Disability Ecologies

From Soil to Seeding Local Foods, Part Two

Presenting: From Soil to Seeding Local Foods Content:  * Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram  * Special Guests:  * Jason Grimm  * Malik Salsberry  * Ilsa DeWald  * April Lawyer  * Felicia Pieper  * Scott Koepke  Highlights Join Emerson as they talk with the newest generation of GROW farmers, on why this work is meaningful, how food justice and food sovereignty overlap and depart, and what’s grown on site, beyond all of the vegetables. Emerson reflects on the relationships created and sustained through volunteer work, which takes them into the world of preserving fish pepper seeds, an ancestor of Black disability justice. Seeds are archives–stories rendered in biological form.  Conclusion Food justice includes farm workers themselves, and the industry faces high rates of burnout exacerbated by uncertainty, low wages, and inaccessible land and/or markets. In early 2025 into 2026, food and farming operations witnessed devastating blows to federal funding, and creatively adapted to continue their core mission. Scott remembers Alfred Knapp.  Transcript For a full transcript of this episode, visit: disabilityecologiespodcast.buzzsprout.com Credits Episode written and narrated by Emerson Cram, University of Iowa. Recorded with Riverside FM. Production and Sound Editing by Maura De Cicco.  All media clips are used for educational purposes only. Sound effects licensed through Pixabay.   Funding Research, writing, and production have benefitted from generous support from multiple sources, including: the National Communication Association’s Karl R. Wallace Memorial Award; UI OVPR Arts and Humanities Initiative Standard Grant; UI Provost Investment in Strategic Priorities;  UI College of Liberal Arts DSHB Humanities Scholar; CLAS Summer Humanities Award. Special Thanks With thanks to Maura De Cicco; University of Iowa Departments of Communication Studies, Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies, and American Studies (Especially Angie Looney, Kembrew McLeod, Eric Vázquez, Naomi Greyser, and Hallie Abelman); The Johnson County Local Food & Farm Team (Julie Watkins & Ilsa DeWald), State Historical Society of Iowa (especially Hang Nguyen, Allison Johnson, and Anu Tiwari); Sarah Keen, University Archivist, University of Iowa; V Fixmer-Oraiz, Johnson County Board of Supervisors; Kim Painter, Johnson County Recorder; Rebecca Dewing, Johnson County Historical Society; GROW Johnson County (especially Jason Grimm, Emmaly Renshaw and Malik Salsberry); the 2024 Colby Summer Institute in Environmental Humanities Seminar Participants; Claire Fox; Teresa Mangum; Jennifer New; Phaedra C. Pezzullo; Constance Gordan; and Jesse Waggoner.   Audience Participation * Call to Action: Do you have a poor farm or county home story to tell? Reach out to our team to learn more about how to share!  * Support the Show:Share this episode with friends and colleagues, & stay tuned for future episodes.  * Follow us on Social Media: * Instagram:@disabilityecologiespodcast

From Soil to Seeding Local Foods, Part One

Presenting: From Soil to Seeding Local Foods  Content:  * Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram  * Special Guests:  * Scott Koepke * Carly McAndrews  * Alfred Matiyabo  * Ilsa DeWald  * Rod Sullivan  * Jason Grimm  Highlights This chapter brings the story of the historic poor farm full circle, by documenting the work of GROW Johnson County. Co-founded in 2015 by John Boller, Scott Koepke, and Bob Andrik, GROW’s initial vision was to meet community needs around food access in Johnson County. Despite Iowa’s status as a predominantly agricultural state, food insecurity only continues to expand, with recent pressure points including the COVD-19 pandemic, policy changes in SNAP benefits, and the continuing escalation of the cost of living. Join Emerson as they dig into the efforts to establish GROW and Scott Koepke reflecting on its early days in addition to its legacy, how food policy shapes Iowa’s food system, why local food infrastructure matters, and why everything comes back to soil.   Conclusion What do we grow on intergenerational timelines? Who do we need to support our dreams to make good on a plan? We need each other when we are bold enough to build something in the times we are standing in the middle of a muddy field, and the rain is pouring, and we question our own capacity, our knowledge, and our energy to see it through. Transcript For a full transcript of this episode, visit: disabilityecologiespodcast.buzzsprout.com Credits Episode written and narrated by Emerson Cram, University of Iowa. Recorded with Riverside FM. Production and Sound Editing by Maura De Cicco.  All media clips are used for educational purposes only. Sound effects licensed through Pixabay.   KCRG.Com, "Johnson Co. food pantries address SNAP benefit concerns [https://www.kcrg.com/video/2025/10/31/johnson-co-food-pantries-address-snap-benefit-concerns/]," October 31, 2026 Audio of Johnson County Supervisor Meeting [https://johnson-county.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=1219&meta_id=55870], October 1, 2014. Funding Research, writing, and production have benefitted from generous support from multiple sources, including: the National Communication Association’s Karl R. Wallace Memorial Award; UI OVPR Arts and Humanities Initiative Standard Grant; UI Provost Investment in Strategic Priorities;  UI College of Liberal Arts DSHB Humanities Scholar; CLAS Summer Humanities Award. Special Thanks With thanks to Maura De Cicco; University of Iowa Departments of Communication Studies, Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies, and American Studies (Especially Angie Looney, Kembrew McLeod, Eric Vázquez, Naomi Greyser, and Hallie Abelman); The Johnson County Local Food & Farm Team (Julie Watkins & Ilsa DeWald), State Historical Society of Iowa (especially Hang Nguyen, Allison Johnson, and Anu Tiwari); Sarah Keen, University Archivist, University of Iowa; V Fixmer-Oraiz, Johnson County Board of Supervisors; Kim Painter, Johnson County Recorder; Rebecca Dewing, Johnson County Historical Society; GROW Johnson County (especially Jason Grimm, Emmaly Renshaw and Malik Salsberry); the 2024 Colby Summer Institute in Environmental Humanities Seminar Participants; Claire Fox; Teresa Mangum; Jennifer New; Phaedra C. Pezzullo; Constance Gordan; and Jesse Waggoner.  Audience Participation * Call to Action: Do you have a poor farm or county home story to tell? Reach out to our team to learn more about how to share!  * Support the Show: Share this episode with friends and colleagues, & stay tuned for future episodes.  * Follow us on Social Media: * Instagram: @disabi

