Riverside Chats

Lydia Kang practices internal medicine at Nebraska Medicine and has written several novels including Opium and Absynthe, The Impossible Girl, The Beautiful Poison, and Toxic. Her latest book, co-written with Nate Pedersen, is nonfiction and incredibly timely. It’s called Patient Zero: A Curious History of the World’s Worst Diseases, which chronicles how diseases spread, the scientific race to understand them, and how we race to destroy them before they destroy us. Each chapter chronicles a particular disease or virus–such as smallpox, the Bubonic plague, polio, HIV, or COVID-19. Kang and Pederson combine the human stories behind outbreaks with historical examinations of missteps, milestones, scientific theories, and more in a darkly funny, very accessible read.  In this conversation with Tom Knoblauch, Kang discusses the massive scientific advancements made to combat infectious diseases, how our reactions to pandemics have and haven’t changed, and what might be in store for our future. Find the book here

Paul B. Allen IV runs the Allen Showcase Media Group building teams for media operations like Mind and Soul 101.3 or 1st Sky Omaha. Allen comes from a long legacy of entrepreneurship in music, art, and media with a fascinating family history right here in the metro. He also is involved in the recently relaunched Benson Theater, a multi-million dollar community theater project. In this conversation with Tom Knoblauch, Allen discusses about his wide-ranging career and his vision for Omaha going forward, as well as the important distinction he sees in being passionate vs. being ambitious.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/support

Ethan Warren, film critic and editor for the online film journal Bright Wall/Dark Room discusses his 2018 article “I Can Whistle With That: What the Stories of 2018 Show Us About Responding to Despair,” which tries to grapple with our current moment of anxiety, apocalypse, and despair and the ways that seeps into our cultural entertainment. In this conversation with Tom Knoblauch, Warren explains how this concept of despair was appropriate for 2018, but may have evolved since then into feelings of formless anger and longing, as well as what that means for the entertainment of 2021 and 2022. Warren also discusses his upcoming book The Cinema of Paul Thomas Anderson: American Apocrypha, as well as where Anderson fits into it all.  Terror Management Theory originates in the book The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life by Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom Pyszcynski.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/support

Omaha World Herald reporter Paul Hammel explains the recent federal indictment against Representative Jeff Fortenberry. Forteberry has represented Nebraska’s first congressional district in the House of Representatives since 2005. On October 19, 2021, it was announced that Fortenberry was being investigated over illegal campaign contributions that his 2016 campaign received from the Nigerian-born, Paris-based billionaire Gilbert Chagoury. A federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted him on one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators. Paul Hammel has been covering the story for the World Herald and he’s here in conversation with Tom Knoblauch today to walk us through who Fortenberry is and what is going on with the case.  Later in the show, The Burrow Review’s film and TV critic Jared Charles gives a preview of upcoming movies to keep an eye out for this holiday season including Nightmare Alley, Licorice Pizza, Don't Look U

Nebraska State Senator Tony Vargas, who is currently running to represent Nebraska’s Second Congressional District in the House of Representatives, talks with Tom Knoblauch about his upbringing, how teaching influenced his worldview, and his vision for the country.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/support

Matthew Wurstner, our resident historian, returns to the show to talk with Tom Knoblauch about the history of legal challenges to school curriculum and its implications for the future of education in America.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/support

Matthew Hansen chats with Tom Knoblauch about his journey in journalism, from interviewing Dick Cavett to his column at the Omaha World Herald to now founding and executive editing the Flatwater Free Press as an independent, local press in Nebraska.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/support

Laurel Heer Dale and Michael Milone chat with Tom Knoblauch about the current eviction crisis and how they're addressing it through the Tenant Assistance Project--also known as TAP. The program offers free legal assistance to tenants facing eviction and is currently seeking volunteers.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/support

Nebraska State Senator Megan Hunt represents the 8th legislative district in Omaha, consisting of Dundee, Benson, and Keystone. Tom last spoke with Senator Hunt after she had wrapped up her first year in the legislature in 2019. This time, Hunt talks with Tom Knoblauch how her first term has impacted her view of our political system and what is possible within the unicameral--as well as what her legislative goals are for a second term. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/support

Author James Han Mattson talks with Tom Knoblauch about his new novel Reprieve: a literary novel of social horror centered around a brutal killing that takes place in a full-contact haunted escape room—a provocative exploration of capitalism, hate politics, racial fetishism, and our cultural obsession with fear as entertainment. Check out Reprieve wherever you get books.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/support

Gus von Roenn, founder of Omaha Permaculture, talks with Tom Knoblauch about his journey and vision of cities teeming with permaculture gardens where neighbors gather to harvest organic food, build relationships, and learn about the natural world. Omaha Permaculture manages 17 properties, plans a robust portfolio of programs, and maintains partnerships with the City Planning Department, Omaha Municipal Land Bank, Habitat for Humanity, and other community collaborators to address the need for sustainable land management. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/support

Aarron Schurevich tells his story about how he got wrapped into the world of competitive debate, coached debate for nearly a decade, and why he can't let it go. He and Tom Knoblauch reflect on how debate permeates our culture today in a world full of echo chambers. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/support

Ben Nelson, former Nebraska governor and United States Senator, is in conversation with Tom Knoblauch about his new book is Death of the Senate: My Front Row Seat to the Demise of the World’s Greatest Deliberative Body. In the book, Nelson chronicles his two terms in the Senate and what he sees as a demise of the concept of collaboration and bipartisanship, leaving gridlock and a war for power in their place. He outlines how we got here and his steps for returning congress to a functional, democratic space.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/support

Jeffrey Koterba, political cartoonist and author, is in conversation with Tom Knoblauch about the current state of journalism and the importance of satire in today’s climate. Check out his book here and contribute to his Patreon here.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/support

Matthew Wurstner talks with Tom Knoblauch about the history of the presidential pardon and how its evolution leaves big questions for our country going forward. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/support

Both Omaha natives, you probably know Amber Ruffin as the host of The Amber Ruffin Show. Her sister Lacey Lamar still lives in Omaha where she has worked in the healthcare and human services field for more than twenty-five years. The two co-wrote the book You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism, which is a recounting of the multitude of racist encounters Lacey has had living in Omaha over the years. It’s a hilarious, biting insight into the Midwest Nice culture and it’s available now wherever you get books. Today Ruffin and Lamar are in conversation with Tom Knoblauch about the journey that led to writing the book and what their relationship is with Omaha now.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/support

Nebraska State Senator John Cavanaugh is in conversation with Tom Knoblauch about growing up with a dad who served in the House of Representatives, how he shaped his worldview, and the tricky business of trying to bring progressive policies to a senate body in a very red state.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/support

Adam Fletcher-Sasse talks with Tom Knoblauch about compiling North Omaha History through articles, a podcast, and several books which are available now and aim to tell Omaha's lesser known stories to provide a fuller understanding of its culture. Check out his work at NorthOmahaHistory.com. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/support

Film Streams Executive Director Deirdre Haj talks with Tom Knoblauch about her relationship to the film industry and her vision for Film Streams as a hub of Omaha’s culture going forward.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/support

Timothy Schaffert is in conversation with Tom Knoblauch about his journey as an author and his new novel The Perfume Thief. A Gentleman in Moscow meets Moulin Rouge in this stylish, sexy page-turner about Clementine, a queer American expat and notorious thief of rare scents, who has retired to Paris, only to return to her old tricks in hopes of protecting the city she loves when the Nazis invade in 1941. The Perfume Thief is available now wherever you get books.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/support