News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Slice, Dice, Chop Or Julienne: Does The Cut Change The Flavor?
When it comes to produce, the answer is yes, experts tell us. But the reasons are complicated — and sometimes mysterious even to restaurant critics, chefs and food scientists.
Take 5 For Your Health
Fact-Checking Missouri GOP Gubernatorial Candidates On Medicaid Expansion The four Republican candidates for Missouri governor kicked off their debate Wednesday night with a variety of statements about the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion. KCUR fact-checked some of those statements. Here’s a sample of what they found: Catherine Hanaway: “Obamacare has failed in every regard….
Jehovah’s Witness Gatherings Highlight Faith’s Beliefs
Antonio Rosas is nearly blind from glaucoma, and his daughter, Gina, uses a wheelchair due to a rare neuroimmune disorder. So it’s hard for them to get out and worship with their fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses in their hometown of Wichita, Kansas. Yet their deep faith is pulling them through a weekslong summer trek to regional…
5 Big Questions About The U.S. Senate’s GMO Label Bill
The U.S. Senate late Thursday night approved a bill that outlaws states’ efforts to put labels on food products made with genetically-modified organisms and instead gives companies more leeway in disclosing GMOs. The measure must still be passed by the U.S. House, but there are lots of questions. Harvest Public Media has been watching this ongoing battle for…
A Brief History Of America’s Middle Class
“The middle class is disappearing” has been a standard line during this election cycle. As it turns out, it’s not wrong. Last year was the first recorded year that middle-income families no longer made up the majority in America, according to the Pew Research Center. What this actually means economically is a mixed bag, but…
Take 5 For Your Health
Kansas City-Area Hospitals Vary Widely In Percentage Of Doctors Who Take Drug Company Payments Kansas City-area hospitals vary greatly when it comes to the percentage of doctors who accept money from drug and medical device companies. The hospital with the highest percentage is Providence Medical Center, where nearly 89 percent of its doctors took such…
Five Ways You’re a Mosquito Magnet
The rain. The heat. The rain. The heat. We’re in a weather pattern that leaves Flatland confused about what to wear in the morning and certain of this: The mosquitos are in heaven. Our graphic explains why you may be a target.
Does Your Body Really Refresh Itself Every 7 Years?
The latest episode of the podcast Invisibilia explores the idea that personality — something a lot of us think of as immutable — can change over time. That got Invisibilia co-host Lulu Miller wondering if anything about us stays the same. Do all the cells in our body turn over every seven years as is…
These Midwest Farmers Think They Know The Next Trendy ‘Superfruit’
Peggy Fogle and her dog, Abe, walk among rows of aronia berry bushes on the family property outside Carlisle, Iowa. Plants on the ends of rows are smaller from years of being nibbled by deer and rabbits. But on nearly nine acres, filling four separate fields, the bushes are reaching maturity, eight years after Fogle…
Common Grounds | Discussing Life After Orlando
This week’s episode of “Common Grounds” comes to you from our down-the-street neighbor, the Good Samaritan Project, where we visited with six members of Kansas City’s LGBT community. Ash R. Allee, Gina Vidal, Greg Razer, Hugo Ximello-Salido, Matt Parker Green, and Stuart Hinds were the diverse coffee conversationalists who gathered at the project’s offices,…