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Real Humans By Gina Kaufmann
Sundays

KCUR's Gina Kaufmann brings you personal essays about how we're all adapting to a very different world.

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  • Cinnamon rolls are ubiquitous on Kansas City menus, whether you're at a greasy-spoon diner, high-end bakery, fancy restaurant, coffee shop or deli. They come baked or fried, round or square, iced or plain, for dessert — or served on the side with fried chicken or chili.
  • Lucky Easterwood has been painting murals in Kansas City, Kansas, since 1996. Each of his paintings are intended as a message of optimism for this specific community: "If it was quick to die, it can be quick to rebuild."
  • It's hard to get a record made right now, unless you're Adele. But what, exactly, are the "supply chain issues" keeping vinyl out of indie bands' hands? The experience of Kansas City band Frogpond offers an illuminating look into this complex problem.
  • Musician Ryan Davis — known to fans as Kadesh Flow — didn't just survive a brutal year. The hip-hop performer is climbing up from a low place feeling stronger, more joyful, and more deserving of love than before.
  • Lee Meisel of Leeway Franks has been going hard for 18 months, and he's ready to take a breath. His revived Franksgiving — a casual holiday meal at his small restaurant — will reflect that by embracing togetherness, simplicity, and a heightened appreciation for enough.
  • Until she died this past July, Krazy was a full-time resident at the Kauffman Memorial Garden — protecting beautiful blooms from Brush Creek vermin by night, befriending visitors by day. But the gardener who tamed her remembers that, when Krazy arrived 18 years ago as a young feral cat, "she was just mean."
  • After losing her apartment, Amanda Finley sought refuge at a Missouri campsite she calls her "happy place." Even as much of the country returns to normal, she's working to remind people that COVID long-haulers are still coping with illness and income loss.
  • With COVID-19 vaccines imminent for children ages 5-11, I wanted to see how Kansas City kids felt about their shots. But I also heard something more: fears about the disease that's changed their lives, and impatience from long-promised parties, trips and concerts.
  • The custom of dining out has completely transformed over the course of the pandemic. So what’s the new etiquette? Kansas City servers and bartenders share their first-hand advice on how to stay cool with your wait staff, hosts, and fellow customers.
  • A Midtown "townie" priced off of her bus line. A retiree on fixed income forced out of her home of 17 years. Kansas City renters are facing substantial rent hikes, with serious repercussions.