Charity Nebbe
Talk of Iowa HostExpertise: Interviewing, literature, ecology, political science, history and life in Iowa, all in order to help IPR listeners and readers better understand, appreciate and explore their state
Education: Bachelors degree from Iowa State University
Favorite Iowa Destination: Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge
Experience:
Has served as a talk show and podcast host for IPR and WOI Radio, as well as for Michigan Public in Ann Arbor from 2000 — 2010
- Has been the host of Talk of Iowa since 2010
- Hosts the podcasts Garden Variety and Unsettled
- Founder of the Talk of Iowa Book Club
- Is a multi-award-winning host and reporter, including a regional Edward R. Murrow for The Bonobo Hope Great Ape Trust Sanctuary, a first place award from the Public Media Journalists Association for her Iowa Veteran Talks About Being Trafficked as a Teenager interview, a first place newscast award from the Public Media Journalists Association, and a Regional Upper Midwest Emmy for Iowa PBS' Iowa Ingredient
- Created the nationally-syndicated public radio show Chinwag Theater, which she produced and co-hosted with author Daniel Pinkwater
- Honored with an Alumni Achievement Award by Iowa State University's Department of Political Science
- Host of Iowa Life and Iowa Ingredient for Iowa PBS
- Author of the children's book Our Walk in the Woods, published in 2008
- Co-founder of Let Me Run Eastern Iowa Corridor, a character development and running program for boys
My Favorite Conversations
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The Talk of Iowa team hops into a dugout canoe on Lake Darling to learn about Indigenous cultural practices. Plus, Project AWARE uses canoes to clean up Iowa waters. -
While floodwaters destroyed and damaged Spencer homes, neighbors organized to help their community, supporting each other and the community after the devastating floodwaters receeded. -
Every spring, nearly one million Sandhill Cranes pass through an 80-mile stretch of the Platte River in Nebraska on their northward migration. -
In her memoir, Lucinda Williams explains how she spent her career making music on her own terms. -
The 108th annual Meskwaki Powwow takes place this weekend. It’s a four-day celebration of Meskwaki culture and tradition where everyone is welcome.
My Latest Stories
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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. -
Elizabeth Wehrle, of Montezuma, received a quadruple organ transplant earlier this year with a new liver, kidney and retransplanted lungs. This week, she returns home. -
At 96, Jean Lloyd-Jones has published ‘A Woman’s Place: My Life as a Public Servant.’ The book tracks her path from the League of Women Voters to the Iowa Legislature, as well as her work founding the Iowa Institute for Peace.
My Latest Podcasts
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If you find yourself in Marshalltown, keep your eyes open for some very small art installations. On this episode, we meet Josh Cox and Dawn Gettler, the artistic couple behind the Tiny Art Walk. Tiny Art Walk displays work by Dawn and five other local artists on West Main Street in Marshalltown. After spending decades as artists in other cities, Josh and Dawn have made their home in Marshalltown and have connected with and celebrated art in the community. Later in the hour, Talk of Iowa Summer School continues with a lesson about surface mapping from historian Mike Zahs. It's a lesson he's used to help Iowans rediscover and preserve some of Iowa's buried history.
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Let's say you're building a house or tackling a massive remodel. Should you try to save some money by acting as your own contractor? On this episode of Talk of Iowa, home improvement expert Bill McAnally shares his advice. He and host Charity Nebbe talk about some of the many challenges faced by people who take on the contractor role in their home projects. Then, Bill answers listener questions on all things home improvement.
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Archaeological and recreational projects examine the complicated history of the Spirit Lake ConflictThe Spirit Lake Conflict of 1857 is remembered at the Abbie Gardner Sharp Cabin state historic site in Arnolds Park. This history is being re-examined and reinvigorated for Iowans today. On this episode, we talk with historian Kevin Mason about the event which came amid rising tensions between Dakota tribe members and new settlers. State Archaeologist John Doershuk joins to share about his Lakeside Laboratory class that just finished its years-long excavation at the state historic site, and what was discovered about generations of use at the land. Mason and Doershuk have also been players in the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' efforts to make the Inkpaduta Canoe Trail a state waterway. This has been a life-altering project for John Wenck of the Iowa DNR, who has been working with Inkpaduta's descendants and local tribes to establish this state waterway, including Cody Seaboy, who shares his perspective.