wanted to talk with him about it. We lead into that with Steve Henn’s poem, “The Dad Rules.”

Meredith Hemphill studies investigative journalism and writes speculative fiction under the pen name Meri Elena.

5. Can You Explain the Love Tonight?

So many mixtapes are made in those heady days of early love. It got us wondering about love, so we sent our intrepid producer Avi Forrest out to answer a question: Is love real?

Avi is an intern at Inner States and the host of “I’m No Expert,” a podcast from the Indiana University Media School.

Music

Our theme song is by Amy Oelsner and Justin Vollmar. The episode also uses music from the artists at Universal Production Music, and more music from Amy and Justin.

Thanks

Special thanks this week to producers Natalie Ingalls, Jack Lindner, Helen Rummel, Meredith Hemphill, and Avi Forrest, who also helped produce this episode. The poems you heard came from WFIU’s Poets Weave, produced by Luann Johnson.