A Witness Tree on the Land, Part Two

Presenting: A Witness Tree on the Land  Content: cemeteries and death care, the politics of restoration, land development, logics of “cure”  Featuring: * Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram  * Special Guests:  * V Fixmer-Oraiz  * Rod Sullivan  * Dr. Jennifer Mack  * Chant Eicke  * Geoff Mouming  * Jason Grimm  Highlights This episode picks up with the preservation challenges of the early 2000s, as Johnson County debated what should happen to the publicly held land. Proposals for development varied from a golf course, a new county jail, housing development, all of which would have required the county sell off portions of the land. Preservation advocates organized to dissuade the county from developing the land for these uses, arguing that doing so would generate incalculable loss. Emerson explores these debates in the 2000s as quintessential tensions between preservation and development, but the significance of choosing preservation is remarkable, especially within a rural area. As an extension of these tensions over land use, Emerson talks again with Dr. Mack about the cemetery. Conclusion Can design unlock the intersections of food justice and disability justice? How can land tenure systems shape long standing conversations about poverty and modern life? What does “restoration” mean in the bigger picture of our relationships with the land and each other? The Monarch Super Highway.   Transcript For a full transcript of this episode, visit: disabilityecologiespodcast.buzzsprout.com Credits Episode written and narrated by Emerson Cram, University of Iowa. Recorded with Riverside FM. Production and Sound Editing by Maura De Cicco.  All media clips are used for educational purposes only. Sound effects licensed through Pixabay.   Funding Research, writing, and production have benefitted from generous support from multiple sources, including: the National Communication Association’s Karl R. Wallace Memorial Award; UI OVPR Arts and Humanities Initiative Standard Grant; UI Provost Investment in Strategic Priorities;  UI College of Liberal Arts DSHB Humanities Scholar; CLAS Summer Humanities Award. Special Thanks With thanks to Maura De Cicco; University of Iowa Departments of Communication Studies, Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies, and American Studies (Especially Angie Looney, Kembrew McLeod, Eric Vázquez, Naomi Greyser, and Hallie Abelman); The Johnson County Local Food & Farm Team (Julie Watkins & Ilsa DeWald), State Historical Society of Iowa (especially Hang Nguyen, Allison Johnson, and Anu Tiwari); Sarah Keen, University Archivist, University of Iowa; V Fixmer-Oraiz, Johnson County Board of Supervisors; Kim Painter, Johnson County Recorder; Rebecca Dewing, Johnson County Historical Society; GROW Johnson County (especially Jason Grimm, Emmaly Renshaw and Malik Salsberry); the 2024 Colby Summer Institute in Environmental Humanities Seminar Participants; Claire Fox; Teresa Mangum; Jennifer New; Phaedra C. Pezzullo; Constance Gordon; and Jesse Waggoner.    Audience Participation * Call to Action: Do you have a poor farm or county home story to tell? Reach out to our team to learn more about how to share!  * Support the Show: Share this episode with friends and colleagues, & stay tuned for future episodes.  * Follow us on Social Media: * Instagram: @disabilityecologiespodcast

