Native American Film Series: Oyate Woyaka
2026-02-09 19:15 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 313 North 13th Street, Lincoln, NE, 68508, United States
Every second Monday evening of each month, Vision Maker Media and The Ross Media Arts Center present free in-person public screenings that feature Native American films by and about Native Americans and Alaska Natives. The Native American Film Series showcases stories about cultural heritage, art, history, music, civic leadership, youth, and more.
Oyate Woyaka tells the story of the Lakota language history, loss and revitalization. The film touches on the deep history and spirituality of the language, the shocking history that caused Lakota to be on the verge of extinction and the modern efforts being made to bring language back to life and the immense challenges this effort faces.

Cattle Trails and Songs of the West
2026-02-10 10:00 - 11:00 | Brookestone Acres, 4715 38th St., Columbus, NE, 68601, United States
Speaker: Joan Wells
Sponsored by Brookestone Acres

The Negro Motorist Green Book Speaker and Art Series
2026-02-12 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-02-19 18:30 - 20:30 | The Durham Museum, 801 S 10th Street, Omaha, NE, 68108, United States
In conjunction with the Negro Motorist Green Book exhibition, The Durham Museum is offering a series of speaker and art events.
Advanced registration is encouraged – click the individual event link to register, or for more information. Regular admission rates apply (free for members, $15 for adults, with discounts for seniors, military members and veterans, and children). The museum will open at 5 p.m. for exhibit viewing prior to each introductory presentation and screening or performance.

Jazz in Omaha and the Chitlin’ Circuit, Thursday, February 12, 6:30 p.m.
Featuring Preston Love, Jr., professor, author and activist, and a performance by North Omaha Music and Arts (NOMA) Ensemble and Lite Pole.

Driving While Black, Thursday, March 12, 6:30 p.m.
Featuring Dr. Cynthia Robinson, University of Nebraska Omaha Black Studies professor, and a screening of the PBS documentary “Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility in America”

Community Empowerment Through Music, Thursday, March 19, 6:30 p.m.
Featuring Dana Murray, executive director of North Omaha Music and Arts (NOMA) and a performance by NOMA Ensemble and Jordan TheNinja
Omaha Green Book Sites, Thursday, April 30, 6:30 p.m. (rescheduled from February)
Featuring Eric Ewing, executive director of The Great Plains Black History Museum, and Kristine Gerber, author, journalist and educator; performance by North Omaha Music and Arts (NOMA) Ensemble and Jewel Rodgers

Nebraska Warrior Writers - Lincoln Workshops
2026-02-14 09:00 - 11:00, 2026-02-28 09:00 - 11:00 | Pius X High School, 6000 A Street, Lincoln, NE, 68510, United States
Lincoln Saturdays, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. in-person Pius X High School conference room, 6000 A Street (west entrance 8)
option to attend via Zoom
Facilitators: Tom Seib and Stephen Swinehart
More information here.
February 7 – Speaker: Kevin Clouther
February 14 – Speaker: Jewel Rodgers
February 28 – Speaker: Matt Mason
March 14 – Speaker: Joy Castro
March 28 – Speaker: Lucy Adkins
April 11 – Speaker: Maggie Christensen
April 25 – Speaker: Wendy Weitzel
May 9 – Speaker: Todd Robinson

