The Hotdish

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp speaks with Mary Delaquis, who for 16 years was on the front lines of securing North Dakota’s busiest port of entry as Pembina’s Area Port Director. Then, Heitkamp talks to author Porter Fox, who traveled the Northern Border by canoe, car, freighter, and foot. Fox illustrates the vastness of the border and challenges we face to secure it in his book, Northland: A 4,000-Mile Journey Along America's Forgotten Border.

U.S Senator Heidi Heitkamp interviews Tom Vilsack, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Governor of Iowa, and Ryan Pederson, a North Dakota farmer and Vice President of the North Dakota Soybean Growers Association to discuss the 2018 Farm Bill’s wide-ranging impact on rural America, from crop insurance and safety net programs to rural development and nutrition assistance. Vilsack and Pederson also shared their concerns about the administration’s trade war and the economic uncertainty it is causing farmers and ranchers.

As Americans celebrate the 4th of July, Senator Heitkamp discusses honoring the sacrifice and service of Vietnam veterans—and the importance of telling their stories – with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and Vietnam Veteran Dan Stenvold, Mayor of Park River, ND, and president of the North Dakota Vietnam Veterans of America.

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp interviews two interns—one past intern and one current intern—about their experiences interning in her office. They discuss how internships can help students learn about the impact of public service and the importance of supporting your home state and the families who live there, as well as finding out about different career paths.

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp interviews Ambassador Darci Vetter, former Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the U.S. Trade Representative, and Doyle Lentz, a North Dakota farmer whose ability to sell his products in markets like Canada and Mexico are essential to his economic success.

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp interviews Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) and Yiota Souras of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to talk about progress on efforts to crack down on websites that facilitate sex trafficking.

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp interviews former U.S. Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Phillip Swagel, a Republican economist and former economic advisor in the Bush administration.

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp interviews two experts and advocates who have dedicated their lives to helping indigenous women overcome obstacles and hardship. They focused on tackling the problem of missing and murdered Native American women, which has plagued indigenous communities in North Dakota and across the country.

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp interviews two experts on foreign policy and national security to better understand how the present day threat from North Korea evolved, and the various diplomatic and military options the United States has available to deal with it.

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp interviews Fowzia Adde, a leader in the Fargo-Moorhead community for refugees and New Americans, to talk about her work to help folks resettle to the region. Heitkamp also spoke with Fargo Police Chief David Todd who, since leading the department has been actively working to promote inclusiveness, to discuss his department's work to actively reach out to refugee and immigrant communities.

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp hosts Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to highlight a bill they reintroduced this month to extend and expand a tax credit to encourage innovation that would reduce carbon emissions, recognizing the need to maintain a diverse energy mix for years to come. Heitkamp also spoke with Julio Friedmann, who recently served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy at the Energy Department.

This bonus episode of U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp's podcast, “The Hotdish,” features clips from two U.S. Senate floor speeches in which she fought to defend North Dakotans’ health coverage and to pass reforms to stabilize markets and lower premiums.

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp interviews two health care experts to reinforce how drastically the Republican health care overhaul would harm North Dakota families and rural hospitals.

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp discusses U.S.-Russia relations and the ongoing investigation into Russia's election interference with U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Matthew Rojanksy, an expert in U.S.-Russia relations.

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp sits down to talk about the Farm Bill, agricultural trade, and the president's proposed budget cuts to USDA with fellow North Dakota Senator John Hoeven, farm radio journalist Mick Kjar, and former North Dakota state director for USDA Rural Development Ryan Taylor.