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PODCAST

Cornhole Champions Podcast

Zachary Oren Smith

Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast, powered by Iowa Starting Line, where we throw bags at Iowa"s biggest stories and maybe sip a beer or two. cornholechampions.substack.com

news news commentary

All Episodes

47:55

🌽Iowa's economic crash out - Cornhole Champions #46

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/10/29

It's easy to miss what's happening in Iowa when you're scrolling past headlines. GDP down 6.1% in Q1. Soybean markets shipped to Argentina. A $20 billion bailout that somehow bypassed the farmers who needed it most. But this isn't just about tariffs or trade policy. It's about who holds power in Iowa and who gets left behind.On Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith sat down with Chase Seibert and Liz Fleming to unpack the New York Times story everyone should be reading: how Trump's economic

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23:39

🌽Jennifer Konfrst on building power in the minority -...

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/10/28

Former Iowa House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights is challenging Republican Congressman Zach Nunn for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District. As the first woman to lead Iowa House Democrats, Konfrst has spent seven years fighting for reproductive rights, healthcare access, Medicaid funding, and school voucher accountability while building power in the minority. On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Konfrst explains why voters feel frozen by political uncertainty, how Democrats can

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49:11

🌽 Art Cullen: How big Ag broke Iowa... and what comes...

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/10/22

It’s easy to romanticize small-town Iowa — cornfields, calm mornings, and hardworking families. But behind the postcard image is a story of consolidation, pollution, and the steady draining of civic power. For my penultimate episode of the 2025, I spoke with Pulitzer Prize–winner Art Cullen has spent decades writing from Storm Lake about the forces reshaping rural life. In his new book Dear Marty, We Crapped In Our Nest: Notes from the Edge of the World, he reflects on how we got here, what we

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24:56

🌽 What could Iowa do to reverse high cancer rates?...

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/10/15

Iowa has the second-highest cancer rate in the nation, and it's getting worse. State Rep. Austin Baeth isn't just a politician. He's a practicing physician who sees cancer patients every day and watches people die from this disease in his palliative care work. His unique perspective as both doctor and lawmaker reveals the harsh reality: Iowa's cancer crisis has identifiable causes and policy solutions, but special interests keep blocking progress.On this episode of Cornhole Champions, I speak

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28:20

📻 Different states, different justice (w/ Sarah...

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/10/08

Sarah Hedlund and Diana Mondragon were groomed and sexually abused by the same high school teacher 20 years ago - but their paths to justice couldn't have been more different. Not because of the facts of their cases, but because of where they lived.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 Hedlund ended the relationship, and how state laws either support or fail

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23:53

📻 A $400,000 scandal: How research on Iowa's ag...

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/10/01

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"

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32:37

📻 Newsroom to classroom: Ty Rushing on teaching...

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/09/24

Ty Rushing made history as the first Black reporter and editor at eight different Iowa publications, but his journey from breaking barriers to breaking down stories reveals something deeper about the evolution of journalism. From covering northwest Iowa's "playground" of small towns to mentoring the next generation at the University of Iowa, Rushing offers some insight into what shoe leather teaches about the craft.On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith dives deep with the

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49:12

🌽 What Charlie Kirk's killing brought to Iowa -...

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/09/17

We're just a week out from the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and since then we've seen Iowa Republicans lash out at everything from local teachers to the Iowa National Guard in response. On this episode of Cornhole Champions, hosts Zachary Oren Smith, Amie Rivers and Avery Staker break down the state's response to Kirk's assassination, the impact you can have on city-school elections, and why the Iowa Gov. thinks she can withhold her emails from the public. Toss some bags at

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49:09

🌽 Red states really showed ‘em…: Iowa loses out on...

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/09/10

Iowa chose loyalty over lawsuits when Trump cut $11 billion in federal health funding. And we paid the price. While blue states sued and kept 80% of their CDC grants, Iowa lost all 12 of its targeted research grants.On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith, Amie Rivers, and Avery Staker break down how Iowa's decision to stay quiet cost millions in federal dollars while other states fought back and won. Plus, why your congressman thinks town halls are "taxpayer-funded protests"

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50:31

📻 Politics and big money make Iowa sicker (w/ Dr....

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/09/05

Iowa has the second-highest cancer rate in the nation, and Dr. Andrew Nish has a blunt explanation: "Politics and big money." After 34 years treating cancer patients in Iowa, the medical director of John Stoddard Cancer Center connects our climbing cancer rates to everything from agricultural practices and contaminated water to our drinking culture and lack of green spaces. In this episode of Cornhole Champions, Dr. Nish explains the "exposome" - all the environmental factors we're exposed to

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19:42

📻 I'm applying sunscreen wrong... and maybe Iowa is...

