Show-Me Institute Audio Briefs features audio versions of select articles, commentary, and publications from the Show-Me Institute.

Learn more at showmeinstitute.org: https://showmeinstitute.org/article/state-and-local-government/local-issues-on-the-ballot-in-missouri-this-august/

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This episode was produced using AI-generated narration.

On June 26, 2026, while guest hosting Mundo in the Morning on KCMO Talk Radio, Patrick Tuohey, senior fellow at the Show-Me Institute, spoke with Jonathan Whitehead of the Law Offices of Jonathan R. Whitehead LLC, a Lee's Summit-based civil rights attorney, about Kansas City's race- and sex-conscious contracting program. The city's own consultants recently told the council it lacks the legal basis to continue the program, and Whitehead walks through the Supreme Court precedent that governs these programs, what strict scrutiny actually requires, and why the city may now be exposed to a lawsuit.

Listen to the full episode: https://www.kcmotalkradio.com/shows/mundo-in-the-morning-2/

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Jude Schwalbach, senior policy analyst at Reason Foundation, about declining K-12 enrollment nationwide and what it means for the future of open enrollment. They discuss why enrollment dropped in 40 states since the pandemic, how districts have responded to increased competition from charter, private, and homeschooling options, why open enrollment tends to cause far less disruption than critics predict, the case for Missouri to catch up with its neighboring states, and more.

Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

Show-Me Institute Audio Briefs features audio versions of select articles, commentary, and publications from the Show-Me Institute.

Learn more at showmeinstitute.org: https://showmeinstitute.org/article/education/technology-and-our-children-theyre-almost-like-addicts/

Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

This episode was produced using AI-generated narration.

Show-Me Institute Audio Briefs features audio versions of select articles, commentary, and publications from the Show-Me Institute.

Learn more at showmeinstitute.org: https://showmeinstitute.org/article/economy/the-senior-services-tax-proposal-in-st-louis-county-is-as-bad-as-it-gets/

Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

This episode was produced using AI-generated narration.

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Thomas C. Albus, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, about public safety and criminal justice reform in the St. Louis region. They discuss the limits of risk assessment tools in bail decisions, why the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County have such different homicide rates, the case for judicial discretion over algorithmic recommendations, the connection between education, social capital, and crime, and more.

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Susan Pendergrass speaks with Chad Aldeman, education policy researcher and founder of Read Not Guess, about Missouri's early literacy crisis and why the legislature has struggled to address it. They discuss what it means for a fourth grader to be below basic in reading, why three-cueing may be harmful to early readers, the science of reading and what it actually prescribes, the case for third-grade retention policies, and more.

Learn more about Read Not Guess at https://www.readnotguess.com.

Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

Show-Me Institute Audio Briefs features audio versions of select articles, commentary, and publications from the Show-Me Institute.

Read the FAQs Here: https://showmeinstitute.org/article/state-and-local-government/amendment-5-faqs/

Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

This content was produced using AI-generated narration.

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Joseph Haslag, Donald R. Street Endowed Professor and Department Head of Economics at Auburn University, about his new Show-Me Institute report, "Looking for Growth: A Productivity Story." They discuss why Missouri ranks 44th in GDP growth and labor productivity, the case for eliminating the state income tax, why industrial policy tends to fail, the role of higher education in driving innovation, and more.

Read the full report at https://bit.ly/4gB48Eq

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Susan Pendergrass speaks with Andy Smarick, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, about Missouri's education leadership shake-up and what comes next. They discuss how to find the right commissioner of education, why outside reformers tend to succeed where insiders struggle, what the dismantling of the US Department of Education means for state accountability systems, why public complacency about poor academic outcomes persists, and more.

Produced by Show-Me Opportunity