Riverside Chats

Shelley Mann is the founder and executive director of Nebraska Abortion Resources, also known as NEAR. Mann started NEAR in 2020 with a mission of providing financial aid to people seeking abortions. That assistance can take different forms, such as paying for the procedure itself or covering travel costs. Mann says NEAR has helped 800 people access abortions in four years. Mann has a long history of advocacy related to reproductive rights and other causes. She’s long been a fixture outside the Clinic for Abortion & Reproductive Excellence in Bellevue, escorting patients inside and shouting down anti-abortion protesters. Her TikToks documenting her experiences outside the building have amassed millions of views Mann is in discussion with Maria Corpuz about her personal relationship with abortion and how it led to her current path. We’re also discussing the Nebraska petitions drives for three separate ballot measures related to reproductive rights. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.c

In today's episode, Michael speaks with Lucia Pedroza-Estrada, Elevate Omaha’s advocacy and grantmaking director. Born in Guatemala, and a self-described lifelong lover of politics, Pedroza-Estrada’s work involves acting as a connector to elected officials and other advocacy groups. She also makes the grantmaking process more accessible to youth and develops advocacy strategies that are youth-led. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support

The Omaha Summer Arts Festival is a weekend-long, annual celebration of the city’s culture. The festival includes an artist market with more than 130 vendors, a lineup of local musicians, and lots of local food. This year’s festival is June 7 through June 9 in Aksarben Village, and it’s a milestone: number 50. Today, Michael is speaking with Maggie Winton, the Omaha Summer Arts Festival’s marketing manager. She’s here to give a rundown of the festival’s 50-year history, how it adapted during the pandemic, and the future of the festival as a bridge between artists and the wider community. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support

Ja Keen Fox is an advocate from Nebraska with experience in political organizing, journalism, and media. Earlier this year, Fox began working on The Dreamland Report, a nonprofit news service expected to launch this November. Fox created the serice in an effort to close the information gap between North Omaha and the rest of the city, and to make news about the Black community accessible to readers. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support

Susi Amendola is a yoga therapist, author and Ornish Lifestyle Medicine trainer. She has more than 30 years experience in yoga and stress management. Her studio Yoga Now, where she still teaches, opened in Benson in 1983. Amendola also directs the studio’s annual yoga teacher certification program, which begins this September. Amendola’s new book is “The Centered Heart: Evidence-Based Mind Body Practices to Stress Less and Improve Cardiac Health.” The book explores the relationship between stress management and overall health, and encourages readers to try seven yoga and other mind-body practices to reduce stress and manage chronic health problems like heart disease. “The Centered Heart” was released May 7 and is available where you get books. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support

The Omaha Mobile Stage is a traveling performance venue that was built out of an 18-foot box truck. The truck is rented for block parties, markets, youth talent shows and other community-centered events as a platform for all kinds of live performance. On this episode, Jessica Scheuerman and Keiria Marsha talk about their goals for the stage as a creative placemaking effort, and what’s planned for the venue this summer. Scheuerman is the founder and executive director of Partners for Livable Omaha, Omaha Mobile Stage’s parent nonprofit. Marsha is a musician and the event organizer behind Pull Up and Vibe. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support

Qasim Shabazz Asad is a co-founder and co-chair of the Black Agenda Alliance, a Pan-African group working to improve social, economic and cultural conditions in Omaha’s Black community In 2019, Asad and other community members formed the Black Agenda Alliance to bring a new perspective to advocacy in Omaha. The organization’s goals include youth education, strengthening families, building economic independence and political engagement. In this conversation, he speaks with Chris Bowling about overcoming the circumstances of his upbringing and his road to advocacy. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support

Miah Sommer is the founder and executive director of Astute Coffee, formerly known as the Bike Union. The nonprofit coffee shop employs young adults impacted by the foster care system and creates programming to give them the tools to succeed in the workforce and their personal lives. Sommer was born and raised in Omaha. His mission with Astute Coffee was informed and inspired by his childhood. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support

Maurtice Ivy was a record-breaking basketball player as a student at Central High School in the 1980s. She went on to play for the Nebraska Cornhuskers women’s basketball team, where was the first player in Husker history to surpass the 2,000-point barrier. Her jersey was retired in in 2011. She was inducted into the Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020. Today, Ivy is pursuing her doctorate degree in educational leadership at Doane University. She’s also the founder and CEO ofIvy League Youth Sports Academy, which provides sports coaching and mentorship to adolescent girls in Omaha. In this conversation, Ivy and Michael Griffin discuss Ivy's career, how the landscape has and hasn’t changed for Black women in sports, and her aspirations for the next generation of athletes. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support

Today's episode features a conversation between Tom Knoblauch and Matthew Wurstner, an attorney from Omaha, Nebraska. If you've ever watched Supreme Court proceedings, a word that you've heard a lot is "precedent." How much does precedent matter? How much should we revere the standards of the past, and how much should we look to rewrite the rules of the future? These questions don't have firm answers, but people have strong opinions about them — particularly in an age of gridlocked Congress and a historically empowered Supreme Court. Matthew Wurstner is back on the show to discuss the concept of precedent. What is it? Where does it come from? What are the arguments for and against it? Wurstner is a partner at the law firm Carlson Blakeman in Omaha. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support

Today's show is a conversation between Michael Griffin and Tena Hahn Rodriguez, co-interim executive director of Black & Pink National, a nonprofit prison abolition organization headquartered in Omaha. Hahn Rodriguez is a dancer, educator and Omaha native. She’s worked at various nonprofits in Omaha, including Inclusive Communities and Heartland Pride, and co-founded the queer nightlife event Revel in 2014. Today, Hahn Rodriguez discusses her Omaha upbringing and how it shapes her advocacy, how dance shows up in her work, what prison abolition would really look like, and Black & Pink’s mission of supporting incarcerated LGBTQ+ folks. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support

