Real Humans By Gina Kaufmann KCUR Studios

For the last two years, the real humans of Kansas City have given us strength. They've helped us realize that when the outlook appears grim, daring to imagine a way forward isn't fanciful or naïve.

Kansas City has taught me that you don’t love a city by seeing only the parts that make you comfortable. Telling stories about this place for two decades allowed me to understand its quirks, its flaws, its strengths and its heartaches.

Despite long wait times between buses, confusing route changes and other inconveniences, these Kansas Citians use public transit not because they have to, but because they want to. Here's why that matters.

Despite being designed for cars, Kansas City is home to people who rely on the bus every day. We spent a day riding along with Richard Heimer to learn what's working and what's not in our public transit system.

Kansas Citians stirred by horrific scenes from Ukraine are reaching out to Sofia Khan with offers to help refugees who might move here. But Khan is still trying to meet the needs of immigrants from Afghanistan, who began arriving here by the hundreds in October — without the same outpouring of support.

Even at the height of his professional success as an actor, playwright and venue owner, Vi Tran struggled to pause long enough to enjoy his achievements. Since the pandemic hit, he's grown clearer about what it takes to live well as an artist — and he's started to demand it.