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Seg. 1: White Fragility | Seg. 2: Taming Uncertainty

Segment 1: The woman who coined 'white fragility' unpacks the meaning of the term.

Robin DiAngelo first started noticing what she now calls 'white fragility' about twenty years ago, when she worked alongside people of color as a diversity trainer. The resulting research culminated in a book that's been a New York Times Bestseller for more than a year. It's also elicited death threats.

Segment 2: A KU researcher has been trying to understand how our minds grapple with uncertainty.

As one of the authors of Taming Uncertainty, psychology professor Tim Pleskac is aware of all the conscious and subconscious things we do to make decisions with incomplete information. After all, we can never know for sure what will happen next. But rather than being made crazy by this field of research, he finds it "invigorating." He says his wife might see it differently.

  • Tim J. Pleskac, professor of psychology, University of Kansas
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.
As KCUR's health reporter, I cover the Kansas City metro in a way that reflects our expanding understanding of what health means and the ways it touches different communities and different areas in distinct ways. I will provide a platform to amplify ideas and issues often underrepresented in the media and marginalized people and communities in an authentic and honest way that goes beyond the surface of the issues. I will endeavor to find and include in my work local experts and organizations that have their ears to the ground and a beat on the health needs of the community. Reach me at noahtaborda@kcur.org.