Kansas Reflector Podcast

Joan Alker, executive director and co-founder of the Georgetown Center for Children and Families, and Benjamin Anderson, president and CEO of Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System, talk about a new report detailing how the Medicaid program supports rural residents.

Four Kansans ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day reflect upon what it means to embody the civil rights figure's legacy and how to approach a politically uncertain future.

Kansas Reflector opinion editor Clay Wirestone leads a discussion with editor in chief Sherman Smith, senior reporter Tim Carpenter and reporter Anna Kaminski on what to expect in the annual legislative session that begins Jan. 13.

The Kansas legislative session begins Jan. 13 with a slate of newly elected officials — including more Republicans in both the House and Senate. Two Republican senators-elect, Brad Starnes of Manhattan and Jeff Klemp of Leavenworth County, talk about why voters favored them over Democratic incumbents in the election and their plans for the upcoming legislative session.

Democratic Rep. Brandon Woodard of Lenexa is beginning his fourth term in the Kansas House with a new job title: minority leader. Woodard talks about his past, his plans, and what Democrats expect in the new legislative session.

U.S. Rep.-elect Derek Schmidt, a Republican headed to Washington to represent the 2nd District of Kansas, speaks about federal immigration, inflation and regulation reform.

Tim Clark was banned from his son's football games in 2022 after a Facebook post caught the attention of officials in the small Kansas city of Quinter. Clark and attorney Max Kautsch talk about Clark's experience, and a $75,000 settlement with the city.

Washburn University political science professor Bob Beatty joins the podcast to analyze notable political spots from the 2024 election and what they mean going foward.

Peggy Lowe, the reporter and voice behind “Overlooked,” KCUR’s investigative podcast into disgraced Kansas City, Kansas, police detective Roger Golubski, appears on the Kansas Reflector podcast to talk about Golubski’s past, upcoming trial, and the second season of “Overlooked.” 

Haley Kottler appears on Kansas Reflector podcast to talk about a new report from Kansas Appleseed that examines the benefit of providing universal free meals in public schools, and how schools and lawmakers could unlock more resources to combat child hunger.

A university and two colleges in central and western Kansas teamed up to confront the area's workforce challenges head on through career development and accessible education initiatives.

Kansas Reflector staff sort through the ruby red results in this year's election, and what they mean for the Legislature, State Board of Education, and national politics.

Wayne Walker, owner of Common Ground Capital and CEO of LPC Conservation, and Mike Smith, who works with LPC Conservation projects in five states, talk about the vulnerability of the lesser prairie chicken.

Michael Smith and Ed Flentje, two of the four authors of "Reform and Reaction: The Arc of Kansas Politics," talk about their book, which identifies Gov. Sam Brownback as an outlier among more policy-driven governors who served the state since 1975.

Gov. Laura Kelly predicts voters in the Nov. 5 election will enable Democrats to claim at least two more seats in the Kansas House and three more seats in the Kansas Senate to eliminate the two-thirds supermajority held by Republicans at the Statehouse.

Reporter Anna Kaminski examines a recent state audit and legislators' questions about the effectiveness of tax increment financing districts — also known as TIF districts — in the state's largest cities.

Richard Muma earned his doctorate 20 years ago before climbing the ranks at Wichita State University, becoming president in 2020. Now, an investigation by Kansas Reflector senior reporter Tim Carpenter has found dozens of instances where Muma copied someone else's work into his doctoral dissertation without adequate attribution. Carpenter joins editor in chief Sherman Smith to talk about the story...

Robert Rowland, a University of Kansas professor of communication studies, says the vice presidential debate between Republican J.D. Vance and Democrat Tim Walz carries elevated importance given the extremely close presidential campaign between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

Abortion access in Kansas remains at the forefront of state politics, with the 2024 election a little more than a month away. Kansas Women Attorneys for Freedom are at the forefront of this issue. Two members of the group, Adina Morse and Nicole Revenaugh join the Kansas Reflector podcast to talk about their priorities.

For years, the Kansas Legislature has grappled with the best way to help Kansans in need, including children in foster care. Lawmakers in two interim committees recently met to hear about progress, or the lack of it, in these areas. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone talks with reporter Anna Kaminski about the state's efforts to improve the child welfare system.

Wichita police for decades discriminated against Black and Latino residents by placing them on a "gang list" for dubious reasons, subjecting them to enhanced scrutiny and harassment. But earlier this year, the city agreed to settle a federal lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and Kansas Appleseed, on behalf of the youth advocacy group Progeny, to alter the way police w...

Iian Ellis, a University of Kansas lecturer who grew up near London during formative years of punk music, says in a new book the attitude, symbols and sounds of punk rockers changed his life by encouraging him to question authority.

Kansas is being left behind by neighboring states in terms of recreational and medicinal sales of marijuana, which is illegal in Kansas. Inga Selders, a Prairie Village City Council member and founder of the Cannabis Justice Coalition, dives into this issue with Barry Grissom, a former U.S. attorney for Kansas who serves on the coalition's board.

Kansas Reflector opinion editor Clay Wirestone hosts a conversation with editor in chief Sherman Smith, senior reporter Tim Carpenter and intern Grace Hills on the multitude of stories that emerged from the primary election — from the 2nd District congressional races to incumbents losing Statehouse races and implications for November.

Sherman Smith, Kansas Reflector editor in chief, and Marisa Kabas, founder of The Handbasket, talk about changes in Marion one year after police raided the newspaper office, and how the raid impacts journalism.