Rock Island Line
Rock Island Line
Podcast Description
Dedicated with love to Rock Island, IL - a podcast that features the voices of local residents, artists, builders, and changemakers. Through candid conversations, it explores the challenges the city faces, the dreams its people hold, and the ideas that can move Rock Island forward. Our very own community think tank — rooted in empathy, driven by dialogue.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores topics such as local governance, community activism, urban development, and the cultural identity of Rock Island, featuring episodes that discuss city council decisions, public service experiences, and community-driven initiatives, exemplified by interviews with local leaders like Alderman Dylan Parker and Mayor Ashley Harris.
Dedicated with love to Rock Island, IL – a podcast that features the voices of local residents, artists, builders, and changemakers. Through candid conversations, it explores the challenges the city faces, the dreams its people hold, and the ideas that can move Rock Island forward. Our very own community think tank — rooted in empathy, driven by dialogue.
In this episode of Rock Island Line, Annika sits down with Dr. Jane Simonsen, professor of history and gender studies at Augustana College and co-author and editor of Called to Reckon: Replacing History and Reclaiming Mission at a Midwestern College.
Their conversation explores what it means to truly “reckon” with history—both as individuals and as institutions rooted in a specific place. Together, they examine the deep and often overlooked history of the land Augustana calls home, focusing on the Sauk and Meskwaki, the life and legacy of Black Hawk, and the profound transformations that took place in the early 1800s.
Dr. Simonsen brings both scholarly expertise and thoughtful perspective to discussions about how history is remembered, interpreted, and sometimes misrepresented. They also talk about the role of local historian John Hauberg in shaping regional narratives and preserving the legacy of Black Hawk.
The conversation expands into broader themes of women’s history and women’s rights, Native American representation, and the responsibility of institutions to revisit their own pasts with honesty and care. At its core, this episode is about place, power, and the stories we choose to tell—and retell—about where we live.
📚 Episode Resources
- Black Hawk’s Autobiography (1833) The Autobiography of Black Hawk
- Called to Reckon: Replacing History and Reclaiming Mission at a Midwestern CollegeCalled To Reckon publisher site
These sources provide additional context on Black Hawk, local historical interpretation, and the work of reckoning with institutional history.
Check out RockIslandLine.com.
Music by Jett Everill from Endemic Sounds.
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