Riverside Chats

Jen Landis is an artist, author, and assistant professor of practice in graphic design at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Her organization, Pincurl Girls, started in 2009 and creates products and services to help young girls find their confidence--including a podcast, art classes, a scholarship program, and a text club that sends daily words of affirmation to members. In July, Landis published the tween and teen self-help book, 'Skip the Bad Songs: the Art of Rocking a Happy Mindset.'

On today's show, Landis is in conversation with Maria Corpuz about how the book can help youth during common challenges in that stage of life, including advice on fostering new relationships, creating healthy routines, recognizing accomplishments, and more tactile things like step-by-step instructions for making a zine. Landis also discusses her own mental health journey, how parents and caregivers can empower their teens, and why it's important for everyone to talk about their feelings.

Omaha native Aissa Aset Bey is a loctician, artist, and entrepreneur. Her business, Loc Legacies, offers services related to Black haircare as well as education and training for aspiring locticians. Bey is in conversation with Michael Griffin about the culture and science of hair.

Problems today rarely originate in our present context. Some problems are so deeply rooted in human history and maybe human nature that it’s a tall order to try to diagnose, let alone solve them in an hour on the radio. But we try! Today, attorney and Common Cause Nebraska advisory board member Wes Dodge is back on the show to discuss the thorny issue of religion in our political discourse–how America’s complicated relationship with Christianity has manifested and been co-opted across our history, and what it means for our future.

On today's show, Nebraska State Senator Tony Vargas talks with Michael Griffin about the issues on his mind as he runs against Congressman Don Bacon to represent Nebraska's Second Congressional District in the 2024 election.

Countless times on this show, guests have told stories about getting into politics or made new art or even rethouth their lives in relation to the seismic shift that was 2016. On today's show, Theodore Wheeler is in conversation with Tom Knoblauch about how that year and its anxieties led him to write The War Begins in Paris--an antifascist novel about friendship, family, propaganda, and foreign correspondents in Europe in the lead-up to World War II.

Kristine Langley Mahler is a local author who grew up all around the country. The lack of a permanent home in her childhood informs much of her current writing. In her most recent book, 'A Calendar is a Snakeskin,' Mahler excavates personal meaning from astrology, tarot, motherhood, and the past, present and future. On today's show, Mahler is in conversation with Michael Griffin about the art of memoir and the process of putting together her new collection.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed last year, is said to be the largest bill ever to address the climate disaster. The legislation includes about $30 billion for homeowners to make energy-efficient upgrades to their houses, such as installing solar panels or a heat pump. Sounds great, right? But it’s daunting for the average taxpayer to navigate the byzantine world of tax credits to access IRA funds for those upgrades.

David Holtzclaw wants to help. He owns Transduction Technologies, an engineering firm that provides energy consulting services to commercial and residential clients in Omaha. He’s here today in conversation with Maria Corpuz to explain how local homeowners can take advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act to make their homes greener.

The funny thing about genres like alt, punk, indie is that there was a point when these things were directly in opposition to something mainstream and corporate, but then somewhere along the way they became styles and aesthetics that could also be mainstream. It's not always clear what it means to be alt-rock or alt-country these days or even how to listen to an album in the streaming age where our music habits are changing so rapidly all the time. On today's show, Tom Knoblauch is in conversation with Julia Steiner, whose band Ratboys just released a new album called The Window, about the always-shifting music landscape, the construction of an album, and how she developed her unique style over the past decade.

Ratboys will be playing at the Reverb Lounge on October 19th. Tickets can be found here.

On today's show, Maria Corpuz is in conversation with Andy Saladino, development director of Youth Emergency Services. Youth Emergency Services, or YES, assists youth ages 16 to 21 experiencing homelessness and near homelessness by meeting immediate needs for food, shelter, clothing and safety. YES has a street outreach team whose members distribute supplies out of backpacks and provide immediate information and services. YES’s services also include a 24-hour emergency shelter, transitional living program and maternity group home.

YES’s 'Dance for a Chance' Halloween Ball is on Oct. 12 and includes a dance contest and silent auction to raise funds for the organization.

The Flatwater Film Festival is an annual event committed to bringing together established and first-time filmmakers from across the state of Nebraska to celebrate their art by providing a non-competitive platform that showcases their work, to develop a strong community that promotes inspiration and support, and ultimately to foster the next generation of Nebraska filmmakers. The 2023 festival will be held October 6-8 at the historic Rivoli Theatre in downtown Seward, NE.

On today's show, Tom Knoblauch talks with festival founders Joshua Weixelman and Greg Gale about the state of Nebraska's film scene, how it has changed over the past two decades, and what to expect at this year's Flatwater Film Festival.