Steve Kraske

He’s the namesake of your kid’s cuddly toy, but Teddy Roosevelt wasn’t a big softie. His fierce battle for the 1912 presidential nomination had both Roosevelt and Taft baring their teeth.

There's a flurry of professional sports activity in Kansas City this weekend, but it's not for a football game. Soccer is taking center stage. 

On Saturday, Sporting Kansas City will host Real Salt Lake at Sporting Park for the MLS Cup championship. It’s the first time a championship game has been played in Kansas City, and if Sporting wins, it will be their first title since 2000, when they were still known as the Wizards.

Domestic abuse isn’t a new problem, but a recent study about it may surprise you. It turns out that the victims suffer high rates of chronic illnesses.

Carole Brown has shared with us the dichotomy that is her life. A classical musician, Brown spends a portion of her year living with her parents in Prairie Village, Kan., and the rest in a cabin with no amenities in the Flint Hills of Kansas.

On this edition of 90-Mile View, Carole is back to talk with host Steve Kraske of her life on the prairie. She's been busy with several projects including a window that took her some time to collect just the right materials before she could construct it.  

Political maneuvering is nothing new in Kansas City, and nowhere has that been more apparent lately than in the failed attempt to get a translational medicine tax established in Jackson County.

On Tuesday's Up to Date, our political pundits discuss where political money goes and the latest in Missouri, Kansas and federal lawmaking. 

Guests:

If you're always losing your keys or you're concerned about the efficiency of your driving habits, well, there's an app for that. 

In the second part of Monday's Up to Date, the Techsperts offer their gift guide for the newest gadgets, perfect for your favorite techie.

Common Core is the latest trend in classroom curriculum, but not everyone’s convinced that it’s better than previous plans. For each new education strategy, schools have to change gears and adapt—and that’s easier said than done.

On Thursday's Up to Date, we talk about what makes this plan different and how local school districts are adjusting.

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If you were old enough to understand, chances are you remember what you were doing 50 years ago when you heard President John F. Kennedy had been shot.

On Friday's Up to Date, we look back at the assassination of JFK through the lens of the Secret Service, doctors at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas and a few of the ever-popular conspiracy theories.

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Kansas City is abuzz with things to do this weekend, and Brian McTavish has selected a few for our Weekend To-Do List for November 22-24.

The Fairy Princess (Kansas City holiday season icon), kids can visit with the Fairy Princess following Saturday’s 6 p.m. lighting ceremony at Zona Rosa, I-29 and Barry Road, Kansas City, Mo. Admission: Nominal fee to have your picture taken with Her Highness.

During his presidency, Warren G. Harding was generally well liked among Americans. In contemporary times however, Harding's cronyism and corruption have sent him to the bottom of favorite president lists.

On Thursday's Up to Date, we talk with historian Phillip Payne about Harding's upbringing, his ascendancy to power, and the scandals that still plague his image to this day.

The Missouri Department of Transportation just released its 20-year plan for the state’s roads and bridges. MoDOT expects it will have about $17 billion dollars to pay for the plan. However, if it completed all the maintenance and construction suggested by Missouri citizens in a recent survey, it would need a budget of $70 billion. 

On Wednesday's Up to Date, we talk about the plan and how the state will prioritize its future projects.

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Construction has already begun on the first leg of Kansas City’s streetcar system. The two mile line will run between the River Market area and Crown Center.

Now officials are looking at potential routes for a second leg and beyond. Where should the second leg go? Is it inevitable that route No. 2 will extend to the Plaza and maybe UMKC?

It wasn’t until the second half of the 20th century that expectant parents could see and hear their baby through means of ultrasound and Doppler. With those advances also came a dramatic change in how we view early pregnancy loss.

In the first part of Tuesday's Up to Date, we talk with a historian of women’s health about the impact of technology on first trimester miscarriages and how what was once considered an abnormal period is now the lossof a baby.

He's famous for his work in the Washington Post exposing the Watergate scandal, and journalist Bob Woodward is still addressing contentious issues. 

In the second part of Tuesday's Up to Date, we get his views on the Affordable Care Act and how Washington works today. 

Guest:

Bob Woodward, journalist. His latest book is The Price of Politics.

The experience of being  an openly gay, transgendered or bisexual teen has changed dramatically, just in the past few years. It's especially evident for those young adults who choose to come out to friends and family while they're in high school.