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/08/29

Iowa ranks fifth nationally for melanoma—a rate similar to Arizona—and the reason might surprise you. It's not just about UV radiation. It's about who's spending their days outside and how we protect ourselves.Dr. Marta Van Beek, a dermatologist at UI Healthcare, breaks down the reality: agricultural workers face 60% higher skin cancer rates, there's no such thing as a "healthy tan," and most of us are applying sunscreen completely wrong. (Spoiler: it's every two hours, not just when you

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38:19

🌽 John Deere's tariff-spurred layoffs keep coming -...

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/08/27

Iowa's public schools are hemorrhaging students while 157 districts now depend on budget guarantees to survive. Meanwhile, the state is dismantling 168 years of history by closing Iowa City's Historical Society research center to save money. On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith, Amie Rivers, and Avery Staker connect three stories that reveal how Iowa systematically undermines the foundations that could keep families here. Toss some bags at declining school enrollment..

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49:17

📻 When cancer became a wake-up call (w/ Dr. Richard...

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/08/22

Iowa has the second-highest cancer rate in America, and Dr. Richard Deming has been fighting this crisis for four decades. In this powerful conversation, Iowa's leading oncologist reveals what you can actually do about it.On this episode of Cornhole Champions, we explore the mortality wake-up call that cancer brings and the simple---though not easy---steps that could save thousands of lives. Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line with music by Avery Mossman and show

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52:54

🌽 The devil's in the details (and the tip receipts) -...

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/08/20

The "One Big, Beautiful Bill" promises to help working Americans – but when you dig into the details, it's just another political bump-it: looks impressive from far away, falls apart up close. Republicans are celebrating "no tax on tips," but what does it actually do for Iowa service workers making $2.13 an hour?On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith and Amie Rivers dig into the truth behind the tax policy that expires when Trump leaves office. Toss some bags at "no" tax on

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26:20

📻 The common good and the establishment (w/ Chris...

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/08/15

Iowa uses more pesticides per capita than any other state—nearly 54 million pounds annually. But according to research engineer Chris Jones, we might be focusing on the wrong chemicals when it comes to cancer risk.On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith sits down with Jones, author of "The Swine Republic" and president of Driftless Water Defenders, to unpack Iowa's chemical cocktail crisis. We explore why 60% of Iowa's corn goes to ethanol production that exists only because of

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43:13

🌽 Iowa DOGE sets its sites on Iowa public retirement...

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/08/13

The Reynolds administration is targeting public retirement—again. Despite promising to "protect and defend" IPERS in 2018, Gov. Kim Reynolds's handpicked DOGE task force now wants to eliminate pensions for new state employees.On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith, Amie Rivers, and Avery Staker break down how wealthy business executives are targeting the 11th best-funded pension system in America. Toss some bags at Iowa DOGE's pension grab... Josh Turek's Senate bid... And how

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23:03

📻 When science moves faster than policy (And what...

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/08/08

Sometimes the science moves faster than public policy. And it has real impacts on your health. On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Orne Smith explores this gap with Dr. David Cwiertny, an environmental engineer at the University of Iowa. Toss some bags at the science-policy gap… why we find chemicals everywhere we look… and what mass balance means for Iowa's future. Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line. This podcast is produced by me and edited by

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47:58

🌽 Pesticides help fuel Iowa’s cancer crisis -...

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/08/06

Iowa is hemorrhaging talent, and the numbers are staggering. With 34% more college graduates leaving than staying, the state lost $17.6 billion in potential income from just the 2023 cohort alone. But that's not the only crisis hitting Iowans hard.On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith, Amie Rivers Rivers, and Avery Staker dive into Iowa's brain drain crisis and explore why young professionals—especially LGBTQ+ Iowans—are fleeing the state. Toss some bags about the economic

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25:13

📻 What 50 years of Iowa cancer data actually shows...

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/08/01

Dr. Mary Charlton directs the Iowa Cancer Registry, tracking cancer diagnoses across the state for over 50 years and helping researchers understand Iowa's stubbornly high cancer rates. On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith talks with Charlton about what the data really shows, why simple explanations for complex problems fall short, and the challenge of doing long-term science in a world that wants quick answers. Toss some bags at complicated truths... geographic patterns that

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35:32

🌽 Iowa's near-total abortion ban: 1 year later -...

Cornhole Champions Podcast ·

2025/07/30

It's been one year since Iowa's near-total abortion ban took effect, and the numbers tell a devastating story. A 74% drop in abortion services in Iowa means Iowans are traveling hundreds of miles and paying thousands more for healthcare. On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith, Amie Rivers, and Avery Staker break down the real impact of Iowa's restrictive abortion law on families and communities. From $19,000 emergency cases to overnight drives with young kids, we explore how the

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