Shows
Kansas City TodayAI-aided art will greet Kansas City streetcar ridersSome artists shy away from using AI. Kansas City photographer and digital artist David Morris embraces it. Hear how a local creative harnesses AI to bring his vision to life, and where you can see it! Plus: A Kansas City bookselling icon is retiring after years of tracking down Black books and vinyl. Now, a new generation is stepping up to preserve her legacy. Artificial intelligence had a hand in a new art installation at a Kansas City Streetcar stop. David Morris’ abstract digital collage is called “Music is Community," and it’s part of this year’s “Art i...2025-07-1814 minKansas City TodayAmateur archaeologists are digging into Kansas historyCrews of volunteers are digging into the ruins of a 168-year-old mansion in Lecompton, Kansas, that belonged to a territorial governor. The work is done through the Kansas Historical Society's annual archaeological field school. Plus: Children’s author Derrick Barnes from Kansas City is known for books that are all about making Black kids feel seen.Dozens of amateur archaeologists are digging into Kansas territorial history at the site of a pre-Civil War mansion near Lecompton, on the bluffs above the Kansas River. KCUR’s Julie Denesha takes us there.Bestselling children’s author Derrick Barnes...2025-07-1114 minKansas City TodayAn Overland Park teen fights to protect cancer fundingThe Trump administration proposed slashing billions of dollars from federal health agencies, but a high school student from Overland Park has been pushing lawmakers to preserve cancer research funding. Plus, we remember a beloved Kansas City singer who died after a long battle with cancer.Matthew Chen, a senior at Blue Valley North High School, knows the importance of cancer research firsthand: He’s been working with the University of Kansas Cancer Center for two years to look into the disease. KCUR’s Jodi Fortino talked with Chen about what federal cuts could mean for research like his...2025-07-0913 min
A People's History of Kansas CityKansas City’s champion cakewalkerThe 19th-century American dance craze "the cakewalk" began as a form of resistance by enslaved Black people — a showy promenade concealing a mockery of slave owners. One of the most charismatic and famous cakewalking champions was Kansas City’s own Doc Brown. KCUR’s Julie Denesha reports on a modern movement to recognize Brown’s stamp on history.2024-08-1427 min