Shows
Julie Gammack's Iowa PotluckPersistence Paid Off for filmmaker Becky SmithJoin me, founder of the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat, as we welcome Emmy‑nominated filmmaker and UCLA professor Becky Smith for an engaging conversation about what it means to find and nurture your creative voice. Becky begins by recalling her improbable journey from a town of just 350 year‑round residents in Okoboji to earning a scholarship at Stanford after her college professor made a single phone call. She reflects on the impact of reading a jazz memoir in her father’s home library, which opened her eyes to issues of race and broadened her worldview long before she left Iowa.
2025-07-151h 00
Iowa Down BallotThe day after: What does Election Day 2024 mean for Iowa?Going into Tuesday, Iowa Democrats had a lot to be excited about: some competitive seats in Des Moines, two “toss-up” congressional seats, and an Iowa Poll that suggested big wins for Democrats. But not all the glitters is gold. It’s sometimes deep red. On this episode of Iowa Down Ballot, moderator Dave Busiek talks with a panel of longtime Iowa journalists and analysts about how 2024 shook out in Iowa. Was it the economy? Or is there a larger cultural force at work that had Trump running away with the state?Follow these paneli...
2024-11-0745 min
Iowa Down BallotOne more week... we hope: Newspaper endorsements, 'non-citizen' nonsense and some races to watchTo endorse or not to endorse… would be the question. But two weeks out from an election, and the answer seems pretty crystal. The The Washington Post has stepped in it. The loss of 250,000 subscribers is nothing to sneeze, even for the masthead’s billionaire owner Jeff Bezos.On this episode of Iowa Down Ballot, moderator Dave Busiek talks with a panel of Iowa political journalists and analysts about the economic—not just the ideological—value can compel a paper to endorse in a big race. We also hit some a secret list of registered voters that the Secr...
2024-10-3150 min
Iowa Down BallotIA-03 Debate: Some takeaways from Nunn v. BaccamIowa’s 3rd Congressional District is a “toss-up” according to elections raters like Cook Political Report. And Tuesday night on KCCI-TV, Incumbent Republican Zach Nunn and Democratic challenger Lanon Baccam squared off in a debate.On this episode of Iowa Down Ballot, moderator Dave Price talks with a panel of longtime Iowa journalists and analysts about how they did in one of these rare side-by-side moments. Later they get into the equally tight race next door in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District between incumbent Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Democratic challenger. Hear about a farm bill in stasis within a...
2024-10-1054 min
Iowa Down BallotVP debate: Who's up? Who's down? Does it matter?Maybe it was good that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was the football coach, not the debate coach. The 90-minute debate on CBS News Tuesday may not have been watched by many. But for the politics junkies—the kind of people who tune-in for local politics podcasts—it was a good chance to see at length how Walz and Republican JD Vance hold up under scrutiny. On this episode of Iowa Down Ballot, moderator Dave Busiek talks with a panel of longtime Iowa journalists and analysts about whether they passed muster. Walz had a stilted start seeming under wate...
2024-10-0347 min
Iowa Down BallotIowa's 1st and 3rd Congressional races heat upWith Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket, Iowa Democrats are feeling more optimistic about their party’s chances. That’s according to this week’s Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll. 85% of Iowa Democrats say they feel optimistic about this November’s election. That’s up from 45% in June with President Joe Biden was running for reelection. That compares to 63% of Republicans who say they are optimistic, up from 62% in June.On this episode of Iowa Down Ballot, moderator Ed Tibbetts talks with a panel of Iowa political journalists and analysts about whether this optim...
2024-09-1934 min
Iowa Down BallotNone of your damn businessClick on the names of our Iowa Writers’ Collaborative members to find their columns. Listeners of this podcast will learn things about the Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, they won’t hear or see elsewhere. Veteran Iowa political observers talk about the national political scene, bringing an Iowa perspective to the issues folks in the heartland are talking about, including abortion, book bans, and eminent domain.So, why listen to another @#$@% political podcast from a handful of Iowans? First, this episode was moderated by Kathie Obradovich, a long...
2024-08-1056 min
Julie Gammack's Iowa PotluckShe's at the top of her game, and is shifting gearsPhoebe Wall Howard recently left a highly sought-after beat as an auto reporter for The Detroit Free Press. So, what’s a writer who covers cars, sailing, and a life where she is based in Michigan doing in the IOWA Writers’ Collaborative? First, she spent part of her career in Iowa working for The Des Moines Register, and she’s a popular presenter during our Okoboji Writers’ Retreat. Most importantly, our Iowa readers love cars, and many can relate to her column title, Shifting Gears.Read her first few columns, and I’ll bet you ge...
