S3E21 - Part 1 of A Conversation with Christie Vilsack

Today’s guest on Getting to 3rd Space is Christie Vilsack. She describes herself as a "Teacher, writer, wife, mom and gramma. Proud Iowa first lady, congressional candidate, and USAID education advisor. A world traveler but an Iowan by birth and choice. I write about people living close to the land, who believe in community and the public good. I tend to favor underdogs.” She is also the sponsor of the U.S.S. Iowa, a nuclear submarine commissioned earlier this year.

This podcast is Part 1 of 2. In this episode Christie talks about her Substack column “Common Ground,” speaking truth to power and authority, the pride she has in her Iowa roots, and, of course, what it means to sponsor a Navy submarine. Part 2 will air on Tuesday, November 11, 2025.

A 3rd Space Survey: Acts of Kindness

Inspired by our recent conversation with Joolz Casey of #behumankind are now inviting listeners/viewers to participate in our ongoing “Acts of Kindness” poll. You can participate by answering two simple questions: 

What is an act of kindness you’ve received that made a difference to you? 

What is an act of kindness you have done which you hope changed another person’s life?

You can participate through a Google Forms poll at this link: https://forms.gle/5NQakn6bgeXpm2us5 

Learn more: 

Common Ground - https://christievilsack.substack.com/USS Iowa (nuclear submarine) - https://ssn797.com/about-us

American is Sliding Toward Illiteracy, by Idrees Kalhoon in The Atlantic - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/10/education-decline-low-expectations/684526/?gift=OkCOMnff83tE105ER-Egr9RBJ6X_L1UNSsOAWWYxod8&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt - https://a.co/d/8tWME8n

Disagree Better, An Initiative by the National Governor’s Conference - https://www.nga.org/disagree-better/ 

How We Check Ourselves

Fact Checking: Because there are a lot of things happening…some true, some false, some unbelievable…we use the following fact checking sites.

• Snopes - https://www.snopes.com/ 

• FactCheck.org - https://www.factcheck.org/ 

• Politifact - https://www.politifact.com/

• RealClearPolitics - https://www.realclearpolitics.com/ 

Because media can have its own biases, we also rely upon these sites to help us get balanced coverage:

• Media Bias/Fact Check - https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/

• All Sides - https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news

• Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart - https://app.adfontesmedia.com/chart/interactive 

Meet Lamar and Tom

Lamar Roth and Tom Klaus are lifelong friends exploring how to get to a 3rd Space - a space where two or more people with opposing viewpoints, ideologies, and worldviews can come together to hear, listen, share, and connect with one another.

Want to watch us do the podcast? Visit the Klaus Haus Productions YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/@KlausHausProductions. 

Comments? Suggestions? Ideas for guests or topics? 

Send us a voice message on Spotify or email us at lamar3rdSpa