Kansas Reflector Podcast

When Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog unexpectedly filed to run for governor hours before the filing deadline, he surprised the Kansas political world, prompting current Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly to call his campaign "foolhardy." In conversation with Kansas Reflector's editor-in-chief, Sherman Smith, Skoog criticizes Republican frontrunner Ty Masterson, advocates for Medicaid expansion and propert...

With roughly six months left as governor, Laura Kelly reflects on how she entered the governor's office and speaks on how she hopes to leave it in an interview with senior reporter Tim Carpenter. She highlights what she views as major accomplishments, recounts how she beat tough gubernatorial opponents (twice), and articulates why she wanted to change to economic and social perception of Kansas. N...

Cole Epley is one of four Democrats challenging U.S. Rep. Ron Estes in August, but Epley has differentiated himself from his fellow Democratic candidates by leaning into Democratic socialism and unapologetically progressive ideals. Kansas Reflector's editor-in-chief Sherman Smith speaks with Epley about his political origins, his approach to fundraising outside the bounds of the traditional party...

Residents in Galena, Kansas, are worried that noxious smells and a smoldering fire at the town's landfill are polluting the air and affecting their health. They are pushing for more testing to ensure the environment in their southeast Kansas town is safe.

Kevin Latz is one of 11 Kansas Democrats running to replace U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, and he said he is differentiating himself from the rest with his experience as a surgeon, physician and father. He said scientists are underrepresented in Congress, and his work making difficult decisions, operating under pressure and treating everyone as a patient mirrors that of a lawmaker's. His policy priorit...

Kansas Reflector opinion editor Clay Wirestone and managing editor Sherman Smith break down the latest news in Kansas politics as election season heats up. They discuss the latest candidates, which races they're paying attention to and what Kansas Reflector has been covering in the lead-up to the Aug. 4 primary election. New episodes of the Kansas Reflector Podcast drop on Mondays. Kansas Reflecto...

Why was Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach’s name repeated four times in a ad from an outside group? Why did a Democratic candidate for Kansas governor begin her TV ad in a grocery store, and why did her primary opponent film his from his kitchen? Can a pastor translate his lifetime of public speaking experience to voters as he runs for U.S. Senate? Bob Beatty, a political science professor at Wa...

Chris Carmichael is one of four Democratic candidates for Kansas' 4th congressional district.

Sandy Brown, president of the Kansas Abortion Fund, talks about her organization's evolving work. The small, all-volunteer, Lawrence-based nonprofit now pays for one-fourth of the abortions received by Kansas women and serves as a voice for women's reproductive rights. Despite the 2022 vote in Kansas to preserve the right to terminate a pregnancy, the Legislature continues to pass new restrictions...

State Sen. Patrick Schmidt is running for the U.S. Senate seat from Kansas. But he has to make it through the Democratic primary field to face Sen. Roger Marshall, the incumbent Republican and Trump ally.

Sandy Spidel Neumann retired after a 40-year career in financial services, then moved to fulfill a lifelong dream of being a U.S. Senator. As a Democratic candidate trying to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, she is pushing for strategic solutions that focus on data and gathering diverse opinions.

Leah Fliter with the Kansas Association of School Boards discusses how a federal scholarship program will affect public schools.

Kansas Reflector editor in chief Sherman Smith and opinion editor Clay Wirestone sum up the Legislature's two-day veto session and preview a new series.

The Kansas Legislature wrapped up its main session the early morning hours of Saturday, March 28. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone leads a conversation with Kansas Reflector reporters to recap what happened.

Katy Tyndell is among Democrats hoping for the chance to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Ron Estes, who has held the 4th District since 2017. She talks about her background as an attorney in Washington, D.C., her work with Leading Kansas, a civic engagement nonprofit she cofounded last year, and her views on various issues facing Congress.

Jason Hart is one of eight Democratic candidates lining up to take a shot at unseating Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall. He talks about being a political novice, his experience as a prosecutor of child sex crimes, views on federal policy, how being a straight, white, Christian man gives him bipartisan appeal, and his failed attempt to ward off a competitor.

Erik Murray is a Kansas City, Kansas-based entrepreneur who is trying to beat out a crowded field of Democrats running for U.S. Senate with a solutions-oriented campaign and a 105-county tour, which he announced on the Kansas Reflector podcast.

Former Kansas Rep. Jim Karleskint, a Vietnam War veteran who now lobbies for Veterans of Foreign Wars, says lobbying by for-profit claim consultants paved the way for legislation that would allow them to charge a fee for helping veterans, a service others provide for free.

Clinician and trauma therapist Tara Wallace talks about practices by Medicaid managed care organizations that harm mental health professionals, their clients and the already fragile Kansas network.

Former Gov. Jeff Colyer says experience in legislative and executive branch affairs and a lifetime as surgeon prepares him to return to the Capitol as governor in January 2027.

Charlotte O’Hara positions herself as the antidote to "career politicians" who are seeking the GOP nomination for governor. She talks about her career and upbringing, as well as views on abortion, computers and cellphones in schools, and "corporate welfare" given to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Justice K.J. Wall talks solutions to the declining numbers of attorneys in roughly half of the state of Kansas.

Kansas State Treasurer Steven Johnson talks about hiring a new program manager for Kansas 529 educational savings plans and updating investment options and tools parents can use to figure out the cost of post-secondary education.

Cynthia Lane, director of the state's Blueprint for Literacy program, says Kansas is improving literacy instruction from preschool to college levels. She says the next step is to blend Blueprint for Literacy with the Kansas State Board of Education's literacy program known as Every Child Can Read.

Kansas Reflector editor in chief Sherman Smith leads a discussion with reporters Tim Carpenter, Anna Kaminski and Morgan Chilson to recap the busy first week of the 2026 session of the Kansas Legislature, from the governor's State of the State speech and GOP response to hearings, debates, rallies, a high-profile court case and vaccines.