A People's History of Kansas City

Bluffs up to 120 feet tall once hugged the Missouri River by Kansas City — making it difficult to traverse the landscape and expand the growing town. So in the mid-1800s, a Catholic priest named Father Bernard Donnelly recruited hundreds of Irish immigrants for a dangerous but critical task: sculpting the city's streets from mountains of rock and mud. KCUR's Jacob Smollen reports.

With the Current’s trailblazing stadium, women’s soccer staked its claim as a vital part of Kansas City’s local identity. The women’s game is a central reason why this city will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and why the United States gets taken seriously in soccer at all. But after more than a century of prejudice, unequal funding and outright bans, fans don't take this dominance for granted. KCUR’s Suzanne Hogan brings us the third installment of our mini-series on Kansas City’s soccer history.

Kansas City, Missouri, became the first major city in the country to repeal its anti-jaywalking ordinance, after research found that tickets were being disproportionately issued to Black men. It’s a full-circle moment, because Kansas City was also the first city to criminalize jaywalking more than a century earlier. Mackenzie Martin reports in the second of our two-part series.

Kansas City was not only the birthplace of the term “jaywalking,” it also became the first city in the U.S. to arrest people for such a crime. Fueled by auto industry propaganda, this decision set off a nationwide trend to redesign our roads for the car — at the expense of everyone else. Mackenzie Martin reports in the first of our two-part series.

Since 1956, Leila Cohoon had amassed the world’s largest collection of hair art and jewelry — intricate works made of human hair. Her museum in Independence, Missouri, was the only one of its kind. But when Cohoon died last year, the future of this Kansas City institution — and the unusual tradition it preserved — was suddenly an open question. Suzanne Hogan speaks to KCUR’s Julie Denesha to find the answer.

As the United States prepares for the 2026 World Cup, it's hard to remember that professional soccer in this country once felt like an impossible dream. But one Kansas City businessman, better known as the founder of the Chiefs, was a steadfast believer.From the failed attempts at a national league, through the creation of MLS and the very first U.S. soccer stadium — Lamar Hunt was there. Suzanne Hogan brings us the second installment of our mini-series on Kansas City’s soccer history.

For decades, urban legends have held that tornadoes seem to “split” around certain cities, like Tonganoxie, Kansas, or avoid sacred places, like Burnett’s Mound in Topeka. Mackenzie Martin and Maya Cederlund investigate whether these weather myths are backed up by evidence — or if they’re just stories we tell ourselves in the dark.

Artist Luis Quintanilla fled Spain to escape fascism and civil war, but most of his work did not survive. Today, only two of his murals remain in the world, one of which sits in an otherwise ordinary corner on the campus of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. 85 years later, Quintanilla’s bizarre and enthralling masterpiece stands as a testament to immigrants, and a warning against authoritarianism. KCUR’s Nomin Ujiyediin reports.

On a Friday morning in rural Kansas, the publisher of a tiny local newspaper hears a knock at the door. It’s the police — with a search warrant. Within minutes, they’re inside his home, seizing his electronics. At the same time, officers are raiding his newsroom, confiscating computers and phones. No subpoena. No warning. And, according to legal experts, no right to do it. The publisher scrambles to understand: Why is this happening? Who’s behind it? He has made some enemies over the years, in this town of just 2,000 people. And then something even more devastating happens. A tragedy that would make national news, and change his life forever. (This episode comes to us from the podcast Question Everything.)

A People’s History of Kansas City is hitting the streets near you for several in-person bingo extravaganzas! Hosts Suzanne Hogan and Mackenzie Martin will be in North Kansas City on August 21, south Kansas City on August 26, and Lee’s Summit on September 3. In addition to everything you love about bingo, we’ll also have lots of Missouri history trivia to share — and regular PHKC listeners will have an advantage that could help you take home the top prizes. Be the first to know when tickets are available by signing up for alerts at kcur.org/bingo. Support for this event comes from Missouri Humanities.

Signed 35 years ago this month, the Americans with Disabilities Act was the world’s first comprehensive civil rights law for people with disabilities — guaranteeing equal opportunity in public accommodations, employment, and more. But as Mackenzie Martin reports, it likely wouldn't have passed without relentless grassroots activism, or the advocacy of Kansas Republican Bob Dole.

