Charity Nebbe

When Ben Hagen showed up to the Des Moines Gay Men's Chorus 20 years ago, he was new to town and hadn't come out as gay at work or to his family.

Mrs. Meyer of Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day cleaning products is a real woman who lives right here in Iowa. Today, we hear from Thelma Meyer and her daughter Monica Nassif, founder of Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day and author of 'I Bottled My Mother.' Then, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Beaverdale Bluegrass Festival.

Danish artist Thomas Dambo has built giant troll sculptures all over the world. He makes them entirely out of reclaimed materials and hides them in natural spaces. Iowa is now home to four trolls, as part of Dambo's 'Trolls of America' dream to have at least one troll in all 50 states. On this archive episode, we talk with Dambo about he came to be a world-famous trash artist and hear from the Clinton residents, who convinced Dambo's team to install wooden trolls. (This show was originally produced April 28, 2026.)

Dave Good was a District Court Judge living in Cedar Rapids. In 2003, at the age of 56, he was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. His wife Kathy became his caregiver while continuing to work full time. On this episode, Kathy Good, who now guides other caregivers as the Senior Director of the Chris and Suzy DeWolf Family Innovation Center for Aging and Dementia of Mercy, shares her story. Then Good and Michael Wagler, Iowa State Director for the AARP, will talk about the resources those who care for loved ones with dementia. (This show was originally produced July 24, 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.)

Peter Simons, author of 'Global Heartland: Cultivating the American Century on the Midwestern Farm,' shares an in-depth look at the role farmers throughout the Midwest played in America’s rise to power post-WWII. Then Adam Janke, Iowa State University wildlife extension specialist, joins the program. Janke's new series of articles shares low-cost, accessible tips for landowners and homeowners to sustain wildlife. (This show was originally produced August 11, 2025.)

On this episode of Talk of Iowa, we talk with Dan Roche, author of Eyes By Hand: The Prosthetics of Art and Healing, a book on how prosthetic eyes are crafted and how ocularists provide care for those that have experienced eye loss. We hear about his experience losing an eye, how he became interested in researching prosthetic eyes and what he’s learned. We also talk with Lindsay Wagner-Pronk, one of just a few ocularists in Iowa, who is featured in the book. (This show was originally produced August 18, 2025.)

The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake is a rock and roll landmark and one of the few historic ballrooms still operating today. Its legacy is closely tied to 'The Day the Music Died,' when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson performed their final show at the Surf on Feb. 2, 1959, before their fatal plane crash in a field north of Clear Lake the following morning. Often described as a living museum, the Surf has recently expanded with the opening of their Music Experience Center next door, which has artifacts of the three late stars, along with other artists that have performed at the Surf, since it first opened in 1933. In this episode, we tour the Surf Ballroom and the Music Experience Center which includes their immersive 'Not Fade Away' exhibit and Surf Music Academy. We also visit the crash site with Jeff Nicholas, whose family owns and maintains the crash site, which has become a tourist attraction for music lovers around the world. (This show was originally produced February 2, 2026.)

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.)

At 96, Jean Lloyd-Jones has published ‘A Woman's Place: My Life as a Public Servant.' The book tracks her path from the League of Women Voters to the Iowa Legislature, as well as her work founding the Iowa Institute for Peace.