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Artist joins us for a conversation about the power and responsibility of art. How do we confront hatred in the world? Creativity is not the easiest response, but it might be necessary. Searching for justice where there is none can be a daunting endeavor, but what can artists do during these challenging times? Désert uses common and recognizable objects from everyday life but presents them with a poetic twist meant to interrupt expectations — and to create space for dialogue in the place of discomfort. Is he changing the world with his art? He wouldn’t go that far, but he might be planting much-needed seeds of change around the world.

 has been on a quest “to find sounds and vibrations that are healing to people or motivating to people.” In liberal arts fashion, that quest has meandered with Dartanyan through careers in journalism, music, technology, and education. Listen to this conversation with the Iowa Rock ’n Roll, Blues, and Jazz Hall of Famer to get some musical healing and inspiration. A storyteller from a young age, Dartanyan dreamed of becoming Clark Kent and reporting for the newspaper. He got his shot with the Des Moines Register and soon found himself reporting on Martin Luther King’s assassination. But he was drawn back to the music of his childhood and left his studies at Drake University to pursue a music career. He has since woven his passion for music with his fascination for electronics and his drive for empowerment through education, bringing his music to schools as a teaching artist. In April 2019, he graced �����������ϳԹ�ians with his first performance in Iowa in 40 years. 

There has never been a fair, just, or healthy food system in the United States of America. So how do we get there?

LaDonna Redmond starts off the third season of the podcast with a long-overdue episode on the connection between food and racial justice. From the beginning, the United States of America has relied on exploitative labor practices (and the consequent creation of a racial caste system) to produce food and other agricultural products.

A national leader in food activism, Redmond understands this history intimately and has worked to reverse these persistent historical trends, which now take the form of public health threats like gang violence, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Her journey into food activism started in Chicago with a quest to find healthy food for her son, which led her to planting urban gardens and radically altering the food landscape of her community. Redmond transcends traditional understandings of “food deserts” to address the root causes of injustice and build resilient communities through food.