Lives Radio Show & Podcast with Stuart Chittenden

Creighton music professor, conductor, and chorus master Dr. Barron Breland talks about an epiphany with the Atlanta Boy Choir, the choral ensembles he is engaged with, the art and craft of conducting, the joys and creative challenges of music for him and for us, and a life spent in and with music. Dr. A. Barron Breland has a diverse background in many different fields of music, including the piano...

Musician and writer Anne Schulte talks about her life as a writer, exploring language’s power to bring us together and to separate us. Schulte also shares the inspiration behind her beautiful, witty, and wistful music EP Dream Cars and will perform some of her music with us live in the studio. Anna Schulte is a musician and writer from Omaha, Nebraska. She released her debut EP, Dream Car,&nb...

Luis Marcos, founding member of the Maya Economic Development Corporation and co-executive director of Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim. In our conversation, Marcos, who was born in modern day Guatemala before he came to the United States when he was a teenager, shares the dislocating culture shock of that time that then motivated his efforts to support the prosperity, representation, and sovereignty of...

Ballet dancer and founder of American Midwest Ballet , Erika Overturff, shares her journey as a professional ballet dancer, the demands on the body and mind, and the rewards of creative expression. She also talks about ballet’s importance and the motivations behind founding a professional ballet company. Erika Overturff began her training in Iowa at the Academy of Ballet, studying at various summe...

Anne Hindery, the CEO of the Nonprofit Association of the Midlands, talks about growing up in the seventies and wanting to change the world, an aspiration she has since pursued by driving an effective, vibrant nonprofit sector across the Midwest, to the betterment of all of our communities. Anne Hindery joined the Nonprofit Association of the Midlands in 2008. She has extensive experience in publi...

Sherry Kennedy Brownrigg, the general manager of Classical 90.7FM KVNO shares that initial moment when radio first called to her and began a lifelong vocation on the airwaves, as a host behind the microphone and as a leader at a public radio station. Brownrigg also talks about the business of radio and its importance to our community, as well as her stints at a christian radio network and her pers...

Award winning actor and theater company cofounder Haley Haas talks about a life on stage and behind the scenes. She shares her passion for performing and bringing those opportunities to others, especially for marginalized voices. Haas also talks about the Anastasis Theater Company’s belief that the theater helps us to really see ourselves and each other and that art has the power to impact so...

Jim Begley is the Director of the William Brennan Institute for Labor Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Begley, who was raised in a union family, talks about organized labor’s historic rise in the face of oppressive working conditions, its decline over the last few decades, and the resurgence of unions in recent years to tackle inequity, support human rights in the workplace, and to...

Architect Jeff Day talks about the role of architecture in our individual and communal existence, the cultural influences shaping our buildings, and some of the contemporary conversations in this field. Day also shares his personal influences and philosophies for designing our built environment. Jeff Day is the founding principal of Actual Architecture Company and a Professor of Architecture at th...

Artist Rachel Ziegler talks about the role of material, media, and meaning in her work, influenced by a life connected to the Lutheran Church, both spiritually and literally, as a child inspired by the chapel’s stained glass and as an adult creating an artist community space in a decommissioned church. Rachel Ziegler is a visual artist whose work is in numerous private collections and has been exh...

Mike Hogan of KIOS 91.5FM , NPR's Omaha affiliate, reveals more about the person behind the voice on the radio. Hogan shares how the laughter and storytelling that epitomized his early family life inspired his own commitment to a life in radio, acting on the theatrical, television, and movie stages, doing live sport play-by-play announcing, and even becoming a stand up comedian, before returning t...

Mustafa Babak, the executive director of the Afghan-American Foundation , talks about his formative childhood in Afghanistan, when conflict forced his family to flee to Pakistan, and his return to Kabul to help rebuild his country after the American led invasion in 2001. Babak shares how the pursuit of further education led him to college in California, adjusting to a different culture and finding...

Artist Nathaniel Ruleaux talks about a life exploring identity, influenced by his indigenous Oglala Lakota Nation artistic heritage, rural western Nebraska life, and a love for theater, which he pursued academically and professionally across the country. Ruleaux also shares his personal awakening to indigenous rights and lore, which he explores in a fusion of contemporary and traditional visual ar...

