Episodes

The Iowa Idea: Tim Easton “Let’s go set something on fire.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Tim Easton. Tim is a singer/songwriter based out of Nashville. Raised in Akron, OH, Tim was influenced by a combination of pop icons (Beatles, Stones) and bluegrass/folk legends (Doc Watson, John Prine). After college, Easton found himself busking in the streets of Paris, London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Madrid, and Prague, on and off for seven years, at one time alongside Anti-Folk h...

The Iowa Idea: Erin Rollenhagen “At our core everything we do is meant to solve human problems.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Erin Rollenhagen. Erin is the CEO and founder of Entrepreneurial Technologies. In 2019, she released Soul Uprising: It’s Never Just Business, a book that encourages entrepreneurs and business leaders to trust their purpose and embrace impact as the true measure of success. Erin and I talk about her journey as a technologist, entrepreneur, an...

The Iowa Idea: James Tutson “Trying to do something more beautiful.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by James Tutson. James is a singer-songwriter from Iowa City. His style is a combination of southern soul and rhythm & blues. He has recorded four studio albums, two solo and two with his band James Tutson and the Rollback. When he’s not performing, he spends time with his wife, Stephanie, their two kids Etta, and Haven, and serving local youth through the non-profit, Neighb...

The Iowa Idea: Kaleb Wyse “Use what you have until it becomes what you want.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Kaleb Wyse. Kaleb the fourth generation to live on his family farm in Iowa. Leaving business and accounting he started Wyse Guide as an outlet for his passions in the garden and in the kitchen. With his YouTube channel, Kaleb’s goal is to show viewers how they too can start a garden, no matter the size; preserve the food; create a meal; and create the home they ...

The Iowa Idea: Anuvab Pal In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Anuvab Pal. The New York Times calls Anuvab India’s Most Intelligent Comedian. The Times of India calls him one of India’s top 10 comedians. His work has been featured on The BBC, Time Magazine, CNN, and other global media. He’s the screenwriter of three well known Bollywood films, including the “Loins of Punjab Present” and the author of 4 bestselling novels, including the nonfiction book on the Bollywood movie, ...

The Iowa Idea: Josh Krakauer In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Josh Krakauer. Josh is the CEO of Sculpt, a B2B social media marketing agency. Sculpt launched in 2012 with a mission to connect clients with their human customers more humanly. Josh has developed social media strategies and awareness campaigns that have launched three best-selling books, humanized publicly-traded corporations, accelerated early-stage startups, and convinced tech workers to move to Iowa. He is ...

The Iowa Idea: Erin Becker “Make sure you have something to say.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Erin Becker. Erin is a writer, communications consultant, and storytelling expert. She founded and runs Becks Communications, a consultancy that helps clients in a range of industries in the US and Latin America use storytelling and effective communications principles to move people, sell products, and make change. She also runs a newsletter, The Storytelling Weekly, where s...

The Iowa Idea: Dave Gould “Feeding friends and community.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with David Gould. Dave is a modern-day embodiment of the Iowa Idea. He is a self-described accidental academic. David is a Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Iowa’s Public Policy Center. Previously, Dave served The University of Iowa as an administrator at the Belin-Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent, the Associate Director of Professional Stude...

The Iowa Idea: Tim Carty “Actively choose where you live.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Tim Carty. Tim has lived in Iowa City since 2009 and has lived in Iowa most of his life. He is a passionate advocate for local development and entrepreneurship. Tim has served as an ambassador for the Iowa City Area Business Partnership and has recently co-founded a new talent attraction agency called RoleCall. RoleCall works with cities and economic developers to strengthen and ...

The Iowa Idea: Aaron Proietti In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, Aaron Proietti returns as we try to make sense of 2020 from an innovation perspective. Aaron is the author of Today’s Innovator. He is an innovation expert with seventeen years of experience innovating in complex organizations. Through his company “Today’s Innovator” and his writing, Aaron’s mission is to connect and empower the innovators found within each of us. Aaron and I talk about 2020 and how we’re making sense of i...

The Iowa Idea: Jorge Arango “We need to resist the siren call of the extreme.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Jorge Arango. Jorge is an information architect, author, and educator. He helps design products and services that bring business goals and user needs into alignment. Jorge is the author of Living in Information: Responsible Design for Digital Places (released in 2018) and co-author of Information Architecture: For the Web and Beyond. He’s a keynote speaker and...

The Iowa Idea: Jesse Elliott You can’t always get what you want. In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Jesse Elliott. Jesse is the Director of Creative Ecosystems for CACHE (Creative Arkansas Community Hub & Exchange), is a lifelong champion of collaborative social entrepreneurship, the power of multimedia and storytelling, and inclusive arts and artist resourcing. He is the founder and songwriter of two rock and roll bands, who released six albums and performed live 1,200 ti...

