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A closer look at Gen Z voters

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River to River, hosted by Ben Kieffer

At 42-million strong, many political pundits are watching how Gen-Z, those between the ages of 18 and 27, will vote in this election. This hour, we explore their thoughts going into the election.

Ahead of the 2024 election, we took River to River on the road to hear from young voters. In this episode, we hear highlights from a live conversation at Drake University with student leaders and a Drake political scientist, hosted by Ben Kieffer and Mack Swenson, the editor-in-chief of The Times Delphic.

This Young Voter Voices series on River to River is sponsored by the Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement located on the Drake University Campus.

Guests:

  • Mack Swenson, senior in journalism and environmental sustainability with a minor in political science, Drake University, editor-in-chief of The Times-Delphic
  • Caroline Siebels-Lindquist, junior in multimedia journalism and political science with a minor in German, President of Students for Reproductive Justice and commentary editor The Times Delphic
  • Maddi Cave, senior in public relations and strategic political communication, Drake University, on the executive board for Bulldog Catholic, campus ministry intern
  • Anna Snyder, junior in environmental sustainability and business management, president of the Drake Environmental Action League
  • Lila Khan,sophomore in law, politics and society, Drake University, on executive board of Drake Democrats, outreach lead for Students Demand Action
  • Adrien Halliez, assistant professor of political science, Drake University
  • Michael Mitchell, senior in strategic political communication, chair of the Drake Democrats
  • Dylan Engelbrecht, senior in date analytics and economics, Drake University, chair of the Drake College Republicans
Ben Kieffer is the host of IPR's River to River
Dani Gehr is a talk show producer for Iowa Public Radio. She holds a bachelor's degree from Iowa State University. Since 2022, Gehr has worked with IPR's talk team to bring news and features to IPR's listening audience.
Katherine Perkins is IPR's Executive Producer of Talk Shows and Program Director for News/Talk. Since 2014, Perkins has managed the broadcast schedule and sound of the news and information service of Iowa Public Radio, as well as has directed the long-term planning and oversight for IPR's talk shows, Talk of Iowa and River to River. Perkins has a masters degree from Sangamon State University (now the University of Illinois – Springfield).