KPR Presents
KPR Presents is an opportunity to showcase high-profile, thought-provoking lectures, discussions and dialogues recorded throughout the region. There are so many fascinating people who come to this area, everyone from Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor to syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts. KPR Presents is a great way to share some of those lectures with our listeners. We have also been able to expand the program to cover a broad range of topics, including the Kansas Sesquicentennial, the National Day of Listening and the Kansas Reads program sponsored by the State Library of Kansas, just to name a few. Subscribe via your favorite podcast platforms.
Latest Episodes
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We get a sneak peek at the 2025 Free State Festival — six days of movies, music, and more — with Festival director Marlo Angell and Backer Hamada, co-director of the documentary "Trauma: The New Epidemic." Also, we visit with KPR's new Morning Edition host Matthew Algeo. -
Seventy years ago, the town of Udall was devastated by an F5 tornado — the deadliest in Kansas history. Jim Minick takes us back to the summer of 1955 in his Kansas Notable book, Without Warning: The Tornado of Udall, Kansas. Also, this month marks the 20th and final Symphony in the Flint Hills. We visit with Sandy Carlson, program manager of the Symphony's Signature event, taking place Saturday, June 14th, in Chase County. -
Having trouble staying focused nowadays? Best-selling author Johann Hari explores some of the causes in "Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention — and How to Think Deeply Again." Hari is coming to Lawrence's Liberty Hall on June 11th, sponsored by the Lawrence Public Library. Also, we visit the Topeka-Shawnee County Public Library as they reopen their newly-redesigned children's room. -
The State Library of Kansas has just released its 2025 Kansas Notable Books list, 15 of the best new books by Kansas authors or about Kansas. State Librarian Ray Walling and Notable Books facilitator Brett Rurode give us a sneak peek at this year's batch. We also revisit a conversation with 2024 Kansas Notable winner Sarah Edgerton, author of Daughter of Chaos. And we visit the No Stone Unturned Foundation in Manhattan, KPR's Community Spotlight organization for May. -
Our Kansas Notable series continues with Nghiem Tran's haunting novella, We're Safe When We're Alone. Also, Rachel McCarthy James explores the history of axe murder in her new book, Whack Job. -
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly on motherhood, soccer, and her book, It Goes So Fast, now out in paperback. Also, the story of the University of Kansas Jayhawk, and a conversation with Ada Límon who just completed her second term as U.S. Poet Laureate. -
As we mark the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War, we hear from Kansas veterans about their military service in Vietnam. It's a special encore presentation of "Kansas Stories of the Vietnam War," a statewide oral history project sponsored by Humanities Kansas. -
We celebrate National Poetry Month with Antonio Sanchez-Day's "I've Been Fighting This War Within Myself," edited by Brian Daldorph and named a Kansas Notable Book. -
We mark Autism Acceptance Month with a children's book about a special little boy facing a challenging week of school. Jenn Bailey is the author of "Henry, Like Always," named a Kansas Notable Book by the State Library of Kansas. -
Beyond morels: exploring the world of Devil's Dipstick, Puffballs, Fried Chicken Mushrooms, and more! Caleb Morse, Sherry Kay, and Benjamin Sikes are the authors of A New Guide to Kansas Mushrooms, a Kansas Notable Book.
