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Talk about Hoosier history

Indianapolis will be the home of the nation’s first live with call-in radio talk show about history, which debuts Jan. 12, 11:30 a.m.-noon on public radio station WICR, 88.7 FM from the University of Indianapolis. Hoosier History Live! with host Nelson Price, Indianapolis author, speaker and historian, is intended to stir up talk about Indiana history in a fresh and engaging way, according to Price and the program’s producer, Molly Head.

The topic of Hoosier History Live!’s premiere show will be “Indianapolis as the Reno for quickie divorces during the 1850s” with historian Connie Zeigler as the guest. According to Zeigler, due to loopholes in local laws, people who sought a divorce in the 1850s flocked to Indianapolis. Once city leaders realized the sordid reputation Indianapolis was gaining, they changed the laws.

“Where Were You During the Blizzard of January 1978?” will be the topic of the second show Jan. 19. Listeners are invited to call into the station at 317-788-3314 to share their own stories. Other show topics include sports, music, theater, pop culture history, ethnic immigration and the histories of towns and neighborhoods such as Broad Ripple, Woodruff Place and Plainfield.

To hear the show via the Internet, go to http://wicr.uindy.edu/how_to_listen.htm.