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The Real Field of Dreams
That tiny patch of Iowa might well have been returned to corn production when the movie makers left town, but was not. It was preserved, haltingly at first, with nothing more than a rusted coffee can nailed to a post to solicit preservation donations, and now has become an industry, a revenue stream for both Iowa and big league baseball.
Rediscovering the Lost Midwest
Once the cobwebs are cleared off old journals, long-forgotten records consulted, and the veil of stereotypes pierced, a remarkable world is discovered.
Erasure in Peoria
Discover Peoria had only removed the video featuring a Black trans artist... Despite assurances otherwise, they understood the removal to be an act of erasure, not a simple mistake.
Poem To Be Read At 11 P.M.
A poem by Avery Gregurich.
A Love Supreme
Artists and activists continue to organize as Keith LaMar’s November execution date draws near.
Reweaving the Stories of Our Public Art
How does public art limit (or extend) what we can know about the past, present, or future? How can art support us in telling a new story, a shared story about who we are?
Illuminating the Flying Squirrel’s Secrets
Flying squirrels glow pink under a blacklight. How many other mammals do this? What causes them to glow? The hardest question of all might never be answered: why?
Ben Gwin’s Essential Labor Story for Our Time
Gwin combines the story of the challenges facing labor unions in the 21st century and workforce realities with a deeply personal exploration of his own relationship to work and his struggles as a single parent.
Any Power that Holds: An Interview with Stacy Jane Grover
"Rarely do we get to simply live our lives, to be taken for granted. Our existence in the world has to be extraordinary, and we lose our mundanity and so much of our humanness in this process."
Toby and Me on Father’s Day
Why were these guys alive and my dad dead? My dad’s long game wasn’t good.
Theorizing the Rust Belt
The mark of a brilliant idea, I would argue, is how jealous it makes you feel when you first learn about it. By that criterion, I was incredibly jealous of the organizers of the Rust Belt Humanities Lab.

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