This week, we catch up with Keith Johnston, and frankly, we’re a little out of breath. That’s because he started Running2bWell, a running group open to all fitness levels that offers free training and is geared toward people in recovery. He talks about the science behind how physical activity improves mental well-being, along with the health benefits of connections,  and this group offers both of these things, as inclusiveness is the main focus of activities. Also, those who show up to three running meetups get a new pair of running shoes, he adds. The group is hosting the Buzzard Beach 5K Saturday, July 20 at Munroe Falls Metro Park, 521 S. River Road, in Munroe Falls. To register, visit http://bit.ly/2H77qPV. Registration is open until the event starts. 

This week, we visit Rock Mill Climbing (and Yoga and Fitness) in downtown Akron to check out their climbing wall, which is geared toward a number of ages and skill levels. We speak with Nicholas Muffet, director of marketing and community for Rock Mill Climbing, who offers a number of pointers for “bouldering” (like using your legs more than your arms to support yourself), along with how to properly fall from the climbing wall. Be sure to visit our Facebook page or the Akronist's YouTube channel for a video from our visit. For info, visit rockmillclimbing.com.

Yes, we're back from a bit of a hiatus, but fear not, because we cover months of ground in this single episode: what we've been up to, and what Akron's been up to. We offer some perspective to all the construction and orange barrels downtown, and we talk about the amazing placemaking efforts happening, the importance of local sourcing, and some of the many recent Akron events, like the opening of the first floor Generator Space at Bounce Innovation Hub. Speaking of Bounce, this episode is sponsored by HAZEL TREE DESIGN STUDIO, which is behind Bounce's incredible new look and redesign. Visit www.hazeltreeinteriors.com for info. 

This week we welcome Jillian Smith, founder of the ChickLits Book Club Akron, which offers a space where local women can connect through literature in an unconventional environment. The group meets monthly at Annabell’s in Highland Square, and meetups are often paired with signature drinks, food and activities to benefit local charities, along with entertainment. For example, a recent event included a body positive burlesque performance. She speaks with Shane and Chris about what inspired this group, along with her love of hot dogs and horror movies, and her favorite things to do in Akron. ChickLits meets on the third Tuesday of the month. The next meetup is Tuesday, Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m. at Annabell’s. You can find the group on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/chicklits/, or Instagram (@chicklits_akron).

It’s going to be a busy month for Devil Strip Publisher Chris Horne. This Saturday, Aug. 11 is the second annual Signal Tree Fest, which will celebrate so many things that make us uniquely Akron: music, food, vendors, children’s activities, yoga and a long list of Akron staples at Lock 3 and Lock 4 in downtown Akron. Chris also is on his way to Stanford University in California, where he’s been awarded a prestigious John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship. Shane and Cody speak with Chris about these well-earned accolades, and we meet Rosalie Murphy, the Devil Strip magazine’s new editor in chief. Signal Tree Fest will run from noon till 10 p.m. For info, visit https://www.signaltreefest.com/.

On Saturday, Aug. 4, an estimated 1,000 people will gather under the giant awning of the Trolley Barn in downtown Akron for Akron Ale Fest, which celebrates some of the area’s best craft breweries, which organizer Mathias King says are at once chemists and artists when concocting their ale recipes. Chris and Cody talk with Mathias about the intricacies of hosting a large-scale event like this, whose proceeds will benefit Crafty Mart. Tickets and volunteer opportunities are available by visiting www.akronalefest.com.

On Saturday, Aug. 25, thousands of Akronites will celebrate our diverse LGBTQ population with the Second Annual March for Equality and Akron Pride Festival. This week, we welcome Rebecca Callahan, executive director of CANAPI (the Community AIDS Network/Akron Pride Initiative), along with Phil Montgomery and Cindy Christman, from the Akron Community Foundation’s Gay Community Endowment Fund. We talk about Pride Fest — a safe, family-friendly event with live music, vendors, food trucks, children’s activities and other amenities — along with the discrimination that is still prevalent against the LGBTQ community, bringing about the need for Akron’s anti-discrimination ordinance. For info about Pride Fest, visit www.akronpridefestival.org. For more about CANAPI, visit www.canapi.org, and to learn more about the Gay Community Endowment Fund, visit www.akroncf.org/gcef.

