Talk of Iowa

Iowa booksellers share their favorite titles for young readers, from picture books to young adult stories.

Find new fiction and nonfiction titles to add to your summer reading list with help from Iowa's independent booksellers.

Find out which conifer species are recommended in Iowa.

The Iowa City Bike Library is working to broaden who a cyclist is and reduce barriers to biking.

How did Iowa become the home to one of the largest publicly held Haitian art collections in the world?

Author and mindfulness coach Becky Schmooke discusses her new book on leadership and a teacher reflects on the importance of National History Day.

It's been a very good year for spring blossoms, but most of them have faded, and now it's time for other flowers to step into the spotlight.

There are many ways to learn about history, but visiting a historic site may be one of the most powerful.

Caregiving always comes with challenges, but those in the sandwich generation are pulled between the needs of several generations.

Each family comes with their own culture, humor and traditions, which can complicate marrying into them.

Known as America's favorite pastime, the sport of baseball was once believed to be one the Amana Colonies' greatest challenges.

Kiwi berries are a delicious, non-fuzzy fruit that can survive in Iowa's climate.

The Eastern Iowa Arts Academy in Cedar Rapids provides low cost and free arts programming to people of all ages.

Fern Kupfer discusses her new novel Strong Women of Chicago, and a look at Iowa organizations that help pet-owners-in-need feed their pets.

The Trump administration has taken many steps to dismantle federal climate protections, but community efforts to fight climate change remain.

Expert birders share all you need to know as millions of birds pass through or make the journey to Iowa this spring.

Ants can help your garden thrive, but what happens when they do the opposite?

Libraries, museums and theatres are just a few of the community institutions facing federal funding losses statewide.

An Iowa transplant has channeled what he calls laziness into forming two successful companies, publishing a memoir and now turning that into a staged musical.

The recently expanded Ames History Museum is full of surprises for all generations.

We revisit a conversation with celebrated author Joyce Carol Oates, recorded live at Des Moines Central Public Library May 30, 2024.

Now that summer is approaching, succession planting can help your garden grow.

The Public Art Incubator at the University of Northern Iowa connects students with artists who create large sculptures.

When someone suggested the book The Lifespan of a Fact be adapted for the stage, authors John D'Agata and Jim Fingal thought it was a silly idea. In 2018, it made its Broadway debut.

Five speakers shared their stories of grappling with gender and masculinity at a live event hosted by Investigate Midwest.

When Sadie Dingfelder mistook a stranger for her husband at the grocery store it was the beginning of her discovery that she literally sees and processes the world differently than most people do.

This time of year, we start to see plant diseases emerge that will give you trouble later in the season.

The "It's a fine thing," exhibit at the Stanley Museum explores the Black Midwestern experience.

"Into Light" is a national art activism project that seeks to dismantle the stigma surrounding the disease of addiction.

To celebrate thirty years of eating, growing, harvesting and cooking on The Splendid Table, the show is going on tour and will make a stop in Iowa City.

A Walk Through Westerbork takes viewers with Rodi Glass, a Dutch Holocaust survivor, as she visits the sites of her survival.

With spring in bloom, it's time to start caring for your grass.

Rock and roll from the 1970s and 80s endures, but some of the building practices in those decades was much more miss than hit.

When Jan Gross and Heather Lobban-Viravong first met at Grinnell College 25 years ago, they had little in common.

Author Sarah McCammon and expert readers discuss The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church.

Author Mark Daley has shared his experiences fostering and what he learned along the way in the book Safe: A Memoir of Fatherhood, Foster Care and the Risks We Take for Family.

We asked Iowans what it means to be a man in 2025.

Women are more likely to be victims of domestic abuse or sexual assault while men are more likely to be murdered. But we don't socialize boys and girls to understand the real threats to their safety.

On this episode in our series on the gender gap, the history and persistent effects of gender disparities in health care.

Girls are more likely than boys to graduate from high school on time, more girls take advanced courses in high school and significantly more women are earning college degrees.

For decades, men have been moving to the right and women have been moving to the left. What has influenced this divide and what issues does it pose for our relationships?

From lettuce germination to handling pests, vegetable gardening can be a challenge, but our experts are here to help.