Julie Gammack's Iowa Potluck

Our Monday Zoom guest last week was Jeff Bremer, who is on a tour promoting his book titled “A New History of Iowa.” As is typical of these sessions, the participating audience asks good questions and offers thoughtful comments. I don’t believe there is anything quite like what we are doing with this Substack platform happening anywhere else- using the Substack podcast feature with Zoom to intervi...

As a community watchdog for The Des Moines Register, Lee Rood is one of a declining breed. The story she produced is a reason legacy media is essential in holding powerful people, especially those in charge of children. Listen to the podcast interview of the Watch Dog columnist for The Des Moines Register and or read the transcript. Our listeners offer an additional level of perspective to the con...

During our Monday Zoom lunch session, Laura Belin had 40-50 participants on the call, where the day's appetite was for all things political. Belin is an Iowa Writers’ Collaborative member and the Bleeding Heartland blog publisher. Take a listen to one of the most thoughtful analysts around. Lee Rood will be our guest on Monday, November 20. She is an investigative reporter who created a reader Wat...

Today’s podcast features Steve Semken, owner of Ice Cube Press. Our podcasts are recordings of a Zoom call, featuring conversations with readers of this Potluck column and special guests. We hold the sessions most Mondays at noon central time (our guest this coming Monday is political analyst and Iowa Writers’ Collaborative columnist Laura Belin ). The session is recorded and then uploaded into th...

This riveting conversation with Kali White VanBaale reveals why the murder of her neighbors has led her on a quest to fix Iowa’s broken mental health system. Iowa’s ranking in the number of available beds to treat the severely mentally ill is one of the lowest in the country. Why? Had it been adequate, her neighbors - a father, mother and sister of the murderer, would be alive today. He asked for...

Roxanne. One word, one name, evokes a visceral reaction from all who know of the woman who has been a lightening rod for controversy, progress, justice and hilarity. In this podcast, a conversation between a few old friends, listeners can get a sense of why this is, and what drives one of the most iconic leaders in the state of Iowa, and beyond. Monday Zoom Guest: Nicole Baart We are lucky to have...

Yesterday’s open show was newsy, so I’m bumping up this podcast upload while the topics discussed are dominating the news. Our Monday Zoom participants typically include newsmakers and keen observers of current affairs. We have folks from New Mexico, Alexandria, Reston, Virginia, California, Ohio, Colorado, and rural and urban areas of Iowa. When we have an ‘open show’ format, the folks on the cal...

Welcome to our new subscribers. Suppose this is the first column you’ve opened since subscribing. In that case, you might be surprised to find a podcast about how a former Des Moines businessman has discovered the personal benefits of combining tai chi and yoga to quell symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Today’s posted podcast is an example of what we do around here. I regularly hold a Zoom conversa...

She’s back. Wini Moranville, the popular writer about local food, once again tells readers about dining in Iowa, and readers are - shall I say? - eating it up. Her work has appeared in Better Homes and Gardens magazine publications, books, The Des Moines Register, and DSM magazine. She had a successful blog but says she’s found the best fit yet as an independent writer through Wini’s Food Stories...

On Mondays, over noon on Zoom, I converse with notable guests and subscribers of this Potluck column. Think of it as a virtual luncheon, without food, but with interesting people. Our participants are generally as interesting as our guest of honor and contribute mightily to the conversation. On Monday, August 28, our dining reviewer, Wini Moranville, will be our featured guest. We start at noon an...

AUGUST 18: OKOBOJI, IA One month from today, over 250 writers will converge on a part of the Iowa Great Lakes area few know exists. The Lakeside Labs consists of 147 acres of natural land developers would love to get their hands upon, but thanks to the foresight of the original benefactors and contemporary community leaders, the property owned by the Iowa Board of Regents remains in the public dom...

This podcast was recorded on July 24 as a part of Julie Gammack’s Potluck podcast series. To subscribe: Marilyn Maye will appear in the Pearson Lakes Art Center August 1 and 2. There are still a few tickets remaining for the August 2nd performance. She will be performing in the beautiful Lauridsen Performing Arts Theatre: Click here: ACT FAST: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss thi...

