Popcorn wasn’t always seen as the ultimate movie snack, but one woman from Kansas City helped change that. Plus: Some Kansas schools are easing up on playground rules in hopes of improving kids’ physical and mental health.

A century ago, popcorn was actually banned from cinemas. A Kansas City widow named Julia Braden was one of the first popcorn vendors to talk her way inside the lobby. From the KCUR podcast A People’s History of Kansas City, Mackenzie Martin has the story.

Most schools have rules for recess that forbid any kind of rough-and-tumble activities, because they want kids to be safe. But some Kansas schools are trying a new approach that lets children play more freely, as Suzanne Perez of the Kansas News Service reports.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love, and KCUR Studios, and edited by Lisa Rodriguez and Gabe Rosenberg.

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