Kansas Reflector Podcast

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Kansas Reflector Podcast

The Kansas Reflector Podcast, hosted by senior reporter Tim Carpenter, presents voices from the people and politics of Kansas.

Christy Davis answers questions for podcast

USDA official sees rural Kansas as ‘the best-kept secret out there’

HOSTED BY: - October 10, 2022

Kansas is known for sunflowers, bison, farms and rural communities. But as our country and state grow ever more closely connected and urbanized, what does that mean for small towns and communities across the Sunflower State? Christy Davis, the Kansas director for USDA Rural Development, helps us answer that question. Read more: ‘It means community’: […]

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Kansas Reflector podcast recording

New deal to transfer Kansas community college credits to private colleges

HOSTED BY: - October 3, 2022

Matt Lindsey, president of the Kansas Independent College Association, and Heather Morgan, executive director of the Kansas Community College Association, talk about a new transfer agreement among 39 colleges in those organizations. The agreement guarantees students earning a two-year degree at a community college the opportunity to enroll at one of the independent colleges as […]

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How transgender hate in governor’s race and schools harms Kansas kids

HOSTED BY: - September 26, 2022

Republican Derek Schmidt’s gubernatorial campaign has embraced anti-transgender hate speech, and the Gardner Edgerton School District has entertained a discriminatory policy. D.C. Hiegert, an American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas legal fellow focusing on LGBTQ issues, and Brenan Riffel, a Kansas Reflector columnist and University of Kansas graduate student, talk with opinion editor Clay Wirestone and […]

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U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran participates in a podcast recording at the Kansas Reflector office in Topeka. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran on veterans, 988 hotline, abortion and staying in office

HOSTED BY: - September 19, 2022

Republican U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran says he has grown more knowledgeable during his quarter-century of service in the nation’s capital — while his disdain for the game of politics has deepened. He faces a challenge from Democrat Mark Holland in November. Moran talks about expanding health care benefits for military veterans suffering from toxic exposure, […]

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Kansas Lottery director talks launch of sports gambling

HOSTED BY: - September 12, 2022

Stephen Durrell, executive director of the Kansas Lottery, discusses the introduction of legal sports gambling in Kansas. Online and in-person sports wagering is available at casinos in Mulvane and Kansas City, Kansas, while online bets through apps are being handled at Pittsburg and Dodge City casinos. Read more: Opening of Kansas sports betting reveals appeal […]

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Chris Mann, Democratic nominee for attorney general, prepares for podcast interview Sept. 2, 2022, at the Kansas Reflector office in Topeka. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Chris Mann’s path from police officer to candidate for Kansas attorney general

HOSTED BY: - September 6, 2022

Chris Mann, the Democratic nominee for Kansas attorney general, talks about his background as a police officer, crime victim, prosecutor and defense lawyer. He is running against Republican Kris Kobach. Read more: Kansas attorney general candidate emerges from tragedy with refined sense of public service Auto-generated transcript of this episode

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Joe Spease, chief executive officer of WindSoHy in Overland Park, said Kansas offers clean electricity from wind power and massive underground storage caverns to create robust businesses devoted to using hydrogen as an energy source for industry and consumers. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas entrepreneur Joe Spease on the power of hydrogen

HOSTED BY: - August 29, 2022

Joe Spease, CEO of WindSoHy in Overland Park, outlines the potential for using “green hydrogen” to fuel vehicles and generate electricity, significantly reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Read more: Energy entrepreneur: Kansas wind power, underground storage fuels optimism of hydrogen’s potential Auto-generated transcript of this episode

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Mark Holland appears Aug. 19, 2022, for a podcast recording at the Kansas Reflector office in downtown Topeka. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Democrat Mark Holland on why he wants to be a U.S. senator

HOSTED BY: - August 22, 2022

Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Mark Holland wants to change arc of Kansas political history with straight talk on health care, election fraud and abortion. The former mayor of the Unified Government of Kansas City, Kansas, faces incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran in November. Read more: Kansas Democrat Mark Holland not interested in being footnote […]

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Allie Utley and Jae Moyer celebrate at the Kansans for Constitutional Freedom watch party after Kansans vote to keep abortion a constitutional right on Tuesday. (Lily O'Shea Becker/Kansas Reflector)

What we learned from the Kansas abortion vote and primary results

HOSTED BY: , and - August 8, 2022

The Aug. 2 election was a political earthquake in Kansas. The headline was a 59-41% vote against a constitutional amendment that would have allowed the Legislature to ban abortion. But there were a host of other high-profile races as well. Read more: These four dumb responses totally misread the stunning Kansas abortion rights vote Auto-generated […]

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Bob Beatty, political science professor at Washburn University, appears for a podcast recording in the Kansas Reflector office in downtown Topeka. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas political ads for the Aug. 2 primary

HOSTED BY: - July 27, 2022

It’s primary time again in Kansas, and the television ads are assaulting viewers with images, ideas and ideology of candidates. Bob Beatty, political science professor at Washburn University and the state’s foremost chronicler of Kansas political ads, joins Tim Carpenter to march through some of the season’s campaign ads. Read more: Kansas primary delivers advertisements […]

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Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat seeking reelection in 2022, urges Kansans to participate in the Aug. 2 primary election and vote against a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution that would remove the right of women to seek an abortion. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on her time in office and reelection campaign

HOSTED BY: and - July 26, 2022

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is seeking a second term as the state’s chief executive. The former state senator from Topeka is traveling the state to make her case for reelection. She joins Tim Carpenter on the Kansas Reflector podcast to discuss her work as governor the past four years and her approach to the fall […]

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Kelly Sommers appears July 13, 2022, at the Kansas Reflector office in Topeka for a podcast recording. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Kelly Sommers on the role of Kansas nurses in abortion services

HOSTED BY: and - July 18, 2022

Kansas voters are already casting advanced ballots on a constitutional amendment that would remove the right to abortion access in Kansas. The Aug. 2 election will be the first time voters in any state make their voices heard on reproductive rights following the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Kansas Reflector editor in […]

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