Random Acts of Knowledge
Heartland Community College presents Random Acts of Knowledge, a podcast where we explore the worlds of continuing education. The goal of each episode is to learn something new. No matter the topic, we'll pick up some random knowledge from experts who can give us a short and interesting lesson about their field.
Episodes
Individuals forced to flee their homes due to war, famine, crime, or natural disaster often struggle long after they have found a new place to live.
Dr. Wendy Pearlman has interviewed hundreds of Syrian refugees and shared their stories in three books and a recent lecture at Heartland Community College.
Dr. Pearlman discusses the impact that displacement has on individuals and the communities that may not understand the plight ...
Oksana Perestoronina and her husband fled their home of Ukraine in 2022 when war came to their doorstep.
Her search to start a new life led her to Heartland Community College, where she took English as a Second Language Courses. After gaining some confidence with language Oksana took the next steps toward a new career: nursing.
Getting kids interested in biology can start from the inside out.
Instructor Jacinda Shoot discusses the STEM Anatomy Workshops that bring middle and high school kids into a Heartland Community College lab.
Jacinda also talks about an interesting hobby that requires some heavy lifting.
The impact of a tornado can extend far beyond the damage done to persons and property.
In his documentary "A Brief History of Chasing Storms," filmmaker Curtis Miller travels to towns defined by tornadoes in one form or another.
The film will kick off the Heartland Hawk Film Festival on May 6, 2026 at the Normal Theater.
Clinical services for substance abuse and mental health disorders are an important part of every community healthcare system.
Yet, even in a clinical environment, individuals might struggle to engage in recovery.
Clinical psychologist Charles Drebing, PhD, discusses the value that Peer Support Specialists -- individuals with lived experience in mental health or substance use recovery who are trained to support others–– bring to...
Was 3-year-old Christina McNeil killed by her own father or, instead, by a suspect who later would be convicted of another murder?
Barton McNeil is serving a 100-year sentence for the killing of his daughter. He has long claimed that the murder was committed by an estranged girlfriend, Misook Nowlin, who would later be convicted of killing her mother-in-law.
With the help of the Illinois Innocence Project, McNeil has sought to ...
Resources for individuals who are leaving prison are available but many incarcerated people have no idea what is really waiting for them on the other side.
Support for formerly incarcerated people extends beyond just navigating the rules of release but also includes a change of mindset, according to Toy Beasley, with the Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishments.
One of the projects Whitney works on is to promote the Certified Manufacturing Associate Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program. This program consists of students completing modules that are set to be completed throughout a 5-week time span. During this time, students learn the basic skills needed to be able to work in t...
For the last several years, a diverse group of people who learned the details of Snow’s case and found troubling elements in his trial have been advocating for his release.
In this episode, Snow’s daughter and a former juror on the trial of a co-defendant are joined by an advocate who h...
An instructor who introduces prospective game players to the role-playing game talks about what drew her to D&D and explains what is needed to get started creating advent...
Heartland Community College Outstanding Faculty of the Year Tom McCulley is teaching Greek Mythology not only to college students but also to adult learners and middle school kids. He says that the stories of ancient Greece resonate in surprising ways to a modern audie...
Three high-achieving students who were selected in the COUNTRY Financial Scholars program discuss how access to early college set them up for success.
View the episode tran...
Carrasquillo talks about his initial sentence of 200-600 years, growing up in prison, and his multiple appearances before the parole board.
View the episode transcript here.
Historian Bill Kemp discusses the "lost speech" and offers up some theories as to how it got that way.
View the transcr...
But despite the buzz around today’s electric cars and trucks, the concept is far from new.
Bill Kemp with the McLean County Museum of History discusses a history of the electric vehicle that goes back to the early 1900s, and an overlooked moment i...
Unable to create a new garden, she funneled her energy into the creation of art projects using discarded items such as plastic, wire, and bottles. Using these materials she has created the exhibit 'An Unblighted Area' which is on display at Heartland Communi...
Beria Hampton, an ambassador for the Illinois Prison Project, discusses how her upbringing and environment left her ill prepared for how criminal charges (which she eventually beat), and incarceration would upend her life.
View the transcript here.
Health Sciences students at Heartland can register for a 10-day program in Cape Town, South Africa. The program provides 3 credits of Service Learning 101.
View the transcript here.
Heartland Community College professor of English Gilbert discusses the major life events that led to her new poetry collection "My Limbs a Cradle, My Whisper a Song."
View the transcript here.
The documentary Greener Pastures captures the day-to-day lives of four small, Midwestern, multigenerational family farms over the course of three years.
Filmmaker Sam Mirpoorian talks about the film, which is the guest feature at the 2024 Heartland Hawk Film Festival.
Mirpoorian says he was prompted to make the documentary when he learned ...
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