In the 1850s, county governments across the Midwest established what were then known as “poor farms.” These were residential institutions for county “dependents” which included those unable to work, for reasons of disability or otherwise. In the 1970s, Johnson County, Iowa supervisors initiated what would become a decades-long attempt to preserve their county poor farm’s historic structures. Their actions encouraged education and reflection of the history of mental health care.
Disability Ecologies digs through the past of poor farm institutions and their vast connections in order to fathom their ongoing significance in our world of today. The now named Johnson County Historic Poor Farm reflects an intentional redesign of both land use and distribution of crops grown. To plan and implement the redesign necessitated an unlikely collection of shared interests, often at times in friction with each other. Join narrator Emerson Cram to explore roughly six years of efforts by restoration ecologists, local farmers and growers, local disability community members, and historic preservation experts, all to transform the former poor farm land into a place designed to meet a broad spectrum of community needs.
Each week, you’ll hear from an eclectic mix of voices that bring together conversations about history and memory; medicine, law, and social services; community planning, design, and disability justice; historical land use; and the process of designing infrastructure for local foods. Whether you’re interested in the history of medicine, agriculture, or social services, or if you’re curious how disability culture and history can shape conversations about food systems and food justice, you’ll be inspired by stories that move beyond the silos of conventional thinking. All told, Disability Ecologies is a story about the possibilities of forgiveness, and what we can create when we can value the capacities that fundamentally make us human.
Presenting: From Soil to Seeding Local Foods Content: Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: Jason Grimm Malik Salsberry Ilsa DeWald April Lawyer Felicia Pieper Scott Koepke Highlights Join Emerson as they talk with the newest generation of GROW farmers, on why this work is meaningful, how food justice and food sovereignty overlap and depart, and what’s grown on site, beyond all of the vegetables. Emerson reflects on the relationships created...
27 Apr 2026
From Soil to Seeding Local Foods, Part One
Presenting: From Soil to Seeding Local Foods Content: Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: Scott KoepkeCarly McAndrews Alfred Matiyabo Ilsa DeWald Rod Sullivan Jason Grimm Highlights This chapter brings the story of the historic poor farm full circle, by documenting the work of GROW Johnson County. Co-founded in 2015 by John Boller, Scott Koepke, and Bob Andrik, GROW’s initial vision was to meet community needs around food access in Johnso...
20 Apr 2026
A Witness Tree on the Land, Part Two
Presenting: A Witness Tree on the Land Content: cemeteries and death care, the politics of restoration, land development, logics of “cure” Featuring: Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: V Fixmer-Oraiz Rod Sullivan Dr. Jennifer Mack Chant Eicke Geoff Mouming Jason Grimm Highlights This episode picks up with the preservation challenges of the early 2000s, as Johnson County debated what should happen to the publicly held land. Proposals...
20 Apr 2026
A Witness Tree on the Land, Part One
Presenting: A Witness Tree on the Land Content: forced removal, colonialism, Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: Geoff Mouming Chant Eicke Highlights This chapter tells the story of the Historic Poor Farm’s land from the point of view of a 250 year old Bur Oak on the southern edges of the property. Geoff and Emerson walk through the restored natural areas for Emerson’s first close-up of “Oakland,” a regenerating savanna of oak trees. The legacy tree th...
13 Apr 2026
Dignity Delayed, Part Two
Presenting: Dignity Delayed Content: historic records Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: Mary Helen Kennerly, Seen & Heard Facilitator, DAC Member Becky Dewing, Johnson County Historic SocietySupervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz Supervisor Lisa Green-Douglass Kim Painter, Johnson County Recorder Kevin Kolsto, DAC Member Julie Watkins, DAC Co-Facilitator and Events Manager for Historic Poor Farm Supervisor Rod Sullivan Highlights Join ...
13 Apr 2026
Dignity Delayed, Part One
CHAPTER THREE, PART ONE Presenting: Dignity Delayed Content: discrimination, medicaid cuts Featuring: Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: Mary Helen Kennerly Highlights This chapter tells the story of how the Disability Advisory Committee came into being because of a random encounter between V Fixmer-Oraiz and Seen and Heard, an activity group focused on disability advocacy. Join Emerson as they explore how Seen and Heard’s self-advocacy joins a long legacy of disabilit...
6 Apr 2026
Poor Farm Pathways, Part Two
Presenting: Poor Farm Pathways Content: insanity diagnosis; eugenics; Bedlam; Snake Pit; “wellness farms,” animal confinement Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: Julie Watkins, Events Manager, Johnson County Historic Poor FarmDr. Jenell Johnson, Professor of Communication Arts, University of Wisconsin-Madison Dr. Aimi Hamraie, Canada Research Chair in Technology, Society, and Disability, York University Hallie Ableman, PhD Candidate in American Studies, University ...
6 Apr 2026
Poor Farm Pathways, Part One
Poor Farm Pathways, Part One Content: “idiotic,” asylums; confinement; “insanity law” Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: Julie Watkins, Events Manager, Johnson County Historic Poor FarmMichael Hoenig, Project Coordinator, University of Iowa Center for Disabilities and DevelopmentDr. Jennifer Mack, Lead Bioarcheologist, Asylum Hill Project, University of Mississippi Medical CenterHighlights This chapter picks at some key questions–why did people come here? Were the peo...
30 Mar 2026
History is a Story, Part Two
Presenting: History is a Story, Part Two Content: asylum, "insane," cemetery Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Guests: Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz, Board of Supervisors of Johnson County, Iowa (2022-present), & former Project Manager for the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm Master Plan (2017-2021)Supervisor Rod Sullivan, Board of Supervisors of Johnson County, Iowa (2004-present)Kim Painter, Johnson County Recorder Will Thomson, Armadillo ArtsMichael Hoenig, Project C...
30 Mar 2026
History is a Story, Part One
Presenting: History is a Story, Part One Content: "insanity," asylums, eugenics Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz, Board of Supervisors of Johnson County, Iowa (2022-present), and former Project Manager for the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm Master Plan (2017-2021)Supervisor Rod Sullivan, Board of Supervisors of Johnson County, Iowa (2004-present)Supervisor Lisa Green-Douglass, Board of Supervisors of Johnson County, Iowa (2016-present)Carly Mc...
16 Mar 2026
Disability Ecologies Trailer
Featuring: Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram Special Guests: Malik Salsberry, Farm Manager, GROW Johnson CountyScott Koepke, Garden Bridge Outreach, and co-founder of GROW Johnson CountyClaire Trettin, 2025 Seasonal Farm Apprentice, GROW Johnson CountyTranscript For a full transcript of the trailer, visit: disabilityecologiespodcast.buzzsprout.com Credits Episode written and narrated by Emerson Cram, University of Iowa. Recorded with Riverside FM. Sound editing by Nic Arp. Funding Researc...
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