On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith sits down with the co-hosts of "Blooming After Grooming" to explore how a predator moved from Iowa to Illinois after a relationship ended, and how state laws either support or fail survivors seeking accountability.
Iowa has the second-highest cancer rate in the nation, and it's getting worse. A million-dollar study confirmed what many suspected: agricultural pollution is poisoning our water and making Iowans sick. However, after scientists completed their research, the $400,000 set aside to tell Iowans about it simply disappeared.
On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith sits down with investigative journalist Carey Gillam, editor-in-chief of The New Lede and author of "The Monsanto Papers" and "Whitewash." She spent 17 years as a senior correspondent with Reuters international news service. Her work has been at the center of how powerful agricultural interests suppress critical public health research while Iowa families pay the price.
From EPA officials grilling pork chops with polluters to the revolving door between Big Ag and government regulators, we explore how corporate money corrupts the science that should protect us all.
Toss some bags at Iowa's cancer crisis cover-up… Trump's EPA reversing water protections… And why farmers are fighting back on their own…
Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line. It’s produced by me and edited by Rebecca Steinberg. Our music is by Avery Mossman and show art by Desirée Tapia. We are a proud member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative.
SHOW RUNDOWN:
00:00 - Iowa's Shocking Cancer Statistics: Second Worst in America
01:30 - The $400,000 Cover-Up: Public Health Funding Disappears
05:00 - Pattern of Suppression: Multiple Studies Buried by Officials
07:30 - EPA Chief Grills with Polluters at Iowa State Fair
09:00 - Big Ag's Corruption Playbook: Ghost Writing and Revolving Doors
12:30 - Trump EPA Reverses Water Protection for Iowa Rivers
16:30 - Farmers Fight Back: Real Solutions from the IDEA Network
19:00 - Why Voluntary Change Won't Save Iowa's Water
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Sooo... is it Hinson for Iowa or Hinson for Trump?
Earlier this summer, Rob Faux spoke about his experience as a farmer and cancer survivor at the Cancer in Iowa: Black Hawk County listening session. He said personal choice can only lower cancer risks so much, and what Iowans really need is good policy to protect their health.
Subscribe to our newsletter for editions of "The Hot Spot: Investigating Cancer in Iowa" right to your inbox: https://iowastartingline.com/newsletter/?utm_term=isl_cancer_series
Iowa immigrants’ rights group Escucha Mi Voz says that ICE abducted Jorge Eliesar Gonzalez Ochoa of Iowa City, an essential worker who lives with his family at the Catholic Worker House. On September 25, three men who refused to identify themselves as anything but “federal agents” were caught on video detaining Ochoa at an Iowa City grocery store.
This week in the Trump administration’s destruction of public health: Trump told pregnant women to avoid Tylenol, one of the few pain relievers their doctors say is safe.
Despite the nitrates, radon, and pesticides, there are everyday choices you can make to lower your risk of getting cancer.
Rob Sand believes showing up and singing together is anecdote to the political division of the day.
Rob Sand's campaign said it's hit over 65 townhalls this year. At each of them, Sand has been asking people to sing "America the Beautiful."
Starting Line's own Amie Rivers was on CNN Friday, putting the impacts Iowa farmers are feeling from Trump's tariffs on a national stage.