Inclusive Communities is a nonprofit that uses human relations work to promote diversity and inclusion among individuals, workplaces and communities. The organization also holds public events to encourage cross-cultural dialogue, including the Jane H. & Rabbi Sidney H. Brooks Conversations for Change series. The series brings in prominent entertainment industry figures for conversation to build connections across identities. Conversations for Change launched last year with actor Kal Penn as the featured guest. This year’s event features performer Bob the Drag Queen, who won the eighth season of “RuPaul's Drag Race.” Today, Bennet and Wright are in conversation with Maria Corpuz about their decision to invite Bob the Drag Queen to Omaha in the wake of Nebraska’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors and attempt to ban minors from attending drag shows. Conversations for Change is Tuesday, March 26 at the Holland Center. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidecha

Congressman Don Bacon has represented Nebraska's Second Congressional District since 2017. He is running for re-election again this year against Nebraska State Senator Tony Vargas. Today, he recounts his experience during the January 6th attack, why he thinks Republicans should regain control, and what he makes of Donald Trump's enduring influence over the Republican Party. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support

If you follow Omaha politics, you likely know Dr. Erin Feichtinger--or at least her tweets. Feichtinger has a PhD in history and currently serves as policy director at the Women’s Fund of Omaha, and she has made it a mission to shine a light on the details, drama, and triumphs of our local power structures. In this time of political dysfunction, often at the national and the local level, Feichtinger talks with Tom Knoblauch about what history can offer us to understand today and what all of this means for the future. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support

Filmmaker Tony Bonacci previously appeared on the show when his acclaimed short, The Headliner, made festival rounds in 2018. Even then, he was adamant that he would turn that story into a feature alongside the short’s writer, Christine Burright, and its star, Darrick Silkman. Several years and one global pandemic later, he has. Bonacci’s feature film debut, also titled The Headliner, is premiering on Saturday March 2nd at ⁠this year’s Omaha Film Festival⁠. On this week's show, Bonacci talks with Tom Knoblauch about putting the feature together and what to expect at this year's Omaha Film Festival premiere. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support

Machaela Cavanaugh represents Nebraska's 6th District in the Unicameral. She was re-elected to a second term in 2022 and in 2023, Cavanaugh made national news when she filibustered LB574, also known as the Let Them Grow Act, which bans gender-affirming care for Nebraska children. Cavanaugh spoke on the bill up to 12 hours a day for 11 weeks. LB574 was passed by the Legislature in May and went into effect last October. In the current legislative session, which began on January 3rd, Cavanaugh says she's focused on supporting Nebraska's working poor. She's prioritizing paid family leave, universal school meals, and securing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF. On today's show, Cavanaugh is in conversation with Maria Corpuz about her historic filibuster, building relationships in a divided legislature, and her hopes for the 108th Legislative Session. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support

Keyonna King is an associate professor in the UNMC College of Public Health. She holds a doctorate in public health from Loma Linda University. King specializes in community-based participatory research, or CBPR, an approach that works with community members to make public health programs more equitable and inclusive.  King is also a co-investigator in UNMC’s BEAT Cancer study. BEAT Cancer, which stands for Black Equity, Access and Testing for Cancer, seeks to increase colorectal cancer screening and decrease mortality rates related to the disease in Omaha’s Black community. Today she is in conversation with Michael Griffin. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support

Josh Tague was born and raised in Omaha and has a business degree from UNO. He’s played guitar in various bands and is a regular audience member at local concerts — including performances by the biggest local band in town, the Omaha Symphony. As director of marketing and communications at the Omaha Symphony, Tague is responsible for building and cultivating the group’s audiences and brand. Today, Tague and Michael Griffin are talking about the symphony’s history and about how classical music spaces can become more diverse and inclusive.  The Omaha Symphony could be Grammy winners after this weekend. The ensemble is nominated in three categories for its work with composer Andy Akiho, who was commissioned to pay tribute to Ree and Jun Kaneko. The resulting album, “Sculptures,” was premiered and recorded at the Holland Center in March of last year and conducted by music director Ankush Kumar Bahl.  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support

Jaden Perkins is grassroots community organizer from Omaha who specializes in coalition building. He currently works for the Heartland Workers Center as a policy fellow. Perkins has also worked on campaigns for local political candidates, including Dave Pantos, Cammy Watkins, and Jasmine Harris.  His event, "Politically Speaking… It’s a Drag," uses performing arts to help audiences understand political issues. Perkins previously hosted the event in October of 2022 with then–Douglas County Attorney candidate Dave Pantos. "It’s a Drag" will be held on Saturday, Jan. 27 at The Sydney in Benson. Today's show is a conversation between Perkins and Michael Griffin. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support

Mia Perales is a freshman at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Last year she won an environmental achievement award from the Nebraska chapter of the Sierra Club after leading climate work with the city-wide group Students for Sustainability and starting a lunch composting program at Omaha South High School that’s since been adopted at Central High School. David Corbin is a longtime environmentalist in Omaha. He’s been a public health professor at UNO, a leader in the local Sierra Club and a staple at Earth Day in Elmwood Park with his guitar and extensive catalog of Neil Young songs. Currently he’s involved with a group protesting the North Omaha coal plant’s delayed shutdown from 2023 to 2026. Omaha officials are currently working on a plan to prepare for and prevent the worst effects of climate change. On today's episode, Perales and Corbin are in conversation with Chris Bowling. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support