More than 130 bands will take the stage, er, porches, for this year’s Highland Square Porch Rokr Festival, which on this very podcast was once dubbed “Rock N Roll Christmas.” This week, we speak with Katie Carver Reed, from the Highland Square Neighborhood Association, a vast network of neighborhood volunteers who go to great lengths to make sure this festival is a success each year. Porch Rokr, which takes place Saturday, Aug. 18, will feature a beer garden, morning yoga, food trucks and other vendors, a limited raffle for a guitar signed by music legends Dan and Chuck Auerbach, a karaoke stage and, of course, lots of music. And speaking of music, we also have a conversation with Luminari and Smokeface from dynamic hip-hop group Red Rose Panic, this year’s Porch Rokr main stage headliners. They explain their band origins, along with making the most of each 24. For info, visit http://www.highlandsquareakron.org/porchrokr.aspx.

It’s been a busy summer so far for the Spoils crew, but we finally have a chance to catch up. Cody has a cool new job, Shane is starting another powerful visual storytelling project, this time in North Hill, and Ryan talks about his aspirations of being a roller-skating ref. From outdoor Zumba downtown, to duck derbies and roller skating parties, the fearless hosts count the many ways Akron is as much a cool summer spot as any vacation destination, especially during August.

Roller derby is a full contact sport, but the athletes are much more than their tough exteriors depict. Envision football on roller skates, says Kiwi, one of the athletes for Akron Roller Derby, which will play its next bout Saturday, June 16, at the Summit County Fairgrounds. This week, we speak with a number of athletes from the team and learn about the stories behind their roller derby monikers, along with what they do when they’re not skating. The team is a “mega-team” comprising former members of NEO Roller Derby and the Rubber City Rollergirls. Roller derby skaters must pass a number of tests to join the team, one being 27 laps around the track in five minutes (which is more challenging than it sounds). Plus, they’re some of the hardest working athletes in the area. For info, visit www.akronrollerderby.net.

Akron Adventures is a mystery podcast for young listeners that’s inspired by real Akron events. This week, we’re happy to welcome Julie Drew and Casey Shevlin, two of the three women behind this new podcast, with a team that comprises writers and educators who pull from a host of experience, including children’s literature, storytelling, film and production. Julie and Casey discuss this compelling form of serial storytelling that involves written scripts, actors and sound effects and hearkens back to radio plays of the past. They also talk about their affinity for Akron, a “right-sized city” for creative work such as theirs. The first season of the podcast is based on a mystery surrounding the graves at Akron’s Schneider Park, which was once the site of the Summit County Infirmary (or poor house). You can listen to Akron Adventures through iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud (and anywhere else you hear podcasts). For info, visit https://www.snowdayproductions.com.

Even if you haven’t heard of Amp Strategy, chances are you’ve seen their work. Founded by sisters Kat Pestian and Morgan Lasher, the marketing and communications company is behind a number of successful local campaigns to personalize the messages of nonprofits, businesses and other organizations and share authentic stories of the people within. While their careers have taken them all over the country, like Boston and Los Angeles (where Kat actually brushed elbows with George Clooney), Kat and Morgan were happy to return to Akron early in their careers to make their mark on Akron. The entrepreneurs join Ryan and Cody to share their own personal stories, along with what inspired them to branch off and start their own business. They also talk about their many connections to the community, like Morgan’s recent appointment to the Akron Public Schools Board of Education. To learn more about the amazing work they do, visit http://www.ampstrategy.com/.

This week, we welcome Hannah Comeriato, who collected personally powerful stories for the book “TransAkron,” which was published by the Gay Community Endowment Fund of Akron Community Foundation and spotlights a range of gender noncomforming community members. For the book, Comeriato collaborated with Shane, who took photos, and the people the two of them met have made a lasting impression. Hopefully, this storytelling project also will serve as an educational resource for those who are cisgender who may want to learn more about what it means to be transgender, including meanings of pronouns and terms, along with awareness of the discrimination and danger faced by transgender residents. For info about this story series and the Gay Community Endowment Fund’s news, visit www.akroncf.org/gcef. 

Akron is at the tipping point of innovation and entrepreneurship, says Heather Roszczyk, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Advocate for the city of Akron, who joins Shane and Chris to discuss the landscape of local business startups, including the opening of the new Bounce Innovation Hub in downtown Akron. And innovation doesn’t necessarily mean tech-based inventions, it’s merely a revolutionary way of looking at something, she adds. It’s apparent that Akronites take a unique view of the world around us, which is likely why we were selected for eBay’s Retail Revival program, and Heather points this out as an example of e-commerce and bricks and mortar working hand-in-hand. We also learn about Heather's operatic college studies and her endurance running accomplishments, along with what keeps her in Akron. To find out more about Heather’s amazing work in the community, visit akronisforentrepreneurs.org.