Kansas City is preparing to welcome soccer fans from all around the world for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It’s the smallest host city in North America, and has a lot of work left to get ready. But how did we get to this historic moment? Kansas City may not have embraced the sport at all if not for the immigrants who fought for the beautiful game, back before there were even soccer fields to play on. Suzanne Hogan brings us the first installment of a new mini-series on Kansas City’s soccer history.

As the gay rights movement began picking up steam in the 1970s, Barbara Grier co-founded the largest lesbian publishing company in the world — right from her Kansas City home. KCUR's Olivia Hewitt reports that Grier was bold, controversial, and unstoppable in her mission to make books reflect the people and love stories in her life.

Bruce R. Watkins Drive is an iconic, 10-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 71 that displaced thousands of people in Kansas City. It divided communities, sparked a movement and led to a rare compromise that residents still live with today. KCUR’s Celisa Calacal reports that a new federal grant is trying to mend some of those wounds.

Kansas City is asking voters to buy into its public school system for the first time in nearly 60 years. Even after Kansas City Public Schools regained accreditation and turned around student performance, its crumbling buildings offer a persistent reminder of the city’s disinvestment and distrust — a relationship strained by decades of racism, a history-making desegregation case, and plenty of internal turmoil. KCUR’s Jodi Fortino explains how the city and its schools got to this critical point.

As Kansas City celebrates the Chiefs’ third consecutive Super Bowl appearance, the team name, logo, and some problematic fan customs like the “tomahawk chop” are once again being broadcast worldwide. Suzanne Hogan explores how it all got started, and how the team avoided becoming the Kansas City Texans.

Popcorn and movie theaters are inseparable today. But a century ago, cinemas actually banned the beloved treat for being cheap and messy. As Mackenzie Martin reports, a Kansas City widow named Julia Braden became one of the first popcorn vendors to talk her way inside the lobby, and built a concession empire in the middle of the Great Depression.

Nora Holt was the first Black person in the United States to earn a master’s degree in music. A prolific composer of more than 200 musical pieces and a club-hopping socialite, she once wrote a 42-page work for a 100-piece orchestra. But you’ve probably never heard any of it. Scholars have dreamt of finding her stolen manuscripts for nearly a century, according to Classical KC’s Sam Wisman.

Kansas City composer Dana Suesse was behind some of the most popular American music of the 1930s. Nicknamed “the girl Gershwin,” Suesse’s songs like “You Oughta Be In Pictures” and “My Silent Love” were performed by stars like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. As Classical KC’s Lilah Manning reports, Suesse blazed a path on Tin Pan Alley in a music scene otherwise dominated by men.

In 1976, Kansas City, Missouri, was the unlikely host of a drama-filled Republican presidential convention that ended up defining the conservative agenda for decades to come. Incumbent President Gerald Ford found himself in a heated battle with then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan to win over delegates and obtain the party’s nomination. WFAE’s Ben Bradford tells the story of how this “shoot-out” shaped the modern GOP. (This episode comes to us from the podcast Landslide.)

The Veiled Prophet of St. Louis is an organization shrouded in mystery, an elite white secret society behind lavish parties, business developments and racist practices. As St. Louis Public Radio’s Chad Davis reports, the story of those who worked to unveil the Prophet directly laid the path to the Ferguson Uprising. (This episode comes to us from the podcast We Live Here.)

Armed with a tape recorder, Kansas City librarian Irene Ruiz cataloged the evolving history of the Westside and made the library a more welcoming place for the Mexican immigrants and Latinos who lived there. Today, the Westside branch of the Kansas City Public Library — featuring the robust Spanish language collection that Ruiz began — is named in her honor. Mackenzie Martin traces how Ruiz brought her activism and sense of community across all the chapters of her life.

The 19th-century American dance craze "the cakewalk" began as a form of resistance by enslaved Black people — a showy promenade concealing a mockery of slave owners. One of the most charismatic and famous cakewalking champions was Kansas City’s own Doc Brown. KCUR’s Julie Denesha reports on a modern movement to recognize Brown’s stamp on history.

