The fight for third spaces

Your home is your first space. Work is your second space. A third space is a place where you can gather with other people in your community, meet people and make connections. But many of these spaces have disappeared, particularly in small towns. On this episode, rural sociologist Dave Peters shares how gas stations have become a social hub for small towns. Library director Mary Kathryn Gepner talks about the local library enduring as a third space. Jennifer Drinkwater talks about her work uplifting third spaces in Iowa's small towns and how they inspire her art. Finally, Tiara Phillips has been bringing people in the Iowa City area together with "stuff swaps," book clubs and bingo nights through her Instagram page, Bitchin' Events. (This episode was originally produced March 12, 2026.)