This week, we welcome the multi-talented Courtney Cable, Creative Director of the Curated Storefront program, which manages multimedia public art installations in some of downtown Akron's vacant buildings, helping to beautify these spaces as they await development. Courtney, who’s also a jewelry maker and musician, shares a unique vantage point of Akron’s arts landscape, along with leading Shane and Chris in a singalong, featuring commercial jingles for Tootsie Rolls and Ms. Pac Man Cereal. We also talk about local paw-paw harvests and getting buried in a Don Drumm casserole dish. For info about Curated Storefront, visit http://www.curatedstorefront.org/.

This week we visit Pub Bricco in the Merriman Valley, one of many local places where you can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this year. We try some of their great food (the sauerkraut and corned beef bites are like "little fried Ruebens," notes Shane) and talk about the history of the eatery, along with the unique Black Box Theatre, that’s also part of the building. If you do celebrate St. Patrick’s with a drink or two, be sure to have a designated driver or call an Uber, Lyft or cab. Also, check out our Facebook page for a video from this episode. And for info about the restaurant, visit https://www.pubbricco.com/.

Ma’Sue Productions has helped preserve the African-American experience through theatre and storytelling. This week, Shane and Chris sit down with Ma-Sue’s John Dayo-Aliya and Vince Tyree to talk about their Knight Arts Challenge grant for a tour of the play “Or Does It Explode?” (donations and support are being accepted to help fulfill their grant match), a new story series called #Blakron, and the origins of theatre company’s name, along with an upcoming fundraiser March 23 at the Akron Civic Theatre, which happens to also coincide with a birthday party for local journalist and Ma’Sue supporter Yoly Miller. And when they’re not busy producing quality theatre, John and Vince play in a local band, Church of Starry Wisdom, which is described as macabre worship music with pop sensibilities. For info on attending the fundraiser or contributing to the grant match, visit www.facebook.com/masueproductions.

This week we welcome Amber Cullen, organizer of “Until Name Becomes Prayer,” which takes place Monday, Feb. 26, 7 p.m. at Summit Artspace and will feature award-winning Samoan poet and educator William Alfred Nu’utupu Giles, who will stop through Akron as part of his national poetry tour. We also speak with Pumpkin, a Native-American artist, writer and speaker, whose pottery demonstrations will join a number of other local artists at the "Until Name Becomes Prayer" event, including Himalayan Music Academy (music/dance), Gum-Dip Theatre (theatre), Hula Fusion (dance), Akron BMe Community (poetry) and Poetry is Life Publishing (poetry). Pumpkin, who moved to the Akron area from the Southwest, shares an indigenous perspective to being an American and talks about how Giles’ visit will help raise native voices through creativity, meaningful discussion, arts and other avenues. Giles’ visit also will include writing workshops and open mics, like an "open mic response" Tuesday, Feb. 27, 7 p.m. at The Exchange House (760 Elma St., on North Hill). Visit the “Until Name Becomes Prayer” event page for info.

Yeah, we know. This is a tagline from another podcast (My Favorite Murder), but it seems like a useful piece of advice, one of many we share as the “Core Four” catches up and talks about the myriad cool developments in town, like eBay choosing Akron for a first-of-its-kind retail initiative, the new Akron Art Library, along with self-help tips like using car karaoke as therapy. We also discuss our new podcast direction, which will center around interesting local people in more experience-based interviews. If you have any ideas for future episodes, please send them our way at spoilsofakron@gmail.com.

At the Akron Makerspace, the only limits are your own imagination. From 3-D printing to woodworking, sewing, laser-engraving, metalwork and crafts, you can pretty much make anything at this volunteer-staffed membership organization. This week, Chris and Shane sit down with Devin Wolfe and Beck Radonich, from Akron Makerspace, about the growing national “maker movement” and the organization’s many offerings, including free classes, game nights and mentorships, along with the Makerspace’s future plans to move into Bounce - Akron's Innovation Hub, a new collaborative that will offer a one-stop shop for startups, innovators, universities and others. Bounce also will help makers scale up their business models and ideas. For info about this incredible organization, visit www.akronmakerspace.org.