Lives Radio Show With Stuart Chittenden

Warning Note: This show references sexual abuse. When not reading books or writing about reading at the Rose City Reader, or adventuring into book discussions online, Gilion Dumas practices law representing adults who were sexually abused or exploited as kids by trusted adults, usually church, school, or Boy Scout leaders. We speak about her work and its impact, as well as her love for books and reading.

Justin Fennert has a passion for building communities and telling stories. His days are split between Hi Omaha, a local print and digital publication, and District Studio, a brand consultancy specializing in marketing and content strategy. In our conversation he shared his vision to contribute to a better Omaha, in the process revealing his own humanity and the rich potential he sees within all of us.

Amid the mayhem and the violence inflicted upon our minority communities, this week’s show looks back to conversations with previous guests as they not only speak out against inequity and oppression, but also celebrate the magic, their artistry, and the possibility of peaceful community and communion. Guests include Brigitte McQueen Shew, ED of The Union for Contemporary Art, Merica Whitehall, ED of Fontenelle Forest, Dawaune Hayes of NOISE Omaha, Othello Meadows, CEO of 75 North, the artist Barber, and photographer Zora J. Murff.

Jason Lauritsen is an employee engagement and performance management expert who passionately believes that work can and should be a fulfilling experience for every employee. In our conversation he shares his views on how the current pandemic has revealed the massive lack of trust in our workplaces and how broken those places are for many people. Jason talks about work as a relationship, how we might go about making workplaces better, and what the future might bring. Jason also shares why he cares about these issues and talks about his early life and career influences.

Dr. Christopher Whitt is Creighton University’s inaugural Vice Provost for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion. Our conversation includes discussing the purpose of his role, the need for diversity and inclusion in our colleges and communities, the urgent need for social justice and solidarity, the impacts of COVID-19, and more. Whitt also shares how his upbringing in Baltimore shaped his sense of the world.

Poet Maritza Estrada is poetry editor at Hayden’s Ferry Review, a 2020 CantoMundo fellow, poetry post-graduate student, and more besides. I spoke with Maritza via Zoom about finding poetry, her ongoing exploration of language in poetry, and using it to make sense of identify and sense of the world. She aims for her poetry to disrupt our typical ways of seeing and being. A delightful addition is that Maritza also reads some of her work.

Poet and novelist Liz Kay celebrated National Poetry Month in conversation with me. We talk about her exploration in poetry and fiction of themes around gender, control, parenthood, and social norms, her enduring passion for the romantic poets, and the hard work of co-founding and running the literary journal, burntdistrict, and Spark Wheel Press. Added to that, Liz reads some poems from her forthcoming poetry project, a Witch's view of Hansel & Gretel.

“Oh, hey, that’s where Reuben got shot.” So began a decade of investigating, interviewing, and writing for Carson Vaughan, author of Zoo Nebraska, the story of a zoo in the small town of Royal in north east Nebraska and how the wild dreams of its founder and the conflicting tensions in the community culminate in tragedy. Recorded over Skype, this week’s show features my conversation with Carson about his writing career, the book Zoo Nebraska, Cowboy poetry, John Neihardt's interest in parapsychology, a year on the road in a tiny van, and more.

April 16 is the first ever Public Radio Music Day! This show is a special look back, featuring some of our favorite tiny desk concerts and conversations with the musicians that have enlivened us with their stripped down, in-studio performances over the last few years. Guests include Andrea Von Kampen, Andrew Bailie, Clarence Tilton, Virginia Kathryn, Mesonjixx, Jocelyn, The Hottman Sisters, and the Mynabrirds' Laura Burhenn.

Artist and health researcher Dr. Mark Gilbert explores the clinical and human applications of portraiture for patients, caregivers, medical education, and even for himself. His portraits depict caregivers’ and patients’ stories and experiences of illness and recovery, expressing a process recording an intimate collaboration between artist and sitter. Dr. Gilbert reflects back on his family’s artistic practice, his own beginnings with art and portraiture, and his two decade exploration of artistic processes that express the importance of compassionate engagement, a key feature of his arts-based research into portraiture’s clinical, ethical, and aesthetic applications. As Dr. Gilbert says, drawing is listening. This show is part two of two.