Winter Lecture Series 2026: America First - Then and Now
2026-02-15 15:00 - 16:00, 2026-03-01 15:00 - 16:00 | Lincoln Unitarian Church, 6300 A St., Lincoln, NE, 68510
The Unitarian Church of Lincoln is hosting a series of lectures, in-person at the church and virtually via YouTube, at 3 p.m. central on Sundays in February and March. For more information about the livestream, visit the Virtual Winter Lecture Series website. Each lecture will last about 45 minutes, with a Q&A session following.
The principle of America First has existed almost from the founding of the United States, usually increasing with any influx of people different from Protestant Western European Americans. America First movements restricted trade and foreign entanglements, and excluded “others” of different cultures, ethnicities, and religions. Isolationism and antisemitism were often major components, especially prior to WWI and WWII. We examine similarities and differences in the historic movements with the current one that limits and leverages immigration, foreign aid, free trade, entangling alliances, etc.
February 8 – Sean Trundle, historical perspective of America First movements beginning with those preceding World War I
Sean Trundle of UNL’s History Department received his Ph.D. from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in American Studies. He specializes in post-war (WW II) U.S. culture, but more broadly he lectures on 20th century cultural history.
February 15 – Uche Jarrett, the historical perspective of leading economic issues today concerning trade, tariffs and national growth
Uchechukwu Jarrett of UNL Economics received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. His research interests include international trade and economics, developmental economics and the intersection between development and energy.
March 1 -Emira Ibrahimpasic and Julia Reilly, history of selective immigration policies based on racism and religious restrictions that have led to current concerns and policies of immigration and deportations
Emira Ibrahimpasic received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico. She researches the plight of women in West Africa and the Global South.
Julia Reilly received her Ph.D. in Political Science from UNL. She specializes in international relations, comparative politics, human rights, and refugee resettlement.
March 8 – David Forsythe, current foreign policy from an historical perspective emphasizing isolationism, unilateralism, and the policies toward Israel
David Forsythe has edited, co-edited, authored, and co-authored books on human rights and foreign policy. He has received various lifetime achievement awards from universities and professional societies including the national Phi Beta Kappa society.

Panel discussion: From Eugenics to Ethics: Lessons for Today’s Medical Community
2026-02-17 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual Program
In conjunction with the Americans and the Holocaust traveling exhibition at the Calvin T. Ryan Library on the University of Nebraska Kearney campus, an online panel discussion will be held by the Leon S. McGoogan Health Sciences Library on the University of Nebraska Medical Center Campus.
Medicine has come a long way—but its past still shapes the present.
McGoogan Library presents a thought-provoking panel, exploring the troubling legacy of eugenics in medicine and its enduring impact on healthcare ethics. Matthew K. Wynia, MD, MPH and Patricia Heberer-Rice, PhD, MA, will discuss how misguided “science” once justified harm, and how those historical practices influenced the medical education, policy, and the ethical frameworks that guide contemporary care. Through critical reflection, the discussion will highlight lessons for today’s clinicians and researchers, emphasizing the importance of equity, autonomy, and justice in medical decision-making.
To register for the event, please visit: Webinar Registration – Zoom
Matthew K. Wynia, MD, MPH is a professor of medicine and of public health at the University of Colorado, where he directs the CU Center for Bioethics and Humanities.
Patricia Heberer-Rice, PhD, MA joined the United States Holocaust Memorial and Museum in 1994 and is now the Museum’s senior historian.
This presentation is provided in partnership with Sam and Frances Fried Holocaust and Genocide Academy at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Calvin T. Ryan Library at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, host of Americans and the Holocaust: A Traveling Exhibition for Libraries made possible by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association. The Leon S. McGoogan Library developed a companion exhibition highlighting these themes, A Poisoned Practice: The Holocaust, Medical Complicity, and the American Response, on display at McGoogan Library, Level 8, Witson Hall and online.

Cattle Trails and Songs of the West
2026-02-17 14:00 - 15:00 | Brookefield Park-St. Paul, Heritage Drive, Saint Paul, NE, 68873, United States
Speaker: Joan Wells
Sponsored by Brookfield Park

Nebraska’s Musical Smorgasbord: Music from Various Ethnic Groups in Nebraska
2026-02-18 11:45 - 12:45 | York Area Senior Center, 725 Nebraska Ave, York, NE, 68467, United States
Speaker: Chris Sayre
Sponsored by York County Aging Services

Fight Against Slavery on the Great Plains: Nebraska's Underground Railroad
2026-02-18 13:00 - 14:00 | The National Willa Cather Center, 413 N Webster St, Red Cloud, Nebraska, 68970
Speaker: Bill Hayes
Sponsored by the Willa Cather Foundation

A Century of Fashion: 1870-1970
2026-02-18 17:00 - 18:00 | Winfield’s, 467 D St., David City, NE, 68632, United States
Speaker: Sue McLain
Sponsored by the City of David City

