Episodes

The Iowa Idea: Jonas Dupuich. In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Jonas Dupuich. Jonas… About Jonas Jonas Dupuich runs a Northern California bonsai nursery where he teaches and writes about bonsai. He is the author of The Little Book of Bonsai and the Bonsai Tonight blog, a twice-weekly publication featuring how-to articles and photographs of bonsai around the world. His trees have been selected for display in local and regional exhibits, including the US National Bonsai...

The Iowa Idea: Gino Chirio Chop wood, carry water. In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Gino Chirio. Gino is an Executive Vice President with the insights-driven growth consultancy Maddock Douglas, where he helps organizations develop strategies and solutions to maintain relevance and realize competitive advantage. From creating, launching and redefining brands to developing strategies for continually delivering new value, he uses a human-centered approach to focus organi...

The Iowa Idea: Kate Moreland The value of owning one’s voice. In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Kate Moreland. Kate is the President of ICAD (Iowa City Area Development Group). She is also the co-founder of Her Experience, and certified Strategic Doing practitioner. ICAD’s mission is to create, collaborate and lead regional economic development initiatives that contribute to the creation and growth of companies, wealth and quality jobs through a spirit of innovation and...

“If you’re functioning, it’s there.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with artist Joe Tait. I first met Joe at The University of Iowa, where we worked on the award-winning sketch comedy show, Eggplant. Most of that last sentence was true. After 20-plus years, Joe and I catch up to talk about his approach to art and creativity. Joe Tait makes Art; he’s always doing that. Sometimes he writes. Sometimes he does both at the same time. After a twenty year career teaching Art to ...

“It’s going to messy. It’s going to be beautiful.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Yasmin Marrero. Yasmin talks about her journey and personal narrative – growing up as a first-generation Afro-Latina American from the West Bronx, to her work in behavioral neuroscience, and now an entrepreneur and coach. Yasmin discusses the power of identities, self-discovery, and personal narratives, as tools to help people unlock their own confidence. In our conversation we explore ...

Life is all about attaining that wisdom. Elise is talented director, teacher, and all-around great person I’ve known Elise for nearly 20 years. It was a treat to catch up and talk with her about theater craft and collaboration regarding collaboration we talked about the importance of trust in creative acts we also explored how life and pandemic is an opportunity to further explore empathy and privilege, while at the same time these new constraints can spark new elements of creativity and how th...

The Iowa Idea: Dr. Tanya English Healing with the Blues. In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Tanya English who is a healer and blues singer, based in Iowa. Tanya brings her dynamic “infotainment” approach to help people access healing through the blues. I appreciated Tanya taking the time to join me on the podcast. In addition to her approach and desire to help people heal, I enjoyed her dropping a few bars of beautiful blues singing during our conversation. I was in...

The Iowa Idea: Mary Cohen Who we are as people helps us relate to others. In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Mary Cohen who is an Associate Professor and Area Head of Music Education at the University of Iowa. Mary researches music-making and wellness with respect to prison contexts, writing and songwriting, and collaborative communities. Mary discusses her journey to explore the idea of prison choirs and creating a community prison choir in Iowa. The Oakdale Communi...

The tragedy of the commons. In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Nicki Limoli, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at The University of Iowa. Our conversation covers Nicki’s journey to becoming a research scientist and complex systems of communication that can be found in bacteria, as well as approaches to learning, creativity, collaboration, and community. Bacterial genomes have allowed us to see a broader picture of bacterial communities and how those ...

“Be sure to laugh today” I think improv is an essential mindset for innovation and design. In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with John Sweeney. John, along with wife Jenni Lilledahl, are the co-owners of The Brave New Workshop (BNW). The Brave New Workshop is the nation’s longest running satirical and improv comedy theatre. John and the Brave New Workshop have developed corporate training and education programs that help leverage an improv mindset to develop an innovative min...

