© 2024 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Up To Date

Professor Says Despite What Frank Wrote, Kansas Moderates Do Matter

J. Steven Conn
/
Flickr Creative Commons

Despite what Thomas Frank wrote in What's the Matter with Kansas, political moderates really do matter. So says Prof. Alexander Smith who sees moderation as a value written deeply into the heart and soul of Kansas. On this edition of Up to Date, Smith tells Steve Kraske that, although greatly misunderstood, the more politically temperate among us will survive even this current period of political polarization.

Guest:

  • Alex Smith, Ph.D. is a Senior Leverhulme Research Fellow and Assistant Professor in Sociology at Warwick University as well as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Sociology at Kansas University.
Tags
Up To Date politics
When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
As senior producer of Up To Date, I want our listeners to hear familiar and new voices that shine light on the issues and challenges facing the myriad communities KCUR serves, and to expose our audiences to the wonderful and the creative in the Kansas City area. Just as important to me is an obligation to mentor the next generation of producers to ensure that the important conversations continue. Reach me at alexanderdk@kcur.org.