Prairie Journal
Prairie Journal 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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In connection with NPR's occasional series, KPR's "Here to Help" highlights the work of volunteers in our own community. Our first KPR Here to Help volunteer is Debbie Zabel with the Douglas County Master Gardeners. -
What can the political landscape of 2025 tell us about what to expect in 2026? Political journalist and Dole Institute of Politics Visiting Fellow Jerry Seib joins KPR's Kaye McIntyre to preview the 2026 national and Kansas midterms, one year out. -
From busking on the streets of Lawrence to Broadway and beyond, how George "Nash" Walker became one of the highest paid vaudeville performers in America. As half of the duo Williams and Walker, he's the focus of a new exhibit at the Watkins Museum in Lawrence and the subject of "The Rediscovery of George 'Nash' Walker: The Price of Black Stardom in Jim Crow America." -
Thousands of Kansans joined in No Kings demonstrations earlier this month, with dozens of protests across the state, thousands across the country. We'll hear from some of the people at the No Kings protest in Lawrence. -
Robert Rebein is the author of "The Last Rancher," named a 2025 Kansas Notable Book and winner of the 2025 J. Donald Coffin Memorial Award in Fiction. It's the story of a family trying to hold onto their ranch in western Kansas in the face of financial struggles, a serious accident, and lots of family drama. -
From his early days at KANU to keeping score on NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, award-winning journalist Bill Kurtis retraces his career in this special broadcast from KPR's recent book launch for his new memoir, "Whirlwind: My Life Reporting the News." -
Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg battles a rare eye cancer and helps save a historic family farm in her latest book, The Magic Eye: A Story of Saving a Life and a Place in the Age of Anxiety. -
How did an inventor manage to build a subway in New York City...in secret? KPR's own Matthew Algeo tells the story in "New York's Secret Subway: The Underground Genius of Alfred Beach and the Origins of Mass Transit." -
Bill Kurtis: legendary broadcaster, Kansas native, KANU alumnus, and now...author! He joins us to talk about his new memoir, "Whirlwind: My Life Reporting the News," in advance of his Lawrence book launch, September 18th. We also preview the Kansas Book Festival, coming up September 20th in Topeka. -
35 years ago, Senator Bob Dole led a delegation to Kosovo to signal support for the republic's independence movement. Dole Institute of Politics director Audrey Coleman talks about the significance of that historic visit and this year's fall line-up at the Institute. We also hear from Fran Borin, author of "The Spirit of Quindaro," named a Great Read from Great Places book for young readers.