Fifty years ago, thousands of people took over the small town of Sedalia, Missouri, for a party full of nudity, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll music that is often remembered as Missouri’s Woodstock. People still talk about the lore from that hot wild weekend. Local filmmaker Jefferson Lujin walks Suzanne Hogan through how it all went down. Depending on what side of the festival fence you were on it was three days of heaven — or three days of hell.

Most of Kansas was once covered by an ocean of grass and wildflowers. But that diverse prairie biome is collapsing, partly because of our obsession with trees. Humans have unleashed an aggressive “Green Glacier” that’s swallowing the Great Plains, and for these ranchers, saving the environment means being a tree killer — not a tree hugger. (This episode comes to us from the new KCUR Studios podcast Up From Dust, reported by Celia Llopis-Jepsen and David Condos.)

70 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional in its landmark decision Brown v. Board of Education. But the case may have played out differently if it hadn’t been for a tenacious group of women in Johnson County, Kansas, who led their own integration lawsuit five years earlier. As Mackenzie Martin reports, the case centered around a two-room schoolhouse and included a lengthy boycott, big-shot NAACP lawyers, FBI surveillance — and six very brave children.

Cassette tapes could have remained a relic of the 1970s and 80s. But against all odds, they’ve survived the eras of CDs and streaming to win over music lovers of a new generation. That’s in large part thanks to the National Audio Company in Springfield, Missouri, the largest cassette manufacturer in the world. Suzanne Hogan shares the story of how this proudly analog format found a new life.

Oreo is the best-selling cookie in the world today. But few people remember the product that Nabisco blatantly ripped off: Hydrox. A creation of Kansas City’s Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company, Hydrox was billed as the “aristocrat of cookies,” with a novel combo of chocolate and cream filling. So why, more than a century later, is Hydrox still mistaken as a cheap knockoff? Producer Mackenzie Martin documents the rise and fall of America’s first chocolate sandwich cookie.

Did you know that a certain cream-filled black and white sandwich cookie got its start right here in Kansas City? And no, we're not talking about the Oreo.A People's History of Kansas City is hosting a special live event on March 1, 2024, where host Suzanne Hogan and producer Mackenzie Martin will take you back to the birth of the very first: Hydrox. Hear our next episode before everyone else. Go to KCUR.org/cookies for tickets.

In the early 1900s, the three Conley sisters barricaded themselves in a Wyandot cemetery in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, to save it from destruction. Then Lyda Conley took the battle all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court — the first Indigenous woman to do so. In this episode, which originally aired in 2020, Suzanne Hogan uncovers Conley’s story and reports how the Kansas City arts community is newly celebrating her legacy.

In the late 1970s, a group of musicians in Topeka, Kansas formed what became one of the first all-women mariachi bands in the country. Mariachi Estrella broke down barriers in a male dominated music scene, before a deadly disaster almost ended the group for good. Suzanne Hogan tells how the band’s descendants are ensuring their legacy shines on, decades later.

When hip-hop first hit Kansas City streets, the effect was immediate. The new sound took over record stores, local high schools and underground dance parties. As America celebrates a half century of hip-hop, KCUR’s Lawrence Brooks IV honors Kansas City’s own contributions to the culture.

In 1948, Phillip Sollomi debuted an Italian vinaigrette at his Kansas City fried chicken restaurant, the Wishbone. An immediate hit, the salad dressing formed the foundation for an empire: For 75 years, Wish-Bone Italian dressing has helped bring people together around the dinner table, but few Kansas Citians know their connection to the iconic bottle. KCUR’s Jenny Vergara and Natasha Bailey track down why.

For more than a century, Kansas City has been haunted by the mysterious death of philanthropist Thomas Swope. Suspect number one is his nephew-in-law, Dr. Bennett Hyde, who stood to inherit a sizable portion of the Swope family fortune. But did Hyde really murder Thomas Swope, or was the physician actually the victim of a longstanding family grudge? This question was at the center of one of the most publicized murder trials of the early 20th century. Producer Mackenzie Martin walks host Suzanne Hogan through the evidence of this still-unsolved mystery.

