The rash of coronavirus outbreaks in meatpacking plants across the country is causing alarm. On this edition of River to River , IPR’s Amy Mayer explains Iowa’s meat packing challenges.

*This program originally aired on March 6, 2018. The human brain has substantially different dietary needs than other organs, and new research suggests that diet may play a large role in the development of dementia, obesity, and even ability to sleep. On this edition of River to River , Ben Kieffer talks with neuroscientist and nutritionist Lisa Mosconi, whose new book, Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power , explains how diet affects brain power and health. Mosconi says that if she had to pick one food that’s best for brain health, she would say caviar. “I understand it’s expensive and I understand it’s not practical, but from a scientific perspective, the nutritional composition of caviar is a fantastic complement to whatever nutrients your brain needs for health and cognitive fitness.” In lieu of caviar, she says that some fish are rich in a certain type of fat that the brain needs. Those fish include salmon, trout, herring, and anchovies. And for those

On this episode of River to River , guest host Katelyn Harrop speaks with several guests about some of the latest and ongoing coronavirus stories in Iowa, including Gvernor Kim Reynolds' decision to partially reopen businesses in 77 of Iowa's 99 counties, and how survivors of domestic violence can access resources during this national crisis.

The new Gross Domestic Product (GPD) figures show the economy’s sharp decline with the situation expected to get much worse. On this edition of River to River , host Ben Kieffer is joined by political scientists Jonathan Hassid and Jeff Taylor to get an analysis on a new poll indicating half of the country is being economically affected by the coronavirus, the Republican primary in Iowa’s 4 th district and worries about North Korea’s stability. Guests: Jonathan Hassid , associate professor of political science at ISU Jeff Taylor , professor of political science at Dordt University

Some nursing homes in the state are facing a rash of COVID-19 cases within their facilities, and they’ve closed their doors to visitors. This includes visits by family members. On this edition of River to River , host Ben Kieffer and his guests discuss how nursing home residents are missing the extra care usually provided by someone in their family, why the virus thrives in these facilities, and what might be done to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Guests: Cherie Mortice , retired school teacher Dr. Glenn Hurst , rural primary care physician, senior health policy advocate

Across the country, restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus are being loosened in some states. On this news buzz edition of River to River , we get a snapshot of the picture here in Iowa.

On this episode of River to River , host Ben Kieffer is joined by former congressman Jim Leach, best known for his 30 years representing Iowa in Washington. Leach, who is also on faculty at the University of Iowa, offers his reflections on the COVID-19 crisis in the context of his latest course, titled “What is Precedented and Unprecedented in Contemporary Politics.”

Many childcare centers across the state have been forced to shut their doors because of COVID-19. For those who are still open, declining enrollment numbers, staff layoffs and difficulties in acquiring and affording necessary supplies has left providers facing tough decisions about the future of their childcare businesses, just as some Iowans begin returning to work.

In this edition of River to River, host Ben Kieffer talks with political analysts Chris Larimer of University of Northern Iowa and Sara Mitchell of University of Iowa about Gov. Kim Reynolds' trip to meet with White House officials about Iowa's response to COVID-19. They also discuss Vice President Mike Pence's upcoming trip to meet with Iowa religious leaders, and get a snapshot of Iowa congressional and senate races heading into the June 2 primary. Guests: Chis Larimer, professor of political science at University of Northern Iowa Sara Mitchell, F. Wendell Miller professor of political science at University of Iowa

Have you ever wondered who invented the wheel? Who told the first joke? Who drank the first beer? Who was the first surgeon? Who sparked the first fire?

For Democrats, flipping the Senate seat held by Republican Joni Ernst is likely to be an uphill battle. On this Newsbuzz edition of River to River , we take a look at the democratic challengers and the week's coronavirus news.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:12-13

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. Hebrews 4:14

And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali. Hosea 2:16

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Isaiah 40:29

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Isaiah 43:2

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57

They will critique your nachos.

Groundhog Day, Back to the Future, The Matrix, and more.

If you thought the appearance of Ben would be the soapiest turn of this season, you were wrong.

He launched Diddy’s career.

And she wants to visit your island.

