
Hosted by Kaye McIntyre · EN
Prairie Journal is an opportunity to showcase high-profile, thought-provoking lectures, discussions and dialogues recorded throughout the region. There are so many fascinating people who come to this area, everyone from Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor to syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts. Prairie Journal is a great way to share some of those lectures with our listeners. We have also been able to expand the program to cover a broad range of topics, including the Kansas Sesquicentennial, the National Day of Listening and the Kansas Reads program sponsored by the State Library of Kansas, just to name a few.

As Bill Kurtis marks his last weekend as scorekeeper for NPR's "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me," we revisit KPR's book launch event for his memoir, "Whirlwind: My Life Reporting the News."

Our Kansas 250 Bookshelf series continues with two books for kids and teens: Henry, Like Always by Jenn Bailey and A Constellation of Roses by Miranda Asebedo.

KPR's Community Spotlight is on Kansas Trails Inc. this month. KPR's Kaye McIntyre visits with Mike Scanlon, executive director.

A father's story of love, grief, and lessons learned from loss. Bryan Welch of Lawrence is the author of The Gift of a Broken Heart: How Our Grief Can Connect Us.

Scott Simon is the host of NPR's Weekend Edition AND the author of several books, including the hot-off-the-press Ulysses S. Cat and Other Animals I Have Known.

Historian Ian Shaw takes us back to Coffeyville in 1892, the double bank robbery that brought the Dalton Gang to an end, and the surprising story of the gang's lone survivor.

Kansas lawmakers wrapped up their 2026 session earlier this month. KPR's Statehouse Bureau Chief Zach Boblitt and Emporia State University's Michael Smith review what legislators did -- and didn't -- get done.

We head outside and celebrate Kansas nature with a little help from the Kansas 250 Bookshelf. This month's featured books include Kansas Wildflowers and Weeds, Elevations: A Personal Exploration of the Arkansas River, A Kansas Bestiary, and others.

From false teeth to organ transplants, Mary Roach explores how medicine and science are working together to create new body parts in her latest book, Replaceable You.

We head outside and celebrate Kansas nature with a little help from the Kansas 250 Bookshelf. This month's featured books include The Last Wild Places of Kansas by George Frazier, Kansas Trail Guide by Jonathan and Kristin Conard, and Ava: A Year of Adventure in the Life of an American Avocet by Mandy Kern.