The Social, which is a converted church in Story City, hosts musicians for occasional live, intimate concerts, complete with pie and ice cream.(robyn anderson) Every once in a while, robyn anderson invites a few dozen of her closest friends to the former church where she lives in Story City for pie, ice cream and music. The crowd starts on the ground floor of the church with some afternoon socializing, spending about an hour eating and chatting. At the appointed time, everyone goes upstairs to the old sanctuary, where the musicians set up and play a pair of 45-minute sets. They pass around co ..read more

(Lucius Pham / IPR) A 299-seat theater like the Temple is an intimate venue for a performer like Suzanne Vega, who, over her 40-year career has played venues including Madison Square Garden. Indeed, there was magic in the air for Vega’s performance, and not just because she came out wearing a magician’s top hat. Her Midwestern tour, which she dubbed “Old Songs, New Songs, and Other Songs,” had something special in it for new and seasoned fans alike. Vega began her performance with “Marlene on the Wall,” a track she explained as being inspired by a Marlene Dietrich poster she used to have in he ..read more

Harry Oster spent his career capturing folk music traditions across the U.S., and much of his work is now archived by the Smithsonian. On this Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe speaks with his son, Aaron Oster, about his father’s legacy. Later in the hour, Nate Basinger and Forrest Heusinkveld — members of The Swampland Jewels — share how Harry Oster inspired their debut album. Then, Sheila Williams and William Menefield join host Charity Nebbe to promote the Iowa debut of their opera, Fierce. Commissioned by the Cincinnati Opera, Fierce tells the story of four teenage girls facing the challen ..read more

Tall and gentle with long, flowing hair, Caleb Elliott is, in fact, the “Hozier of the Bayou.” This 4/20, we look back on Elliott's 2023 album <i>Weed, Wine &amp; Time</i>.(Lucius Pham / IPR ) On June 8, 2023, an intimate smattering of music lovers in Madrid fanned out on the sunkissed lawn of The Cellar Winery estate for a small show with big Alabama sounds. The trees were tall, the vineyard shook with the wind and rows of soybeans stretched into the horizon. Caleb Elliott, a singer, songwriter and cellist currently practicing in the music hotbed of Muscle Shoals, Ala., took t ..read more

The blossoms on a spring blooming tree are so beautiful that many of us are willing to pick a tree based strictly on what it might look like for a week or two out of the year — and there is nothing wrong with that! Jeff Iles is professor and chair of the Horticulture Department at Iowa State University and he is known in some circles as king of the crabapples. He shares his blooming brilliant advice. Guests: Jeff Iles, chair of the Horticulture Department at Iowa State University To further grow your gardening knowledge, sign up for our new Garden Variety newsletter. And check out ..read more

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Talk of Iowa host Charity Nebbe talks with Paul Brooke, a scientist, photographer, poet, power-lifter and professor whose recent publications will be featured during the annual Poetry Palooza April 19-20 in Des Moines. His sixth book of poetry Pantagruelian: Photographs and Poems of Torres del Paine, features photos of time spent up close with pumas in Chile. Brooke is also the editor of The Cities of the Plains: an Anthology of Iowa Artists and Poets. Many of the featured artists and poets will participate in the book launch at Poetry Palooza. Then, poet Seth Thill has some ideas about how t ..read more

On this edition of Talk of Iowa, Dani Gehr fills in for Charity Nebbe and discusses the book Tough Broad: From Boogie Boarding to Wing Walking―How Outdoor Adventure Improves Our Lives as We Age with author Caroline Paul. In the book, she advocates for more women seeking outdoor adventure and features Iowa BMX rider Kittie Weston-Knauer, a former school principal who continues to race regularly at the age of 75. Then, Weston-Knauer joins the show to discuss her BMX experiences and how she tries to recruit more people — particularly women — to the sport. Guests: Caroline Paul, author, Tough Br ..read more

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University of Iowa professor of sport and recreation management Benjamin Hunnicutt has spent his career trying to understand how we became such a work-obsessed culture and helping people strike a better work-life balance. He'll be retiring this year, and on this Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe speaks with Hunnicut about his career and asks him to share his advice for balancing work and leisure to live a happier life. Then, professor and associate director of the basic sciences division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Harmit Malik speaks with Nebbe about his upcoming talk on ancient viru ..read more