Arkansas' maternal care deserts — Zeka Pena talks award-winning 'Sundust'

Arkansas' maternal care deserts — Zeka Pena talks award-winning 'Sundust'

July 8, 2026 · 55 min

About this episode

The episode discusses Arkansas' maternal care deserts and features an interview with Zeke Pena about his award-winning book 'Sundust'.

On today's show, we learn that nearly half of Arkansas counties qualify as maternal care deserts and consider how that impacts women seeking prenatal care. We also spoke with artist, writer and storyteller Zeke Pena about his 2026 Caldecott Honor Book Award-winning book, "Sundust." Plus, we dive into a new one-act play about Fort Smith.

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