City Conversations
“Conversation Piece” host Patrick Armstrong wants to hear your story.
In 2022, Armstrong started the podcast Conversation Piece to better understand Indianapolis and the people who live here. With more than 200 episodes and multiple segments and iterations, it has grown into a live show hosted locally, focusing on interviewing Indianapolis natives.
“From all sides, like from the center of downtown to the Far Eastside, out west, up north, on the south side, there are really cool things happening,” Armstrong says. “And I think through the show and through these conversations, I’ve been able to experience that firsthand, which has been a huge privilege.”
Armstrong was born in South Korea and adopted three months later by a Hoosier couple in rural Indiana, where he grew up. He eventually moved to the Chicago metropolitan area as an adult. At the start of the pandemic in 2020, he got the opportunity to move to Indianapolis. Around that time, Armstrong was led to explore the question of what it means to be Asian American. Shortly after asking more questions and connecting with other Asian Americans in the city, he co-launched a podcast about Asian adoptees called The Janchi Show with Nathan Nowack and KJ Roelke.
In addition to The Janchi Show, Armstrong decided to launch his own show in 2022, which became Conversation Piece. While it started with the desire to produce his own show, he realized his deeper mission was to increase the visibility of the Asian American community in the city through podcasting. In 2024, he pivoted the show to focus on better understanding the city itself.
“I think a lot of people who didn’t grow up in the city had this perception of what Indianapolis was,” Armstrong says. “It wasn’t like Chicago or New York City or Los Angeles. But what I have come to discover, particularly through the show, is that we are every bit as diverse and versatile and impactful as those major cities. We just have not had the same type of cultural density or the same type of investment from cities and organizations as those larger places have. But that creativity, that innovation, that ingenuity happens in places and pockets of Indianapolis that you might not expect.”
One of Armstrong’s favorite moments on the show was interviewing Anthony Murdock II, J.D., founder of the Black Liberation Ecosystem, on episode 80. Armstrong had already been following Murdock on social media for a while and got the opportunity to invite him on the show. During the interview, he noticed Murdock’s body language shift to show their positive connection in conversation. Later, Murdock told him it was one of the best interviews he had ever done, which affirmed Armstrong in continuing the show.
He also loved interviewing Jane Sun Kim, director of Chreece Festival, in one of his 2025 live shows, which opened up many partnerships and opportunities for the show.
Throughout the last year, Armstrong has tried a few different segments of the show. In the live show “In Conversation With,” Armstrong interviews guests in front of an audience. “Artists On” got to know local artists in Indy. “People’s Perspectives on Indy” featured short interviews about people’s perspectives on Indianapolis. And “Open Door” invited anyone and everyone to walk in and talk with Armstrong about anything they wanted to discuss.
The multiple segments were meant to reach different audiences and communities. In thinking about how to continue to give people a platform in a sustainable and meaningful way, Armstrong realized his live show segment checked all those boxes. By the end of 2025, Armstrong ultimately decided to focus all his efforts on the live show “In Conversation With.” Not only has it led to many local partnerships, but it has also created strong connections between the guests and the live audience. It keeps Armstrong going to see the city connect with each other through the show.
After hosting his podcast and living here for a while, Armstrong feels at home in Indianapolis, which he says he has never experienced before. Conversation Piece has redefined what Indianapolis means to him.
“The message that I would share with anybody who might be reading this is don’t let one narrative or one voice derail you from doing the thing that you want or need to do,” Armstrong says. “I think this city in particular needs everybody’s unique, individual skill, ability, business — whatever it is — we need those things. Because that’s what’s going to help develop the culture of Indianapolis in a way that makes people from outside of here say, ‘Oh yeah, I need to be in Indy.’”
To listen to Conversation Piece, visit its website at conversationpiecepod.com or wherever podcasts are streamed. You can also follow the show on Instagram @conversationpiecepod.
