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
-
“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.
-
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.
-
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
-
The Granny Basketball National Tournament is in Ankeny this weekend. Iowa is the birthplace of the sport, which celebrates six-on-six history and gives a space for older women to compete. -
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.
My Latest Podcasts
-
In this archive episode, host Ben Kieffer speaks with two members of the 'Planet Money team' about their new book. Then, the SAVE America Act has been called the most sweeping change to American voting law in decades if it goes into effect. Supporters say it's about election security, while critics say it could disenfranchise eligible voters. Guests explore what the legislation would it actually mean for Iowans at the polls and for the people who run our elections. (This show was originally produced April 7, 2026.)
-
On this episode of the 'Talk of Iowa' Book Club, we talk about 'The Book Thief' with author Markus Zusak and two expert readers. It's a story about a young girl growing up in Nazi Germany who steals books — and it's narrated by death. They reflect on the book's 20th anniversary and discuss how reading it in 2026 feels the same and different than at its release in 2006.
-
How does family's private tragedy relate to 70 years of history? On this episode, we talk with journalist and author Paige Towers about her new book 'What They Stole: A Familicide Rooted in Intercountry Adoption.' It investigates the 2008 murder-suicide of the Sueppel family in Iowa City and how that tragedy sheds light on the fraught history of international adoptions in America.