Brian Ellison

Most religions have rules, guidance, law of some kind. Christians look to the teachings of Jesus, or the commandments. Jewish people turn to Torah. And Muslims look to Shariah—the code of Islamic law that guides everything from what to eat and how to dress to bigger questions—like resolving marital disputes, or punishing violent crimes.

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’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.

So are you planning to die? Are you ready for when you end up in the great beyond?  More to the point, what about your assets that don’t make the trip with you? Today on Central Standard, we’re talking about the not exactly uplifting, but nevertheless important topic of estate planning. Our Cash Money Crew is here and … you may not believe this ... but it’s not such a downer, really!  Financial planners will tell you that some good decisions now, now while you’re in the prime of life, can have an impact down the road: You can feel secure, live more comfortably now and through your retirement, and have an impact beyond your earthly years.

Decades ago, scientists and energy experts predicted that 2013 would include flying cars and that by now, oil would be a thing of the past. But the state of our energy consumption in America has stayed somewhat the same, while causing intense political discussion on the matter.

Saturday night, as our clocks sprung forward and we lost an hour of our day, one man in Missouri was hoping this would be the last Daylight Savings Time he went through. Representative Delus Johnson of St. Joseph, Mo. proposed a bill that would extend the Daylight Savings change all year long.

The Westboro Baptist Church is notorious in the area and nation-wide for their protests of soldier's funerals and anti-gay messages. Fred Phelps and his followers, based in Topeka, travel the country spreading their messages of hate and last year a petition to label them an official hate group was introduced.

As we find ourselves in the midst of Lent and with Passover on the horizon, the idea of food and the role it plays in various religions is on many people's minds. Why do Catholics not eat meat on Fridays, why do Jews not let their bread rise and why do members of Islam have permanent restrictions on what they can eat?

Like any metropolitan city, crime and violence are unfortunately a reality of life in Kansas City. Recently, the KCPD joined forces with many across the metro to organize the NOVA project, an initiative to combat gang violence in Kansas City.

  When surveyed, 20 to 25 percent of people admit to having an extramarital affair.  It also is one of the most destructive forces to a  relationship.  Why is this phenomena so common? Our resident psychologist Bruce Liese tackles the common misconceptions about affairs.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's traveling exhibit, Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945 opened at the Dean's Gallery at the Miller Nichols Library at UMKC. Stuart Hinds, head of Special Collections for UMKC libraries, joins us to talk about the exhibit and other events the museum is hosting to accompany the exhibit.

As part of Black History Month activities, UMKC is hosting an African-American Read In Feb. 20 and 28. Employees of the UMKC library and the public will read aloud from some of their favorite African-American literature and writing.

Paying bills, making purchases and balancing a checkbook all seem like straight forward actions with money. But a person's behavior toward money and wealth and how they integrate it into their lives is a psychological and sociological issue as well.

Today on Central Standard, we talk about conflict, and resolving it. Why is it that our workplaces, our families, even the international community have such trouble getting along? Our resident psychologist Bruce Liese is here to try to help … and to give us some ideas about conflict resolution in our world and in our lives.