Arts & Culture
Stories and videos about music, dance, visual and performing arts and film in the Kansas City metro.
Talking about race at a KC barbershop
This week’s Your Fellow Americans conversations lay out some of the toughest issues in today’s society, and reveal a desire to see change for the better. If this makes the conversation occasionally intense, that’s because this group considers the neighborhoods around Troost, and east of Troost, as theirneighborhoods. And if it’s considered a little bold, or silly, for me – a white guy – to walk in Diamond Cuts and ask probing questions, what does that mean for the thousands of adults and children who call Troost home? What does it mean for your fellow Americans? Have a look at these conversations, and let us know.
From ‘Half the Sky’ to ‘A Path Appears’
Two years ago, PBS stations across the country broadcast “Half The Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,” a documentary dedicated to examining gender equality. Based on the book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, the film examines issues including sex trafficking, maternal mortality, education and economic equality for women and…
‘Racism … it’s not meant to be seen, but you can definitely feel it.’
Kian Shafé came to the United States in 1955 on a student visa from Tehran, Iran. The youngest of four children, he came to study in the U.S. after political shifts interrupted his education in Iran. In the video above, Kian, his children and his grandchildren share their thoughts on racism and prejudice in America.
5 things you might not know about ‘Rich Hill’
PBS stations around the country will air “Rich Hill” tonight, a documentary chronicling the everyday lives of three young boys and their families in Rich Hill, Missouri. It’s an intimate story of poverty, family and the modern American Dream. Co-director and producer Tracy Droz Tragos spoke with Flatland about the film and her hopes for…
KCMO Police Chief honored with Bodhisattva Award
When the bell sounds, the room goes still. All eyes are closed or looking upward. Hands are folded or holding the hand of a neighbor. All this signifies the beginning of the 29th annual meditation for world peace as a part of an interfaith gathering at the Rime Buddhist Center in Kansas City, Missouri, at…
Nuns on the ranch: Giving beef a Heavenly flavor
Many beer aficionados are familiar with the rare breweries run by Trappist monks. The beer is highly sought after, but it’s not the only food or drink made by a religious order. Many abbeys and convents have deep roots in agriculture, combining farm work with prayer.
Just five miles south of the Colorado-Wyoming border you’ll find one of these places. Idyllic red farm buildings sit in the shadow of the main abbey, all tucked in a stony valley. At the Abbey of St. Walburga, cattle, water buffalo and llamas graze on grass under the watchful eye of Benedictine nuns.
Discover KC with Made in the Middle
Graphic designer Tad Carpenter grew up in Kansas City, and he said he can’t remember a time that felt quite like this. “I’ve lived here my entire life,” he said, “and I can’t remember the feeling I feel in the city right now. There’s an electricity happening. On a national level, people are recognizing Kansas…
Your Fellow Americans producer’s perspective: the Crouser family
Gaylene Crouser says she is 50 percent Lakota, 50 percent unknown lineage and 100 percent Indian. So much pain and trouble surrounds her identity that, when our production team at Your Fellow Americans asked her for her name, she cried. Just knowing that someone had approached her, wanting to learn about her and the way she is…
A non-traditional funding plan for a non-traditional farmer
When Kate Johnson stepped out of the car on the property in Easton, Kansas, that would become her farm, she knew she was home. After a yearlong search for the perfect land, this was it. “Even just the feeling driving up felt different than all of the other places I had seen,” she said. Johnson…
KC celebrates release of Boulevard’s Crown Town Ale
Boulevard Beer’s Crown Town Ale, which honors the Royals’ record-breaking season, was released today. Liquor stores across the metro did brisk business, some selling out well before noon. Jeremy Ragonese, Boulevard’s director of marketing, said it was important to make space in the tight brewing schedule for this ale after the Royals had such a…