Kansas Reflector Podcast

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.

Alan Featherstone, of Kansas State University's Agricultural Economics department, and Hal Luthi, of the Kansas Cattlemen's Association and a third-generation farmer, talk trade, the farm bill and hopes for the future.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, is in the midst of her second and final term. As she considers how to use her remaining political capital, she reflects on the accomplishments and pitfalls of the 2025 legislative session, which was dominated by Republican supermajorities.

Immigration attorney Rekha Sharma-Crawford filed a federal lawsuit against the sudden termination of five international students status terminations — and has successfully temporarily blocked the terminations. She argues that the terminations were cruel, opaque, and have significantly harmed the students' wellbeing.

Sen. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park, says public comments to the Senate Committee on Government Efficiency, or COGE, show how out of step the Legislature is with Kansans.

Former state health secretary Lee Norman looks back five years to contemplate what was learned and lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kansas state education commissioner Randy Watson's main focus is not on the politics of the Kansas State Board of Education. Instead, it's on improving the lives of young people, he said.

The Kansas legislature wrapped up a two-day veto session Friday, combing through a pile of bills rejected by Gov. Laura Kelly and forcing a fair number of those into law. Meanwhile, lawmakers finished up an array of other business for the year. Senior reporters Tim Carpenter and Morgan Chilson help us make sense of this whirlwind of activity.

Reagan Herrman, a 15-year-old Emporia resident, survived an episode of cardiac arrest during a 2023 basketball game when trained personnel made use of an automated external defibrillator that restarted her heart. She advocates for cardiac emergency planning in public schools and funding for districts to acquire AED equipment and training.

Lawmakers in Kansas, which has some of the most relaxed gun laws in the country, debated firearm legislation this year that revolved around law enforcement. Shannon Little with Moms Demand Action is hopeful that future legislative sessions could include gun violence prevention laws.

Kansas Reflector opinion editor Clay Wirestone, reporter Anna Kaminski and editor in chief Sherman Smith talk about three recent examples where lawmakers have hidden their work from public scrutiny or directed animus toward journalists.

Rep. Alexis Simmons, a Topeka Democrat, joins former Kansas Republican Party executive director Kris Van Meteren to outline their reservations about a bill that would simultaneously double campaign contribution limits for Kansas Legislature and statewide office positions while also removing caps on donations to county, district or state party committees.

Chris Koliba, a public administration professor at the University of Kansas, is concerned academic standards don't forcefully answer growing threats to core democratic ideals.

Freshman Sen. Patrick Schmidt, a Topeka Democrat, talks about property tax relief, gerrymandering, misplaced priorities, conflicts of interest, and this year's condensed session schedule.

At the end of six weeks worth of session, the Kansas Legislature is barreling ahead at high speed with each chamber passing a bevy of bills. Kansas Reflector staff take stock of where legislators have ended up with a compressed schedule and tensions flaring.

The State of Kansas requires local counties to provide an array of services, from health and safety to road maintenance and administering elections. But lawmakers at the Statehouse are applying scrutiny to counties for the property taxes that largely pay for those services. Bruce Chladny, executive director of the Kansas Association of Counties, and Jay Hall, the association's deputy director and general counsel, talk about the tension between state and local governments.

Author Katherine Rose-Mockry talks about the example set by University of Kansas students in the 1970s who founded the Kansas Gay Liberation Front. She writes about them in her new book, "Liberating Lawrence."

Blake Flanders, president and CEO of the state Board of Regents talks cyberattacks on campuses, employee salary increases and need-based student aid.

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 and how he reported it.

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 weaponize the "gang list" against minority community members. Two attorneys who worked on the case — Kunyu Ching with the ACLU and Teresa Woody with Kansas Appleseed — talk about the settlement agreement and the long-term impact of the gang list.

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.

Matt Kleinmann grew up in Overland Park and played basketball at the University of Kansas. He faces former U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda in the Aug. 6 Democratic primary in the 2nd District.

Researchers and authors Mary Banwart and Teri Finneman talk about recent attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris for her gender after she replaced Joe Biden as the Democratic Party's presumptive presidential nominee for president.