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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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
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Parents are pushing back against screens in the classroom and in Iowa, the law is now on their side. We get insights from an Iowa City parent, a pediatrician and a coordinator with the University of Northern Iowa's TEACH Studio, who shares where technology fits into the classroom. Then, we hear from a family medicine physician about the physician shortage in Iowa and what's being done about it. -
The general election battle has begun in Iowa. On this Politics Day episode of River to River, analysis from political scientists Karen Kedrowski of Iowa State University and Wayne Moyer of Grinnell College on Rob Sand's pick for a running mate, the growing fight for Iowa’s open U.S. Senate seat, updates from the war in Iran and more.
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In his first work of nonfiction, 'Wastelands,' author and attorney Corban Addison tells the story of a rural community in North Carolina fighting against the polluting practices of large-scale hog farming operations. (This episode was originally produced October 14, 2024)
