NPR host Joe Palca tells the serendipitous stories of science

“Pedal if you love NPR,” NPR science correspondent Joe Palca shouted to fellow RAGBRAI cyclists when he and a group of other NPR reporters rode the famous Iowa event in 2015.

One NPR lover was University of Iowa Visiting Assistant Professor Julie Reynolds, jointly appointed with the UI Public Policy Center (PPC) and the College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics. Her RAGBRAI riding group, Team Groucho, joined forces with the No Pie Refused (NPR) RAGBRAI team that year, and Reynolds hosted both teams for the night in her home when they came through Coralville, Iowa.

Ultimately the connection forged over scenic Iowa highways and many (many) slices of pie led to an invitation from the UI Public Policy Center to Palca to deliver the joint PPC’s Forkenbrock Series and Creative Matters lecture on Nov. 16.

Read the full story here.