On Monday's Up to Date, psychologist Wes Crenshaw joins us with a few teen guests to talk about their experiences with the rapid change in attitudes.

Guests:

There are a ton of things to do in Kansas City this weekend, and Brian McTavish picked out some highlights as part of our Weekend To-Do List for November 15-17.

Selena Gomez: Pop hit sensation: 7 p.m. Sunday at the Sprint Center, 1409 Grand Tickets: $28.50-$99.50  

Band The Latenight Callers describe their sultry, film-noir sound as that of “the house band at a David Lynch pool party.” Their latest album is called Songs for Stolen Moments.

In Friday's Local Listen, we hear “Red Bricks, White Ghosts.”

The Latenight Callers will be paying a midday call to The Record Bar for their first-ever Saturday Brunch, November 16, from noon to 4 p.m. at 1020 Westport Road in Kansas City, Mo.

She’s won Tony awards and dazzled Hollywood, and now Audra McDonald is blending her voice with the Kansas City Symphony. 

On Friday's Up to Date, we talk with the versatile songstress about her career and how she’s using her fame to support causes like marriage equality and pet adoption.

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Families are complicated for everyone, and author Pat Conroy knows this well. His first memoir, The Great Santini, explored the abusive relationship Conroy had with his father.

In the second part of Thursday's Up to Date, Conroy joins Steve Kraske to talk about the follow-up to that book, The Death of Santini, which explores the interactions between Conroy and his father after The Great Santini was published.

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When you write about climate change, you have to be able to take the heat from all sides— those who deny what scientists are saying and those who think you’re giving too many concessions to that group. 

On Up to Date, we speak with a New York Times reporter about his coverage of the environment.

Guest:

• Justin Gillis, New York Times reporter

When John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, the Zapruder film provided investigators with key evidence of the shooting. Fifty years later, crime scene investigation has evolved into a complex science, and now, with smartphones, and other mobile devices, video footage of events is readily available to assist investigators in solving crimes.

The silently haunting images of the Zapruder film captured the moment John F. Kennedy was shot during that famous Dallas parade in 1963. Those images have become part of the mythology that surrounds the event, both for the conspiracy theorists and others. 

On Wednesday's Up to Date, we talk with historian Max Holland, who has analyzed the effect of the film on how the American people understand the 50-year-old assassination.

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We’ve all seen the news breaking on Twitter, on Facebook and on the TV news tickers, but how often does the rush to be first end in a chorus of apologies for getting it wrong? 

On Tuesday's Up to Date, the Media Critics join Steve Kraske to discuss the big issues in journalism today. 

Guests:

Protests and legal challenges are common when you’re the regional head of the prominent family planning organization, Planned Parenthood.

In the first part of Monday's Up to Date, we sit down with Peter Brownlie, the retiring president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri. Brownlie discusses his legal battles with former Kansas Attorney General and District Attorney Phill Kline, protests, and why he wore a bulletproof vest to work.

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When we first met Patricia (Trisha) Porsche, she was working her way out of homelessness for the second time. Back in February she was just several weeks into her residency at Freedom House, a transitional home for women run by the True Light Family Resource Center in Kansas City, Mo.

That residency is for only one year and for Trisha that year ends in December.  She talks with Steve Kraske about how her job search led her to a very familiar place and where she will be in 2014.

Today's recent veterans are finishing their service with different experiences than previous generations, and Veterans of Foreign Wars groups across the country are trying to figure out how to adapt.

On Monday's Up to Date, Adjutant General John Hamilton joins Steve Kraske to talk about the changing needs of veterans.

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Duke Ellington's jazzy orchestrations are the stuff of music legends. However, his star power hid a very private life.

In the second part of Friday's Up to Date, Wall Street Journal drama critic and biographer Terry Teachout takes us into the world of Ellington.

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KU basketball had a different sort of atmosphere back in the 1950s. In addition to some Phog, one of the things that changed the weather there was a certain player called Wilt Chamberlain.

On Friday's Up to Date, we talk with local filmmaker Kevin Willmott about his newest movie, Jayhawkers, that takes a look at the Chamberlain era and how it changed KU forever. 

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To transfer or not to transfer? That’s the question for Kansas City public school students who are in limbo as they wait for the outcome of a lawsuit to find out what their options are.