First, here is a link to our conversation with former WHO TV political director Dave Price. He recently left his position with the station - not an uncommon occurrence for a popular TV personality in a market the size of Des Moines. Rather than leave for a job in a larger metro area, Price is opting to stay in Iowa. We’ll find out what he’s thinking about and get his take on his new column with th...

Hey, you there. Welcome to Julie Gammack’s Potluck column. Subscribers receive a link to future Monday Zoom discussions. Paid subscribers help fund the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat. We need five more paid subscribers to meet the needs of applicants. Can you pitch in? Be sure to participate in the poll at the bottom of this column. There will not be a Monday Zoom call today due to a scheduling snafu on...

Our Monday Zoom lunch guests on May 15 (in the podcast above) were Kathie Obradovich and her newest addition to the stellar Iowa Capital Dispatch team, Brooklyn Draisey. In this conversation you will listen to Obradovich, the managing editor of Dispatch, and Brooklyn. You’ll also hear questions and suggestions from experienced journalists on the call, who are welcoming Brooklyn to this very import...

The state of Iowa has been recognized as having the second-highest rate of cancer diagnosis in the country. Rather than try to figure out why, this Iowa Legislature is blocking funding for the sensors in place to measure water quality. This vital information is now in peril. Dr. Chris Jones, the man in charge of the monitoring project, decided to retire early rather than succumb to pressures meant...

Our Monday Zoom lunch guests May 8 are columnist Robert Leonard and Chris Jones, the latter in the throes of a major controversy regarding his work with the University of Iowa, overseeing water quality testing. We’ll discuss pressure from the legislature that resulted in his resignation. Jones is a popular blogger who just moved his writing to a Substack column and Leonard interviewed Jones for hi...

My how time flies! Tomorrow is the last Friday of the month, and that means our Iowa Writers’ Collaborative team gathers via Zoom for our Office Lounge chat. This is a gift for those who are paid subscribers to any of our columns. If you are a paid subscriber, join us: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83172833586 Noon, central time. It’s a lot of fun to check in on these Iowa writers. Confession: I love...

Tucked away in a small shopping center is an independent book store that is a magnet for metro-area readers and writers. On any given evening, the doors will be open after hours for authors to give readings from their books, and guests gather happily to listen. It’s a cherished experience by the grateful followers of Beaverdale Books store. And, it’s a welcome and necessary service for Iowa author...

Take a listen to a conversation between J. Ann Selzer and our subscriber participants about the Iowa Poll and Grinnell Poll, conducted by Selzer & Company. Here is a link to her recent Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll, showing Governor Kim Reynolds’ approval rating . Ann walks us through her polling results and trends over the years (i.e.are we on the right track or wrong track) and explains...

Welcome to over 101 new subscribers in the past two days. For those who landed here thinking they were subscribing to a column by Jane Burns , a former Des Moines Register sports reporter whose guest column about the hottest topic in the state - Iowa women’s basketball - racked up over 14,500 views, you’ve actually joined Julie Gammack’s Potluck column. Surprise. Here’s how we do things around her...

Welcome to over 101 new subscribers in the past two days. For those who landed here thinking they were subscribing to a column by Jane Burns , a former Des Moines Register sports reporter whose guest column about the hottest topic in the state - Iowa women’s basketball - racked up over 14,500 views, you’ve actually joined Julie Gammack’s Potluck column. Surprise. Here’s how we do things around her...

Rekha Basu and Julie Gammack upload their third podcast of What the hell happened to Iowa? We begin with Rekha talking about her most recent trip to India, and her reflections about Iowa from a country on the other side of the globe. The two friends talk openly about their feelings of depression around the radical policy changes taking place in their beloved home state, but end the podcast with a...

Do well while doing good is a motto and now a foundational cornerstone of a multimillion dollar gift from two Drake alumni who have done just that in their lives. Larry and Kathi Zimpleman don’t disclose the specific amount of their gift, but it is said to be one of the largest donations to Drake in the school’s history. They, along with Dean Alejandro Hernandez, are in the process of determining...

Futurist David Houle, Monday Zoom Lunch guest podcast from March 6. Coming Monday, March 13 Our upcoming Monday Zoom guests are Larry and Kathi Zimpleman, and Alejandro Hernandez , dean of the Zimpleman College of Business . The link to the discussion: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82681542348 . What does the mission, do well while doing good , mean to them? Join us, Monday, March 13, at noon central...