Mental Health

For many disabled, elderly, and low-income Iowans, a simple trip to the dentist is anything but simple. On this episode, why care for these patients often falls through the cracks, and what's being done about it. We talk with two University of Iowa dental experts on the push to expand access to care: Leo Marchini, newly named to an international disability and oral health committee, and John Warren. Warren brings dental students into community health centers across the state. Then, we hear from gerontologist Elaine Eshbaugh of the University of Northern Iowa. She’s the founder of the dementia simulation house and tells us about the hidden link between anxiety and dementia.

Nationally, deaths from suicide, drugs and alcohol are declining. But in Iowa, they're rising, and they're often referred to as "deaths of despair." On this episode, we hear from Lauren Williams, an Iowa woman who lost her brother to suicide, and from Kayla Mayer of Cherokee County Public Health, who's working to decrease the local rate of suicide. We also talk with Daniel Wheaton of the Midwest Newsroom and Dr. Alison Lynch of the University of Iowa on why our state is seeing more deaths of despair and what can be done about it.

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.)

Nicole Terrizzi joins the show to discuss her memoir, 'Learning in Free Fall: A Testimony of Mental Health, Poverty and Race in American Education.' Her book focuses on the crisis in America's education system. Every day school children feel the impacts of increasing budget cuts, teacher shortages and threats to the accessibility of a quality education. Terrizzi shares her path to teaching from growing up in rural Iowa, and asks what happens when those leading our classrooms are in crisis themselves? (This show was originally produced August 6, 2025.)

A state-of-the-art facility opening in Council Bluffs in June is expected to help boost services and inpatient psychiatric care beds in a more peaceful setting.

A bill banning some food dyes from school meals, authorizing over-the-counter ivermectin and requiring the state to continue seeking limits on what can be bought with food assistance is on its way to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk for her signature.