Rick Brewer

Every four years Iowans are bombarded with telephone calls asking to take a polling survey in preparation for the caucuses. Reading polls can be confusing. Most polls show different outcomes for elections and vary from week to week. In the context of the Iowa caucuses, it's even more confusing because so many likely caucusgoers remain undecided until the last minute. So, how do we understand political polling? We brought in Peter Hanson, Director of the Grinnell National Poll, to explain.

Actor Jordan Whalen grew up in Ames and has been interested in the Iowa caucuses since 2007. Whalen has always thought the Democratic caucus process is naturally theatrical and has been thinking about developing a play about this political event for more than a decade. Now he is one of the leaders of New York City's Counterpart Collective, a theatre group whose mission is to create theatre derived from primary sources.

In this special edition of River to River, a panel of reporters and columnists from The Gazette analyze the biggest news headlines of the week. Investigative Reporter Erin Jordan and IPR's Ben Kieffer hosted the "Pints and Politics" event before a live audience in Cedar Rapids on Jan. 16. 

With Caucus Day less than 20 days away, River to River continues its series of interviews with 2020 presidential candidates. During this segment, host Ben Kieffer speaks with entrepreneur Andrew Yang. 

On this edition of River to River, host Ben Kieffer sits down with IPR's Clay Masters, UNI's Donna Hoffman and ISU's Jonathan Hassid to recap last night's CNN Des Moines Register Democratic Presidential Debate hosted at Drake University. 

Macro Polo is a think tank at the Paulson Institute, and earlier this month, they launched a five-part podcast series titled "Heartland Mainland: The Iowa China Podcast." This podcast focuses on explaining U.S.-China relationships and connections to Iowa.

A simple eye scan could help detect Alzheimer's or determine the risk for this disease even before other symptoms are detectable. Two Iowa State University researchers received funding from the National Institute on Aging to continue a longitudinal study to better understand links between stress and Alzheimer as a means to help predict the likelihood in which people can develop the disease. 

The 2020 legislative session started Monday, introducing a renewed opportunity for policy changes in Iowa. Iowa Senate and House leaders join River to River to discuss their priorities for the upcoming months. 

It's difficult to be in one of Iowa's major college towns without running into a mascot. These days mascots are big business. Whether for marketing, birthday parties or being ambassadors for universities, mascots have become a major part of a university's identity and alumni pride.

In this segment of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe talks with Sean Adams about his debut novel “The Heap,”  which follows the aftermath of the collapse of Los Verticales, a 500-floor vertical city that houses an inner world teeming with life. In his novel, Adams takes us to a dystopian version of our present world, but the people we meet, their motives, and actions are all too familiar.

This program originally aired on  11-26-19

On this edition of River to River, award-winning historian Andrew Roberts joins host Ben Kieffer to talk about his latest book “Leadership In War, Essential Lessons From Those Who Made History.”  In his book, Roberts makes a comparison of nine world leaders who guided their nations through the greatest wars the world has ever seen and how their unique strenghs and weaknesses changed the course of human history.

Brent Herrig is a culinary lifestyle photographer living in New York City, and he has created a photo exhibit that features the favorite spoons of chefs, bartenders and baristas around the world and the stories behind each spoon. In collaboration with chefs, Herrig shows us in his website the chefs' favorite spoons with the ingredients that inspired them. 

Photographer and 2018 Iowa Arts Council Fellow Molly Wood joins this edition of Talk of Iowa to reveal the inspirations behind her exhibit "The Poison Garden," which is on display at the Dubuque Museum of Art through Jan. 12. Her exhibit "Fatal Flora" is at the State Library of Iowa through Jan. 31. 

After spending 31 years as a counselor at the Anamosa State Penitentiary, Steve Wendl began compiling historical stories from the prison. He not only launched the Anamosa State Penitentiary history website, he also helped found the musuem. Recently, Wendl has been creating and producing podcast episodes that are based on stories from the prison for the Voice of Jones County website.  The series features dramatic voice acting and storytelling based on real people who were imprisoned at the Anamosa State Penetentiary. 