German POW Camps Panel Discussion
2026-02-20 12:00 - 13:00 | Kearney Public Library, 2020 1st Ave., Kearney, NE, 68847, United States
In conjunction with the Americans and the Holocaust traveling exhibition at the Calvin T. Ryan Library on the University of Nebraska Kearney campus, a panel discussion will be held at the Kearney Public Library.
During World War II, Nebraska was the site of several prisoner of war (POW) camps. Join expert panelists for a discussion of German POWs in Nebraska, POW sites such as Camp Atlanta and Fort Robinson, and World War II in Nebraska. The Americans and the Holocaust exhibit asks “what did Americans know?”, a question learning about German POWs, and what they knew and shared with Nebraskans, can help us answer. In addition to talking about events of the 1940s, panelists will also discuss how historic sites interpret this fascinating history. Panelists include Dr. Cole Kruger – Kilgore College, Melissa Amateis – University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Will Kessen – Ft. Robinson State Historical Park, and Micah Hueser – Nebraska Prairie Museum.
For more information about the exhibit and other related events, visit the exhibit website.

Feathers & Verses Writing Workshop
2026-02-20 13:00 - 2026-02-27 14:00 | Wilson Public Library, 910 Meridian Ave., Cozad, NE, 69130, United States
Speaker: Bill Clemente
Sponsored by the Wilson Public Library

A Visit With the Nebraska State Poet, Jewel Rodgers
2026-02-20 14:00 - 15:00 | Immanuel Village, 6803 N. 68th Plaza, Omaha, NE, 68152, United States
Speaker: Jewel Rodgers
Sponsored by Immanuel Village

Nebraska Warrior Writers - Omaha Workshops
2026-02-21 10:00 - 12:00 | Nebraska Wildlife Rehab’s Baldwin Center conference room, 9777 M Street, Omaha, NE, 68127, United States
Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon Nebraska Wildlife Rehab’s Baldwin Center conference room, 9777 M Street.
Option to attend via Zoom.
Facilitators: Jen Stastny and Cindy Cronn
More information here.
February 7 – Speaker: Catherine (“Cat”) King
February 21 – Speaker: Todd Robinson
March 7 – Speaker: Dan Boster
March 21 – Speaker: Steve Langan
April 4 – Speaker: Elizabeth Mack
April 18 – Speaker: Katie Hupp
May 2 – Speaker: Karla Hernandez-Torrijos
May 16 – Speaker: Summer Miller

Colonel Thomas Doane: Massachusetts Engineer to Nebraska Civic and Educational Leader
2026-02-21 13:00 - 14:00 | St. Marks United Methodist Church – Lincoln, 8550 Pioneers Blvd, Lincoln, NE, 68520, United States
Speaker: Tom King
Sponsored by the Sons of the American Revolution

A Century of Fashion: 1870-1970
2026-02-21 14:00 - 15:00 | North Platte Public Library, 120 W. 4th St., North Platte, NE, 69101, United States
Speaker: Sue McLain
Sponsored by the North Platte Public Library

A Century of Fashion: 1870-1970
2026-02-24 12:45 - 13:45 | Champions Run, 13800 Eagle Run, Omaha, NE, 68164, United States
Speaker: Sue McLain
Sponsored by the Assistance League of Omaha

Cattle Trails and Songs of the West
2026-02-24 14:00 - 15:00 | Fairview Manor, 255 F St., Fairmont, NE, 68354, United States
Speaker: Joan Wells
Sponsored by Fairview Manor

Stories and Rhymes for Difficult Times: Cultivating Our Emotional Heritage
2026-02-25 12:00 - 13:00 | St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church – Omaha, 14330 Eagle Run Dr., Omaha, NE, 68164, United States
Speaker: Jerry Bockoven
Sponsored by St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church

Nebraska Stories of Humanity: Holocaust Survivors and WWII Veterans
2026-02-25 17:30 - 18:30 | Hastings Public Library
Speaker: Beth Dotan
Sponsored by the Hastings Public Library

