This episode of Getting to 3rd Space is Part 2 of our conversation with Christie Vilsack, writer, teacher, Former First Lady of Iowa, and sponsor of the Navy’s U.S.S. Iowa, a nuclear submarine.
Our conversation continues with a focus on literacy, acts of kindness, and the benefits of growing up in rural America. Christie writes the Substack column, “Common Ground,” in which she tells stories of the people she has met and the ties that connect them. A link to her Substack is provided below. This podcast is the second of two and you can listen to or view the first part @klaushausproductions on YouTube.
A 3rd Space Survey: Acts of Kindness
Christie Vilsack is the most recent of our guests to talk with us about acts of kindness they have received and extended. Do you have an act of kindness that you’d like to share?
There are two kindness questions we’d like you to consider responding to:
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, a Substack column by Christie Vilsack - 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/
And of course, the Frederick Flying Cows Basketball team - https://goflyingcows.com/
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. Take a look for yourself:
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
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?
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