Residents of an apartment complex in Gardner, Kansas, were kicked out of their homes earlier this year when the city condemned the property for unsafe living conditions, but one change in a law could help. Plus: A Missouri researcher says "radical empathy" can help combat today's conspiracy theories, which may help when you go home for the holidays.

When the city of Gardner in eastern Kansas ordered Aspen Place apartments closed for unsafe living conditions last May, residents only had 48 hours to leave their homes. As Dylan Lysen of the Kansas News Service reports, applying the Kansas Consumer Protection Act to residential rentals could help balance power between landlords and tenants. One lawmaker hopes it may force landlords to improve their properties so tenants don’t live in squalor.

Avoiding uncomfortable conversations at holiday gatherings may no longer be as simple as avoiding talk of politics and religion. That’s because more than 75% of Americans now agree with at least one conspiracy theory, according to a survey published by the National Academy of Sciences last year. University of Missouri assistant professor Chris Conner tells Anne Kniggendorf the key to bringing those believers back into mainstream society is leading with empathy.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. This episode was produced by Mackenzie Martin and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Emily Younker.

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