Julie Gammack's Iowa Potluck

This week’s Potluck Podcast welcomes Christine Brennan , the USA Today national sports columnist who’s covered 20 Olympic Games, Super Bowls, Wimbledon—and is now behind the mic to tell us why Caitlin Clark isn’t just rewriting women’s basketball records but rewriting what it means to be a sports superstar in 2025. She wrote a book about just that, and in warp speed. Just under a year ago—on July...

When the World Tilts: A Conversation with Admiral Michael Franken What happens when you bring a retired three-star admiral, a hotel room in Wisconsin, a NATO security conference in The Hague, and the global chaos of 2025 into one conversation? You get clarity—sober, candid, and often chilling clarity. I recently sat down with Admiral Michael Franken, whose 38-year Navy career spanned continents, c...

This podcast features a conversation with Kali White VanBaale and several readers of this column. It samples the many interests held by our guest from memoir writing to True Crime, and mental health issues in Iowa. If you don’t already subscribe to Kali, please consider doing so. You will be better informed about one of the most critical and widespread issues facing far too many Iowans today. Kali...

Our next Monday Noon Zoom Guest is Kali White VanBaale . She is a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, an author, memoir teacher, and mental health advocate. Subscribers (free or paid) receive the Zoom link on Monday mornings. Interview Review: Julie Gammack in Conversation with Aaron Parnas An incisive, intergenerational dialogue on digital activism, political disillusionment, and the evolv...

Chris Cillizza on The Iowa Caucus, Trump, Biden, the Media—and What Politics Is Doing to Our Kids A Potluck Podcast Recap | Hosted by Julie Gammack | Featuring the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative In a conversation that spanned the possibility of renewing Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucus status, the crisis in masculinity, media trust, and the impact of performance politics, journalist Chris Cillizza j...

Saving Ellen: A Conversation with Maura Casey Maura Casey kept loads of notes in journal books as a youngster—a habit that, it turns out, would serve as a major resource for her unforgettable memoir. Fast-forward to May 19, 2025: on a Zoom call from her writing studio in the loft of a Connecticut barn, Maura held up her homemade archives—journal booklets thick with colorful sticky notes, each tab...

When I opened the conversation with author, director, and filmmaker Peter Hedges on Monday’s Potluck Zoom call, I could’ve led with the obvious: the big Hollywood names orbiting his life. But instead of clickbait, I chose to bring him home—beginning not with stardom, but with the recent passing of his former Valley High School drama teacher, the man who helped shape the storyteller he became. Mr....

Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. 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

Other analysts are doing their best to keep up with the firehose of head-snapping actions coming out of this administration, so I’ve mostly been content to let ponder other topics in this space. But then my sister Katy texted me the other night: "Are you watching Rachel Maddow? Did you just hear what the Secretary of Education said?" At a conference about Artificial Intelligence, the Secretary rep...

New Subscribers: On Mondays, we hold a Zoom call from noon to 1 p.m. Central Time. Sometimes, we have an interesting person to interview, and today YOU are that featured guest. What’s it like to be YOU these days? Event Summary: Honoring Helen Miller and Her Memoir, I Don’t Swim Former Iowa Representative Helen Miller was celebrated in a warm, packed-room gathering, co-hosted by me, with Rekha Bas...

Breaking News: Please welcome award-winning author, playwright, filmmaker, and former Iowan, Peter Hedges to the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. His introduction is in today’s Roundup. Peter will also be conducting workshops during the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat, September 28-October 1. Learn more: https://okobojiwritersretreat.com Highlights from the Robert Leonard Zoom Call A Voice f...

We caught up with Christie Vilsack , who is onsite in Groton, Connecticut, for the commissioning of the USS Iowa , the newest addition to the United States Naval fleet. With her signature blend of heart and home-state pride, Vilsack brought a unique gift for the families of the crew—packets of seeds from Earl May in Shenandoah, Iowa. Her thoughtful gesture encouraged families to plant and nurture...

Would you like to learn how to create a personal, successful Substack column? Julie Gammack and Debra Engle will present a class to teach you how to do just that. Read the announcement of this endeavor here, and sign up now: Substack Success . We are human. We have fears, and this moment in history is stirring up many of them. How we cope—and how we act—is a conversation worth having. Our Zoom gue...

Join me for my next live video in the app 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

Join me for my next live video in the app 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

Join me for my next live video in the app 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

Drake President Marty Martin Reaffirms Commitment to DEI, Expands on University’s Future and Challenges Drake University President Marty Martin reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in response to recent legislative changes in Iowa that could impact university policies and student funding. He emphasized that his recent public statement was not an act of...

Today, I entered the Three Sons Clothing Store in Milford, Iowa, to meet the creators and founders of the University of Okoboji. We were lucky to nab Herman Richter, one of the original ‘three sons’, and his son, Matt, in this surprise LIVE visit. Herman is an original fixture in this store as much as the floor boards and rickety steps. Defying all retail convention, the store remains unchanged si...

Join me for my next live video in the app 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

Thank you Dartanyan L. Brown , The Seven Times , Tammy Steands , William Staplin , Marjorie Nelson , and many others for tuning into my live video with Michael Franken ! Join me for my next live video in the app. Admiral Franken Exposes White House Showdown with Zelensky Key Takeaways from Admiral Michael Franken’s Explosive Interview on Ukraine, National Security, and the Future of U.S. Democracy...

Welcome to over 500 new subscribers and followers! This column is called An Iowa Potluck because everyone brings something to the table. Iowa is my home state, and after a 20-year absence, I’m back and present. I’ve experienced this state from farm kitchen tables, and from Council Bluffs in western Iowa, to the wooded peaks overlooking the Mississippi River in Dubuque. As a talk show host and colu...

Thank you Susan Beckman , Bill Radl , Bonnie Berry , and many others for tuning into my live video with Dave Price ! Join me for my next live video in the app. 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

Tim Higgins was our Potluck guest this week. The former Des Moines Register reporter is a seasoned automotive and technology writer for The Wall Street Journal who frequently appears on CNBC. His book, Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century , published in 2021, offers a deep dive into Tesla’s journey under Elon Musk’s leadership. Musk, of course, is changing the direction of the...

Join me for my next live video in the app 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

Thank you Rekha Basu , Carol Montag , and many others for tuning into my live video with Kelsey Bigelow and John Crabtree ! Join me for my next live video in the app. 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