There are many joys that come along with womanhood, but there are plenty of challenges as well. 'You Know Nothing' is a collection of very short stories from Yasmina Din Madden that focuses mostly on the challenges. The stories are insightful, funny, heartbreaking — and readers may occasionally feel like they’re looking in a mirror. Yasmina Din Madden joins us on this episode to talk about her eclectic collection. Then, in 1933, Eleanor Roosevelt published an article titled 'I want you to write to me,' a call that was answered with droves of letters from American people struggling through the Great Depression. Musicology professor Marian Wilson Kimber came across these letters, music and poetry sent to the First Lady in the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library. We speak with Wilson Kimber and UI archivist Kate Orazem about this peek into the lives of Iowans during the Great Depression.
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Our nation is 250 years old — but 250 years ago, Iowa was a world apart. On this episode, an ecologist takes us back to a yesteryear’s landscape of endless tallgrass prairie, bison, elk and whooping cranes, and explains why Iowa is now the most ecologically altered state in the nation. A historian discusses the Indigenous nations living here in 1776 and why the American Revolution mattered enormously to people who may not have even known it was happening. And the tribal historic preservation officer of the Meskwaki Nation joins the program to discuss on her people's presence in Iowa. (This episode was originally produced June 18, 2026.) -
In 1926, Ruth Suckow published Iowa Interiors, the short story collection that put her on the map. A centennial reissue aims to keep her legacy alive. -
One hundred years ago, Iowa writer Ruth Suckow published a short story collection that put her on the map. That collection, 'Iowa Interiors,' has been out of print for many years, but is available again in a new centennial edition. On this episode, we learn about Ruth Suckow and how new editions are keeping her legacy alive. We talk with University of Northern Iowa professors Julie Husband and Jim O'Laughlin, the husband-and-wife duo who edited and wrote the introduction for the centennial edition of 'Iowa Interiors.' Then, we hear about the Ruth Suckow Memorial Association's traveling exhibit that celebrates Suckow's life and work with UNI professor Barbara Launsberry and author Cherie Dargan.
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In 1883, the Secrests commissioned a builder to construct a new barn on their property. The structure is three stories tall with a gothic roof and eight sides. The Iowa Barn Foundation's All-State Barn Tour is Sept. 19-20 and there are a record 108 barns participating. On this episode, we talk with Deann Haden about the Iowa Barn Foundation and highlights for this year's tour. Then, we travel to Cedar County to tour the Secrest 1883 Octagonal Barn with owner Rich Tyler. Later in the hour, we talk with Rachelle Long, founder and executive director of Taste of the Junction, a multicultural festival that celebrates the people and culture of Valley Junction. It takes place Sept. 3-5, and features presentations, live jazz and a street festival.
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Dubuque has been selected for a $750,000 grant from the Wisconsin-based Jeffris Family Foundation to restore historic structures in Eagle Point Park, a 164-acre preserve overlooking the Mississippi River. First, the city must raise an additional $1.5 million. -
The southeast corner of the Johnson County Administrative Building will become Dr. Lulu Merle Johnson Plaza, featuring a bronze statue of Johnson alongside plaques celebrating Black Iowans in Iowa City.
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Dr. Lulu Merle Johnson was the first Black woman to receive a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa and went on to build a distinguished career in higher education. In 2020, she was made the new namesake of Johnson County. We talk with her great-niece, Sonya Jackson, the lead consultant on the Dr. Lulu Merle Johnson project, and project historian Rebecca Conard. Then, poet and artist Dave Morice, known to many as Dr. Alphabet, died after a long battle with Lewy body dementia. We speak with his son Danny Maurice about the impact of his words and how he is being remembered in Iowa City.
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The loss of the historic Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing in December 2025 stranded the remote communities of northeast Iowa and southwest Wisconsin. This summer, residents and business owners have adapted — and advocated — as they wait for the replacement to open. -
Are America’s divides truly political — or is something else at work? In his book 'Nations Apart: How Clashing Regional Cultures Shattered America,' historian and New York Times bestselling author Colin Woodard argues that today’s polarization can’t be explained by Democrat/Republican or urban/rural divides. Instead, he traces these conflicts back to regional worldviews rooted in the nation’s earliest settlement patterns. (This show was originally produced Nov. 25, 2025.)
