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Seg. 1: The Sugar Plum Fairy. Seg. 2: Black Privilege App. Seg. 3: JC Gregg.

Segment 1: Kansas City Ballet's first black Sugar Plum Fairy.

Ballerina Whitney Huell is making history as the first African-American woman to play the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Kansas City Ballet's version of The Nutcracker. We talk with her about her career and what it means to have dancers of color on the stage in lead roles.

  • Whitney Huell, ballerina, Kansas City Ballet

Segment 2, beginning at 17:50: Checking in with a new app to connect people with black-owned businesses.

An app that's something of a mix between LinkedIn and Yelp is hoping to bridge the entrepreneurial gap by connecting members of the community with black-owned businesses. After launching six months ago in Kansas City, we hear about their progress and larger goals. 

Segment 3, beginning at 37:07: Meet a home baker who puts his own spin on classic French desserts.

He's a self-taught baker who competed on "The Great American Baking Show." Hear JC Gregg's story — and find out why he experiments with baking in the middle of the night. 

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.