People

Barbara Jordan was a lawyer and educator who was a congresswoman from 1972 to 1978 , the first African American congresswoman from the deep south and the first woman ever elected to the Texas Senate. Although she acquired a reputation as an effective legislator, Jordan did not become a national figure until 1974, when her participation in the hearings held by the House Judiciary Committee on the impeachment of Pres. Richard M. Nixon was televised nationwide. Jordan's keynote address at the 1976 Democratic National Convention confirmed her reputation as one of the most commanding and articulate public speakers of her era.

In the past few weeks on KC Currents, we’ve brought you stories from some very important people. You rely on them to make dates, family nights out and other special occasions all go seamlessly.  

Ann Wright by her own admission spent virtually her entire adult life working for the U.S. federal government. First as a soldier, achieving the rank of colonel by the time she retired, then as a diplomat at embassies in Nicaragua, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Somalia and elsewhere. So, it was astonishing when in March of 2003 Wright became one of three diplomats to resign over America's impending invasion of Iraq and take up a third career as an ant-war activist .

The show for February 19, 2012.  Click "Listen" to hear the entire show, see below for individual stories.

We’re not all economical geniuses, and we’ve all probably made less than sterling financial choices along the way. Is there a reason for these lapses in judgment? Dr. Laurie Santos is here to tell us about her research on the origins of our irrational decisions. The Yale University psychologist draws on an evolutionary cousin’s propensity for theft, hoarding and competitiveness to explain our own fiscal behavior. Yep, today we’re talking monkey economics and why it means we humans might not be as unique as we once thought.