Ben Kieffer
River to River HostExpertise: Interviewing, news and politics, scientific research, history and literature, all in order to help IPR listeners and readers better understand, appreciate and explore their state
Education: Bachelors degree from the University of Iowa
Favorite Iowa Destination: Anywhere where there's swimming, hiking or biking!
Experience:
- Has served as a talk show and podcast host for IPR and WSUI/KSUI
- Has been the host of River to River since 2007
- Hosted IPR's weekly live music/talk show Java Blend from 2000 to 2017
- Is a multi-award-winning host and reporter
- Has created and hosted many regular segments and series, including "Leaving Afghanistan," a series of interviews with US veterans of the Afghanistan War, "Politics Wednesday," "Big Brain," a talk show that tackled life's little questions, "News Buzz" and "Groove into the Weekend"
- Has interviewed major political candidates and elected leaders, including former US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad, former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, Sen. Chuck Grassley, Sen. Joni Ernst, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Kamala Harris, among others
- Worked in Europe for more than a decade as a journalist, translator and consultant
- Reported firsthand in 1989 on the fall of the Berlin Wall and from Prague on the Velvet Revolution
- Hosted a weekly radio magazine about European politics, science and culture, carried by public radio stations across North America from 1990 - 1993
- Serves as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Iowa, teaching courses on interviewing techniques, radio journalism, politics and storytelling
- First started in public radio in the mid-1980s as a student announcer on WSUI
Contact Ben at bkieffer@iowapublicradio.org.
My Latest Stories
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Myrna Johnson steered IPR through the pandemic, the transition to an independent nonprofit and through the loss of federal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. -
The Archdiocese of Dubuque is ending weekend Mass at 76 of its 160 parishes. The Journey in Faith initiative aims to create a sustainable future for the archdiocese, which is facing a decline in Mass attendance. -
Plenty of kids dream of being an astronaut and exploring space. These Iowans landed their far-out jobs working with NASA and being involved with the Orion Artemis II mission.
My Latest Podcasts
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Kratom is often found at gas stations and convenience stores and is marketed as a natural supplement for pain and anxiety. Gov. Kim Reynolds is calling for a total ban of the product and other synthetic varieties, alleging dozens of kratom-related deaths in Iowa since 2024. On this Newsbuzz edition of River to River, Ben Kieffer speaks with the 'Iowa Capital Dispatch's' Clark Kauffman about this call to ban kratom. Also, the 'Des Moines Register's' Brianne Pfannenstiel shares how candidates are approaching water quality this session, a registered nurse who found a side hustle fighting poison ivy and columnist Rekha Basu shares the impact of Gloria Steinem. Finally, our International Writing Program series returns with Mexican writer Juan Carlos Reyes and Studio One's Erin Fuller grooves us into the weekend. -
Afghan soldiers stood beside American troops for 20 years. Now, five years after the evacuation, many still don't know if they'll be allowed to stay. On this episode, we take stock of what's happened since roughly one thousand Afghans resettled in Iowa. We talk with Fatima Saidi, national director of We Are All America and Robyn Barnard of Human Rights First. We also discuss what today's shifting immigration rules mean for Afghans still in limbo. Then, we talk with Cate Dicharry, the new director of the University of Iowa's International Writing Program. It’s been a year and a half since federal funding cuts threatened the program, and we discuss what its future holds.
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Canada is due to hit back in the trade war— and Iowa's farmers and manufacturers will feel it directly. On this Politics Day episode, analysis from political scientists Donna Hoffman of the University of Northern Iowa and Wayne Moyer of Grinnell College. We also get their views on escalating tension between the U.S. and Iran, Iowa's Senate and governor's races and more.