Graffiti Legends: Culture Talk
2026-02-26 19:30 - 20:30 | Holland Performing Arts Center, 1200 Douglas St, Omaha, 68102, United States
Omaha Performing Arts’ Hip Hop Lab was formed to educate, elevate, and amplify the 50-year legacy surrounding the global impact, performance, history, and culture of hip hop.
This Hip Hop Lab culture talk will focus on graffiti art with national visual artists Justin BUA and Lady Pink, led by Omaha’s own Houston Alexander and Hugo Zamorano.
The suggested ticket price is $10, and there are options to pay more or less. If cost is a barrier, there is a $0 option.
To purchase tickets for this event, visit https://o-pa.org/learn-engage/hip-hop-lab/

Nebraska Territory Stories
2026-02-27 13:00 - 14:00 | Seward Civic Center, 616 Bradford St., Seward, NE, 68343, United States
Speaker: David Seay
Sponsored by the GFWC Seward Women’s Club

No Time on My Hands: The Story of Grace Snyder
2026-02-28 14:00 - 15:00 | Pender Community Center, 614 Main St., Pender, NE, 68047, United States
Speaker: Charlotte Endorf
Sponored by the Heritage Museum of Thurston County

Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra 2025-26 season pre-concert chat posted online
2026-03-02 08:00 - 17:00 | Virtual Program
Before selected concerts in its 2025-26 season, Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra organizes a virtual conversation with LSO’s Maestro Edward Polochick and guest artists or composers, hosted by Nebraska Public Media’s Genevieve Randall. The pre-recorded chat for each concert is available to view online as well as via podcast the Monday before the concert, and for most events is also screened in person in the Steinhart Room at the Lied Center for the Performing Arts 45 minutes before the concert begins.
The chats are free to view online. The in-person screenings require the purchase of a ticket.
Links to each pre-concert chat will be included in each event’s page listed below. The entire series to date may be viewed on the LSO YouTube Channel.
PULSE & PANORAMA
Concert Date: Friday, September 19, 2025
Pre-Concert Chat Available: Monday, September 15, 2025
Guests: Genevieve Randall (host), Edward Polochick
Topics: Jesse Montgomery’s Coincident Dances, Bernstein’s West Side Story: Symphony Dances, Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, programing a themed concert (dances)
EMOTIONAL TAPESTRY
Concert Date: Sunday, October 19, 2025
Pre-Concert Chat Available: Monday, October 13, 2025
Guests: Genevieve Randall (host), Edward Polochick, pianist Michael McHale
Topics: Franz Shubert’s Symphony in B minor (Unfinished), Sarah Gibson’s warp & weft, and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, what an “unfinished” symphony means
EXPLORING THE EXPANSE
Concert Date: Friday, November 7, 2025
Pre-Concert Chat Available: Monday, November 3, 2025
Guests: Genevieve Randall (host), Edward Polochick, trombonist and LSO Principal Trombone Scott Anderson
Topics: Missy Mazzoli’s Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres), David Ferdinand’s Concertino for Trombone in E-flat major, Holst’s The Planets, performing The Planets with multi-media images and videos of our solar system
EXPERINCE THE INTRIgUE
Concert Date: Friday, February 12, 2026
Pre-Concert Chat Available: Monday, February 9, 2026
Guests: Genevieve Randall (host), Edward Polochick, violist Rita Porfiris, composer Julia Adolphe
Topics: Jean Sibelius’ Finlandia, Julia Adolphe’s Unearth, Release: Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, the story of Scheherazade
THE SPACE BETWEEN
Concert Date: Friday, March 6, 2026
Pre-Concert Chat Available: Monday, March 2, 2026
Guests: Genevieve Randall (host), Edward Polochick, LSO principal harpist Katie Wychulis, harpist Julie Smith Phillips
Topics: Zoltán Kodály’s Dances of Galánta, Marjan Mozetich’s “The Passion of Angels” (Concerto for 2 Harps & Orchestra), Haydn’s Symphony No. 104 (London), harp concerti and its performance practice
POWERFUL PERSEVERANCE
Concert Date: Friday, April 10, 2026
Pre-Concert Chat Available: Monday, April 6, 2026
Guests: Genevieve Randall (host), Edward Polochick, pianist Tony Siqi Yun
Topics: Kenji Bunch’s Supermaximum, Lincoln Youth Symphony side-by-side rehearsing and performing, Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Brahms’ Symphony No. 3
THE MUSIC OF HARRY POTTER
Concert Date: Friday, April 24, 2026
Pre-Concert Chat Available: Monday, April 20, 2026
Guests: Genevieve Randall (host), Edward Polochick, composer and professor of music for film, theater, games and other media Damon Thomas Lee, Young Artist Competition Winner
Topics: composing for film; the music of Harry Potter by John Williams and other composers; the similarities between film music and music for games and other media
INSPIRATION & COURAGE
Concert Date: Saturday, May 2, 2026
Pre-Concert Chat Available: Monday, April 27, 2026
Guests: Genevieve Randall (host), Edward Polochick, violinist and LSO Concertmaster Anton Miller, LSO Composer-in-Residence Elena Ruehr
Topics: LSO’s Composer-in-Residence program, Elena Ruehr’s new work for LSO, Elena Ruehr’s Violin Concerto written for Anton Miller and commissioned by LSO, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 (Eroica)

