Kansas Reflector Podcast

Kansans speak through new survey. What do they have to say?

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!

Kansas nonprofits share big problems with big bill

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.

The grassroots response to HIV and AIDS in Middle America

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.

Kansas Republicans work toward special session on gerrymandering, gender markers

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 2025 when it wasn't scheduled to be done again until 2032. Republican leaders want to appeal to dissenters by trying to pass a bill during the special session to prevent individuals from changing their gender marker on Kansas driver's licenses. With this proposed special session about three weeks away, Kansas Reflector senior reporter Tim Carpenter and editor Sherman Smith take stock of the drama.

Democrat Cindy Holscher on her campaign for Kansas governor

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.