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NPR's Juana Summers got her journalism start as a Kansas City high schooler

A woman sits inside a radio studio. She is gesturing with both hands and talking at a microphone.
Carlos Moreno
/
KCUR 89.3
All Things Considered host Juana Summers visits KCUR's Up To Date on June 13, 2025.

Kansas City native Juana Summers, a co-host of NPR's "All Things Considered," returned to her hometown to join KCUR at its 2025 Radioactive Gala. She joined Up To Date to talk about getting her start here in journalism, and the importance of public media.

Juana Summers' career in journalism began as a reporter for the student newspaper at St. Teresa's Academy in Kansas City. Now, she's one of the co-hosts of "All Things Considered," NPR's flagship daily afternoon news program.

Summers returned to her hometown for KCUR's 2025 Radioactive Gala on Friday.

She told Up To Date that she's drawn to public media because it allows her to bring listeners closer to the political process and make everyday people feel connected.

"We as journalists have an opportunity to make (people) feel seen and heard and feel closer to the process, because I truly do feel — and this will sound very 'Schoolhouse Rock' — that the process is meant to serve the people."

"If I can do anything to bring those ties closer together, or to demystify a complicated policy issue, or to help a person feel like they walked away with a better understanding of an issue or a topic than they had the day before, that's when I think I'm at my best."

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When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
As Up To Date’s senior producer, I want to pique the curiosity of Kansas Citians and help them understand the world around them. Each day, I construct conversations with our city’s most innovative visionaries and creatives, while striving to hold elected officials accountable and amplifying the voices of everyday Kansas Citians. Email me at zach@kcur.org.
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