2024-07-2559 min
Julie Gammack's Iowa PotluckA Chicago journalist is devoting his efforts toward taking on right-wing mediaStop the Presses newsletter author Mark Jacob was our Monday Zoom lunch guest today. It was a doozy. Sparks can fly when over 50 folks gather on a Zoom call to discuss journalism from a learned perspective. Take a listen.In 2018, Mark left one of the top jobs in journalism, as Metro Editor of the Chicago Tribune, partly because he had become disillusioned with right-wing lies and felt the media was being ‘outfoxed.’ As he says on our call, traditional journalism wasn’t confronting the systematic lying of the right-wing machine. The podcast offers a fascinating conver...
2024-07-161h 01
Iowa Down BallotPolitics Panel: Should Biden go or stay, and what impact will there be down ballot?We are presenting the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative’s first episode of the inaugural Politics Panel season.Dave Busiek, veteran KCCI-TV news manager, is our moderator. From this point forward, others in the Collaborative will share the moderation duty, following Busiek’s template.There is a growing demand for this kind of thoughtful, local commentary in an audio podcast format, and the assembled panel offers a combined decades of experience to bring to the conversation. We hope you like our beginning effort and understand it will become even more substantial as time progre...
2024-07-1047 min
Julie Gammack's Iowa PotluckLiz Garst says it is time for a taxpayer revoltOkoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat / Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Roundup / About Julie Editors Note: This post includes audio (above) and video (below) recordings of the conversation. The transcript is also posted.Our Potluck guest, Liz Garst, said a typical rain gauge sold in an Iowa hardware store measures up to 7” of precipitation. In northwest Iowa last week, rainfall was up to 10-15” in some areas, creating devasting flooding, eroding Iowa’s topsoil even further. Weather events like the 1993 Iowa floods were called 100-year events. Of course, that was just 30 years ago, and her...
2024-06-251h 03
Julie Gammack's Iowa PotluckA panel of Iowa Writers' Collaborative political analysts discuss the Iowa PollThe Iowa Writers’ Collaborative has 55 members, some of whom have a background in political analysis. During Monday’s Potluck Zoom call, Ed Tibbetts, Dana James, founder of Black Iowa News, Dave Busiek, Dennis Goldford, Robert Leonard, Art Cullen, Barry Piatt, and Laura Belin talked with Ann Selzer about the Iowa Poll, which is being released this week, starting on Monday in The Des Moines Register. Ann shared results from the Iowa Poll in our discussionn. She discussed her methodology and the results. Watch the video to see the graphs from the poll. J. Ann...
2024-06-1959 min
Julie Gammack's Iowa PotluckDid you know most Iowa counties have a quilt shop?To our new subscribers: I host a Monday Zoom call over the noon hour most weeks but usually take holidays off. After meeting Marianne Fons in Winterset recently, we decided we needed her to meet you BEFORE the upcoming Winterest Quilt Festival happening June 5-8, so she was our guest on Memorial Day. I didn’t expect a big turnout today because it’s a holiday and the weather is mostly beautiful. Turns out, there is a lot of interest in quilting, even among those of us who know nothing about the craft/art form. J. Ann Selz...
2024-05-281h 01
Truth for HealthWhistleblower Report - 05.01.24 - J6: Weaponization of US Government Against the American People
By Major Mike Gary, US Army Reserves CBRN Officer; and Dr. Elizabeth Lee Vliet MD, Physician and CEO Truth for Health Foundation
On 17 April 2024, four DC National Guardsmen testified in defense of their former commander Major General (MG) William Walker who testified March 3, 2021 before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs that the Secretary of the Army had delayed 3 hours in giving the DC National Guard the approval to respond to the Capitol situation that developed on January 6, 2021(J-6).
TruBio D3
Vitamin D3 is the bioidentical form of vitamin D synthesized in...
2024-05-0259 min
Julie Gammack's Iowa PotluckJara Johnson: Clarinda, Nashville to PellaJara Johnson has performed the National Anthem several times, so you might have been introduced to her at the opening of some big event around these parts. She’s a songwriter, who is also currently the associate director of the Pella Opera House, where she uses her connections with Nashville songwriting colleagues to turn the small town known for the Tulip Festival this time of year into ‘Nashville North.’Jara is one of 13 songwriters who will be workshop leaders during the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat, to be held September 22—25. If you love to sing, com...
2024-03-2757 min
Spec ScriptThe Flash with Ben Harkins/Katie Piatt/Lucia Fasano/Wendy Weiss/D. Martin Austin +moreFor the 7th episode of Spec Script we read an episode of The Flash written by a someone who has never seen that show.
CAST
BARRY ALLEN - Ben Harkins
IRIS WEST - Amanda Lynn Deal
JOE WEST - D Martin Austin
CISCO - Nicky Moon
CAITLIN SNOW - Wendy Weiss
TOM CAVANAGH - Chris Khatami
CAPTAIN COLD - Katie Piatt
WONDER WOMAN/RECEPTIONIST - Lucia Fasano
BRUCE WAYNE - Shane Hosea
COP - Kevin M. Arnold
SUPERMAN/MEL/NARRATOR - Kyle McCormick
Written by Kyle McCormick
Hosted by Kyle McCormick & Chris Khatami
Spec Script is a show where someone...
2017-10-1328 min