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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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. -
Over a century ago, the Reed-Niland Corner opened at a major intersection in Colo. Today, the site is being preserved by a new nonprofit, Reed-Niland Corner, Inc., with celebrations planned for June 14.
My Latest Podcasts
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As Carl Weems conducted research in New Orleans, he documented children's recollections of Hurricane Katrina. When Hurricane Gustav hit, Weems found that those with another negative experience maintained their recollection of trauma during Hurricane Katrina. Those with a more positive experience during Gustav remembered Katrina more positively than before. This is part of the foundation of Weems' new developmental theory that reshapes how experts understand the fluidity of memories and the impact of trauma. Weems joins the program to talk about his theory and the broader impact of traumatic and adverse childhood experiences, or TrACEs. Dr. Padget Skogman, a pediatrician, also joins the hour to share the long-term health impacts of TrACEs. (This show was originally produced November 18, 2025.)
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The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake is a rock and roll landmark and one of the few historic ballrooms still operating today. Its legacy is closely tied to 'The Day the Music Died,' when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson performed their final show at the Surf on Feb. 2, 1959, before their fatal plane crash in a field north of Clear Lake the following morning. Often described as a living museum, the Surf has recently expanded with the opening of their Music Experience Center next door, which has artifacts of the three late stars, along with other artists that have performed at the Surf, since it first opened in 1933. In this episode, we tour the Surf Ballroom and the Music Experience Center which includes their immersive 'Not Fade Away' exhibit and Surf Music Academy. We also visit the crash site with Jeff Nicholas, whose family owns and maintains the crash site, which has become a tourist attraction for music lovers around the world. (This show was originally produced February 2, 2026.)
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On this episode of Talk of Iowa, we talk with Dan Roche, author of Eyes By Hand: The Prosthetics of Art and Healing, a book on how prosthetic eyes are crafted and how ocularists provide care for those that have experienced eye loss. We hear about his experience losing an eye, how he became interested in researching prosthetic eyes and what he’s learned. We also talk with Lindsay Wagner-Pronk, one of just a few ocularists in Iowa, who is featured in the book. (This show was originally produced August 18, 2025.)