Samantha McIntosh
Talk Show ProducerExpertise: Finding, booking, preparing and connecting guests with listeners on IPR's two talk shows: <i>Talk of Iowa</i> and <i>River to River</i>
Education: Bachelors degree from St. Cloud State University
Favorite Iowa Destination: Iowa's bike trails!
Experience:
- Audio, talk show production and writing across various topic areas for IPR as a talk show producer
- Sub-hosts for Morning Edition and All Things Considered for IPR
- Has reported and written features on topics including local government, public safety, K-12 education, and arts and culture for M&H Broadcasting in southeast and west-central Iowa
- Is an award-winning producer and reporter, including Iowa Broadcast News Association awards across multiple years
- A weekend host at KQGO 96.3 in Minneapolis, MN
My Favorite Stories
-
Actor Will Ferrell and writer Harper Steele have been collaborators and friends for 30 years.
-
From Muddy Waters to The Lumineers, a venue located in the basement of Iowa State University's Memorial Union has seen 50 years of music, theatre, comedy and more.
-
A recent poll from The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 62% of adults say democracy in the U.S. could be at risk in the 2024 presidential election.
-
Every spring, nearly a million sandhill cranes pass through an 80-mile stretch of the Platte River in Nebraska on their northward migration.
My Latest Stories
-
What began as a way to bring the community together during COVID has become a tradition six years strong. Two sisters have organized volunteer bakers and delivery drivers to make sure everyone can eat a homemade pie on Thanksgiving.
-
This native Iowan is often referred to as the king of late night television.
-
This Iowan is a television actor known for his roles in The Bear and Platonic. He plans to produce a show about growing up in small-town Iowa as a Filipino kid.
My Latest Podcasts
-
Andrew Lopez is on FX's The Bear and Apple TV's Platonic with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood. He also has his own show in development with HBO. But it wasn't long ago that he was a kid growing up in Pella. Then, Donna Reed is beloved for roles like Mary Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life and Donna Stone in The Donna Reed Show. She was born in Denison, where the Donna Reed Foundation keeps her legacy alive.These segments were produced in September and October 2025.
-
The third annual Iowa Farmers of Color Conference takes place Saturday, Dec. 6. It's an opportunity for farmers of color from around the Midwest to come to together to learn from each other and build community. Sixth-generation farmer Todd Western III joins the program to preview the event. We also get to know another founder of Iowa Farmers of Color, Hannah Scates Kettler. She and her husband co-own Minerva's Meadow, an organic, no-till flower farm located near State Center. Then, we learn more about how farming has played a role in Black resiliency and activism for centuries from Felicite Wolfe of the African American Museum of Iowa. The exhibit "Rooted: Labor, Land and Legacy," shares the struggles and triumphs that Black farmers have seen in Iowa and the U.S. through present day.
-
Author and baker Beth Howard moved into the American Gothic house 15 years ago, started a pie stand and became known to many as the “pie lady.” Now, she’s created a documentary that demonstrates how pie is baked into the cultural fabric of our state, called Pieowa: A Piece of America. Later in the show, naturalist Michelle Wiegand shares how Johnson County Conservation is encouraging residents to reduce their environmental footprint with a clothing swap event.