Riverside Chats

Beaufield Berry doesn't know how to be bored. She does know how to jump headfirst into her passions and create all sorts of projects that both entertain and explore the human condition. Her latest project is Red Summer, a play which is currently opening the Bluebarn Theatre's 31st season. Red Summer explores the life of William Brown, the butcher lynched in downtown Omaha 100 years ago last week....

Morgann Freeman is running for congress on a simple mission: she wants to serve constituents by placing their interests above her own. She sees congress losing its ostensible purpose as public servants, and she wants to make that the new reality by embracing the democratic ideal of the Founding Fathers over the current political climate. On today's show, she explains her political ideology and how...

Connor Brandt and Jordan Gaul talk about the founding of their band, The Real Zebos, and the story of their new album, Strictly Platonic.

Senator Megan Hunt has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. From getting kids in her third grade class to submit creative writing to a website she'd created as an eight year old to running a successful business in Omaha (Hello Holiday), Senator Hunt has always had diverse interests and works hard to achieve whatever she sets her mind to. In 2018, that meant running for state legislature. On today...

Caitlin Little is always processing the world through her art, but that doesn't mean she wants the commentary to be obvious. On today's show, she explains her philosophy of adjacency and her experiences with performance art in Omaha.  Support Riverside Chats at patreon.com/riversidechats

In 1978, Tim Lohmeier turned his family’s fried chicken restaurant, The Drumstick, in Lincoln, Nebraska into a rock n’ roll club that would go on to be frequented by bands such as REM, Joan Jett, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. On today's show, Tim's sister Cathy Lohmeier and filmmaker Sharonda Harris Marshall discuss the tragic story of The Drumstick and how they are turning its legacy into an upcomin...

Jessica Mizaur just wants to save the world. She is one of the first graduates of Creighton University's Sustainability Studies degree and has started Dryad Sustainability Consulting to help businesses find ways to cut back on waste and practices that harm the environment. On today's show, she discusses her journey in eco-awareness and how she sees a path forward for the world if it commits to sus...

Justin Schacht is happy, and he wants to help you get there too. He tells the story of being a child questioning his own existence to a troubled adolescence that eventually led him to a philosophical awakening about how to release the negative energy in life and embrace the middle way.

Mary Oliver is doing it all: she acts, writes, does martial arts, plays viola, and is working on a narrative podcast. She tells the story of how she went from pretending to be cat to writing ambitious plays like SOS, acting on the fly in Level Up, and creating a post-apocalyptic narrative podcast set in Benson.

Ehren Parks went from small-town Nebraska kid to film industry professional in Los Angeles as a producer and writer before making it back to Fremont to produce the new film, La Flamme Rouge. He tells the story of bringing his career full circle back to Fremont to help create a local film industry.

Diana Martinez discusses her path in getting a PhD in film, teaching film, and creating a podcast exploring the less publicized history of people of color within film history. Diana hosts the show Hollywood in Color, which is available on all your favorite podcast apps, and she is the education director at Film Streams, where you can sign up for her education series.

Comedian Matt Wedlock talks comedy, improv, the military, addiction, and how his time in federal prison helped shape the kind of comedy he hopes to share with the world.

Michael Burns Jr. tells the story of how he went from ambitions in wrestling to screenwriting and becoming a successful actor on the brink of outgrowing the Omaha scene.

Fisheye Kombucha Brewers Jason Miller and Sara Hinrichs tell the story of founding Nebraska's first kombucha company, including explaining to the state what kombucha even is in order to get licensed.

Danny Machado, writer/director of CHIT and assistant director Aly Larimore discuss their path in filmmaking.

Abigail C. K. Lill discusses her new play, Rumors in the Kitchen, as well as how she came to work in the entertainment industry and her initiative to create the Grandin Test--an inclusion test for writing characters with disabilities.  

Congressional candidate Kara Eastman discusses her journey in politics and her view of the current state of our political system. Recorded live in front of an audience at the Benson Theater. 

Rachel Jacobson, Founder and Executive Director of Film Streams, joins Riverside Chats to discuss the story of Film Streams and making an unlikely dream come true in a city previously lacking an art film market.

Documentary Filmmaker Brigitte Timmerman discusses her new film, The Omaha Speaking, about the remaining speakers of the Omaha language within the Omaha Tribe.

Eddy Quintero and Brent Lubbert of Big Muddy Urban Farm join us to discuss urban farming and how to reduce Omaha's wasted space. This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience at Benson Theater. 

Cameron Logsdon joins host Tom Knoblauch to discuss comedy, creativity, and culture in Omaha. This conversation was held at the Benson Theater in front of a live audience.