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Public radio host Jeremy Hobson is looking for common ground in a divided America

A man sits inside a radio studio. He is talking at a microphone and gesturing with his left hand.
Carlos Moreno
/
KCUR 89.3
Jeremy Hobson, host of "The Middle," talks on KCUR's Up To Date on Sept. 23, 2026.

Jeremy Hobson, the host of the public radio program "The Middle" is in Kansas City this week to moderate an American Public Square panel called "Turning Down the Heat: Rebuilding Trust in an Age of Outrage."

You might know Jeremy Hobson as the host of "The Middle" or as a former host of “Here and Now” and “Marketplace Morning Report.”

Hobson is in Kansas City to moderate a panel Wednesday night on rebuilding trust in this era of political polarization and distrust in government. It is a part of American Public Square's second annual Bridging Movement Summit. A recording of the program will air during "The Middle" on KCUR at 8 p.m. on Thursday.

Each week, Hobson's call-in show facilitates conversations where people can "meet in the middle." It also focuses on people who are located in the geographic middle of the country and people who are in the middle of the political spectrum.

"I think the reason why I am excited about this show week after week is that I feel like there's nothing else really precisely like this out there and I'm bringing something that people can't get everywhere else," he told KCUR.

He believes that one of the biggest issues ahead of the midterm elections is whether people feel like they can trust their government.

"I don't think our democracy works if we don't talk to and listen to one another and feel that our fellow citizens and our elected representatives are operating in good faith. And I think that that gets to the trust issue," Hobson said. "You have to trust that the other person, your fellow citizen, is also operating in good faith."

Turning Down the Heat: Rebuilding Trust in an Age of Outrage, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sep. 23 at Park 39, 300 E 39th St, Kansas City, MO 64111.

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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