Spending time in forests in pursuit of boosting health and happiness makes up forest bathing or forest therapy, a practice that is gaining popularity among people searching for natural wellness treatments.

Freshly harvested from cropland in Illinois, a single soy bean travels the world before ending up as part of a meal in Seoul, South Korea. Its long journey through the global agricultural and food industries paints a detailed picture of the real farm to table processes.

The origins of many of Iowa's town and city names are obvious: Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Mason City, Fort Dodge. But what about places like What Cheer, Gravity, Sabula? And how do you pronounce Nevada? Also, why is Des Moines not in Des Moines county? 

On this edition of Talk of Iowa, we get a rundown of some of IPR's favorite new releases from 2019 from classical, folk and blues musicians. Charity Nebbe talks with IPR Classical's Barney Sherman, the Folk Tree's Karen Impola and the one and only Bob Dorr, who hosts Blue Avenue and Backtracks on IPR's Studio One. 

During this episode of Talk of Iowa, Iowa State University Associate Professor Cindy Haynes and Reiman Gardens Associate Director Aaron Steil offer gift recommendations for gardeners and plant-enthusiasts. 

Hayden Fry came to Iowa to coach the Hawkeye football team in 1978. When he got here the Hawks had been through 17 consecutive non-winning seasons. It took a couple of years, but Coach Fry transformed Hawkeye Football.

During his tenure, he won 143 games, the team shared three Big Ten titles, and went to three Rose Bowls. In addition to being a great coach, he was also a larger than life character. He was funny, smart, tough and could throw a temper tantrum with the best of them. His players loved him. The fans loved him. And he loved them back.

On this edition of River to River, host Ben Kieffer is joined by Ernest Moniz. Moniz is former Secretary of Energy and the Chief Executive of the Nuclear Threat Initative, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded by former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn. During this conversation, Moniz addresses many of the pressing questions surrounding the use and proliferation of nuclear weapons around the world.

Although President Donald Trump hasn't yet faced a major foreign policy crisis, his indecisiveness while managing military operations in Afghanistan and Syria concerns bestselling author and CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen.

After more than a year of partisan gridlock in Washinton, a replacement of the NAFTA agreement is now expected to win approval from Congress and alter the state of trade between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. 

Each year, nearly 200,000 children worldwide are born with a deformative skeletal birth defect known as clubfoot. On this edition of River to River, host Ben Kieffer is joined by Tom Cook who is the author of the new book "Clubfoot: The Quest For A Better Life For Millions of Children." 

On this edition of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe talks with local historian Larry Grill of Schleswig and amateur naturalist Glenn Pollock of Omaha, Nebrasksa about their research of an 1820 expedition through Iowa. 

On this edition of Talk of Iowa with host Charity Nebbe, guests and callers reflect on how the public television show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood affected their lives. The co-hosts of Iowa Public Television's Kid's Clubhouse Adventures, Dan Wardell and Abby Brown, share how Fred Rogers' philosophy has influenced their own children's show. Des Moines Register Storyteller Daniel Finney remembers how returning to Rogers' material changed his outlook on life and helped him through difficult times. 

ISU Extension Wildlife Specialist Adam Janke joins this weekly 'Horticulture Day' edition of Talk of Iowa with host Charity Nebbe.  He explains how to transform a landscape into a wildlife-friendly space. He says diversifying your yard with a water source, dead logs and branches, rocks, and native plant species will help entice a range of wildlife from birds to salamanders to deer.

Thirty years ago this month, the Berlin Wall fell. It was both a symbolic and a physical division, and during this hour of River to River, Iowans who lived in East and West Germany share their first-hand accounts of life before and after this moment in history with host Ben Kieffer, who was working as a reporter in Germany when the wall fell.