A blog about Kansas City politics and culture.

As far as I know, most of my people were farmers. On both my parents' sides, my Scandinavian ancestors came across the ocean looking for better topsoil. I know immigrants came for many reasons-- to ...

Sophia Smith Galer first understood language loss as a sound coming from upstairs. Her 93-year-old nonna was in bed in north London, speaking al dialët, the family’s regional language from northern ...

I am an admirer of grand old houses. I live downtown, just blocks away from some of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, ...

My husband, Peter’s, birthday is this week. Peter does not celebrate his birthday. Peter doesn’t think the day of his birth is anything to celebrate. He’s happy to celebrate my birthday, but he says ...