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Central Standard

Midwesternish Special: Demolition Derbies And Accents

Segment 1: What's up with demolition derbies?

Americans have been intentionally ramming cars into each other, for sport, since the 1950's. Learn about the Midwest's Colosseum and why the old school demo derby may be running out of gas.

  • Frank Morris, NPR correspondent and senior editor, KCUR

Segment 2, beginning at 22:46: Yes. Even if you're a Midwesterner, you still have an accent.

The Midwest has a reputation for being a bland, neutral, accent-free place. But experts say that simply is not true.

  • Suzanne Hogan, producer and announcer, KCUR
  • Christopher Strelluf, Assistant Professor of Linguistics, University of Warwick Coventry
  • Paul Meier, founder, International Dialects of English Archive

Subscribe to Midwesternish on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.

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.
Every part of the present has been shaped by actions that took place in the past, but too often that context is left out. As a podcast producer for KCUR Studios and host of the podcast A People’s History of Kansas City, I aim to provide context, clarity, empathy and deeper, nuanced perspectives on how the events and people in the past have shaped our community today. In that role, and as an occasional announcer and reporter, I want to entertain, inform, make you think, expose something new and cultivate a deeper shared human connection about how the passage of time affects us all. Reach me at hogansm@kcur.org.