Emerson Cram

Disability Ecologies

Society EN ↓ 11 episodes

In the 1850s, county governments across the Midwest established what were then known as “poor farms.” These were residential institutions for county “dependents” which included those unable to work, for reasons of disability or otherwise. In the 1970s, Johnson County, Iowa supervisors initiated what would become a decades-long attempt to preserve their county poor farm’s historic structures. Their actions encouraged education and reflection of the history of mental health care. Disability Ecologies digs through the past of poor farm institutions and their vast connections in order to fathom th...

Author

Emerson Cram

Episodes

From Soil to Seeding Local Foods, Part Two 27.04.2026 37:32

Presenting: From Soil to Seeding Local Foods Content: Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: Jason Grimm Malik Salsberry Ilsa DeWald April Lawyer Felicia Pieper Scott Koepke Highlights Join Emerson as they talk with the newest generation of GROW farmers, on why this work is meaningful, how food justice and food sovereignty overlap and depart, and what’s grown on site, beyond all of...

From Soil to Seeding Local Foods, Part One 27.04.2026 54:15

Presenting: From Soil to Seeding Local Foods Content: Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: Scott Koepke Carly McAndrews Alfred Matiyabo Ilsa DeWald Rod Sullivan Jason Grimm Highlights This chapter brings the story of the historic poor farm full circle, by documenting the work of GROW Johnson County. Co-founded in 2015 by John Boller, Scott Koepke, and Bob Andrik, GROW’s initial vi...

A Witness Tree on the Land, Part Two 20.04.2026 40:25

Presenting: A Witness Tree on the Land Content: cemeteries and death care, the politics of restoration, land development, logics of “cure” Featuring: Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: V Fixmer-Oraiz Rod Sullivan Dr. Jennifer Mack Chant Eicke Geoff Mouming Jason Grimm Highlights This episode picks up with the preservation challenges of the early 2000s, as Johnson County debated...

A Witness Tree on the Land, Part One 20.04.2026 55:19

Presenting: A Witness Tree on the Land Content: forced removal, colonialism, Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: Geoff Mouming Chant Eicke Highlights This chapter tells the story of the Historic Poor Farm’s land from the point of view of a 250 year old Bur Oak on the southern edges of the property. Geoff and Emerson walk through the restored natural areas for Emerson’s first close-...

Dignity Delayed, Part Two 13.04.2026 39:33

Presenting: Dignity Delayed Content: historic records Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: Mary Helen Kennerly, Seen & Heard Facilitator, DAC Member Becky Dewing, Johnson County Historic Society Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz Supervisor Lisa Green-Douglass Kim Painter, Johnson County Recorder Kevin Kolsto, DAC Member Julie Watkins, DAC Co-Facilitator and Events Manager for Historic...

Dignity Delayed, Part One 13.04.2026 40:46

CHAPTER THREE, PART ONE Presenting: Dignity Delayed Content: discrimination, medicaid cuts Featuring: Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: Mary Helen Kennerly Highlights This chapter tells the story of how the Disability Advisory Committee came into being because of a random encounter between V Fixmer-Oraiz and Seen and Heard, an activity group focused on disability advocacy. Join Emers...

Poor Farm Pathways, Part Two 06.04.2026 59:34

Presenting: Poor Farm Pathways Content: insanity diagnosis; eugenics; Bedlam; Snake Pit; “wellness farms,” animal confinement Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: Julie Watkins, Events Manager, Johnson County Historic Poor Farm Dr. Jenell Johnson, Professor of Communication Arts, University of Wisconsin-Madison Dr. Aimi Hamraie, Canada Research Chair in Technology, Society, and Disabilit...

Poor Farm Pathways, Part One 06.04.2026 50:53

Poor Farm Pathways, Part One Content: “idiotic,” asylums; confinement; “insanity law” Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: Julie Watkins, Events Manager, Johnson County Historic Poor Farm Michael Hoenig, Project Coordinator, University of Iowa Center for Disabilities and Development Dr. Jennifer Mack, Lead Bioarcheologist, Asylum Hill Project, University of Mississippi Medical Center Hig...

History is a Story, Part Two 30.03.2026 48:57

Presenting: History is a Story, Part Two Content: asylum, "insane," cemetery Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Guests: Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz, Board of Supervisors of Johnson County, Iowa (2022-present), & former Project Manager for the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm Master Plan (2017-2021) Supervisor Rod Sullivan, Board of Supervisors of Johnson County, Iowa (2004-present) Kim...

History is a Story, Part One 30.03.2026 43:06

Presenting: History is a Story, Part One Content : "insanity," asylums, eugenics Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz, Board of Supervisors of Johnson County, Iowa (2022-present), and former Project Manager for the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm Master Plan (2017-2021) Supervisor Rod Sullivan, Board of Supervisors of Johnson County, Iowa (2004-prese...

Disability Ecologies Trailer 16.03.2026 2:54

Featuring: Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: Malik Salsberry, Farm Manager, GROW Johnson County Scott Koepke, Garden Bridge Outreach, and co-founder of GROW Johnson County Claire Trettin, 2025 Seasonal Farm Apprentice, GROW Johnson County Transcript For a full transcript of the trailer, visit: disabilityecologiespodcast.buzzsprout.com Credits Episode written and narrated by Emerson Cra...