Luke X. Martin
Culture EditorAs culture editor, I help you embrace what makes Kansas City fun and vibrant, whether it’s a championship sports franchise or a little-known wonder. I work with reporters to ensure KCUR stories on art, culture and race fully reflect our diverse home so readers and listeners can take full advantage of what the metro has to offer.
I was born in Manhattan, Kansas, and raised in Wichita where I fell in love with public radio listening to member station KMUW. I got my start pulling early morning DJ shifts at the student-run radio station KJHK while studying English at the University of Kansas.
I was previously an intern for KCUR's Up To Date, and joined the staff as associate producer in 2016. I have reported on government and politics in the Chicago metro area, and national security and defense in Washington. My work has appeared online at UPI.com, The Daily Caller, Politics Daily and The Pitch.
I have a master’s of journalism from the Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University. If you see me along a running trail or track in Kansas City, please offer me some water or a high five.
My email is luke@kcur.org.
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Protest groups and social activists in Kansas City are facing a suite of challenges as public attention shifts away from issues of police and criminal justice reform, which mobilized so many during 2020. -
Several local museums and galleries are featuring work created by Black artists and centering Black experiences from Kansas City to the Caribbean. -
Police brutality and protests garnered the attention and sympathy of white Kansas Citians, but 2020 has not brought the systemic change activists say are needed to improve race relations in the metro.
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Traditional clinical trials often include white patients predominantly, but a diverse pool of participants can help make new vaccines more effective across demographics. -
Charles Curtis was a leading voice in the fight for women's suffrage. He also orchestrated the breakup of tribal government and communal land in what is now the state of Oklahoma. -
As health care providers brace for increasing infection rates, one drive-thru food giveaway is adding free COVID-19 testing to the menu and exam rooms are being retrofitted to reduce the risk of viral spread. -
Plans for a plaque that would contextualize the deeds of former President Andrew Jackson were put on hold for months. But after voters failed to pass a measure to remove them, plans are back on to add the plaques. -
Despite social unrest, a deadly pandemic and a divided country, Black and Latino voters in Kansas City are motivated to vote and want a return to normalcy. -
Brian Platt was hit with a premature announcement and a split Council vote on his way to being named Kansas City's next top administrator. -
Brian Platt's nomination to be city manager of Kansas City, Missouri, was approved by a Council vote of 9-4, a final rundown of races and issues to watch in Kansas and Missouri, and how the pop culture persona of the undead has changed.