Film screening and discussion: Most Honorable Son
2026-03-03 18:00 - 19:30 | Kearney Public Library, 2020 1st Ave., Kearney, NE, 68847, United States
In conjunction with the Americans and the Holocaust traveling exhibition at the Calvin T. Ryan Library on the University of Nebraska Kearney campus, the 1970 film “Most Honorable Son” will be screened at the Kearney Public Library.
Most Honorable Son tells the story of Nebraskan Ben Kuroki. Kuroki was the only Japanese American in the US Army Air Forces to serve in combat in the Pacific.
The post-film panel discussion features Vickie Sakurada Shaepler, Japanese Hall Coordinator, Dr. Donna Andersen, UNL, and Dr. Nathan Tye, UNK, discussing Japanese Americans, Nebraska, and World War II.
For more information about the exhibit and other related events, visit the exhibit website.

Nebraska Poets Reading Series: Kim Sosin
2026-03-03 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual Program
The free monthly Nebraska Poets Reading Series highlights the talent of Nebraska poets and invites discussion with audience members. All events are free online, but registration is required to receive an event link. Registration links for each poet’s event and additional details about each poet are available on the Nebraska Poetry Society’s website.
Kim McNealy Sosin is a retired university professor of economics who eagerly took up writing poetry and photography in retirement, making her a “new poet” in her seventies. She loves to create ekphrastic poetry using her own travel photographs. Her poems and photographs have appeared in publications including Raw Art Review, Fine Lines (poems and several cover photos), Failed Haiku, Voices from the Plains, Verses from the Plains (several poems and cover design), Landscape Photography Magazine, The Heron’s Nest, The Good Life Review (poem and cover photo), Wanderlust Journal, Ekphrastic Review, and Sandcutters. She published her first poetry chapbook, Not Quite on Grand Avenue: Poems of the Early Years, which explores the challenges and joys of growing up as a young girl in a rural town in the forties and fifties. Her second chapbook is coming out in the fall with poems by a co-author Janet Rives and Sosin’s photographs of France. Reflections of France: Images and Poems.

Not Too Far Distant - York
2026-03-03 19:30 - 21:00 | Bartholomew Performing Arts Center, 1098 E 10th St, York, NE, 68467
The play “Not Too Far Distant” by Becky Boesen will be presented at 7:30 p.m. on March 3 at the York University Bartholomew Performing Arts Center. Free will donation for tickets.
“It’s almost unbelievable that anyone could be hardened to the point of doing the brutal things they did. …”
A young man from the Midwest is sent to war, carrying with him the hopes of the free world. What Staff Sergeant Clarence Williams encounters there challenges and changes humanity forever. History touches the present when a new generation takes a journey through time to experience World War II alongside Clarence himself. Centered around his personal letters home, we learn that sometimes what seems so far away is much closer than we think. Filled with hope and heart, Not Too Far Distant honors the experience of the American soldier and reminds us that we all have the power — and the responsibility — to help create a brighter future.
