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Winning Isn't Everything, Connecting The Unconnected In KCK

Zack Lewandowski
/
KCUR

The show for June 24, 2012. Click "Listen" to hear the entire show; see below for individual stories:

Winning Isn’t Everything
Many parents see sports as a way for kids to get physically fit, and learn teamwork and discipline. And a lot of parents like to see their kids win, too. But how much pressure should parents and coaches put on young people to be the best athletes they can be?  A new study from the University of Kansas suggests that a caring sports environment is important to the psychological well-being of youth. 

Free Wifi For Rosedale?
Google has promised Kansas City speed-of-light internet, and the potential for residents, businesses, schools and hospitals, is said to be enormous. But in the year since the Google Fiber project was announced, we've heard very few concrete ideas for taking advantage of the super-fast network.  The founders of a new organization called Connecting for Good have a proposal that would provide access to the internet for people who aren't connected.  They want to start by building a low or no-cost wireless network in Rosedale, Kansas City, Kansas.  Hear from the co-founder of Connecting for Good co-founder Michael Liimatta.

For Pets Of Domestic Violence Victims, A New Shelter From Danger One of Kansas City’s main domestic violence agencies opened a new shelter this month, but not for women. Rose Brooks now has an onsite pet shelter, making it the first agency in the region and one of just a few dozen nationwide, to have a place for domestic violence victims’ pets. For some women, the new resource may mean the difference between seeking safety and continuing to live in danger.

New Music From Behzod Abduraimov
One of Kansas City’s musical greats has just made another leap in his quest for international acclaim. Pianist Behzod Abduraimov first earned worldwide recognition when he won the 2009 London International Competition, and now he’s just released his debut CD of pieces by Prokofiev, Liszt and Saint Saens.

Shakespeare Festival Doubles Down With Two Shows In Rep
This year's Heart of America Shakespeare Festival is going back and forth between comedy and tragedy on alternate nights.  It is returning to a two-show season performed in repertory, which it hasn't done in a decade. For the cast and crew alike, there's a delicate balance to doing a different show every other night.

Sylvia Maria Gross is storytelling editor at KCUR 89.3. Reach her on Twitter @pubradiosly.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Susan admits that her “first love” was radio, being an avid listener since childhood. However, she spent much of her career in mental health, healthcare administration, and sports psychology (Susan holds a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Bloch School of Business at UMKC.) In the meantime, Wilson satisfied her journalistic cravings by doing public speaking, providing “expert” interviews for local television, and being a guest commentator/contributor to KPRS’s morning drive time show and the teen talk show “Generation Rap.”
As a health care reporter, I aim to empower my audience to take steps to improve health care and make informed decisions as consumers and voters. I tell human stories augmented with research and data to explain how our health care system works and sometimes fails us. Email me at alexs@kcur.org.
Every part of the present has been shaped by actions that took place in the past, but too often that context is left out. As a podcast producer for KCUR Studios and host of the podcast A People’s History of Kansas City, I aim to provide context, clarity, empathy and deeper, nuanced perspectives on how the events and people in the past have shaped our community today.

In that role, and as an occasional announcer and reporter, I want to entertain, inform, make you think, expose something new and cultivate a deeper shared human connection about how the passage of time affects us all. Reach me at hogansm@kcur.org.
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