The Iowa Idea: Matthew Swift In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Matthew Swift. Matt is an entrepreneur, restauranter, and CEO. If you enjoy great beer, great food, and well-designed settings in the ICR corridor, you’ve most likely been at one of Matt’s hospitality projects, which include St. Burch, Mosely’s, Pullman’s, 30 Hop, Red’s, Blackstone, and Big Grove – I hope I got them all. Matt is an Iowa native and grew up in the restaurant industry learning the business first...

The Iowa Idea: Mark Nolte “It mattered to that one.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down Mark Nolte. Mark is a lifelong Iowan who feels indebted to this state and has spent his professional life trying to help strengthen and grow the economy through entrepreneurship. He and his wife Leslie have five children. Mark is considering a run for Governor as an Independent in 2022 to bring Iowans back together and solving problems with common sense. Mark and I discuss his journey into...

The Iowa Idea: Samantha Ferm “I just followed what felt like the next best step.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Samantha Ferm. Samantha helps businesses in southeast Iowa navigate the world of local, state, and federal government contracting. She also owns and operates her own massage therapy and sound healing business in Iowa City, Full Circle Wellness, and is one of the leaders for Her Experience, a day-long urban retreat for women. Samantha and I discuss her jour...

The Iowa Idea: John Coyle “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down John Coyle. John is the founder of the online Design Thinking Academy, and a graduate of Stanford University’s D-School and holds an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School. At Stanford, John’s advisor and mentor was IDEO founder David Kelley. A former head of innovation for a Fortune 500 wireless telecom, John has also been the SVP of innovation for a leading st...

The Iowa Idea: Andy Stoll “Creativity is the synthesis of diverse elements.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down Andy Stoll. Andy is a serial social entrepreneur and producer and has co-founded six entrepreneurial-focused organizations and currently serves as a Senior Program Officer in Entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation. His career has focused on building pioneering programs, communities, classes and events to help entrepreneurs and creatives turn their ideas into rea...

The Iowa Idea: Don Smithmier “Culture became everything.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with songwriter, musician, and serial entrepreneur Don Smithmier. As is the case with many guests, we have to talk about Cheap Trick and Don shares his story about meeting the pride of Rockford, IL. Don and I met about 20 years ago when we worked for a pre-IPO educational start-up, Capella University, founded by Iowa native Steve Shank. Don has had a hand in creating, building, and la...

The Iowa Idea: The Mads In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with comedians Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff wrote and performed on the Emmy nominated, Peabody award-winning TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000. Trace played Mad Scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester and Crow T. Robot, while Frank played the lovable bumbling evil henchman “TV’s Frank.” Today Frank and Trace continue the tradition of MST3K style movie “riffing” live. We discuss their journey into comedy, writing, and...

The Iowa Idea: John Richard In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with filmmaker John Richard. John is a documentary filmmaker and photographer living in Iowa City, Iowa. After receiving a degree in Environmental Science and working at the Daily Iowan newspaper, John worked as the assistant to photographer Danny Wilcox Frazier until taking a full-time position at the Iowa City Press-Citizen. During this time, he began making short films, including Presenting Mister Lincoln, for S...

The Iowa Idea: Nate Staniforth “The tricks are irrelevant.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with magician and author Nate Staniforth. Nate is a magician, writer, speaker, and star of the Discovery Channel’s hit series Breaking Magic. In 2018, Bloomsbury Publishing released Nate’s memoir Here is Real Magic, which I highly recommend – it’s such a great read! For over a decade Nate has toured the U.S. as one of the busiest working magicians in the nation. As a speaker, Nate h...

The Iowa Idea: Kim Casko “Take your time to figure it out.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Kim Casko. Kim is President and CEO of the Iowa City Area Business` Partnership, serving nearly 800 member businesses throughout Johnson County and beyond. Kim grew up in New York and lived in four different states before moving to Iowa. Prior to joining the Business Partnership in fall 2016, she worked in both the private and public sectors – serving as an information technolo...

The Iowa Idea: Kenn Goodman “That one year off turned into the rest of my life.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Kenn Goodman. For the past 30 years, Kenn has been an important part of Chicago’s indie music scene. Known for his bands The Service and The New Duncan Imperials, he formed his independent label Pravda Records in1984; and has played with everyone from Tiny Tim to Eddie Vedder. We discuss his journey into music and running an independent record label, includ...

The Iowa Idea: Vivianne Castillo “Don’t let anybody take your voice away. Speak your truth and see where it lands.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Vivianne Castillo. Vivianne is a User Experience Researcher with 8+ years of psychology and research experience spanning multiple contexts, cultures, and industries whose work and opinions have been written about in Slate, Fortune, Huffington Post, and ELLE Magazine. Prior to becoming a User Experience Researcher, she worke...