It's easy to miss what's happening in Iowa when you're scrolling past headlines. GDP down 6.1% in Q1. Soybean markets shipped to Argentina. A $20 billion bailout that somehow bypassed the farmers who needed it most. But this isn't just about tariffs or trade policy. It's about who holds power in Iowa and who gets left behind.
On Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith sat down with Chase Seibert and Liz Fleming to unpack the New York Times story everyone should be reading: how Trump's economic policies hit Iowa harder than almost anywhere else in the country.
Toss some bags about Iowa’s economic woes… health insurance costs going up… and some reflection on a year of Cornhole Champions.
It's a conversation about reality, responsibility, and refusing to pretend everything's fine when it clearly isn't. And if you've been following this show, you know we don't do academic jargon — just honest talk about what's happening in Iowa and why it matters.
Cornhole Champions is a weekly politics and policy podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line, hosted by Zachary Oren Smith and produced by Rebecca Steinberg, with music by Avery Mossman and art by Desirée Tapia.
SHOW RUNDOWN:
0:00 – Marinette Miller Meeks refuses town halls: "When hell freezes over"
4:30 – Welcome and what's coming this episode
6:30 – Trump's economic disaster hits Iowa hardest: the New York Times story
17:00 – ACA open enrollment and what Iowans need to know now
25:00 – Why Iowa journalism matters more than ever
36:00 – Reflecting on a year of Cornhole Champions
41:00 – How to support the show and send us your questions
42:00 – Outro and what's next
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