Central Standard

Is there a middle ground when it comes to abortion? We hear the stories of two women who have come away from their own experiences with very different perspectives. Then, an attempt to go beyond the politics of abortion to see if common ground is possible. Guests: Monique Salazar Sue Borer Laura McQuade, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Great Plains Mary Kay Culp, State Executive Director, Kansans for Life

American troops have been in Iraq for three decades, from Operation Desert Storm in the 1990s to today, with civilians trapped in the ISIS-held city of Mosul. A conversation with three local veterans who have served in Iraq at different times and under different administrations. Guests: Kerry Steuart, served in the Air Force during Operation Desert Storm David Strange, retired Army officer, served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom Jacob Crowder, served in the Army Infantry in Kunar Province

Hungry kids need good food. Seems simple enough, right? Wrong. According to a Huffington Post article from February , school lunch programs are one of the most regulated nutritional programs. We'll get to know a few local "lunch ladies" and check in on school lunch programs in our area. Guests: Jane Black , Huffington Post Highline writer, " Revenge of the Lunch Lady " Leah Schmidt , nutrition services director, St. Joseph School District

At 1215 South Jefferson Avenue in St. Louis, a red brick building housed a chemical plant, owned by a black man who always dreamed of running his own business on a city block full of black business owners. In a new memoir to his father, the owner of Du-Good Chemical whose dreams became a reality, Kansas City writer Lewis Diuguid takes us back to that city block where he grew up. Plus, how a favorite childhood pastime of catching bugs became an academic career for one KU grad student. Guests:

She's a bestselling author who has written books about James Garfield, Theodore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. We talk with Candice Millard about how she found her niche of writing about the lesser-known incidents in a historical figure's life, and how her work and her life have intersected. Guest: Candice Millard

When you flip a light switch or plug something into an outlet, something usually happens. Lights come on, iPhones get charged. But where does that energy come from in Kansas City? How are we using it, and what is the future of energy here? Then, the story of Aldo Leopold, a Missourian and a passionate early writer about nature and conservation. Guests: Raymond Coveney, Professor Emeritus, Department of Geosciences , UMKC Dorothy Barnett, Executive Director, The Climate and Energy Project Warren

Can the arts survive without federal funding? With the potential elimination of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts , a look at how Brownback's Kansas might be a test case for art ... and a model for the rest of the country. Guests: Brenda Meder, Executive Director, Hays Arts Council Mike Morley, Board President, Hays Arts Council Saralyn Reece Hardy, Director, Spencer Museum of Art Hadara Bar-Nadav , poet and Associate Professor, Department of

At one point in history, Atchison, Kansas was positioned to be one of the main connecting points for the railways between Missouri and Kansas. The town played an important role in the Civil War, and had many significant residents. But what's going on there today? KCUR's Central Standard takes a rode trip to Atchison. Come along with us. Guests: Marge and Mike Begley , owners, Paolucci's Molly Jamvold ​, server, Paolucci's Bill Grippin , life-time Atchisonian Chris Taylor , executive director,

End-of-the-world scenarios have always been a popular fiction trope. Now, there's one scenario that doesn't seem so fictional , at least not anymore: climate change. Our Bibliofiles join us to talk about climate-fiction, or "cli-fi," and recommend their favorites in the genre. Guests: Jake Vail , Lawrence Public Library Anthony Sze-Fai Shiu , English professor, University of Missouri Kansas City Kaite Stover , Kansas City Public Library Jeffrey Ann Goudie ​, freelance book critic, The Kansas

The story behind the off-menu extra-crispy French fries at Gates, then KCUR's Food Critics search out the best fries in and around KC. Guests: George Gates, Gates Bar-B-Q Charles Ferruzza, The Independent and Shawnee Mission Post Jill Silva, The Kansas City Star Bonjwing Lee, The Ulterior Epicure