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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Prosecutors have said since May that Kevin Strickland is innocent. For the first time in four decades, he got to make his case to a judge. -
After months of courtroom delays, a judge will hear evidence this week in the innocence petition of a Kansas City man who has spent 43 years in prison for a crime prosecutors now say he didn't commit. -
Darryl Chamberlain has a vision for improving Kansas City’s urban core that has led to national acclaim — and kept him on the lookout for second-hand instruments since 2007. -
Despite a hefty reward and an "Unsolved Mysteries" episode about his death, there is still no closure for Alonzo Brooks’ family. -
After three board trustees posted disapproving comments on Facebook about a library display during Banned Books Week, some current and former employees want to see them dropped from leadership. -
Kevin Strickland has spent more than 43 years in prison for a crime prosecutors now say he did not commit. Judges in the court that convicted him have now been recused, and a new judge appointed. -
To honor missing and murdered Indigenous people, a group of Native American advocates is making a months-long trip across the country on foot and by bike. -
Hate crimes reported in Kansas and Missouri during 2020 increased significantly, but unreliable data collection and severe underreporting mean the real figures are likely even higher. -
Judge Kevin Harrell decided not to recuse himself or Jackson County's 16th District Circuit Court from the case — a ruling that could be appealed by the state attorney general. -
The Missouri Attorney General has raised questions about the appearance of bias within the 16th District Circuit Court and asked the judge to recuse himself and the jurisdiction. A date for Kevin Strickland's innocence hearing has still not been set.
