Talk of Iowa

It’s a staple in almost every kitchen, but if you’re going to grow your own garlic you have to do some planning ahead. On this Horticulture Day episode, Iowa State University horticulture professor and chair Ajay Nair guides us through planting, caring for and harvesting garlic. Then, horticulture specialist Aaron Steil joins us, and he and Nair answer listener questions.

Carlotta Walls LaNier is one of the Little Rock Nine — one of the first nine Black students to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in September 1957. Leona Tate is one of the McDonogh Three — one of the first three Black students at McDonogh elementary in New Orleans in 1960. On this episode, we talk with civil rights pioneers LaNier and Tate, who are speaking across Iowa this week. Then, we hear from actor Tony Danza who spoke with IPR's arts and culture reporter Nicole Baxter. He discusses how he made the switch from boxing to acting, his upcoming performance in Mason City and his ukulele, Lucy. (Danza's performance is part of the NIACC Performing Arts and Leadership Series, which is an underwriter of IPR.)

Your home is your first space. Work is your second space. A third space is a place where you can gather with other people in your community, meet people and make connections. But many of these spaces have disappeared, particularly in small towns. On this episode, rural sociologist Dave Peters shares how gas stations have become a social hub for small towns. Library director Mary Kathryn Gepner talks about the local library enduring as a third space. Jennifer Drinkwater talks about her work uplifting third spaces in Iowa's small towns and how they inspire her art. Finally, Tiara Phillips has been bringing people in the Iowa City area together with "stuff swaps," book clubs and bingo nights through her Instagram page, Bitchin' Events. (This episode was originally produced March 12, 2026.)

On this episode, we listen back to a 2025 conversation about the bicentennial anniversary of organized Norwegian immigration to the U.S. and how Norwegian culture has shaped the Midwest and the U.S. as a whole. First, we hear highlights from the now-King of Norway's visit to the Vesterheim National Norwegian American Museum and Folk Art School and Luther College in Decorah. Then, we hear more about the Decorah-Norway partnership from Chris Johnson of Vesterheim and Maren Johnson of Luther. Later, Norwegian Torgrim Sneve Guttormsen and ISU faculty Ted Grevstad-Nordbrock discuss how Leif Erikson lore has been enshrined across the U.S., as the two of them have had Fulbright residencies in each other's homeland. (This episode was originally produced Oct. 8, 2025.)

We talk with artist and writer Katie Holten, author of 'The Language of Trees: How Trees Make Our World Change Our Minds and Rewild our Lives.' Holten discusses the ideas behind the project and explores how language, nature and place intersect. The Anne Frank Initiative is presenting a conversation with Holten about the project on Thursday, Oct. 1 at the Senate Chamber in the Old Capitol Museum in Iowa City at 5:30 p.m. Then, we listen back to a conversation with father and daughter Dan and April Wilson, co-owners of Seven W Farm in Paullina. The farm was named Niman Ranch’s Sustainable Farm of the Year for 2025. (A portion of this episode was originally produced in January 2026.)

Autumn is here and before winter arrives, insects and arachnids have some important work to get done. In the meantime, we can enjoy the beautiful handiwork of orb weaver spiders which is especially visible this time of year. On this episode, entomologist Zach Schumm of the Iowa State University Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic joins us to talk about orb weaver spiders. He discusses their beautiful work and how they prepare for winter. Then, extension horticulture specialist Aaron Steil joins us to listener questions.

The Anne Frank Initiative at the University of Iowa is dedicated to preserving and sharing Frank's legacy with new generations. On this episode, Charity Nebbe takes a virtual reality tour of the secret annex where the Frank family lived for two years. We also visit a tree grown from the sapling of the tree outside of the annex that Frank would look at from the window. Then, have you ever asked yourself, what would Dolly do? The late, great Dolly Parton means many things to many people. We talk with Sarah Dees of Iowa State University about Parton's role as a spiritual icon.

On this episode, we explore the long, hard process of preserving Dolly the Mastodon. In 2024, University of Iowa archaeologists excavated the first-ever well-preserved mastodon skull found in the state. For the past two years the skull has since been cleaned and preserved at the Office of the State Archaeologist and was recently transported to its permanent home at the Prairie Trails Museum of Wayne County, with a ribbon cutting on Saturday, Sept. 26. On this episode, we witness the final progress with State Archaeologist John Doershuk and Mike Eklund, who's been consulting on the work. We also talk with museum director Brenda DeVore about her work preparing the new exhibit, and we hear from lead Dolly preparator and University of Iowa junior Will Sprengelmeyer.

Iowan Jane Elliott is renowned for her pioneering work in anti-racism education. Elliott achieved celebrity for her "blue eyes/brown eyes exercise, which she first conducted in 1968 with her third grade class the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. This exercise has led to several documentaries, books and discussion over the last several decades regarding race, bias and systemic inequality. At 92 years old, Elliott is still fighting bigotry and enlisting others to join. On this episode, we listen back to our 2025 interview with Elliott. Her lessons are now finding new audiences with the documentary film 'Jane Elliott Against the World' which is screening in Des Moines on Oct. 7. We talk with the documentary's director and producer Judd Ehrlich about his journey creating a film that paints a full picture of Elliott's life, family and community. (Part of this episode was originally produced Feb. 6, 2025.)

Peter Bognanni fell into YA fiction by accident. His new book, 'How to Lose Yourself Completely', is an outlet for his experience coming to terms with anxiety as a teen. On this episode, we talk with Bognanni, an award-winning novelist and Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate about his new book and his own mental health experiences. Then, we talk with 'New York Times' best-selling author Loryn Brantz about her new children’s book, 'I Am a Spicy Nugget.'