Mackenzie Martin
Senior Podcast Producer/Host/ReporterAs senior podcast producer for KCUR Studios and a host of A People's History of Kansas City, I interview everyday people and dig through old newspaper articles to unearth stories of the visionaries and renegades who created this region. I focus on bringing the past to life, so we can all better understand the city we live in today.
I also edit the KCUR podcasts Up From Dust and Seeking A Scientist. Previously, I produced Overlooked, Hungry For MO and Real Humans. You can reach me at mackenzie@kcur.org.
-
Black student enrollment declined almost 34% at the University of Missouri between 2013-2023 — and Black students there have much to say about why. -
Residents of an apartment complex in Gardner, Kansas, were kicked out of their homes earlier this year when the city condemned the property for unsafe living conditions, but one change in a law could help. Plus: A Missouri researcher says "radical empathy" can help combat today's conspiracy theories, which may help when you go home for the holidays.
-
California startup Deep Fission says it plans to install a nuclear reactor underneath an industrial park in southeast Kansas. Plus, as the United States prepares for the 2026 World Cup, a look at how Kansas City Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt helped U.S. soccer go pro.
-
Think you’ve got what it takes to win someone's heart with just your wit, in front of an audience? "That KC Dating Show," a live event that borrows its humor-over-looks approach from the classic TV series "The Dating Game," has been connecting Kansas City singles since April. -
A longtime resident of Columbia, Missouri, remains imprisoned in Texas more than a month after he was detained by federal officers. Owen Ramsingh is a green-card holder who immigrated to the U.S. as a child, but he’s now facing deportation due to a drug conviction from when he was a teen.
-
On June 8, 1966, an F5 twister touched down in Topeka, Kansas, killing 17 people and injuring hundreds. All of these years later, some locals still wonder if it happened because the city ignored an urban legend. -
For decades, urban legends have held that tornadoes seem to “split” around certain cities, like Tonganoxie, Kansas, or avoid sacred places, like Burnett’s Mound in Topeka. Mackenzie Martin and Maya Cederlund investigate whether these weather myths are backed up by evidence — or if they’re just stories we tell ourselves in the dark.
-
Artist Luis Quintanilla fled Spain to escape fascism and civil war, but most of his work did not survive. Today, only two of his murals remain in the world, one of which sits in an otherwise ordinary corner on the campus of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. 85 years later, Quintanilla’s bizarre and enthralling masterpiece stands as a testament to immigrants, and a warning against authoritarianism. KCUR’s Nomin Ujiyediin reports. -
El artista español Luis Quintanilla huyó de la Guerra Civil Española para escapar de la persecución, pero la mayor parte de su obra fue destruida. Hoy en día, uno de los dos únicos murales que quedan, se encuentra en un rincón de la Universidad de Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). Recién restaurada, la extraña y fascinante obra maestra de Quintanilla es un testimonio de los inmigrantes y del peligro del autoritarismo. -
Artist Luis Quintanilla fled the Spanish Civil War to escape persecution, but most of his work was destroyed. Today, one of his two remaining murals sits in an otherwise ordinary corner of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Newly restored, Quintanilla’s bizarre and enthralling masterpiece stands as a testament to immigrants and the danger of authoritarianism.
