Liz Ledgett, Des Moines gallery owner and author of 'Art is for Everyone,' shares how to curate an art collection on a budget. Then, we hear from Chris Nelson, the founder of Nelson Media Company, who is working to turn around several small-town newspapers.
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In our consumer culture, it’s easy to buy low-cost goods that will ultimately end up in a landfill. The true cost of living that way is one we’ll all end up paying. On this encore edition of Talk of Iowa, different ways to reduce, reuse, repair, recycle and compost. Host Charity Nebbe spoke with Jane Wilch, the recycling coordinator for the City of Iowa City; Joe Bolick, the director of the Iowa Waste Reduction Center; Laura Crosett, communications lead for the Iowa City Repair Cafe, and Jamie Nicolino, owner of The Collective, a sustainable 'general store' in Des Moines. (This show was originally produced on July 15, 2025) -
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. -
The Statehouse funneled down bills being considered last week with their first major deadline. Reporters Erin Murphy, Katarina Sostaric and Robin Opsahl share the bills that are still alive — from expanding a ban on LGBTQ+ topics in schools to limiting the governor's power — and those that died.
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As Iowa’s rural communities age and young people continue to leave, immigrants are fueling population growth. Data shows that one year of Trump administration immigration enforcement policies have affected that growth. -
The killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by ICE agents in Minneapolis have captured the nation's attention, but immigrant rights advocates in Iowa want Iowans to look closer to home. This hour, a conversation about the rights of immigrants and legal observers. Jose Yugar-Cruz joins, an immigrant from Bolivia who was recently released after a year and a half of illegal detention, talks about his experience through an interpreter. Then, attorney Lucas Asbury and community organizer Maria Acosta of Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice join the conversation to talk about the rights individuals have when they're approached, arrested or detained by ICE, as well as the rights of those who choose to act as legal observers.
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Iowans share how they are trying to reduce pollutants in waterways on this archive episode.
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Veteran journalist Tom Chorneau discusses his book Mrs. Cook & The Klan, which examines an unsolved Iowa murder case from 1925. Chorneau’s true crime investigation also explains the complex social, political and cultural forces at work in 1920s America, where prohibition, the KKK's resurgence and the temperance movement created a volatile mix.This show was originally produced June 17, 2025.
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Having prediabetes means your body is struggling to manage blood sugar. Without changes, it can develop into full-blown diabetes and put you at risk for other chronic conditions. Host Ben Kieffer is joined by Dr. Cara Drew, a family medicine physician in Sioux City, and Corey Dion Lewis, a health coach based in Des Moines. They discuss the populations most at risk, how to get tested and how to prevent full-blown diabetes.
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A team of researchers at the University of Northern Iowa is exploring the deepest caves in the U.S. with NASA funding. This could inform the search for life on other planets. UNI associate professor Josh Sebree discusses the research he’s been leading with an interdisciplinary team of UNI students. We also hear from one of those researchers, Jacqueline Heggen, and Cheryl Johnson, president of the state’s chapter of the National Speleological Society.