Before he ever saw the ICE Warrant ordering his removal from the United State, Victor Herrera describes this one point in his life as an immigrant in the United States like this, "I feel like I’m in a bucket full of shit, and I’m drowning in it

Episode 17 - The Book I Read

Feb 14th, 2018 49m 58s

When I was in fourth grade, there was this box in the back of our classroom. It was filled with multi-colored tabs with stories and questions printed on each. Our teacher was Ms. Evans, yes, she was my mom — and that box was the SRA reading la

Episode 16 - Looking through windows: a 4,000 mile walk to say I love you. Then 8,000 miles more

Oct 13th, 2017 33m 10s

This is the story of how Unbound, one of the midwest's largest non-profits, was formed from the vision of a man with a very different take on charity and giving. In November of 1981, Kansas City Missouri, Bob Hentzen and 3 of his 14 siblings, a

Episode 15 - Washington Bullets: The Martyrdom of Father Stanley Rother

Sep 19th, 2017 34m 44s

On September 23rd Father Stan Rother will be the first American born martyr beatified by the Catholic church. Though it’s the story of Father Stan Rother, this one doesn’t end in death. Stan Rother was one casualty of the decades long Guatemala

Episode 14 All of God's Money - A Sofa, A Mass, and The 27th Out

Sep 7th, 2017 25m 3s

This is the first time I’ve uttered out loud these words: my lady has cancer.

Episode 13 - I'll Be You; The Autistic, The Abolitionist, and The English Paper

Aug 5th, 2017 35m 29s

In 1917 a german man named Charles Huffman was making fabric dye in five gallon enamel pots in a vacant store in Chicago. He named his product RIT dye in honor of his friend, Louis Rittenhouse, a vice president his Sunbeam Chemical Company. The

Episode 12 - An Interview with Mayor Sly James

Jul 17th, 2017 29m 37s

If you want to know what it’s like to sit behind Mayor Sly James’ desk, best not ask him; he’d have to find about 20 minutes in his schedule to clear the space to sit there. There’s two-feet of work stacked on the chair and another couple feet

Episode 11 - Breaking Rocks in the Hot Sun Part 2

Jun 28th, 2017 29m 3s

To look at the future of Harrison Street DIY Skatepark, I need to be explicit about a few things: First, they did build on land they have permission to build on, but no real agreement. They choose a little strip of abandoned land with all kinds

Episode 10 - Breaking Rocks in the Hot Sun, Part 1

Jun 12th, 2017 31m 52s

For 30 months, a crew of volunteers have been building the Harrison Street DIY skate park in an abandoned cul de sac in Kansas City’s Columbus Park Neighborhood, at 4th and Harrison.  What started out as a few bags of Quickcrete, mixed with sh

Episode 9 - Run Baby Run

May 29th, 2017 34m 55s

Since 2011 I've run a few thousand miles along the Indian Creek and Blue River Trail. I run this trail because it's safer here than running on the surrounding roads. As much as I think about my own safety when I run, the threats for me aren't a

Episode 8 - The Silver Screen and All the Magazines

May 12th, 2017 35m 18s

The first Chapter of Lipstick traces is called "The Last Sex Pistols Concert." That show was on January 14th, 1978 at the Winterland in San Francisco. The opening band was this San Francisco punk rock group called The Nuns. In that chapter and

Episode 7 - Horizons Get Hazy

Apr 19th, 2017 31m 11s

Throughout human history, structures like the Lighthouse of Alexandria served as a welcoming beacon for the traveller, eaching out to guide them through the perils of a place they may have never seen, or one they may not recognize. In America -

Episode 6 - The Distance Between You and Me, Part 2

Apr 4th, 2017 28m 31s

This second episode looking at refugee musicians in the US is the story of a Kurdish family. A musician father, his wife children and the story they share with one another — whether they realize it or not. They left Syria as refugees and contin

Episode 5 -The Distance Between You and Me Part 1

Mar 20th, 2017 33m 15s

This is the first episode telling the stories of some musicians who’ve come to America as refugees. It’s a creation odyssey. The creation of Kuomba Ministries. Like any odyssey, this one involves death, new life, near-death, and some inexplicab

Episode 4 - Emotional Rescue #VeryImportantPicco

Mar 6th, 2017 35m 57s

If you’ve never had your heart broken and want to see what it’s like, get a dog. Picco and I have run over 5,000 miles together. We’ve touched two oceans. He’s been with me at shows in bars across the midwest, down the Eastern seaboard and Sou

Episode 3 - Everywhere At Once

Feb 20th, 2017 44m 25s

Over the past month, we’ve had a lot of activity around immigration and refugees and I've been thinking a lot about Presidents. So I started reading what past American presidents have said about it. What guidance is there for us in the past?

Episode 2 - AmericanGuitars

Feb 2nd, 2017 36m 37s

What can electric guitars teach us about the American economy? Big Box retail may have spurred some innovative manufacturing techniques. Automation, robotics, CNC carving; all of it means we can make guitars — or anything — to tighter tolerance

Episode 1 - Houses of Concrete and Wood

Jan 3rd, 2017 29m 33s

Our first Thing is Blue Dawn Manor, the neighborhood I grew up in. I used to play baseball in the Healys’ back yard. It was the infield which made my back yard dead center field and the Smith’s pool in Left Field the water spectacular. I knew a

Rate