Riverside Chats

Inclusive Communities is a nonprofit that uses human relations work to promote diversity and inclusion among individuals, workplaces and communities. The organization also holds public events to encourage cross-cultural dialogue, including the Jane H. & Rabbi Sidney H. Brooks Conversations for Change series. The series brings in prominent entertainment industry figures for conversation to build connections across identities.

Conversations for Change launched last year with actor Kal Penn as the featured guest. This year’s event features performer Bob the Drag Queen, who won the eighth season of “RuPaul's Drag Race.”

Today, Bennet and Wright are in conversation with Maria Corpuz about their decision to invite Bob the Drag Queen to Omaha in the wake of Nebraska’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors and attempt to ban minors from attending drag shows. Conversations for Change is Tuesday, March 26 at the Holland Center.

Congressman Don Bacon has represented Nebraska's Second Congressional District since 2017. He is running for re-election again this year against Nebraska State Senator Tony Vargas. Today, he recounts his experience during the January 6th attack, why he thinks Republicans should regain control, and what he makes of Donald Trump's enduring influence over the Republican Party.

If you follow Omaha politics, you likely know Dr. Erin Feichtinger--or at least her tweets. Feichtinger has a PhD in history and currently serves as policy director at the Women’s Fund of Omaha, and she has made it a mission to shine a light on the details, drama, and triumphs of our local power structures. In this time of political dysfunction, often at the national and the local level, Feichtinger talks with Tom Knoblauch about what history can offer us to understand today and what all of this means for the future.

Filmmaker Tony Bonacci previously appeared on the show when his acclaimed short, The Headliner, made festival rounds in 2018. Even then, he was adamant that he would turn that story into a feature alongside the short’s writer, Christine Burright, and its star, Darrick Silkman. Several years and one global pandemic later, he has. Bonacci’s feature film debut, also titled The Headliner, is premiering on Saturday March 2nd at ⁠this year’s Omaha Film Festival⁠.

On this week's show, Bonacci talks with Tom Knoblauch about putting the feature together and what to expect at this year's Omaha Film Festival premiere.

Machaela Cavanaugh represents Nebraska's 6th District in the Unicameral. She was re-elected to a second term in 2022 and in 2023, Cavanaugh made national news when she filibustered LB574, also known as the Let Them Grow Act, which bans gender-affirming care for Nebraska children. Cavanaugh spoke on the bill up to 12 hours a day for 11 weeks. LB574 was passed by the Legislature in May and went into effect last October.

In the current legislative session, which began on January 3rd, Cavanaugh says she's focused on supporting Nebraska's working poor. She's prioritizing paid family leave, universal school meals, and securing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF. On today's show, Cavanaugh is in conversation with Maria Corpuz about her historic filibuster, building relationships in a divided legislature, and her hopes for the 108th Legislative Session.

Keyonna King is an associate professor in the UNMC College of Public Health. She holds a doctorate in public health from Loma Linda University. King specializes in community-based participatory research, or CBPR, an approach that works with community members to make public health programs more equitable and inclusive. 

King is also a co-investigator in UNMC’s BEAT Cancer study. BEAT Cancer, which stands for Black Equity, Access and Testing for Cancer, seeks to increase colorectal cancer screening and decrease mortality rates related to the disease in Omaha’s Black community. Today she is in conversation with Michael Griffin.

Josh Tague was born and raised in Omaha and has a business degree from UNO. He’s played guitar in various bands and is a regular audience member at local concerts — including performances by the biggest local band in town, the Omaha Symphony. As director of marketing and communications at the Omaha Symphony, Tague is responsible for building and cultivating the group’s audiences and brand. Today, Tague and Michael Griffin are talking about the symphony’s history and about how classical music spaces can become more diverse and inclusive. 

The Omaha Symphony could be Grammy winners after this weekend. The ensemble is nominated in three categories for its work with composer Andy Akiho, who was commissioned to pay tribute to Ree and Jun Kaneko. The resulting album, “Sculptures,” was premiered and recorded at the Holland Center in March of last year and conducted by music director Ankush Kumar Bahl. 

Jaden Perkins is grassroots community organizer from Omaha who specializes in coalition building. He currently works for the Heartland Workers Center as a policy fellow. Perkins has also worked on campaigns for local political candidates, including Dave Pantos, Cammy Watkins, and Jasmine Harris. 

His event, "Politically Speaking… It’s a Drag," uses performing arts to help audiences understand political issues. Perkins previously hosted the event in October of 2022 with then–Douglas County Attorney candidate Dave Pantos. "It’s a Drag" will be held on Saturday, Jan. 27 at The Sydney in Benson.

Today's show is a conversation between Perkins and Michael Griffin.

Mia Perales is a freshman at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Last year she won an environmental achievement award from the Nebraska chapter of the Sierra Club after leading climate work with the city-wide group Students for Sustainability and starting a lunch composting program at Omaha South High School that’s since been adopted at Central High School.

David Corbin is a longtime environmentalist in Omaha. He’s been a public health professor at UNO, a leader in the local Sierra Club and a staple at Earth Day in Elmwood Park with his guitar and extensive catalog of Neil Young songs. Currently he’s involved with a group protesting the North Omaha coal plant’s delayed shutdown from 2023 to 2026.

Omaha officials are currently working on a plan to prepare for and prevent the worst effects of climate change. On today's episode, Perales and Corbin are in conversation with Chris Bowling.

Lee Emma Running is an artist who sculpts with animal bones, glass and precious metals. She uses her work to engage audiences in conversations about the impact of human-built systems on the natural world, and explore the intersection of art and science.

Running’s work “Opera Coat” was unveiled on Nov. 11 at Kaneko, the culmination of her year-long residency with Opera Omaha. “Opera Coat” is an enameled cast iron sculpture, embellished with copper and bronze. It’s a direct cast of a coat in Opera Omaha’s costume wardrobe, meaning each piece of the sculpture is cast exactly from the fabric. The piece is on display at Kaneko through Feb. 11 and here is Running's conversation with Michael Griffin.