Suzanne Hogan

According to the CDC 1 in 10 adults report being depressed and 11% of Americans over 12 years old take some form of antidepressant medication.  Depression –is a mental disorder that is more severe than just sad feelings.  It can last long periods of time, include feelings of hopelessness and uselessness. Cause chronic pain, headaches, sleeping and eating disorders, and thoughts of suicide.  Depression makes day to day life seem pointless or impossible to handle.

Dr. Bruce Liese, a psychologist at KU Medical Center, explores the various elements of depression from diagnosis to treatment through to recovery.

During any given week, local hip-hop artist Les Izmore may be found free-styling in the Crossroads, fronting an 18 piece afro-beat/funk dance band, or opening for big acts coming through, like Kendrick Lamar and next week, Talib Kweli.

Gamelan music is the orchestral music of Indonesia which is primarily from the islands of Bali and Java. Over a decade ago, Kansas City became home to a hand crafted Gamelan from Indonesia that was fine tuned and given a blessing from a Balinese Hindu high priests. On this Central Standard the director of Kansas City's Gamelan group Gamelan Genta Kasturi, Patrick Alonzo Conway – he plays in the group and even composes pieces for the group, and is an eclectic composer and member of the People’s Liberation Big Band.

Low rider cars aren’t the type of vehicles that drive by unnoticed. The low chrome rims, killer paint jobs, normally accompanied with a bumpin' sound system to go with it, sub woofers and hydraulics all grab attention of those it passes. These cars are often stigmatized as being related to gangsters, but on this Central Standard we learn about research that disputes that common misconception.

After a drawn out winter where we in Kansas City found ourselves hibernating through the snow and ice of March, spring has finally sprung. The trees are blooming and the landscape is finally peppered with color as plants and wildlife emerge from dormancy. On this Central Standard, we explore the nature around us as we transition into Spring. 

It’s been less than 20 years since cell phones became ubiquitous and children of the 90s have never known a world without them.  Now, as those children come to age, we’re witnessing the startling confluence of technology and sexual awakening. The results have been children becoming not just the victims, but also the perpetuators of sexual exploitation--some even becoming convicted sex offenders.  We take a look at the complicated world of children sexting with Haleigh Harrold, Education and outreach specialists for the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault and officer Tom Hayselden, a School Resource Officer for the Shawnee Mission school district.

Legendary broadcaster Walt Bodine died on Sunday, March 24, at the age of 92. Today on Central Standard, we remember Walt with familiar sounds of regular guests, old friends, and of course, Walt Bodine.

As the economy drags, the size of homes is diminishing… and it’s by consumer demand.

Anti-union rhetoric has been trumpeting out of of recent debates in Wisconsin and Michigan, but one labor activist says much of it is a myth.

When most of us think about death, we assume our bodies will take the traditional routes of being cremated or buried. This is not always the case as author Bess Lovejoy points out in her new book, Rest In Pieces released this month. Rest In Pieces shares the journeys famous corpses took before being laid to rest.

The MidCoast Takeover is a concert of local talent at Austin’s South by Southwest music festival to take place next weekend.  It’s generating a lot of local excitement as the festival is quickly approaching and the local bands are preparing. The MidCoast Takover is organized with the help of The Midwest Music Foundation a local organization that support local musicians.  We're in conversation with Sondra Freemans of the Midwest Music Foundation to talk the ways the MidCoast Takeover supports local musicians and hear some of the local bands she's most excited to be heard in Austin.

When South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan on July 9th 2011, it was the outcome of a peace deal that ended Africa’s longest running civil war; a war that resulted in millions of lives lost to ethnic and religious warfare. On this Central Standard, we explore the community of Sudanese refugees who now live in Kansas City.