Alvin Brooks is a public figure who has served as a bridge in Kansas City for decades. He was one of the city’s first Black police officers, an educator, a leader in the civil rights movement, a founder of Ad Hoc Group Against Crime and almost a Kansas City mayor. Yet few know about his personal life and the internal struggles he’s faced. KCUR’s Reginald David talks to Brooks about the moments in his life that shaped him and pushed him to fight for a better Kansas City.

At the turn of the 20th century, a self-taught caterer in Columbia gained national acclaim with her sought-after biscuit recipe. Fisher’s famous beaten biscuits made it onto the plates of presidents and Hollywood stars alike — making her one of the wealthiest Black women around. But her story may have been lost if not for a few determined Missouri women.

With more shoreline than the coast of California, the Lake of the Ozarks in mid-central Missouri is a popular tourist destination for land-locked Midwesterners. For decades, it's provided financial opportunities for locals and outside interests alike — but at what cost? The story of how this man-made body of water came to be involves corruption, jail time, communities torn apart, and displaced families.

Kansas City’s first Pride parade in 1977 was spearheaded by Lea Hopkins, a bold, Black lesbian whose organizing sparked a wider gay rights movement that continues today. But it was only a few weeks after that successful event that Hopkins found herself on the defense again, when a prominent anti-gay activist came on a crusade through town.

In the 1900s, the Neck neighborhood was the center of the Black community in Independence, Missouri. But by 1969, the neighborhood had been demolished — thanks to urban renewal policies put into place by President Harry S. Truman, who lived nearby. Today, it’s the site of McCoy Park, a vast green space that connects the Harry S. Truman Library to the Independence Square.

A 1975 protest at a McDonald’s restaurant in Kansas City emerged from years of escalating tension — between Black community members and their city, and between McDonald’s and the neighborhoods it occupied. But this particular location was also one of the first Black-owned fast-food franchises in the country, an accomplishment born from its own struggle for inclusion.

The White Castle chain began in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas, where its ingenious small burgers kicked off a national craze and inspired imitators of all shapes and sizes. But over a century later, White Castle has entirely vanished from its home state. And the story of how it introduced America to the hamburger and the concept of fast food has largely been overshadowed by its restaurant rivals.

KCUR Studios has a new investigative podcast. Overlooked tells the story of former police detective Roger Golubski, who put an innocent man in prison and is accused of sexually assaulting numerous Black women in Kansas City, Kansas. For decades, it was an open secret. How could this have happened for so long, and what does justice look like for his alleged victims? Hear chapter one now, and stay tuned for a new episode next week.

Independence, Missouri, was the door to America’s westward expansion in the 19th century. At its center stood Hiram Young, a formerly enslaved man who carved out a fortune, lost most of it, and whose influence on the region is beginning to spread.

Join the KCUR podcast team that makes "A People's History of Kansas City" live at the Gem Theater on Thursday, Sept. 1 for a behind-the-scenes look at their award-winning episode, "Kansas City's Barbecue King." There will be BBQ trivia, a special guest and some never-before-heard information about Henry Perry. Tickets available at kcur.org/events.

As Kansas City’s first Black-owned housing co-op, Parade Park helped residents pursue the American Dream of owning a home and building a community. But after 60 years, it’s uncertain if it can survive foreclosure and redevelopment.

This isn't the first time Missouri has banned abortions. Residents may have heard ghoulish tales of “Doc Annie” Smith, a physician who looms large in Missouri’s mythology for performing illegal abortions in the early 1900s. Today, the truth about her work has largely disappeared.

Chillicothe, Missouri, has an unusual claim to fame: It’s the town where sliced bread first debuted back in 1928. But despite being less than a century old, the origin of this revolutionary pantry staple was almost lost to history.

For three decades, Julia Lee reigned over Kansas City jazz clubs singing risqué songs “her mother taught her not to sing.” But beyond the lyrical wordplay of hits like "Snatch and Grab It," Lee was a trailblazer for Black female musicians, and forged a career on her own terms.

Years before the Stonewall uprising, Drew Shafer started Kansas City's first gay rights organization and published the first LGBTQ magazine in the Midwest. At one point, his Kansas City home was even the “information distribution center” for the entire gay rights movement.

