Zach Wilson
Senior Producer, Up To DateAs 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.
I have been a producer with KCUR's Up To Date since February of 2021 and have served as the show's senior producer since January of 2023. Previously, I spent one year at WBEZ, Chicago's NPR station, interning for their daily talk show Reset. Prior to that, I worked as a reporter and All Things Considered host for WVIK, Quad Cities NPR on the Illinois-Iowa border.
In 2019, I graduated from Illinois State University, where I worked as a Morning Edition Producer for the local NPR station, WGLT, and served as the News Director at my college radio station, WZND. In my free time, I enjoy reading, playing guitar and watching Chicago Cubs baseball. You can email me at zach@kcur.org.
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Kansas City jazz legend Bobby Watson wants to ensure the city’s jazz history and traditions don’t fade with age. The saxophonists and composer’s latest album, “Continuum” is a testimonial about passing knowledge to younger artists.
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Christal Watson, mayor and CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, is asking voters to pass two key sales tax items on the November ballot. One is a quarter-cent tax for healthcare services and addressing homelessness, and the other is a 3/8th-cent tax to fund parks, community centers and trails.
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Sheila Bair, a Kansas native who served as the chair of the FDIC from 2006-2011, is in Kansas City this week to accept the Truman Medal for Economic Policy from the Truman Library Institute. Bair said she is worried about the weakening of banking reforms, and sees a lot of risky lending happening right now.
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The Kansas City Business Journal’s Thomas Friestad joined KCUR's Up To Date for a roundup on all things development around the metro.
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Journalist Chuck Todd will be in Kansas City this weekend to accept a leadership award from the Poynter Institute, a journalism nonprofit. He joined KCUR’s Up To Date to discuss the midterm elections, including the competitive U.S. Senate race in Kansas and Missouri's congressional redistricting "chaos."
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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."
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KCUR general manager Sarah Morris and director of content and journalism Lisa Rodriguez joined Up To Date to discuss the station's move to a new building after being forced out of its long-time studios, and how KCUR is adjusting to life without federal funding.
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The legal back-and-forth over Missouri's congressional maps is unprecedented in American politics. Current 5th District U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II and his Republican opponent, state Sen. Rick Brattin, share their thoughts on what transpired in the courts — and what it may mean for November.
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University of Kansas professor Chris Koliba argues that the American social contract is fraying. He joined KCUR’s Up To Date to discuss how we got to this point and what the country can do about it.
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Early next year, Jeff Maher of Overland Park will run seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. He joined KCUR’s Up To Date to discuss how he is preparing for the races and why he decided to take on this challenge.