Kansas Reflector Podcast

For the Kansas Reflector podcast, former Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple speaks publicly for the first time about a Republican donor who tipped him off to a covert operation against his 2020 campaign. He later lost a bid for re-election.

The Kansas Museum of History has been closed for three years while getting a dramatic makeover, but it's about to reopen with a day of fun and activities planned for Nov. 22. Museum director Sarah Bell talks about the reimagined gallery space at the museum.

Kansas Reflector opinion editor Clay Wirestone leads senior reporters Tim Carpenter and Morgan Chilson through a discussion of the annual Kansas Speaks opinion survey from the Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University. Plus, they all discuss Halloween costumes!

Negative effects of "big, beautiful bill" will be wide reaching for Kansans. A recent multi-city tour by several state nonprofit groups focused on informing residents about the threat. April Holman of the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, Haley Kottler of Kansas Appleseed and Adrienne Olejnick of Kansas Appleseed joined the podcast to tell us more.

Katie Batza, associate professor of women, gender and sexuality studies at University of Kansas, recently published "AIDS in the Heartland: How Unlikely Coalitions Created a Blueprint for LGBTQ Politics." It explores the pandemic from perspectives of family, friends and others who grappled with AIDS far from population epicenters for the disease in San Francisco or New York City.

Republican leaders of the Kansas Legislature are working to cobble together the necessary two-thirds majority of the House and Senate to call a special session in November. The original purpose was to redraw the four Kansas congressional districts to make it easy to defeat U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat. But there are maybe a dozen or so House GOP members not thrilled about redistricting in...

In her biggest electoral test, Johnson County Sen. Cindy Holscher is asking red-state Kansas to make her the Democratic Party's nominee for governor so she can attempt to follow in footsteps of Gov. Laura Kelly.

University Press of Kansas editor Alec Loganbill explains his goals with Plainspoken Books, a new publishing imprint with a regional reach.

University of Kansas international law professor John Head talks about the need for long-term planning and other steps to address critical agricultural and environmental crises.

Researchers at the University of Kansas take an intense look at the substance use disorder system in Kansas, exploring tactics and strategies that can support the one in five Kansans who abuse drugs and alcohol. Lead researchers Janine Hron and Silke von Esenwein share what they learned about the gaps and strengths in the state's system.

Mike Perry at PerryUndem and David Jordan at United Methodist Health Ministry Fund talk about new research that suggests how residents in Kansas and across the U.S. feel about the current economic situation and what they think should be done about it.

Kansas state Sen. Ethan Corson, a Fairway Democrat seeking the party's nomination for governor in 2026, says the state benefits from centrist, moderate leadership in the governor's office.

An Overland Park immigration attorney says she wants to use her professional expertise to fix what's broken on the federal level and adequately represent Kansans' interests.

Christy Davis, one of three candidates seeking the Kansas Democratic Party's nomination for U.S. Senate, is eager to challenge in 2026 incumbent U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican loyal to President Donald Trump.

It's been two years since police staged a chilling raid on the Marion County Record, seizing computers and phones — but not silencing the hard-hitting newspaper. The situation spawned one state and five federal lawsuits, as well as a criminal charge against former police chief Gideon Cody. Eric Meyer, the owner, publisher and editor of the Marion County Record, talks about how his life has changed...

Kansas Reflector reporter Morgan Chilson talks about the stories of perseverance and resilience and the challenges remaining for the Grinnell, Kansas, community. Grinnell was hit by an EF-3 tornado on May 18, 2025, and lost a large residential neighborhood and sustained damage to schools, a church and businesses.

Dorothy Barnett, executive director of Climate + Energy Project, talks about federal green energy policy, new natural gas plants planned by Evergy and costs of energy for Kansans.

Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, a Topeka Republican who worked for 40 years as a pharmacist, says she is seeking the GOP nomination for governor to fully represent the interests of Kansans following the second term of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

Ellis County artist Amy Warfield talks about her artwork, her motivation for submitting a suggestion to the Kansas Senate Committee on Government Efficiency, or COGE, and a disconnect between the Legislature's priorities and what people need.

Kansas Reflector opinion editor Clay Wirestone leads a discussion with editor Sherman Smith and senior reporter Morgan Chilson on federal immigration enforcement efforts and CoreCivic's lucrative, secret, no-bid contract to house detainees in Leavenworth.

Heather Cessna talks about why she is resigning as executive director of the Kansas State Board of Indigents' Defense Services, and the constitutional crisis created by decades of underfunding public defense work.

Community development financial institutions support “underserved” small businesses and entrepreneurs who may have challenges accessing capital through traditional means, a CDFI leader says. Ruben Alonso, CEO of AltCap, a nonprofit CDFI based in Kansas City, Missouri, talks about the importance of access to capital for Kansas small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Johnny Szlauderbach, director of communications and strategic projects for Freedom's Frontier, talks about the National Heritage Area's rich history, efforts to partner with "passion projects" in "very rural areas," and how a proposal before Congress to defund the program would cause it to "cease to exist."

Kathryn Boyd, CEO and president of the Wichita-based abortion clinic Trust Women, talks about the impacts on Kansas clinics after a total ban on abortion was enacted in Missouri.

Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab knocks down election conspiracy theories and talks about his campaign for the state's top office. He also gives an update about his health.