KCUR's podcast A People's History of Kansas City has been selected for the 2025 Sinclair Prize for historical podcasts by the American Historical Association (AHA).
The AHA has conferred annual awards for "the best work produced in the historical discipline" since 1896.
A People's History of Kansas City co-hosts Mackenzie Martin and Suzanne Hogan were recognized, in addition to KCUR’s team of reporters, producers and editors.
The podcast episodes singled out for excellence by AHA were:
- The Walker Walkouts: A chronicle of the tenacious group of Kansas women who led their own integration lawsuit, five years before Brown v. Board of Education.
- Kansas City's champion cakewalker: A deep dive into the "the cakewalk," a dance craze which began as a form of resistance by enslaved Black people.
- Searching for Nora Holt's stolen music: The story of a prolific and charismatic Kansas City composer, whose manuscripts mysteriously went missing.
In addition to Martin and Hogan, the episodes feature reporting and producing from Arts Reporter Julie Denesha, Classical KC Production Director Sam Wisman, and KCUR Studios 2024-2025 intern Olivia Hewitt. Additional editors include contributor Barbara Shelly and Culture Editor Luke X. Martin.
A People’s History of Kansas City is an award-winning KCUR Studios podcast about the everyday heroes, renegades and visionaries who shaped Kansas City. It profiles hidden figures of the region and explains how the past still shapes our region today
"Almost every story we do involves some kind of collaboration with a local historian or archivist, so it's a huge honor to be recognized by the national American Historical Association in this way," says Martin. "Together, we can all make sure important legacies aren’t forgotten."
Martin will travel to the American Historical Association's 139th Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, in January to accept the award and participate in a roundtable discussion on "Engaging Storytelling." The conference keynote address will be delivered by Ramtin Arablouei and Rund Abdelfatah, the hosts of NPR's history podcast Throughline.
Now in its sixth year, A People's History of Kansas City has published more than 60 episodes so far (with more coming soon!), all of which are streaming on KCUR's website or anywhere you get your podcasts.
You can send story ideas to peopleshistorykc@kcur.org, follow the podcast on Instagram @kcpeopleshistory, or join their Facebook Group.
