Julie Gammack's Iowa Potluck

New subscribers: Each Monday we hold a Zoom call with a special guest where readers can join the discussion. Up next: Neal Brown - a longtime journalism leader and media executive best known for his work at the Poynter Institute , where he serves as president . You must be a subscriber to receive the Zoom link. Author Grant Faulkner contends that traditional writing instruction—focused on correcti...

New subscribers—welcome! I regularly host a Monday Zoom conversation where readers can engage directly with decision-makers and other fascinating people who share a deep interest in Iowa. I encourage you to explore the archives, where you’ll find podcasts with U.S. Senate candidates, authors, coaches, and a wide mix of smart, fun, and thoughtful guests. There’s nothing else quite like it in Iowa—i...

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New subscribers: Every Monday, you’re invited to join a live Zoom podcast conversation with a person of interest. Next week, we’ll turn our attention to Greenland. The following week— January 26 —Neil Brown, president of the Poynter Institute, will join us for a timely conversation about the future of journalism. This podcast features a wide-ranging, call-in discussion with Iowa political journali...

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit okobojiwriters.substack.com/subscribe

The following is a summary of our conversation with U.S. Senate candidate Zach Wahls. Wahls is an American politician, LGBTQ+ activist, and author who first gained national attention in 2011 at age 19 when a video of his heartfelt testimony defending his family—raised by two lesbian mothers—before the Iowa House Judiciary Committee went viral and became one of the most-watched political videos of...

Welcome to the Iowa Writers Collaborative podcast. Today’s conversation features Mike Hlas , the longtime Cedar Rapids sports columnist whose voice helped shape how Iowans understood sports for decades—and who is now writing independently after being let go by the new owners of The Cedar Rapids Gazette . Mike has launched a new Substack, Out of Bounds , and is beginning his next chapter outside th...

Our bonus podcast guest this week was Retired Vice Admiral Mike Franken, who oversaw maritime interdiction and joint operations across the globe. In this recording, Admiral Franken joins a Zoom call where participants, including Vietnam veteran and former JAG officer Bill Fanter, first react to recent U.S. attacks on small boats in the Caribbean. Fanter recalls that in Vietnam, commanders were obs...

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit okobojiwriters.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s podcast is a perfect example of how the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative works. On Monday morning, Collaborative member Douglas Burns published a powerful column on a major push to organize nurses in central Iowa. It’s an important story with statewide implications—and we are fortunate to have a veteran journalist of Doug’s caliber covering it. Look for more reporting coming soon from Robert Le...

Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Holiday Party / Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat Josh Turek, an Iowa state representative and Paralympic gold medalist, joins the podcast as a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. He explains that he’s the first permanently disabled member of the Iowa Legislature and represents one of the reddest districts in the state, having overperformed Democrats there by...

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit okobojiwriters.substack.com/subscribe

Those of you lucky enough to have an hour and an internet signal starting at noon central time are in for a surprise potluck guest. Mikki Williams. See description below the podcast notes. Let’s get to know Sarah Trone Garriott, candidate for congress in the Third district that includes much of central Iowa, including Polk County. Personal & Family Background She grew up in Cloquet, Minnesota, dau...

Today’s guest is Sarah Trone Garriott, the Democratic candidate seeking the party nomination in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District. If successful in the primary, she will challenge incumbent Representative Zach Nunn in the general election. Currently, Senator Garriott represents Iowa Senate District 14 (covering Dallas County areas including Waukee, Adel, Van Meter, and parts of West Des Moines and...

All political junkie eyes will be on Iowa during the midterm election cycle next year, so the results of yesterday’s election in the state will be of keen interest to tea-leaf reading pundits around the country. So, I invited analyst Laura Belin to join me live this morning to offer her observations. Apologies for the intermittent audio feedback. We’ll do better next time. Thank you Dave Price , M...

Are you new to the Julie Gammack and Guests podcast? Every Monday at noon (Central Time), readers and I gather for a conversation with a person of interest. Topics range from politics and leadership to books, movies, and whatever’s sparking curiosity that week. There’s no cost to subscribe, but paid subscribers help support the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat scholarship fund — and as a...

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit okobojiwriters.substack.com/subscribe

I’ve always loved asking questions. Thanks to this platform, I get to invite thought-leaders, candidates, experts, fun folks, and fascinating characters to join the conversation. Where else can you spend an hour talking with a candidate for Congress, the founder of Substack, or even a big-time movie director with Iowa roots? Here, on Mondays, you can. Join us from the comfort of your home for insi...

This podcast was recorded on Monday. As the saying goes, 24 hours is a long time in politics. In this interview, you’ll hear the origin story of a formidable candidate for the Iowa Democratic Party’s U.S. Senate nomination. Jackie Norris is, by any measure, formidable. She knows organizational politics—having helped Barack Obama win Iowa by a sizable margin. Today, as chair of the Des Moines Publi...

When Art Cullen Drops By… Pulitzer Prize–winner Art Cullen joined us to talk about his new book Dear Marty, We Crapped in Our Nest —and, true to form, he made us laugh while reminding us just how screwed up Iowa’s water, soil, and politics really are. Art confessed he never wanted to write a book again after New York publishers dismissed his “Corn Gospel” chapter as too provincial. (“Too provincia...

As the saying goes, 24 hours is a long time in politics. In just one news cycle, JD Scholten dropped out of Iowa’s U.S. Senate primary and endorsed his colleague Rep. Josh Turek in the race to take on Joni Ernst. Meanwhile, in Ohio, beloved Democrat Sherrod Brown — who lost his Senate seat last cycle — announced he’ll run again, this time for the seat JD Vance left behind to become VP. For most po...

Two Chaplains, One Detained Colleague, and a Stand That Cost Them Their Jobs This podcast shines a spotlight on one of the most under-reported stories of our time — and that’s saying something. Right now, in Iowa alone, over 200 immigrants are being detained, according to the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice. The interview you’re about to hear is a must-watch. I expect this story to gain national...

JD Scholten Pulled Over to Join Us—Literally Last week, JD Scholten was driving across Iowa when he pulled over— literally—to join our readers for a one-hour conversation about his quest to represent Iowa in the U.S. Senate. No commercials. No sound-bite slivers. Just a real conversation. The field of Democratic primary candidates is growing, and thanks to the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative—with cont...

Welcome. Come on in. Each Monday we feature a thought-leader for a one-hour conversation with our subscribers. The recorded video has the feel of a down home potluck, because everyone brings something to the table. Join us by subscribing (free). Photo credit: image of Julie Cantrell on our Zoom call by Chuck Offenburger. Uplifting, Insightful, and Deeply Personal: A Conversation with Julie Cantrel...

Join 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...