© 2026. The Trustees of Indiana University
Copyright Complaints
1229 East Seventh Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47405
News, Arts and Culture from WFIU Public Radio and WTIU Public Television
Give Now
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Porchlight

Porchlight with Tom Roznowski offers WFIU listeners a weekly invitation to visit the familiar and the forgotten through recorded song, original story, and the occasional everyday expert.

An artifact from the Thomas Edison Museum.
Things
Tom Roznowski
Ours is a diverse culture and divided country in many ways, but there is one characteristic that securely unites most all of us as Americans. We have way too much stuff.
Fairgrounds Park pool, St. Louis, Missouri.
Chuck
Tom Roznowski
Hudson Bay Company
Neil
Tom Roznowski
The Rex Theatre in Leland, MS.
Movies
Tom Roznowski
Kentland, Indiana train depot postcard
Train
Tom Roznowski
  • Polar bear at the zoo.
    '20s
    Tom Roznowski
    It’s not until later in life that you realize how short a decade really is.
  • Constantinople.
    Coffee
    Tom Roznowski
    We spend an inordinate amount of money, effort, and time securing a daily cup of coffee. The caffeine effect is a little less than 5 hours for an 8 oz. serving.
  • Tamar Kander painting
    Canvas
    Tom Roznowski
    A painting communicates and connects without words, without sound. Just one sense and your feelings.
  • Catskill Game Farm.
    Animals
    Tom Roznowski
    Perhaps we might consider ourselves mammals first, humans second.
  • They'll Do It Every Time
    Comics
    Tom Roznowski
    With daily comic strips, it’s either a laugh with the next installment or a problem that may not be solved until tomorrow. The lesson either way is that life is short.
  • Carl's Bookstore, Greencastle, PA
    Books
    Tom Roznowski
    Books allow us to communicate the deepest meaning between time periods, between cultures, between total strangers. Wherever it is, we can be there.
  • The Ogunquit Playhouse.
    Act
    Tom Roznowski
    Acting up and acting out are usually considered behavioral problems.
  • The Horn & Hardart Automat in Times Square.
    Cash Money
    Tom Roznowski
    Cash money rewards conscious action in the moment. You have it. You spend it. Or not.
  • O' Henry Schoolhouse.
    Story
    Tom Roznowski
    More than anything else, story helps us define what is true and what is worth remembering.
  • Greyhound bus terminal and restaurant in Scranton, PA.
    Leap
    Tom Roznowski
    The steps taken immediately before a leap will determine the distance covered.