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
Who will replace Frank White Jr. as Jackson County Executive? The public may get little input
10/1/2025
Frank White Jr. has been recalled. On Thursday, DaRon McGee, chair of the Jackson County Legislature, will appoint a temporary replacement for county executive, who can serve up to 30 days. Then, the full Legislature will select a replacement for the rest of White’s term — with little chance for public feedback.
Duration:00:13:58
Kansas City health experts want Trump’s revived Presidential Fitness Test to be more inclusive
10/1/2025
Not everyone has fond memories of the Presidential Fitness Test. It could be a fun gym class challenge for students who were athletic and competitive, but for everyone else it offered a source of anxiety and occasionally embarrassment. The twice-yearly assessment was retired by former President Obama, but in July, President Trump signed an executive order to revive it.
Duration:00:17:00
Chappell Roan's Kansas City concerts are claiming space for 'queer joy' in the Midwest
9/30/2025
Kansas City is one of just three U.S. cities on Chappell Roan’s current tour, and local fans say it’s a reminder to everyone that the Midwest has its own vibrant queer communities. Much of the city’s LGBTQ+ arts scene has been on display this week ahead of the concerts.
Duration:00:14:27
Caleb Hearon and Waxahatchee are having banner years. Now they're headlining for KC Tenants
9/30/2025
The musician Waxahatchee and comedian Caleb Hearon, who are friends and Kansas City residents, call affordable housing the issue of our time. This week, they’re headlining a benefit show for KC Tenants at the Uptown Theater, and they joined KCUR’s Up To Date to discuss their careers on stage and their activism in the community.
Duration:00:27:06
Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy Hospital debuts a new way of sequencing genes
9/29/2025
Dr. Tomi Pastinen, director of Genomic Answers for Kids, led the first clinical study of five-base long read sequencing, recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics. This new method shows doctors more of the genome and can diagnose rare diseases with a single test.
Duration:00:17:53
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