I've been working on a musical collaboration with a fellow musician friend of mine during these crazy coronavirus times, in hopes of generating something fun and creative while we have all this spare time not working or gigging. Here's the first song from that collaboration. It's timely that we've finally finished the song this past weekend, because yesterday I received some dreadful news: a dear friend of mine from college passed away due to complications related to COVID-19. She was a brilliant writer, and funny as hell, and the world is undoubtedly worse off without her in it. She and I met in a creative writing class, where she and I were were two the only four students of color in that class and had to endure micro-aggression upon micro-aggression (and sometimes outright aggression) from the white students whenever it came time for our writing to be workshopped. We always made sure to have each others' backs in that classroom, and even though we've all scattered across the country since college I've always felt like we formed a lifelong bond having gone through that experience with each other. I originally set out to record this cover because over the past five years I have struggled mightily when it comes to loving my own self, and as a result have also done a very poor job of loving those I do love the most in the world. The Indigo Girls meant this song to be a reflection on the idea of literal reincarnation from the lives of those long gone, but to me, especially after having gone through a lot of hard, intensive work over the past few months to better myself so I can be better to myself and my loved ones, this song is about the possibility of a personal reincarnation, of being reborn from a past version of myself that only knew hurt and how to hurt instead of how to love honestly and truthfully. As one of us four in that class put it last night on Facebook, we all loved each other hard in that class because we had to, and so I want to dedicate this song to Kimmy's memory, because I never want to forget the importance and the sustaining power of taking care of ourselves by taking care of each other. I'll miss you a lot, girl. Thank you for always holding me up (and always cracking me up).

i guess you would call this my quarantine album - i call it solskifte, which means sun division - and in a lot of ways, not just seasonal, that's what seems to be going on - much more inside on march 31, i got an email announcing that there was going to be an rpm challenge for april, in addition to the one in feb they have every year and i do albums for every year on march 24, i had to leave work early because after lunch i felt like i was going to drop - i had been feeling some slightly annoying sinus trouble that i had thought was allergies, but i realized i had something worse i didn't know if i was running a fever or not - i made a quick trip to the med center - i called first - and after a brief exam, i was told i had a low grade fever and was instructed to quarantine for 14 days - this was also something my company's new covid-19 policy demands, so there's no problem here and i even get partial compensation so i spent the next few days trying to feel better - it wasn't until sunday that i was starting to feel that maybe i didn't have this bad thing - or that maybe in spite of being 62 with a few medical problems i was going to make it meanwhile, my poor kid's stuck with me in the apartment and not real happy well, this is long - but on april 1st, i decided to try coming up with new music and ended up writing some songs that are about how i felt about being in my apartment, sick, and wondering what would happen next sometimes it's been warm enough to open up my window for a bit - and this is what i felt about that calling on the wind to give me back my name remembering an old world that used to seem tame clouds outside my window never give us rain i used to go out there but i won't do that again in the cruelest month the birds eat seedlings in the cruelest month i dare not confess my feelings in the cruelest month the world is awry tossing out its life like trash thrown aside staring at the glass and wondering what i am sense the blood within my body - still wondering what i am my thoughts are like birds, but they never rise above my feet are nailed onto the earth and i do not know love in the cruelest month the birds eat seedlings in the cruelest month i dare not confess my feelings in the cruelest month the world is awry tossing out its life like trash thrown aside

in the northern part of the world, the sun takes a while to be given a bigger share of our sky - which also can stand for a metaphor for a lot of things these days circle round the river, make a place for sun hold your hand out to the field when day is done night chills still in spring, night looks back days still hint at weakness, the trees stay black this is our portion even through the equinox solskifte is slow to undo locks these are the days when we are unsure where to go solskifte gives up the sun so slow circle round the ashes that fall from the sky heartless and invisible to our careless eye circle round the hearts that drive the grasping hand say a prayer for those who are married to this land this is our portion even through the equinox solskifte is slow to undo locks these are the days when we are unsure where to go solskifte gives up the sun so slow

