Heart of the Heartland
I Am Interchange
Today, we’re somewhere that feels both familiar and overlooked at the same time—Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, Nebraska. The kind of place people call flyover country, a place many don’t think twice about, even as the people who live here are quietly shaping a future the rest of us will eventually feel. I’m Tate Chamberlin, talking with Jeff Yost, Chris Harris, and Huascar Medina—three voices who don’t see the Heartland as an accident of birth, but a choice. A commitment. A belief that local decisions should be made… well, locally. By the people who actually walk these...
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First Nations Economic Compact
I Am Interchange
Turtle Island. Before there were countries—before anyone called this land the United States, or Canada, or Mexico—this was Turtle Island. A continent of nations, overlapping territories, trade routes stretching farther than modern highways, and relationships thousands of years old. Today, that history is being carried forward by contemporary Indigenous leaders at Fort Mason—San Francisco’s skyline in the backdrop, summit banners hanging over a conversation that reaches far beyond the city around it. This is the First Nations Economic Compact. You’re in a conference room that...
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Nutrition Centered Economy
I Am Interchange
Every town has one. A school. A cafeteria. A lunch line. And somewhere in that line, a kid is staring down a plastic tray of food that — for millions — might be the only real meal they get that day. We don’t often think of it this way, but the school meal program is the largest restaurant chain in the United States. Seven billion meals a year. Forty million kids. Bigger than Subway. Bigger than McDonald’s. Which makes it the biggest opportunity we have to change how we eat, how we grow food, and how we think about nourishment. When we let the system run on the cheapest, most processed...
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State of Journalism
I Am Interchange
Once upon a time, journalism started with a letter nailed to a tree—or a door. Some declaration, some warning, some truth someone wanted heard. And people would gather in the square to listen. News wasn’t just information; it was a shared experience. Then came the daily paper. Then the evening broadcast. News once a day—steady, dependable. Until it wasn’t. Now it’s constant. Twenty-four hours. Push notifications. Feeds that never stop refreshing. And somewhere in all that, we started to wonder—what’s the difference between fact and opinion anymore? Between storytelling and...
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Human Migration and Displacement- Part Two
I Am Interchange
Here’s the thing about leaving. Sometimes you plan it for years — a better job, an education, a shot at something bigger. Other times it happens overnight. Governments fall. Food disappears. You run. This episode of Dispatch from the Heartland is about human migration and displacement — one of the oldest patterns of our species. Moving for survival. Moving for hope. Moving because staying is no longer possible. It’s trauma. It’s hope. It’s a blank page. In this episode, Tate Chamberlin sits down with Zohra Zori, Lucy Petroucheva, and Angela Eifert to talk about displacement,...
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Taxation Without Representation- The Quest for DC Statehood
I Am Interchange
Washington, D.C. isn’t just a backdrop of monuments and marble. It’s a living, breathing city—home to more than 700,000 people who work, who raise kids, who build their lives here. Known for decades as Chocolate City, D.C. carries a proud history of Black culture and resilience. And yet, unlike every other city in the United States, its residents watch democracy without fully taking part in it. They pay billions in federal taxes. They serve in the military. And still, they live under taxation without representation—the very injustice that fueled the Boston Tea Party and launched the...
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Food Security
I Am Interchange
A vacant lot, once overlooked and forgotten amid the rush of urban life, now pulses with vibrant life—flowers bloom where concrete once stood, vegetables sprout in neglected corners, and hope takes root in every crack. Yet, even these transformed spaces remain fragile—vulnerable to neglect, gentrification, or future development that could erase their resurgence. Similarly, rural farmland faces its own challenges—fragile soils, unpredictable weather, and the razor-thin margins that make farming a constant gamble. While innovative crops like perennial wheat show promise for creating more...
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Glacier Nation
I Am Interchange
Beneath the surface of our planet’s icy crown lie stories of ancient times, fragile ecosystems, and communities woven into the glaciers’ icy embrace. These frozen giants—part of the cryosphere, the world’s vast frozen regions—are more than just stunning landscapes; they are vital sentinels of our climate’s health and the future of life on Earth. Yet, they are melting away before our eyes, especially the tropical glaciers that are vanishing faster than anyone expected. Today, Tate Chamberlin explores this icy world with Marcela Fernandez. We’ll uncover why glaciers and the...
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World Building
I Am Interchange
Imagine a city alive with stories—every corner whispering tales of dreams, struggles, and aspirations. It’s a place where communities don’t just live, but co-create their surroundings, weaving narratives into the very fabric of their environment. This is the essence of World Building—where storytelling becomes a force for transformation, turning visions into tangible realities. Today, we step into that world. Host, Tate Chamberlin, is joined by an incredible lineup of guests: visionary designer and storyteller Alex McDowell, urban innovator Meegan Elliot, systems thinker Mark Beam,...
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In Full Color
I Am Interchange
In this podcast, host Tate Chamberlin is joined by internationally acclaimed musician Teneia Sanders and Rabbi Joshua Lesser in discussion about queer community, pride, and the perspective necessary to walk, hand in hand, through an increasingly hostile political landscape with tenacity and grace. Join us, in full color.
info_outlineHere’s the thing about leaving. Sometimes you plan it for years — a better job, an education, a shot at something bigger. Other times it happens overnight. Governments fall. Food disappears. You run.
This episode of Dispatch from the Heartland is about human migration and displacement — one of the oldest patterns of our species. Moving for survival. Moving for hope. Moving because staying is no longer possible. It’s trauma. It’s hope. It’s a blank page.
In this episode, Tate Chamberlin sits down with Zohra Zori, Lucy Petroucheva, and Angela Eifert to talk about displacement, belonging, and the slow learning curve of new cultures. We’ll look at the mistakes, the forgiveness, and the “othering” that happens when you’re new. We’ll talk about refugee camps that stretch on for years, the difference between sustainability and dependence, and the unspoken emotions you carry when you leave everything behind.
This is a space for vulnerability. For beginning again. For understanding sovereignty even when choice has been stripped away. Because right now, families are uprooted. Cultures are colliding. Dreams are being carried across borders. And even in movement — even in loss — we hold on to the hope of a better life.
This is Dispatch from the Heartland. Join us, won’t you?