“Be kind. Work hard. Have fun. Entertain yourself and be a hero to your fifteen-year-old self.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Dave Hill. Dave and I talked about his approach to his various creative endeavors. From a design perspective, I really appreciated how context matters for each medium he’s working in and how Dave will iterate on new comedy bits. When it comes to music, Dave likes to think of scenarios involving fictional bands to help him write new material. ...

“Making things easy to use is not enough. It takes time to make something meaningful.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Kade Schemahorn. Among the many topics we discussed, we explored design ethics and design responsibility. I’ve been lucky enough to work alongside Kade on a number of projects. I’ve always appreciated his thoughtful approach to design and collaboration. So, I was delighted when he agreed to join me on The Iowa Idea Podcast. Kade talked about what he t...

“We approached it like we were never going to be invited back.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with friend Ed Nehring. Ed has ben a fixture of the Iowa City music scene since the early 1980’s. Some of his bands have included Red Throb, The Day Glow Bomber Boys, Los Marauders, The Rough Housers, and Hott. Ed is one of my absolute favorite people to talk with and learn from. I’m honored that he joined me on the podcast. Our conversation talks about Ed’s journey as a musicia...

“There’s always something new being created.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with John Kenyon, executive director of The Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature organization. John grew up in Des Moines and graduated from the Universit...

“Context Matters.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Kurt Nelson, PhD. Kurt earned his bachelor’s degree and his MBA at The University of Iowa. He is a business owner and co-founder, along with Tim Houlihan, of Behavioral Grooves, one of the world’s top podcasts on behavioral science. In honor of Behavioral Grooves podcast, I force Kurt to answer “coffee or tea?” Turns out, with most things in life, context matters. We discuss his road to becoming a behavioral scientist...

In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Mike Monteiro, the co-founder of Mule Design. Mike has authored three books on design and speaks frequently about the craft of design and the importance of ethics. As Mike says, “designers are ultimately responsible for what they put fourth in the world.” Mike has recently started Quarantine Book Club with Erika Hall. Thanks to Mike for joining me on The Iowa Idea Podcast, and thank you for taking the time to listen. I hope you enjoy t...

“We’re all human.” In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with the host of IPR’s “Talk of Iowa,” Charity Nebbe. We discuss her approach to her show, the importance of collaboration, and the impacts of the current pandemic at the local and national level. We touch upon Iowa City’s connection to Katherine Applegate’s “Wish Tree.” As proud Iowans and political nerds, we try to make sense of what happened to the Iowa Caucus in February – what problems were revealed, and what might hap...

In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with my friend Nick Scappaticci, co-founder and CEO of Tellart. Tellart formed over 20 years ago is an experience design firm filled with fantastic explorers, inventors, and storytellers. In 2016, Tellart was recognized for their contributions to interaction design and received the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award. We discuss the power of narrative in design, how narrative and experiential design help us understand complex ideas. Our conve...

In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Vero Rose Smith, artist, educator, and curator living in Iowa City. We caught up with Vero before she moves to Chicago. We discuss her approach to art and education, art in the public domain, and how everyone has a tree story. We touch upon the what she learned, as an artist, from her design education program at Harvard — hint, the power of prototyping and failure as a learning process in design. She holds BAs in Studio Art, Art History,...

In the first episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, host Matt Arnold sits down with Alex Dezen (MFA 2010, The University of Iowa). They discuss support, collaboration, influences, and what one can learn from being on tour with Cheap Trick. Alex talks about how the music business has changed, the importance of discipline in the artistic process, and how “seeing the struggle and seeing the honesty” has helped him as a songwriter. When asked about his decision to attend The Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Alex ...

Welcome to The Iowa Idea Podcast. Join host Matt Arnold for in-depth conversations with artists, designers, entrepreneurs, and civic leaders, as he explores how they approach their craft and represent a modern version of the Iowa Idea.This podcast is rooted in the concept of the Iowa Idea, which was originally conceived at The University of Iowa by University President Walter Jessup and Graduate Dean Carl Seashore in the 1920s. The Iowa Idea brought together practicing artists and scholars to pr...