When I heard the news of John Prine's hospitalization on March 30, I was, of course, saddened. His music has meant so much to me over the decades. On that day, I recorded this cover of one of my favorites from Prine's early output, a political song cleverly disguised as a broken-hearted love ballad. There's a video I posted to YouTube of this very same performance, which also includes some spoken introduction, about how I was feeling upon getting the news of John's contracting the coronavirus, and so forth. So, if you'd like to hear that, and see the song performed, it's here. I did a little bit of work on the audio for this MeFiMu upload, though, so I think it might sound a little better here than on the video. Anyway, rest in peace, John Prine, rest in peace.

my daughter has a treefull of crows outside her window and she's convinced they're as interested in her as she is in them she's sure they are her friends i've tried to tell her that i'm not sure they're really all that interested in her, but i don't really think that's getting through to her - and i don't know whether she really understands the current situation - why she has to stay home, why her dad had to stay in quarantine for 14 days just because he was a little sick, why her dad was worried about what was going to happen i guess this song is about all that i can't tell you if the crows like you even though you believe they talk to you they were created for another world but maybe we pretend that it's not our world too fly around and looking for a meal fly around and looking for a summer deal but it's april and where we live everything takes so long to happen well, it's not much fun, wondering if i'll be gone i can't even go for a walk on the lawn the days all count to the last fade away but then again, it's always really been that way do you think the crows don't think about all that? somehow i think they do - the way they gather at their friend lying there, complaining everything more or less has to happen but with any luck, it will warm up a little and i think my hourglass isn't ready to settle we can go out and watch the crows once again and you can tell me that they are your friends one day we'll get to walk out and feel free and not think about the things that could be we can be like crows and bluff our way through all the things, good and bad, that happen and the secret to life, so i've been told is you keep lucking out and then you find yourself old and you wonder, what the hell did i do with all that time? and it didn't make much sense, and it didn't even rhyme and if i gave you a ring for surety some crow would go and grab it and hide it in a tree and forget about it - that crow and you and me just more of those things that happen

I've spent an agonizing 11 days dialing this one to perfection. Another bumper that hearkens back to my high school days, when a song couldn't possibly have enough rhythm tracks. Suitable for all your living-room silent discos.

Rock song about a pizza buffet Notify Dave Grohl's next of kin.

this is about just sitting at home, waiting to see if i got better or not - spoiler - i did get better i have been keeping warm i have been keeping warm the sun has not been keeping warm i have been keeping warm outside the world goes gray outside the children play not everyone follows the soul of the day outside the world goes gray the wheels of the carts are turning but not today for me the stars are coldly burning but not today for me i wake up with nothing resolved nothing done and nothing resolved the world wears a mask of glass for me i look out there and there's nothing's resolved i'm getting soft on memory i do not want what could be time drips seconds carelessly too slow and too fast to please me and i understand the revelation is here and no one wanted to look at it, no one wanted fear and i understand i can claim another day and i have no ideas but to let it slip away

this guy - well, he always gets his way, eventually i've got it, you know i've really got it everything you could really want all the music you listened to all the booze you drank all the friends you slept with all the friends you didn't they're just shadows, so are you but you know what you're going to do come with me for a cadillac ride open the earth and see what's inside don't you cry about murder don't you cry about the carelessness of man your problem is, you just don't see there was never any other plan but take this glass of rum from my bony hand give me a toast, let me tip my top hat come on baby, come on into my house i'll give you this and i'll give you that come with me for a cadillac ride open the earth and see what's inside say hello to president kennedy say hello to fu manchu say hello to the 36 wise men yes, they've been staying with me, too the bishop said god could sort them out well, i've been waiting for many years here's that party pal you've been dreaming of now let's not see any tears come with me for a cadillac ride open the earth and see what's inside

A very silly rendition of this well-known piece with the beat on the wrong note. It kinda works!? Also available on youtube if you want to see the score.

