Aaron Dontez Yates, better known as Tech N9ne, is a Kansas City native, rapper, and record label co-founder. He’s taken the hip hop world by storm for decades and has written anthem after anthem for Kansas City.

The rap legend has dropped more than twenty albums, three of which have gone gold, collaborated with greats from The Doors, to Kendrick Lamar, to Gary Clarke Jr., and holds the record for most top 10 albums on the rap chart - all as an independent artist.

Tech talks about how music has carried him since writing his first rap in 7th grade, which he so kindly performs, how he got his name and what it means to him today, and how his upbringing kept him grounded throughout his journey. We cover everything from ghost hunting, to fatherhood, to sobriety, giving back to the community that formed him, and why he’ll always feel “there’s no place like home.”

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brenda Tinnen is not the type of woman to take “no” for an answer.

Her career in entertainment started on her mother’s lap, helping out in the old Kansas City A’s ticket office. From there, she worked her way from the Kemper Arena, to Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, leading arenas and sports franchises and finding incredible success in what was then a male-driven industry.

The KC native finally found her way back to the motherland as the driving force behind the world-renowned Sprint (T-Mobile) Center.

Come along for her incredible ride!   

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alex Gordon is one of the best players in Royals history and destined to be a member of the Royal’s Hall of Fame. He may have been the quiet leader of the 2015 World Series Champion Kansas City Royals, but his climb through the big leagues was anything but quiet. He struggled early in his career to try and live up to the hype that he was the “next George Brett”, but once he moved from 3rd base to left field, everything fell into place.

Alex talks about the ups and downs, how his work ethic and patience have paid huge dividends in his career, and what it means to him to have retired as a Royal. How much is he respected? The team's “Heart and Hustle” Award is also known as the Alex Gordon Award. He also takes great pride in his history as a Cornhusker, and the fact he is a member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame — now located at Prairie Fire in Overland Park. Since retiring in 2020, Alex, his wife Jamie and their three children are giving back to the city they now call home.      

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Long is a father, a husband, a businessman, a Kansas City transplant, and along with his wife Angie and Brittany Mahomes, the founder and owner of the Kansas City Current.

Chris takes us on his journey from growing up in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, to meeting Angie in a business class at Princeton, to the family’s journey back to Angie’s hometown, Kansas City. Together, the power couple started Palmer Square Capital Management.

Hear all about what inspired the pursuit of a KC NWSL team, the “green flags” that made it possible, and what brought the leadership to the bar-setting, ceiling-shattering, hyper-local focus that has defined the Current — like being the first in the world to build a stadium specifically for a women’s sports team. 

Don’t miss this conversation packed with innovation, inspiration, and Kansas City love from one of its most talented, intelligent, and forward-thinking leaders.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Garozzo is an Italian restauranteur, a St. Louis native, a Chiefs mega-fan, a bonafide movie star, and a Kansas City household name. 

Mike started his career as a busboy at 13 with a dream of one day owning his own restaurant. Hailing from “The Hill”, St. Louis’s Italian neighborhood, Mike worked his way into the world of Italian fine dining before putting his own stamp on the Kansas City restaurant scene with “Garozzo’s Ristorante” in Columbus Park, where “Chicken Spiedini began!”

Mike has hosted everyone from Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid and his quarterback Patrick Mahomes to Tony Bennett and Kid Rock. In today’s episode he talks family, history, and the legends who made him who he is today. You’re in for a fun trip with the one and only Michael Garozzo.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Becky Blades is an author, a motivational speaker, an artist, a sculptor, a mentor, and even a licensed pilot. From her early days in PR at Starlight Theater, to her time as Kansas City entrepreneur and business owner, to her journey into writing and creating, her funny, refreshing, no nonsense approach to life and knack for bold leadership will leave you inspired — and smiling.

Becky’s writing has been featured on Oprah, in the Huffington Post, in Grown & Flown and beyond. Her art is represented by The Eva Reynolds Gallery in Kansas City along with other galleries across the country. Her book, “Advice Your Mom Would Give You If She Thought You Were Listening”, was a Best Book selection. 

Join us for a fun conversation with the multi-talented Becky Blades.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jim Eddy is a Kansas City second-generation restauranteur and Kansas City native who has seen it all. Take a trip back in time to the food, entertainment, and lifestyle from the 1940s, ‘50’s and 60’s in Kansas City to today. The “Eddy Brothers” became world-famous during the era of the Supper Club Circuit, and Kansas City was right in the middle of the boom.

Eddy’s Supper Club at 13th and Baltimore was hoppin’ in the ‘50’s, hosting some of the biggest names in pop music. Jim Eddy talks through everything from mandated 24/7 bowling alleys during WWII, to a terrible business decision passing on a to-be pop icon, to the KC Chiefs and Popeye’s chicken. Take the wild ride through KC food history with Jim Eddy!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kate McLiney is a Kansas City blogger, influencer, and native with a passion for sharing all of KC’s best-kept secrets with the community. “LoKCal” hit Instagram five years ago, and Kate has since become one of the top influencers in the KC Metro. 

The Brookside local and Notre Dame de Sion grad made her way to Arkansas for college before returning home to KC and starting a career at Cerner, where she found herself surprised time and time again at all that her hometown now had to offer.

Five years ago, she felt inspired to start sharing the events, stories, meals, and businesses she was discovering through a blog and Instagram account appropriately named “LoKCal”. Covid transformed the passion project, bringing her deeper into conversation with the people behind the places. Today, Katie runs her own boutique recruiting firm — MAC Industries — and spends her free time exploring the people, places, and stories that make Kansas City so unique.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joyce DiDonato is a transformative presence in the arts. The international opera star has been called “the most potent female singer of her generation.”

From humble beginnings in a big Irish family in Prairie Village, Kansas to international superstar, Joyce DiDonato has dazzled audiences from around the world with her mezzo soprano voice that has been labeled “24-karat gold.”

Learn how she overcame rejection and turned it into motivation to rise to the top of her profession, but still refers to herself as “just Joyce from Kansas.” And stick around until the end to hear how she manages to bring even Frank to tears!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cliff Illig is an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, and a native Kansas Citian. Cliff went from working for his father loading punch cards into a computer, to writing up a business plan with some friends on a picnic bench in Loose Park, to founding Cerner, a $5 billion dollar healthcare software company. Now principal owner of Sporting Kansas City, Cliff talks Kansas City soccer and all that went into bringing the World Cup to our town. You’ll discover how saying things like, “figure it out”, “slog away at it” and “what would Neal do” became Cerner’s mantra for success.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.