Lauren Hance is a playwright, producer, director, and performer. We talk about The Holy O, Hance’s interactive one-woman show coming to the Omaha Fringe Festival in August, as Hance’s character Vera considers becoming a Catholic nun through the funny, troubled, and moving stories of the women in her life. Hance also talks about being raised in the Christian purity culture of 90s America, her evolv...

Author and award-winning food journalist Summer Miller talks about her first book, New Prairie Kitchen , which won a 2016 Nebraska Book Award for Non-Fiction and was heralded by Oprah Winfrey's private chef as a "love letter to the Heartland.” Miller also talks about balancing being a creative and a mother who works full time, her recipe for developing recipes, and the intersection of food and lov...

Connector and community builder, Jeff Slobotski shares what community means to him and what inspires him to build stronger communities, including a commitment to a vibrant entrepreneurial and creative ecosystem, evident in the founding of Silicon Prairie News , the Big Omaha conference, and efforts now at the Millwork Commons development in north downtown, all aimed at enriching the quality of our...

Author and psychotherapist Chelsea Harvey Garner talks about her debut book, A Pity Party is Still a Party, a feel-good guide to feeling bad, that shows us not only how to tolerate uncomfortable feelings, but why and how we should embrace them if we are to find our way to mental health. Garner shares experiences and insights from her own family trauma and from her clinical practice that inform the...

Nancy Williams, CEO of No More Empty Pots , talks about establishing No More Empty Pots to support, educate, and to inspire communities about good food, its growth, and distribution. Williams shares the roots of this passion, stretching back to her childhood in Louisiana, growing food with her family, winning a national Future Farmers of America competition, and studying the science of horticultur...

Artist, attorney, and global citizen, Shaun Ilahi talks about a life lived in diverse countries and cultures, informing his sense of our profound commonality and of home, and the themes he explores through his artistic practice. Shaun Ilahi is the Vice President of Finance and Operations at the Kiewit Luminarium in Omaha. He studied economics at Columbia University in New York and attended Creight...

Michelle Quick is a writer, creative, student, and education advisor. In the show she talks about a kaleidoscope life, including a childhood of stories and storytelling, becoming a classically trained traveling chef, studying the relationship of expressive arts and integrative healthcare, and returning to writing to explore the complexities of human connection. Quick also reads an excerpt from one...

Mick Mulhall, CEO of Mulhalls , talks about the Irish roots and multi-generational history of Mulhalls Nursery and how the business is adapting to current climate and environmental issues that demand we be better stewards of our natural world. Mulhall also talks about the importance of our relationship with the beauty of Mother Nature and shares his own story of growth, in the business and beyond....

Reverend Debra McKnight talks about her journey to being ordained in the United Methodist Church, living her faith as a practice, and a love for liturgy. She also talks about founding Urban Abbey, a congregation flourishing in downtown Omaha despite national trends showing church attendance in decline, and shares how, as an advocate for social justice, women’s rights, and the LGBTQ+ community, she...

Catholic moral theologian, Professor Daniel DiLeo talks about Catholic social teaching, especially regarding climate change and Pope’ Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’, which calls all people to care for our common home, the earth. DiLeo also discusses Catholic perspectives on other aspects of our lives and how Creighton's Justice and Peace Studies program helps students develop and live a strong “...

Dr. Arthur “Art” Zygielbaum talks about his decades of study in the fields of physics and engineering, including many years working with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and numerous space missions. Zygielbaum also shares a little of his family experiences during the holocaust and how that human tragedy and lessons from the Jewish faith spark his own sense of social justice. Dr. Arthur Zygielbaum...

For this National Poetry Month my conversation with poet Jamaica Baldwin explores the themes in her debut full length poetry collection "Bone Language", including race, politics, familial heritage, and womanhood, and why she has been described as a poet of power. Baldwin also talks about the experiences that have shaped her life and, as well as discussing her writing, Baldwin reads some of her poe...