Iowa Prairie Documentary Project

I was lucky enough to be invited to film a fire last year and here is the result. Hop in the "side by side" with John Van Rybroek and find out a bit about why people here in Iowa do prescribed prairie burns, prairie reconstruction and more! I also get to chat with Grace, the safety drone operator from Americorps +Bur Oak Land Trust.

MUSIC:
Sarah Arnone- https://www.saraharnone.com
Hanna Rumora- https://hrumora.wixsite.com/hannaplaysthecello
Josh DeVries (no socials!)

Full Fire Video with Fire Music: https://youtu.be/p6...

Sit right down and take you a listen. Chris Jones dishes up the deets on all things Ethanol. Some of the things we cover in this episode:

Chris’ book: “The Swine Republic” https://icecubepress.com/2025/01/14/the-swine-republic-2/

Chris’...

Jennifer talks about something I had never heard of before: "Environmental Witnessing." From visiting her grandparent's farm in Nevada, IA to meditating in front of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations...I think this episode is bound to offer some new perspectives on how we occupy the land.

Some of the topics we cover:  What is Environmental Witnessing / Meditating at a CAFO / Remembering her Iowa farming grandparents / Beauty in Iowa / Nishnabotna River Chemical Spill / Native American Mounds / 200 - acre prairie restoration/  Data Centers in Cedar Rapids /  How to do Enviro Witnessing / Grandparents and the 1980's Farm Crisis in Nevada, IA<...

We didn’t just talk about the value of conservation and native seeds role in prairie restoration…we also talked about faith, family, how the bigger is better model has harmed farming community bonds. Nicolas talks about how Hoksey got its roots through his father and so much more…this one is really worth a listen. 

Hoksey Native Seeds Prairie Farm Podcast https://hokseynativeseeds.com/the-prairie-farm-podcast

To shop Hoksey Native Seeds https://hokseynativeseeds.com

To watch this on Youtube: https://youtu.be/0RY6bA5s7Mw

The intro and outro music a...

This is episode 12 and was recorded on October 4th, 2025 on the Drake University Campus in Des Moines Iowa and features an interview with Dr. Thomas Rossburg.

When I made my first post about this project on the Iowa Prairie Network’s Facebook group, it was Tom’s name that was mentioned the most as a person that I absolutely had to interview. Here is why… I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that his observations and thoughts have informed an entire generation of prairie restorationists and many people consider him the grandfather of the modern pra...

This is episode 11 and was recorded on November 11, 2025 in Iowa City and features an interview with David Cwiertny…it’s part 4 of my Cancer in Iowa series. In case you are a first time listener…I want to ever so briefly answer your question…What does cancer have to do with prairie?

Well it has more to do with what is here in place of the prairie that used to exist.

Spoiler alert: If we had more prairie we’d have less cancer in the state of iowa

This interview covers a ton of importa...

Part 3 of the "Cancer in Iowa" series. Iowa has some of the USA’s worst water quality AND some of the highest cancer rates in the nation. Larry Weber, who is this episode's featured speaker has spearheaded the effort to create one of the United State’s most advanced watershed nitrate monitoring systems. We can now tell where the most pollutants are coming from. We can tell what times of year the nitrate loads will be the highest and in what river system. There is a treasure trove of real time data and thank god for that right…?? Because withou...

Shawn Ellerbroek is a cancer researcher based in the state of Iowa. I wanted a snapshot of where are we at, right now in the year 2025?
I wanted to know how what we put onto corn and soybean fields in Iowa translates to cancer in our bodies? What is the actual mechanism that can turn our drinking water, into something that can give us cancer? Shawn agreed to sit down allow me to put these questions to him…and I tell you what…he delivered. What Shawn shares in this interview should honestly rattle every single iowan. This is t...

Episode 8 is the first interview of the "Cancer in Iowa" series, where I interview someone who knows more than the average bear about what's going on with cancer here in our state. This first episodes features Zachary Oren Smith, a journalist and reporter with Iowa Starting Line.

Shownotes links:

To see this episode as a video: YOUTUBE

Iowa Starting Line
Cornhole Champions Substack

The intro and outro music are original compositions made for this podcast, created and played by Anthony Arnone of Iowa City. The music tracks were sound...

S1:E7 Prairie Arts with Kelly from Kansas

Description: This interview is available as both a podcast and a video and comes to you from Manhattan…but not the one in NYC…it’s the one in Kansas! Yes you heard that right. Kelly Yarbrough is the founder of the Tallgrass Artist Residency which "seeks to create connection and conversation across the Great Plains through engagement with the prairie ecosystem." Who knew that there was even such a thing as art residencies dedicated to the prairie? I didn’t! Listen up!

Want to watch the VIDEO of...

S1:E6 Getting Real with Glenn Pollock

We dive into pioneer history, pioneer cemeteries, prairie species that have gone extinct, farm life in early pioneer days, MOTUS bird tracking and how we can’t let the bastards get us down. 

Link to MOTUS: https://motus.org

The intro and outro music are original compositions made for this podcast, created and played by Anthony Arnone of Iowa City. The music tracks were sound engineered by Jay Siebold of Sieboldsound.com.

This work is a microbudget project that is self-funded by m...

Scott's Website: https://gardenbridgeoutreach.org

The intro and outro music are original compositions made for this podcast, created and played by Anthony Arnone of Iowa City. The music tracks were sound engineered by Jay Siebold of Sieboldsound.com.

This work is a microbudget project that is self-funded by me, the host, Charlie Morris. If you would like to help me cover the costs of things like sound mastering or gas money to travel to visit interview subjects, my Venmo is @CharlieMakesMovies

Music by: Anthony Arnone 
Intro Song/DAWN 
Outro Song/FEELING FR...

Thanks for tuning in to Episode 4, of the Iowa Prairie Documentary Project where you can sit back and enjoy a really fantastic interview with Ruth Rabinowitz of Oxbow Farms.  This episode is being released as a podcast and in video format. If you’d like to go straight to the video version of this episode:

https://youtu.be/-Fk1DGCN_Lk

I’d like to briefly mention why these episodes exist at all…the worst part about making a documentary film is when you interview folks that have a lot of deep knowledge…and only about 3 m...

Thanks for tuning in to Episode 3, of the Iowa Prairie Documentary Project.  This episode is  being released as a podcast and in video format. There are slight variations in the two so you might want to check out both. 

The video version is at: https://youtu.be/AIg57u6mdMw?si=44rrRR8Nv9GkZu_m

I’d like to briefly mention why these episodes exist at all…and that’s because the worst part about making a documentary film is when you interview folks that have a lot of deep knowledge…and only about 3 minutes of a 2 hour...

Hey ya'll...wanna go to Fairfield, Iowa? I love a lot about this episode. Sue's enthusiasm for the land she lives on and her commitment to helping the land restore and recover is inspiring. She helps me understand that there are different types of restoration that Iowans are working on. Spoiler Alert: There's more than one approach! We also take a close look at her three different "prairie patches" as they have different results from the Spring burns. Oh...and Iowans burn prairie to make it grow. Are they crazy or what? Let's find out...

To contact...

Prairie + Iowa? How is that even a story? Where would that start or finish? Take a listen as I explain my point of entry into the topic of Iowa Prairie in this first installment of the Iowa Prairie Documentary Project. I chat about what inspired me to get involved and some of my past projects and the undeniable enthusiasm of the prairie restoration movement. 

Website

thevideoslab@gmail.com

The intro and outro music are original compositions made for this podcast, created and played by Anthony Arnone of Iowa City. The music tracks w...