Up To Date
KCUR
What Kansas City cares about. Up To Date brings people together for daily conversations about what’s happening in our region and how it affects our lives. Featuring interviews with artists, lawmakers, experts and everyday residents, plus original reporting from the KCUR newsroom, Up To Date keeps our city connected.
Location:
Kansas City, MO
Networks:
KCUR
Description:
What Kansas City cares about. Up To Date brings people together for daily conversations about what’s happening in our region and how it affects our lives. Featuring interviews with artists, lawmakers, experts and everyday residents, plus original reporting from the KCUR newsroom, Up To Date keeps our city connected.
Twitter:
@KCURUpToDate
Language:
English
Contact:
4825 Troost Ave, Ste 202 Kansas City, MO 64110 816-235-2888
Email:
uptodate@kcur.org
Episodes
Why is Missouri one of the most dangerous states to have a baby?
9/26/2025
Missouri's health department found that the vast majority of maternal deaths were preventable, and resulted from a lack of care in the months after birth. Cardiologist Dr. Anna Grodzinsky navigated her own high-risk pregnancies, and she explains what our medical system is missing.
Duration:00:11:32
Rep. Sharice Davids says Kansas gerrymandering would 'silence the voices' of voters
9/25/2025
Republican leaders in the Kansas Legislature want to follow the lead of states like Texas and Missouri by gerrymandering the state's congressional maps to favor Republicans. U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat who represents the state's 3rd district, says the idea of splitting up Johnson County is "ludicrous."
Duration:00:21:26
Mexican Consulate of Kansas City tries to keep people informed amid deportation threats
9/25/2025
National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15 to October 15. Consul Soileh Padilla Mayer, who leads the Mexican Consulate in Kansas City, is spending this month making sure that Latino residents are being treated fairly around the metro, especially as the Trump administration ramps up deportation efforts.
Duration:00:15:36
Will Jackson County recall Frank White Jr.? What to know about the special election
9/24/2025
Jackson County residents will decide Tuesday, Sept. 30, on whether to recall County Executive Frank White Jr. Proponents and opponents shared their perspectives ahead of the vote, and explain what will happen if White gets recalled.
Duration:00:23:10
How do you get rid of forever chemicals? A UMKC professor is researching solutions
9/23/2025
Forever chemicals, or PFAS, are found in substances from cosmetics to nonstick pans — and end up in our bloodstreams, unable to break down. UMKC engineering professor Dr. Megan Hart studies how to get rid of these substances, and shares the everyday changes she has made for her health.
Duration:00:15:30
Kansas City’s Warwick Theater re-opens to audiences more than a year after devastating fire
9/22/2025
The Warwick on Main Street suffered a multi-alarm fire in February 2024 that burned across three floors and forced the cast and crew to relocate their show last-minute. Now, the building has been restored, and the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre is back with its first performances since.
Duration:00:12:46
Dave Jorgenson makes the news fun on TikTok. He got his start at Shawnee Mission North
9/19/2025
When Overland Park-raised journalist Dave Jorgenson was hired at The Washington Post, reaching a younger audience was his mission. So he created the newspaper’s TikTok, dressed up in costumes, and delivered the headlines in a different way. He spoke with KCUR's Up To Date about how he got his start, and his new company Local News International.
Duration:00:34:41
How a Kansas City business is contributing to the rise of the highly addictive drug 7-OH
9/18/2025
A new three-part investigative series from The Kansas City Star highlights the rise of the drug 7-OH — a highly concentrated opioid-like substance derived from kratom — and the role of a Kansas City company in its growing popularity.
Duration:00:24:05
Kansas City animal activist wins service award for helping shelter dogs get adopted
9/18/2025
Scott Poore, founder of On A Mission KC, helps overlooked pets find a home and provides resources for rural animal shelters. It recently earned him the Spirit of Service award from the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor, which came with a check for $20,000 to continue his work.
Duration:00:12:21
Kansas filmmaker Kevin Willmott says Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival launched his career
9/17/2025
Kevin Willmott is best known for his Oscar-winning movie “BlacKkKlansman.” But his breakout film “CSA: Confederate States of America” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival nearly two decades ago — and marked a turning point in his career. Willmott credits festival founder Robert Redford, who died this week, with helping thousands of filmmakers like him.
Duration:00:15:17
Kansas City colleges are being hurt by Trump’s restrictions on international students
9/16/2025
President Donald Trump’s travel ban and delays in visa applications have blocked some international students from coming to the U.S. to study this fall. International students contribute more than $40 billion to the U.S. economy and could equate to a billion dollar loss to schools and the local communities they serve.
Duration:00:15:29
Bill Kurtis of ‘Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!’ got his start as a Kansas news reporter
9/15/2025
NPR fans will recognize Bill Kurtis from the weekend game show “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” But his nearly six-decade career in journalism launched in Topeka, Kansas, when he warned viewers about an incoming tornado.
Duration:00:31:03
Food recs: The best restaurants in Lawrence, Kansas
9/13/2025
Lawrence, Kansas, is known for Jayhawk basketball and its Bleeding Kansas history, but its food scene is worth digging into, too. Here’s where to find the best restaurants and bars on Mass Street and beyond.
Duration:00:44:39
KCATA leader says Kansas City region faces a 'put up or shut up moment' for transit funding
9/12/2025
Kansas City Area Transportation Authority CEO Frank White III believes that funding for the agency is "more complicated than it ought to be." His vision for the KCATA is to "try to go regional" with its funding structure, in order to better serve the entire metro.
Duration:00:23:37
As 9/11 unfolded, this Kansas City reporter looked for the local connections
9/11/2025
Millions of Americans could do little more than take in the news of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. More than 1,000 miles away from New York City, Kansas City reporters helped inform readers of victims from the region, and how the fallout affected our local Muslim population.
Duration:00:12:04
How new federal student loan policies could affect Kansas City borrowers
9/11/2025
Millions of people with federal student loans are facing changes to their payment options. And some new borrowers will deal with caps that won’t cover the entire cost of their education. It’s the result of a complete overhaul of federal student loan policies under President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”
Duration:00:24:44
Missouri’s first marijuana micro-dispensary opens in Platte City, nearly 3 years after legalization
9/10/2025
When Missourians voted to legalize recreational marijuana in 2022, they also approved the creation of a social-equity focused microbusiness program. Two years in, Missouri’s marijuana micro-industry is finally becoming operational — and the first micro-dispensary opened in Platte City in June.
Duration:00:20:43
You can explore the history of journalism at the World War I Museum, this week only
9/10/2025
"Moments of Truth: An Exploration of Journalism's Past, Present and Future," a traveling exhibit curated by the Poynter Institute's MediaWise project, will be at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City through Sep. 12.
Duration:00:16:05
KC Soundcheck: Lauren Lovelle
9/9/2025
Lauren Lovelle has been performing country music since she was four, singing with her dad's honky-tonk band in venues near Wichita. Now, the Kansas City songwriter has a band of her own, the Midnight Spliffs, and just released her debut EP, "Other Dreams."
Duration:00:21:00
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas on Missouri redistricting and threat of National Guard troops
9/8/2025
Mayor Quinton Lucas joined KCUR's Up To Date to discuss the Republican push to gerrymander Missouri's congressional map, and how it could push him to run for the U.S. House. He also discussed the potential of President Trump sending the National Guard to Kansas City.
Duration:00:45:11