44 episodes

The podcast about the everyday heroes, renegades and visionaries who shaped Kansas City and the region. If these stories aren't told, they're in danger of fading into the past. Hosted by Suzanne Hogan.

A People's History of Kansas City KCUR Studios

    • History
    • 4.8 • 183 Ratings

The podcast about the everyday heroes, renegades and visionaries who shaped Kansas City and the region. If these stories aren't told, they're in danger of fading into the past. Hosted by Suzanne Hogan.

    Hydrox, the original Oreo

    Hydrox, the original Oreo

    Oreo is the best-selling cookie in the world today. But few people remember the product that Nabisco blatantly ripped off: Hydrox. A creation of Kansas City’s Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company, Hydrox was billed as the “aristocrat of cookies,” with a novel combo of chocolate and cream filling. So why, more than a century later, is Hydrox still mistaken as a cheap knockoff? Producer Mackenzie Martin documents the rise and fall of America’s first chocolate sandwich cookie.

    • 38 min
    PHKC live! A podcast party for America's original sandwich cookie

    PHKC live! A podcast party for America's original sandwich cookie

    Did you know that a certain cream-filled black and white sandwich cookie got its start right here in Kansas City? And no, we're not talking about the Oreo.A People's History of Kansas City is hosting a special live event on March 1, 2024, where host Suzanne Hogan and producer Mackenzie Martin will take you back to the birth of the very first: Hydrox. Hear our next episode before everyone else. Go to KCUR.org/cookies for tickets.

    • 1 min
    The occupation that saved a Wyandot cemetery, revisited

    The occupation that saved a Wyandot cemetery, revisited

    In the early 1900s, the three Conley sisters barricaded themselves in a Wyandot cemetery in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, to save it from destruction. Then Lyda Conley took the battle all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court — the first Indigenous woman to do so. In this episode, which originally aired in 2020, Suzanne Hogan uncovers Conley’s story and reports how the Kansas City arts community is newly celebrating her legacy.

    • 33 min
    Mariachi Estrella will always be stars

    Mariachi Estrella will always be stars

    In the late 1970s, a group of musicians in Topeka, Kansas formed what became one of the first all-women mariachi bands in the country. Mariachi Estrella broke down barriers in a male dominated music scene, before a deadly disaster almost ended the group for good. Suzanne Hogan tells how the band’s descendants are ensuring their legacy shines on, decades later.

    • 25 min
    50 years of Kansas City hip-hop

    50 years of Kansas City hip-hop

    When hip-hop first hit Kansas City streets, the effect was immediate. The new sound took over record stores, local high schools and underground dance parties. As America celebrates a half century of hip-hop, KCUR’s Lawrence Brooks IV honors Kansas City’s own contributions to the culture.

    • 42 min
    The salad days of Wish-Bone dressing

    The salad days of Wish-Bone dressing

    In 1948, Phillip Sollomi debuted an Italian vinaigrette at his Kansas City fried chicken restaurant, the Wishbone. An immediate hit, the salad dressing formed the foundation for an empire: For 75 years, Wish-Bone Italian dressing has helped bring people together around the dinner table, but few Kansas Citians know their connection to the iconic bottle. KCUR’s Jenny Vergara and Natasha Bailey track down why.

    • 33 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
183 Ratings

183 Ratings

larz133 ,

60 years a Kansas City Citizen

I am just old enough to have fuzzy memories of the riots in 1968. I was in kindergarten at Fairfax Elementary school, one of three white children in my class. We lived in Quindaro projects so there was quite a bit of activity in my neighborhood during that. Whether or not he lived in Kansas City this is the top shelf production, and sure to stimulate.

yogiawq ,

Great for old and new Kansas Citians

Great podcast. Wish they kept it going. Binged it over the summer and keep waiting for more!!!

SonOfOl ,

Compelling Local History

Engaging, well researched and well told local history.

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