A Witness Tree on the Land, Part One

Presenting: A Witness Tree on the Land   Content: forced removal, colonialism,  * Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram  * Special Guests:  * Geoff Mouming  * Chant Eicke  Highlights This chapter tells the story of the Historic Poor Farm’s land from the point of view of a 250 year old Bur Oak on the southern edges of the property. Geoff and Emerson walk through the restored natural areas for Emerson’s first close-up of “Oakland,” a regenerating savanna of oak trees. The legacy tree that initiated the trek might tell stories about its connection to disability community and lineage; time travel through and with glacial kinship, the Oneota, the Blackhawk War, and Meskwaki journeys with new people and relations. The radical imposition of a new biological regime. A central question: how should we use public land? Conclusion How do the ways we talk about public land reveal how we imagine our relationships to our planetary home? In a landscape shaped by radical transformation and change, how should we imagine “natural” as something to grasp or measure? Can “natural” even be a bench mark? What then, does it mean to practice restoration ecology in a context not of our making?  Transcript For a full transcript of this episode, visit: disabilityecologiespodcast.buzzsprout.com Credits Episode written and narrated by Emerson Cram, University of Iowa. Recorded with Riverside FM. Production and Sound Editing by Maura De Cicco.  All media clips are used for educational purposes only. Sound effects licensed through Pixabay. Jonathan Buffalo speaking to the Rotary Club of Ames, “Meskwaki Nation, a History [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx76YKfFfnY],” YouTube, March 20, 2021.    Funding Research, writing, and production have benefitted from generous support from multiple sources, including: the National Communication Association’s Karl R. Wallace Memorial Award; UI OVPR Arts and Humanities Initiative Standard Grant; UI Provost Investment in Strategic Priorities;  UI College of Liberal Arts DSHB Humanities Scholar; CLAS Summer Humanities Award. Special Thanks With thanks to Maura De Cicco; University of Iowa Departments of Communication Studies, Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies, and American Studies (Especially Angie Looney, Kembrew McLeod, Eric Vázquez, Naomi Greyser, and Hallie Abelman); State Historical Society of Iowa (especially Hang Nguyen, Allison Johnson, and Anu Tiwari); V Fixmer-Oraiz, Johnson County Board of Supervisors; GROW Johnson County (especially Jason Grimm, Emmaly Renshaw and Malik Salsberry); the 2024 Colby Summer Institute in Environmental Humanities Seminar Participants; Claire Fox; Teresa Mangum; Jennifer New; Phaedra C. Pezzullo; Constance Gordan; and Jesse Waggoner.  Audience Participation * Call to Action: Do you have a poor farm or county home story to tell? Reach out to our team to learn more about how to share!  * Support the Show: Share this episode with friends and colleagues, & stay tuned for future episodes.  * Follow us on Social Media: * Instagram: @disabilityecologiespodcast

Dignity Delayed, Part Two

Presenting: Dignity Delayed  Content: historic records  * Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram  * Special Guests:  * Mary Helen Kennerly, Seen & Heard Facilitator, DAC Member  * Becky Dewing, Johnson County Historic Society * Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz  * Supervisor Lisa Green-Douglass  * Kim Painter, Johnson County Recorder  * Kevin Kolsto, DAC Member  * Julie Watkins, DAC Co-Facilitator and Events Manager for Historic Poor Farm  * Supervisor Rod Sullivan  Highlights Join Emerson as they highlight the dedication of the Healing Trail, and the events leading up to its opening. Seen and Heard visits the asylum and takes stock of the historic records, forging connection and kinship. Members of the Disability Advisory Committee have taken up efforts to shape the site’s lasting legacy and commitment to public education. What a commitment to liberatory access might look like.  Conclusion What becomes possible when we value—in all the registers of that term—people’s inherent dignity? What if difference is not a burden but a critical component of biodiversity? What if honoring dependency is the greatest transformation we cultivate for the future? Healing is never linear, and the unfinished work ahead. Transcript For a full transcript of this episode, visit: disabilityecologiespodcast.buzzsprout.com Credits Episode written and narrated by Emerson Cram, University of Iowa. Recorded with Riverside FM. Production and Sound Editing by Maura De Cicco. All media clips are used for educational purposes only. Sound effects licensed through Pixabay.   Mia Mingus, “Access Intimacy [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm21KpsNk1s],” Disability Intersectionality Summit, October 26, 2018.  Funding Research, writing, and production have benefitted from generous support from multiple sources, including: the National Communication Association’s Karl R. Wallace Memorial Award; UI OVPR Arts and Humanities Initiative Standard Grant; UI Provost Investment in Strategic Priorities; UI College of Liberal Arts DSHB Humanities Scholar; CLAS Summer Humanities Award. Special Thanks With thanks to Maura De Cicco; University of Iowa Departments of Communication Studies, Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies, and American Studies (Especially Angie Looney, Kembrew McLeod, Eric Vázquez, Naomi Greyser, and Hallie Abelman); The Johnson County Local Food & Farm Team (Julie Watkins & Ilsa DeWald), V Fixmer-Oraiz, Johnson County Board of Supervisors; Kim Painter, Johnson County Recorder; Rebecca Dewing, Johnson County Historical Society; the 2024 Colby Summer Institute in Environmental Humanities Seminar Participants; Claire Fox; Teresa Mangum; Jennifer New; Phaedra C. Pezzullo; Constance Gordon; and Jesse Waggoner.   Audience Participation * Call to Action: Do you have a poor farm or county home story to tell? Reach out to our team to learn more about how to share.  * Support the Show: Share this episode with friends and colleagues, & stay tuned for future episodes.  * Follow us on Social Media: * Instagram: @disabilityecologiespodcast