Central Standard

Photographer Seph Lawless has been photographing abandoned malls and deserted locations for over a decade. But he calls Metro North Mall the creepiest in America. A chat with Seph about his Metro North photos, and also with a KC Star reporter about the state of our malls — and mall development — in town. Plus, an encore presentation with a local author whose Landry Park books for teens depict a dystopian Kansas City in the year 2300. Guests: Seph Lawless, photographer Steve Vockrodt, reporter,

What are the books that you turn to when you need to connect with something bigger than yourself? KCUR's Bibliofiles recommend their own personal classics, their dog-eared favorites that they turn to frequently. Guests: Jeffrey Ann Goudie, freelance book reviewer Kaite Stover, Kansas City Public Library Mark Luce, The Barstow School Natasha El-Scari, local writer and poet

When Central Standard left off for the holiday, a lot of our listeners were anticipating a highly politicized and contentious Thanksgiving. Some were dreading conversations, others were ready to bond in either agony or excitement. We check in with a few people across that spectrum to reflect on the recent holiday. Guests: Michele Smirnova , sociology professor, UMKC Jenny Kincaid , politically-divided family Terry Blastenbrei ​, worked for Clinton campaign Ron Davidow , politically-united family

Local actor Damron Russell Armstrong recently started a theater company. The Black Repertory Theater of Kansas City made it's debut back in August, but that's not the only thing he's been up to – Armstrong is also directing the play "An Octoroon," which opens Nov. 30 at The Unicorn . Plus, we check in with Missouri's Chess Champion as he gears up to defend his title. Guests: Damron Russell Armstrong , actor and director, executive artistic director, Black Repertory Theater Abhishek Mallela ​,

A check-in with Aubrey Paine, whose second grade class in the Hickman Mills School District has changed a lot since the start of the school year: only seven of the original 18 students are there. Plus, we remember the life of Tom Poe: activist, minister, UMKC professor and a KCUR film critic. Guests: Aubrey Paine, second grade teacher, Ingels Elementary Barb Shelly, KCUR contributor CJ Janovy, KCUR arts reporter Alex Smith, KCUR health reporter

With the opening of relations to Cuba, and Kansas City's recent focus on Cuban photography and art , we look at Cuban influence on Kansas City culture over time. We then broaden the conversation to consider the intersecting Cuban and Afro-Latino identities in the metro area. Guests: Antonio Marquez Bird Fleming , executive director, Traditional Music Society Pablo Sanhueza , jazz musician

Actor and Late Night Theatre director Ron Megee says he isn't out to change the world. His troupe, where men often play women and vice versa, performs campy spoofs on popular television shows and movies. And camp , he says, "is a frame of mind." "We're putting something up on stage and twisting it to the point of humor," Megee says. Take, for example, the time he played Lily Tomlin's character from the 1980 movie Nine to Five , where Tomlin is a disgruntled, world-weary office worker. He noticed

Turkey? Check. Stuffing? Done. Cranberry sauce? Got it. Preparing for a big Thanksgiving feast comes with a long to-do list, but this year, you probably need to add one more big item: a plan for talking about the recent election. How to approach race, religion and politics at your family dinner table this holiday. Plus, a local opera singer will perform the work of Venetian composer Barbara Strozzi in an upcoming concert . We hear a sample, and a bit of Strozzi's life story. Guests: Susan Wilson

A chat with the local actor and director about being an out teen in Blue Springs, how he helped create the campy and irreverent Late Night Theatre group and how, until recently, he couldn't perform onstage without throwing up. Guest: Ron Megee, Late Night Theatre

The story of how a local art gallery curator, while on his honeymoon in Guatemala, came across the intricate embroidery work of Antonio Ramirez Sosof, a self-taught artist who used to be a lumberjack. Plus, an encore presentation of how a KU professor discovered that Neanderthals adorned their bodies with eagle talon jewelry. Guests: Israel Garcia, Garcia Squared Contemporary David Frayer, Professor, Department of Anthropology at KU