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
-
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. -
The performances, presented by the Iowa Labor History Society, aim to highlight Darrow's fights for workers' rights, classroom freedom and justice — issues that remain at the heart of today's political debates. -
The Meskwaki Annual Powwow is Aug. 7-10 in Tama County. The public is invited to witness traditional dances, listen to live music, taste food from vendors and learn about Indigenous history in Iowa.
My Latest Podcasts
-
In March, President Donald Trump called the war with Iran a tremendous success. Weeks later, the countries are in a fragile ceasefire and the U.S. is prepared to resume strikes if a deal isn't met soon. University of Northern Iowa political scientist and former Air Force intelligence analyst Evan Renfro joins this Politics Day to discuss the war and the Trump administration's foreign policy. Then, Cornell College's Megan Goldberg breaks down the upcoming primaries for the open 2nd Congressional District seat. -
After two centuries of expanding democracy, why has America become more unequal — not less? On this episode we listen to highlights from a recent conversation with political scientist Jeffrey Winters of Northwestern University. His new book, The Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracy, examines the failure of democracy to address wealth inequality and why this issue is by design. This conversation was recorded on May 7 at the Englert Theatre, presented by the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council.
-
The legality of geofence warrants, where law enforcement can access the data of people in a geographic area, is being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court. University of Iowa Technology Law Clinic director Megan Graham walks us through the case. Also, fellow Iowa law professor Bethany Berger talks about the 1884 case being incorrectly cited in the Trump Administration's birthright citizenship case. Then, Cornell College's Megan Goldberg walks us through the 1st Congressional District primary races.
