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Seg. 1: Holocaust Survivor Photos | Seg. 2: Barnstorming Tour

Segment 1: Kansas City is part of a global mission to collect and exhibit Holocaust survivor portraits.

Luigi Toscano wants people to look in the eyes of Holocaust survivors. His large-format photographs displayed in cities worldwide have elicited strong responses, ranging from a reunion of two former schoolmates separated by war to violent attacks in Vienna, where entire communities showed up to repair and protect the art.

  • Luigi Toscano, photographer, Lest We Forget at the World War I Museum

Segment 2: A Negro Leagues historian sheds light on a misunderstood moment in baseball history.

In the 1930s, when news outlets covered a barnstorming tour where 2 white Major League players took on the best Negro Leagues teams in the country, they tended to gloss over the achivements of the black athletes, focusing instead on the touring ball players. For his new book, Phil Dixon reads the score cards, interviews players, reads all the news stories and paints a more complete picture. 

People don't make cameos in news stories; the human story is the story, with characters affected by news events, not defined by them. As a columnist and podcaster, I want to acknowledge what it feels like to live through this time in Kansas City, one vantage point at a time. Together, these weekly vignettes form a collage of daily life in Kansas City as it changes in some ways, and stubbornly resists change in others. You can follow me on Twitter @GinaKCUR or email me at gina@kcur.org.