Kansas Reflector Podcast

A university and two colleges in central and western Kansas teamed up to confront the area's workforce challenges head on through career development and accessible education initiatives.

Kansas Reflector staff sort through the ruby red results in this year's election, and what they mean for the Legislature, State Board of Education, and national politics.

Wayne Walker, owner of Common Ground Capital and CEO of LPC Conservation, and Mike Smith, who works with LPC Conservation projects in five states, talk about the vulnerability of the lesser prairie chicken.

Michael Smith and Ed Flentje, two of the four authors of "Reform and Reaction: The Arc of Kansas Politics," talk about their book, which identifies Gov. Sam Brownback as an outlier among more policy-driven governors who served the state since 1975.

Gov. Laura Kelly predicts voters in the Nov. 5 election will enable Democrats to claim at least two more seats in the Kansas House and three more seats in the Kansas Senate to eliminate the two-thirds supermajority held by Republicans at the Statehouse.

Reporter Anna Kaminski examines a recent state audit and legislators' questions about the effectiveness of tax increment financing districts — also known as TIF districts — in the state's largest cities.

Richard Muma earned his doctorate 20 years ago before climbing the ranks at Wichita State University, becoming president in 2020.

Now, an investigation by Kansas Reflector senior reporter Tim Carpenter has found dozens of instances where Muma copied someone else's work into his doctoral dissertation without adequate attribution.

Carpenter joins editor in chief Sherman Smith to talk about the story and how he reported it.

Correction: Kansas Reflector exchanged emails and/or phone calls with Wichita State University spokeswoman Lainie Mazzullo-Hart on Sept. 10, Sept. 30, Oct. 1 and Oct. 4. An earlier version of this recording incorrectly stated the number of times Kansas Reflector asked for an interview.

Robert Rowland, a University of Kansas professor of communication studies, says the vice presidential debate between Republican J.D. Vance and Democrat Tim Walz carries elevated importance given the extremely close presidential campaign between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

Abortion access in Kansas remains at the forefront of state politics, with the 2024 election a little more than a month away. Kansas Women Attorneys for Freedom are at the forefront of this issue. Two members of the group, Adina Morse and Nicole Revenaugh join the Kansas Reflector podcast to talk about their priorities.

For years, the Kansas Legislature has grappled with the best way to help Kansans in need, including children in foster care. Lawmakers in two interim committees recently met to hear about progress, or the lack of it, in these areas. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone talks with reporter Anna Kaminski about the state's efforts to improve the child welfare system.