Melee‪.‬ Joshua LaBure

In our latest podcast, Kietryn Zychal and Emily Chen-Newton continue NOISE's focus on urban farming and healthy eating. We spent an afternoon with Aaron French of City Sprouts, Omaha's first community garden. He gave us a tour of the garden at 40th and Seward including their new geodesic greenhouse. We learned about City Sprouts' summer internship program for high school students, gardening classes for adults, tips on composting and where to grab some of the thousands of pounds of free produce City Sprouts and other urban farming nonprofits will be giving away this summer.

Did you know that 'a holler' is a place, not just a way to say 'hey'?

It's OK-- most of our team didn't know either. In our latest podcast episode, NOISE culture reporter Ashley Salem and board vice president Emily Chen-Newton discuss the film, "From the Hood to the Holler," part of the Omaha Film Festival, available online until Apr. 2, 2022.

Emily is from Kentucky where the documentary is set. The film, directed by Pat McGee, follows the campaign of Charles Booker while he makes political history as a Black candidate from the west end of Louisville, Ky. -- which is like Omaha's north side-- in his attempt to unseat the powerful U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell.

Listen as Emily and Ashley talk through the nuances and similarities between Louisville and Omaha, set against the backdrop of Booker's maddeningly close race to beat a well-funded Democratic candidate in the May 2020 Kentucky primary.



Produced by Figure Podcasts. 

This episode is an homage to Black motherhood. While the United States recognizes February as Black History month, at NOISE, every day of every month is a moment to recognize Black history and culture. The conversations in this episode are a tribute to Black mothering -- which is not always rooted in biology, blood or even gender. Mothering is the acting of loving unconditionally, protecting, and preparing our little ones to take on this world, and grow into Black history in the making.



Our guests on this episode, Pastor LaShea Pogee, and foster parent Mercedez Langford Brown, chat with NOISE's Ashley Salem about the many dimensions mothering.



Using a garden as a metaphor in this episode their conversations wind up and down the beanpoles of resiliency, self- sufficiency, and self respect. Both raised by strong single mothers, our guests share what seeds were planted in them and how they plan to pass that onto the next generation.



a collaboration of NOISE & Figure.

As honey bees swarm around him, Clark Williams says working with bees makes him feel alive. His nine-year old daughter, Aaliyah Porter, plays with a collection of sticks several yards away as NOISE reporter Emily Chen-Newton interviews Clark about his bees.

Aaliyah is by no means afraid of the bees. Quite the contrary, she calls them her angels because she finds being with them so peaceful. Walking down the path away from the hives with his daughter leading the way, Clark muses about the many metaphors that bees give their keepers. "They take care of their queens." This is a metaphor for how communities need to take care of their sisters, mothers and daughters.

Produced by NOISE & Figure Podcasts. 

Over the summer of 2021, Ashley Salem of NOISE spoke with Nancy Williams, the founder of a nonprofit food hub in Omaha called No More Empty Pots. Nancy explained how simple changes in spices and food preparation can transform…or even transport foods from one cultural to another. She also spoke about the importance of plant-based meals for the health and sustainability of individuals as well as the community. Bonus plant-based recipes!

Mia Birdsong, author of “How We Show Up, Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community” speaks to NOISE’s Ashley Salem about how acknowledging our innate interconnectedness can lead to stronger and more equitable communities. If the pandemic teaches us nothing else, it is teaching us everyday how connected all humans are to one another, says Birdsong. NOISE spoke to Mia Birdsong leading preceding a virtual event hosted by Legal Aid Nebraska.

This episode features the song, Windswept by Kevin MacLeod.

Produced by Figure Podcasts.