Canada is Iowa's number one export market — and the trade war with our biggest customer just escalated. Political scientists Evan Renfro of UNI and Karen Kedrowski of ISU offer analysis on these tariffs, the new sanctions campaign against Iran, Iowa's toss-up Senate race, the Supreme Court's ruling on mail-in voting and more.
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From the first Iowan U.S. ambassador to Beijing, to Herbert Hoover's fortune in Chinese coal mines, to the soybean's journey from China to Iowa fields — Iowa and China’s relationship is older, stranger and more consequential than you might think. Ben Kieffer unpacks the deep and surprising ties between Iowa and China with Iowa State historian Tao Wang and political expert Jonathan Hassid. -
A new nation, a divided country, a lonely fort in a harbor. Bestselling author Erik Larson will be in Iowa to talk about his latest book, The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War. He joined the show ahead of his visit. Then, we hear firsthand accounts from two Iowans, Mary Sellers and Susan Judkins, who just returned from Cuba amid tensions with the U.S. and the energy crisis.
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Over a week into the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, two Iranian-born Iowans give their differing perspectives on military intervention in the Middle East. Then, a conversation with the vice president of the Iowa chapter of Blue Star Mothers of America, a nonprofit organization that provides support to fellow military families, veterans and gold star families.
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An Iowa soldier killed. A war in its fifth day. This episode, analysis of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran — and Congressional moves to check the president. Political scientists Jim McCormick and Kelly Shaw join the program to discuss these developments.
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On this Politics Day, political experts analyze President Donald Trump's State of the Union Address and national Democrats' decision to pay special attention to two Iowa Congressional races.
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Former ambassador to Venezuela Jimmy Story talks with Ben Kieffer about the country's regime change through U.S. military force and what it could mean for Latin America. Then, the murder of Jeff Signorelli has stuck with Willy Nast for decades. Nast released a podcast, City of Lights, which doesn't dig into the cold case, but follows the lives of the victim's parents.
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What happens when America steps back from the world stage? This hour, the view from a veteran diplomat. Uzra Zeya, the head of the organization Human Rights First and a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service, watched last year as USAID was dismantled. Zeya, who joined River to River during a visit to Des Moines, argues that championing human rights is a vital strategic move for U.S. security.
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A discussion on the contested primary race for Iowa agriculture secretary and more on this Politics Day episode with political scientists Megan Goldberg and Jim McCormick.
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Kamyar Enshayan remembers the Iran he grew up in as vibrant, musical and secular. He left in 1978, not long before the Islamic Revolution, and never returned. In this episode, Enshayan shares his views on today's mass protests and the government's violent response. But first, Iowa State English professors Jenny Aune and Jo Mackiewicz share their research, which raises questions about how we may be attributing human qualities to artificial intelligence through language.