Matthew Long-Middleton

From birth, the care and upbringing of a child is a stressful and demanding process. Tough questions that all parents face include who can I leave my child with when I go to work? Am I doing enough to help my child get on track with learning? And for some families, how can I get my child a good meal today? On this Central Standard we are exploring the challenges of childcare and early education for all parents, including the cost of childcare, how the government affects a child's early education and we highlight some local programs that help families in need.

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.

There are about three or four thousand abused or neglected children in Kansas City’s social services system. While the rate of child abuse has been declining nationally, that number has been growing in Kansas City. And as the problem swells, both Kansas and Missouri continue to privatize more and more of their child welfare services.

On this episode of Central Standard we examine the state of our child welfare system, but through the eyes of the kind of private non-profit charities increasingly being asked to fill the void: the Midwest Foster Care and Adoption Association, and Court Appointed Special Advocates from both Missouri and Kansas.

We’ll get a look at the real impact of child abuse in our communities, why this problem is getting worse, and what the obstacles are to overcoming it.

It has been quite a week for one of the biggest sports competitions of the year. And just as march madness comes to a end the Kansas City Royals, kick off their season opener in Chicago.

In honor of these events we’ll be taking a look at the psychology of competition. It permeates not just sports, but almost every aspect of our lives as we compete for money, prestige and more.  But, when is it healthy and when does it become detrimental not just to our personal, but social wellbeing?  And how do we tell the difference?

The “Twilight” series was a big hit both on the bestseller list and on the big screen. Now, Stephanie Myer has another adaptation hitting area theaters, “The Host.” Other versions of famous books, “Oz, the Great and Powerful” and “On the Road” are currently at the movies, too.   On Central Standard Friday, Russ Simmons, Loey Lockerby, and Eric Melin take a look at the newest films and explore the world of book adaptations.

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.

In 2011, an explosion at a grain elevator in Atchison, Kansas, killed six people—employees and inspectors there—and rocked a community. Federal prosecutors are now considering charges in the case, but with 2010 the worst year on record, why does this keep happening?

On today's Central Standard, we explore the world of safety and regulation in the grain industry. Investigative reports this week from NPR News' Howard Berkes, Harvest Public Media's Jeremy Bernfeld, and the Kansas City Star's Mike McGraw, have revealed that hundreds have died in explosions and drownings in grain elevators—even as business is thriving, including here in Kansas—which is second in the nation in grain deaths.

It seems that nowadays, anytime you hear a hip-hop song the lyrics are full of negative and insulting messages. Whether these comments are racist, misogynistic, or just downright disrespectful it's easy to associate the entire hip-hop culture with these words of hate. On this Central Standard, we look specifically at misogyny in hip-hop music.

Walt Bodine, legendary Kansas City broadcaster and icon of the city, died Sunday at the age of 92. To celebrate the life and career of Bodine, Central Standard invites his fans, friends and colleagues to call in and share their memories of former Walt Bodine Show host both on and off the air.

Kansas City has always been a great place for baked goods. Cakes, pies, cream puffs and breads have all been important to the growth of this town as a cosmopolitan and corpulent community. On this episode of Central Standard Friday Charles Ferruzza, Mary Bloch, Emily Farris, and Gloria Gale extend their forks to all parts of the metro to uncover the best bakeries offering the most decadent doughnuts, the crustiest baguettes, and the flakiest cinnamon rolls.

Most of the freshwater on earth isn’t held in rivers, lakes or streams.  It’s in massive ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland.  Those ice sheets hold a valuable record about the past climate of earth, but now they are melting at an increasing rate.  Professor Prasad Gogineni of Kansas University and director of the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) joins us to discuss how scientists are studying this phenomenon.

The first bow and arrow is believed to have been used around 12-thousand years ago, but with the rise of guns, archery fell out of favor.  Now, it’s being revived with the help of school programs across the county. Eric Edwards from the Missouri Department Conservation and coordinator for the Missouri National Archery in Schools Program shares with us how archery is helping young people learn discipline, love of sport, and concentration.

Think back to your middle school yearbook picture – do you cringe a little bit?  Do you remember a hormone-filled, socially awkward period of your life where your mind has developed faster than your body... or maybe the other way around.  Ages 11 to 14 can also be a time of intellectual and emotional awakening for young people – when they discover their talents and interests and meet lifelong friends.

  It’s a mad, mad, mad March. And there’s nowhere more crazy about college basketball than Kansas City. From the Sprint Center to Municipal Auditorium, up and down the Power and Light District to living rooms everywhere, college hoops are here. Today on Central Standard, we tip off a conversation about the tournaments that are dominating our airwaves, namely the NCAA tournament that starts today and includes games later this week here in town, but also a tournament that gets less press but has been in town longer—much longer—the NAIA, whose championship game is tonight.