Black-owned broadcasters have faced a difficult path in the United States, from Jim Crow-era discrimination to racist practices within the FCC. But in Kansas City, radio pioneer Andrew Skip Carter broke through — founding the country’s oldest Black owned radio company and inspiring new generations of talent.

Over the last century, the Country Club Plaza has survived natural disasters, social unrest and challenging economic climates. But how can we reckon the place we love with the controversial vision of its creator, J.C. Nichols?

Fed up with harassment and housing discrimination, lesbians in 1990s Kansas City dreamed of a place where they could "walk hand in hand, freely down the streets." So they created Womontown. The self-sufficient community encompassed 12 city blocks and attracted women from all over the U.S.

No Midwestern cookout is complete without a delicious chili or dip simmering in a Crock-Pot. But when the device was first unveiled by a Kansas City company in 1971, it promised something more: freedom. Plus, a preview of our upcoming season in May.

George Floyd’s murder sparked a long overdue reckoning of racial injustice in 2020. But no one experienced the movement in quite the same way. To take the pulse of what changed in Kansas City, we talked to protesters and police on the front lines, and the officials and advocates working behind the scenes on reform.

Walt Disney gets most of the credit for creating Mickey Mouse. But few know the real story: Kansas City animator Ub Iwerks, Disney’s best friend, was the first to bring the iconic character to life. Then Mickey's success almost tore them apart for good.

The history of the Missouria people and how a prolific Otoe-Missouria storyteller helped preserve a fading language.

In the early 1900s, Sarah Lloyd Green was notorious for sticking it to the man as a feminist, suffragette and labor organizer in Kansas City. Her story isn't well known, but she was a champion for Black and white laundry workers and even started a waitress union.

The story of Cathay Williams, a pioneer in the fight against race and gender discrimination. Growing up enslaved in Independence, Missouri, she disguised herself as a man in order to become a legendary Buffalo Soldier.

The story behind the Black entrepreneur in the 1900s who made Kansas City barbecue a national treasure. Before Arthur Bryant and Ollie Gates, there was Henry Perry.

People from Kansas City know that our city’s name can be confusing to outsiders, because there is more than one Kansas City. But how close were we to being called something else?

Season 2 of A People's History of Kansas City is finally here, and we're starting from the beginning of Kansas City's History.

An important message from the team behind A People's History of Kansas City.

A historian says Kansas City "blew it" in the 1918 flu pandemic. How a corrupt political system and the end of World War I led to a bungled response and an overwhelming loss of life.

In Depression-era Missouri, Jim the Wonder Dog earned his name from his ability to predict the future, and answer questions that should be otherwise unanswerable for a dog (or even a person in some cases): from allegedly predicting the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the World Series to knowing the gender of unborn babies.

A cosmetologist becomes obsessed with the Victorian tradition of hair art, and amasses the world's largest collection in Independence, Missouri. Each of these art pieces is woven with human hair, often in memory of loved ones and friends. Leila's Hair Museum has revived the art and launched a 21st century tradition of hair jewelry.

The story of the pugnacious Kansas sheriff and attorney general Vern Miller, whose antics seemed to be a throwback to the Wild West era but left a surprising legacy. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher

The oldest continuously-operating Latino services center in the United States is right here in Kansas City. 101 years ago, the Guadalupe Center was established to "Americanize" Mexicans who had moved here to work on the railroads. But over the course of a century, Latinos transformed the organization, and Kansas City.

Many early, unique dialects of German are preserved in communities in small towns in Missouri and Kansas. But they're endangered. Meet a handful of linguistic diehards in Cole Camp, Missouri, and hear about their valiant efforts to save their immigrant history.

The prestigious, historically Black high school in Kansas City is becoming more integrated. Hear how Lincoln's alumni, students and faculty are trying to make sure the school's legacy as an incubator for Black excellence is not forgotten.

Three sisters barricaded themselves in a Wyandot cemetery in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, in the early 1900s, in order to save it from destruction. Hear how the Wyandot came to settle in Kansas, and how one of those sisters, Lyda Conley, took the battle over the cemetery all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

KCUR's Suzanne Hogan brings you tales of the everyday heroes, renegades and visionaries who shaped Kansas City and the region. If these stories aren't told, they're in danger of fading into the past. The first episode drops February 6. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play