A bit of a collab that happened via an ill-formed idea for a twitch stream. User Carrot Adventure is in the mix. Can you guess where.

the thing is that all that is offered is futility ... i could make you run to the sky says the great keeper of the lie i am the reason why you medicate i am the reason why you hate turn away and find something small to occupy your time turn away and find something small to occupy your mind i could give you vast kingdoms i could give you the song of the sea i could give you the heart of the crane i could give you eternity turn away and find something small to occupy your time turn away and find something small to occupy your mind there's no sense in standing on that rock there's no sense in praying to the clock there's no sense in counting all the stripes there's no sense believing all the hypes turn away and find something small to occupy your time turn away and find something small to occupy your mind

I've always hated this song. But digging through my old sheet music I found a midcentury piano treatment that made it much more melancholy and interesting, so I decided to give the tune a synthesizer treatment and marry it up to the vocals to see if I couldn't do some damage. Also my first attempt at using Ableton, sorry for any production missteps.

hoping that some of the things we like, which seem to be shallow comforts until we're deprived of them, will manage to come back sometime soon time to go walking - time to go singing time to go loving - that's what i want to just wander supermarkets of desire and see what's mine there - that's what i want there is nothing on the wind that doesn't blow away something will be saved there is nothing on the wind that doesn't blow away something will be saved maybe be wiser - maybe be foolish maybe there is room where we can be both maybe live a little sweeter knowing we can win or lose maybe there is room where we can do both there is nothing on the wind that doesn't blow away something will be saved there is nothing on the wind that doesn't blow away something will be saved

lofi relyricization of harnick/bock song from fiddler on the roof for the sars-cov-2 era. another quarantune! hmm. apparently this idea has also been done, a few days ago, quite well and somewhat more thoroughly. guess i should review the literature for the state of the art before undertaking such things. but i didn't, and this one is mine. lyrics: maskmaker maskmaker make me a mask two plys of cotton that's all i ask maskmaker maskmaker sit at your singer and make me a perfect mask maskmaker maskmaker i'll bring my bandanas if you've nothing to do if you're going bananas cover my face up so i can buy food and a break from this solitude for earloops you can use hairbands to hold it as i sniffle and cough a noseclip might keep it from snagging my stubble and sliding right off maskmaker maskmaker executive orders have kept me all cooped up alone in my quarters the pantry is empty the larders are bare so please make a mask i can wear for papa the family tartan for mama something flowery and bright for me well i'd just be heartened if i could buy groceries tonight maskmaker maskmaker make me a mask stitch me a stitch of cotton not bask maskmaker maskmaker if you're up to the task oh make me a perfect mask

Special "came to pass in real life" edition!

Fiddle debut! Sorry for the cat scratches A couple of tunes - "Elkins" by Jerry Holland, followed by "Dorrigo" by George Jackson

Upbeat and jangly with an orchestral edge. Trying to keep up with posting a song every month or so, this was recorded at the tail end of last summer.

A standard fiddle tune on mandolin with backing guitar.

This is an West African kora tune recorded by Toumani Diabate, but this arrangement for guitar by Derek Gripper makes it feel like a tango. I recorded it on my porch in New Orleans. I didn't mean to record the covid ambulance sirens in the background, but I imagine that I'll listen to this later and remember what now was like.

I've been working on a musical collaboration with a fellow musician friend of mine during these crazy coronavirus times, in hopes of generating something fun and creative while we have all this spare time not working or gigging. Here's the second song from that collaboration.

I never finished my entry for the Kate Bush music challenge a while back, but I liked the bit I did get done.

A psychedelic synthpop meditation on dreams, the romance of travel, the uncanny desert night, and technology approaching obsolescence. If Tears For Fears collaborated with 1970-era Steve Reich, you might get something like this. Based on a painting by Georgy Nissky and a time-lapse video of two vintage railroad semaphores in the New Mexico desert. LYRICS Somewhere over Santa Fe Atmospheric ocean Wheeled above our dreaming heads Hypnotized in motion Signals in your lover's eye Sleeping at the junction Silhouetted in the sky Solemn semaphores sit Winking out their last goodbye Frozen into caution Dreamt I was a satellite Falling out of orbit Rolling in the silver light Like a lonely gauntlet Winking over Wagon Mound And the pines of Carson No more lunar lullaby Did I see their arms lift As I broke up on the tracks? P.S.: I've started releasing free albums of new material every month, and this is on the newest one. Grab and enjoy.

Foot race? Bikes? Horses? It don't matter none, 'cuz it's on! The covid-19 isolation recommendations combined with the thin walls of this apartment makes singing and playing live instruments inappropriate. But fake instrument instrumentals are fun too!