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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Companies are voluntarily phasing out the use of so called 'forever chemicals,' or PFAS, used in food packaging. On this episode, experts discuss what the phase out will look like and what consumers need to know. Host Ben Kieffer is joined by Lydia Jahl from the Green Science Policy Institute in Berkley. Later in the hour, Mark Early, Keith Vorst, and Katie Updegraff of the Polymer and Food Protection Consortium at Iowa State University also join the program. (This episode was originally produced Aug. 5, 2024.) -
On this episode, we talk with both of Iowa's major political party chairs. First, Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart, then Iowa Republican Party chair Jeff Kaufmann. We discuss the open governor and Senate races and key Congressional and statehouse races in the November 3 midterm election, plus where the 2028 presidential caucuses stand.
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An exhibit at the International Spy Museum explores the use of camouflage in war, espionage and how it relates to surveillance and deep fakes today. We hear about the exhibit from the vice president of exhibits and collections, Katheryn Keane. Then, University of Northern Iowa camouflage expert Roy Behrens wrote the introduction to the exhibit and joins the show. Later in the program, a conversation with Isabela Muzzio about how politics impact our memories. (This show was originally produced Feb. 17, 2026.)