Artist and health researcher Dr. Mark Gilbert explores the clinical and human applications of portraiture for patients, caregivers, medical education, and even for himself. His portraits depict caregivers’ and patients’ stories and experiences of illness and recovery, expressing a process recording an intimate collaboration between artist and sitter. Dr. Gilbert reflects back on his family’s artistic practice, his own beginnings with art and portraiture, and his two decade exploration of artistic processes that express the importance of compassionate engagement, a key feature of his arts-based research into portraiture’s clinical, ethical, and aesthetic applications. As Dr. Gilbert says, drawing is listening. This show is part one of two.

Jacob Dahlke, a clinical ethicist and the Director of the Office of Healthcare Ethics at Nebraska Medicine, offers a healthcare ethics focused perspective on the coronavirus pandemic. We talk about how standards of care change in the COVID-19 crisis, the ethics of individual liberties balanced with the communal good, and how we might think of ethical choices around social distancing, buying excesses of materials, hand washing, testing, socially isolating our loved ones, and more.

Returning from New York City, Clare Watson Bartolomei and Stephen Bartolomei are the co-owners of Lola’s Cafe, a new dining venue in Omaha. They share the inspiration behind this venture along with other stories of “going big” in their lives. They talk about their delightful meet cute romance, whether Clare has extra-sensory perceptive powers, the journey to New York and beyond and back again, as well as their vision of Lola’s as a cultural space serving excellent ingredients in a sophisticated yet simple, casual way.

Born in France and raised in Argentina, artist Liv Schulman currently lives and works between Paris and Buenos Aires. Schulman talks about her work, which revolves around words and language to reflect on the status quo of the current social and political world, and discusses how she considers these topics through filmed fictions, theatrical performances, lectures, and novelistic writing. Schulman also talks about how her life experiences have shaped her as an artist and as a person.

Matt Wynn is a data reporter on the investigative team at USA Today. Wynn has investigated the Boy Scouts of America, doctors who continue to practice despite being banned in other states, the spread of copycat legislation from statehouse to statehouse, and the shortcomings in care for pregnant women, among many news investigations. Wynn shares some of these stories, how his career began and had evolved, and the implications of investigative and data reporting for our communities and society.

Brooke Masek is a nature lover and arts enthusiast who spent most of last year year traveling the US, working and living in her lovingly converted 2016 Ram Promaster van. A former park ranger at Arches National Park, she also enjoys sauntering - in the style of John Muir - on a mountain top, in the forest, or through an urban jungle whenever she can. In this show she shares the possibilities and practicalities of her van lifestyle and some of the prosaic and profound experiences along the way, including managing difficult times in her relationships with family, friends and career.

Ruth Meints is a violinist, music educator, and executive director of the Omaha Conservatory of Music. She shares her thoughts about the importance of music education, why she wrote the String Sprouts curriculum, and a few stories about her childhood that fueled her passion to create access to musical excellence for everyone.

Betsy Finch of Fontenelle Forest's Raptor Recovery Center tours us around the Center and introduces us to a variety of eagles, owls, ospreys, falcons, and other birds of prey being cared for, including one golden eagle being treated for lead poisoning. Betsy shares the story behind the center and her own passion for caring for raptors as well as educating us about these astonishing creatures.

Improv comedian and writer Will Meinen was formerly a researcher and organizational psychologist before pursuing improv at Chicago’s iO Theater, as well as training at Annoyance and Second City. Meinen shares his path to comedy and beyond it, including his Saturday Night Live audition.

Author and teacher Kevin Clouther is the University of Nebraska - Omaha's coordinator of its MFA in Writing. In this show he talks about his evolution as a writer and his first story collection, his process for writing, and the philosophy guiding UNO's MFA program.