“It’s going to messy. It’s going to be beautiful.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Yasmin Marrero. Yasmin talks about her journey and personal narrative – growing up as a first-generation Afro-Latina American from the West Bronx, to her work in behavioral neuroscience, and now an entrepreneur and coach. […]

Life is all about attaining that wisdom. Elise is talented director, teacher, and all-around great person I’ve known Elise for nearly 20 years. It was a treat to catch up and talk with her about theater craft and collaboration regarding collaboration we talked about the importance of trust in creative acts we also explored how […]

The Iowa Idea: Dr. Tanya English Healing with the Blues. In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Tanya English who is a healer and blues singer, based in Iowa. Tanya brings her dynamic “infotainment” approach to help people access healing through the blues. I appreciated Tanya taking the time […]

The Iowa Idea: Mary Cohen Who we are as people helps us relate to others. In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Mary Cohen who is an Associate Professor and Area Head of Music Education at the University of Iowa. Mary researches music-making and wellness with respect to prison […]

The tragedy of the commons. In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Nicki Limoli, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at The University of Iowa. Our conversation covers Nicki’s journey to becoming a research scientist and complex systems of communication that can be found in bacteria, as well as […]

“Be sure to laugh today” I think improv is an essential mindset for innovation and design. In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with John Sweeney. John, along with wife Jenni Lilledahl, are the co-owners of The Brave New Workshop (BNW). The Brave New Workshop is the nation’s longest running satirical […]

“Be kind. Work hard. Have fun. Entertain yourself and be a hero to your fifteen-year-old self.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Dave Hill. Dave and I talked about his approach to his various creative endeavors. From a design perspective, I really appreciated how context matters for each medium […]

“Making things easy to use is not enough. It takes time to make something meaningful.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Kade Schemahorn. Among the many topics we discussed, we explored design ethics and design responsibility. I’ve been lucky enough to work alongside Kade on a number of projects. […]

“We approached it like we were never going to be invited back.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with friend Ed Nehring. Ed has ben a fixture of the Iowa City music scene since the early 1980’s. Some of his bands have included Red Throb, The Day Glow Bomber Boys, […]

“There’s always something new being created.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with John Kenyon, executive director of The Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature organization. John grew up in Des Moines and graduated from the University of Iowa and lives in Iowa City. I enjoyed being able to talk […]