Riverside Chats

Kaleb Michaud is a professor of rheumatology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the director of Spielbound Board Game Cafe.

Michaud grew up in Kansas, where he developed a passion for music and astrophysics. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Rochester and a PhD from Stanford University. 

When he was 3 years old, Michaud was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease causing painful swelling and stiffness in joints and connective tissues. A doctor told Michaud’s parents that he may not survive past his early 20s. 

Living with the chronic illness inspired Michaud’s career change in 2001, when he returned to Kansas to work at the National Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases. He joined the staff of UNMC in 2007 and is now a professor in the Division of Rheumatology and Director of the Rheumatology Fellowship Research Program

Michaud is also a board game enthusiast with a personal collection of more than 6,000 games. He serves as the director of Spielbound, a nonprofit board game cafe he founded in 2014 at 33rd and Harney Streets.

In this episode, Michaud and Michael Griffin are talking about Michaud's love of board games, how living with chronic pain inspired his rheumatology research and how he balances his diverse interests. 

Karen Russell's “The Antidote” follows five characters whose fates become entangled after a storm ravages their fictional small town of Uz, Nebraska. Together, the group of outcasts join forces to reveal the town’s secrets and show the importance of remembering and acknowledging injustices to create a better future.

Russell has received MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for her debut novel “Swamplandia.” She has taught literature and creative writing at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, the University of California-Irvine, Williams College, Columbia University, and Bryn Mawr College, and was the Endowed Chair of Texas State's MFA program. She serves on the board of Street Books, a mobile-library for people living outdoors. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, she now lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, son and daughter.

“The Antidote” is Russell's second novel. She will be at The Bookworm at 6 p.m. on April 3 in conversation with Broc Anderson of the Nebraska State Historical Society.

Russell and Michael Griffin discuss the role of intellect and imagination in writing, the natural world’s influence on the artistic process and the symbiotic relationship between the author and reader.