Caitlin Troutman
Talk Show ProducerExpertise: Finding, booking, preparing and connecting guests with listeners on IPR's two talk shows: <i>Talk of Iowa</i> and <i>River to River</i>
Education: Audio studies at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies at the Maine College of Art, Bachelors degree from William Jewell College
Favorite Iowa Destination: FilmScene in Iowa City
Experience:
- Audio, talk show production and writing across various topic areas for IPR as a digital producer and talk show producer, Maine Public as a digital producer, and KCUR, where she worked on the daily talk show Central Standard
- Has reported and written features on the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries and George Floyd protests while working for Maine Public
- Lead producer for the Talk of Iowa "Book Club" series
- Occasional substitute host for All Things Considered on IPR
- Pitched and launched IPR's award-winning Garden Variety newsletter and podcast
- Host of a local music show at WMPG in Portland, ME
My Favorite Stories
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“I wanted to figure out what happened, and the way I figure stuff out is by writing.” Discussing Fun Home with author and illustrator Alison Bechdel for the Talk of Iowa book club -
What can ghost stories tell us about the world? The Talk of Iowa team takes a ghost tour of Cedar Falls and discusses ghost stories with author Carmen Maria Machado.
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Psychedelic drugs like psilocybin and MDMA have become a very active area of medical research. -
Host Charity Nebbe and wildlife biologist Jim Pease observe the prairie chicken mating dance and discuss the species’ precarious situation in Iowa.
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Recently, organized labor has experienced a string of big wins, and nationwide support for unions has reached a high-water mark not seen since the 1960s.
My Latest Stories
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Organizers said through times of hope and hardship, singing together has been an important way to find community and be authentic. The Silver Party on June 26 and 27 is a concert celebrating 25 years of the Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus. -
The Quire of Eastern Iowa recently debuted the first Iowa performance of ‘Sincerely Yours, Pauli Murray." Board chair Sydney Houlton and Artistic Director Elena Cressy share her story and more about the inclusive LGBTQ community choir. -
With longer days comes more time to dive into a good book. These are the best new fiction and nonfiction books to keep you entertained on your next road trip, beach vacation or staycation.
My Latest Podcasts
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Peter Simons, author of 'Global Heartland: Cultivating the American Century on the Midwestern Farm,' shares an in-depth look at the role farmers throughout the Midwest played in America’s rise to power post-WWII. Then Adam Janke, Iowa State University wildlife extension specialist, joins the program. Janke's new series of articles shares low-cost, accessible tips for landowners and homeowners to sustain wildlife. (This show was originally produced August 11, 2025.)
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Iowa's farmland sits on more than soil — deep underground may be the makings of a clean energy economy. On this episode, we go beneath Iowa's surface to talk about a billion-year-old rock formation where geologic hydrogen is hiding. We talk with Ryan Clark, associate state geologist at the Iowa Geological Survey and Betsy Swanner, an Iowa State University professor of Earth, atmosphere and climate to find out what it would take to actually build a hydrogen economy in Iowa. Then, Iowa State University agronomist Jianming Yu shares what artificial intelligence and citizen science reveal about how plants adapt to their environments.
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Radon gas is naturally occurring, invisible, odorless, and the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. Nearly three-quarters of Iowa homes have tested high, and yet most Iowans have never tested their home, and many have never heard of radon. Joined by Maria Steele, retired nurse practitioner and lung cancer survivor, Dr. Richard Deming, medical director at MercyOne Richard Deming Cancer Center, and Juliann Van Liew, Polk County Health Department Director, we look at the radon problem in Iowa. We talk about what it is, why it's so pronounced in the state, what's being done about it, and how to limit exposure.