Brian Ellison
Host/ContributorAs a host and contributor at KCUR, I seek to create a more informed citizenry and richer community. I want to enlighten and inspire our audience by delivering the information they need with accuracy and urgency, clarifying what’s complicated and teasing out the complexities of what seems simple. I work to craft conversations that reveal realities in our midst and model civil discourse in a divided world. Follow me on Twitter @ptsbrian or email me at brian@kcur.org.
Having studied for careers in both journalism and the ministry, I've served as a Presbyterian minister in Kansas City since 1999 and part-time in KCUR's newsroom and talk show studios since 2008. I'm the substitute host of KCUR's Up to Date, an occasional newscaster, and anchor election night coverage. From 2015 to 2019, I hosted the award-winning KCUR political podcast Statehouse Blend Missouri. I've been part of teams recognized awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Religion News Association. My reporting has included appearances on NPR's Here and Now and national election coverage and KCPT's Kansas City Week in Review. I continue to preach, teach and organize as executive director of a national non-profit organization. My partner Troy and I live in Kansas City with our dog daughter Willoughby, who is lovable, if a bit much.
-
With the Chiefs back in the Super Bowl and March Madness right around the corner, what better time to catch a game at your neighborhood sports bar? Here’s a list of Kansas City’s best watering holes with big TVs and great food.
-
Last week saw significant developments in two deeply divisive areas of Missouri law. What will lawmakers do with legislation limiting transgender rights and health care this year, and will voters enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution?
-
Missouri’s first Asian American woman elected to the General Assembly says it hasn’t always been easy to serve. State Rep. Emily Weber, from Kansas City, reflects on race and equity in Missouri government, and the rest of this year’s legislative agenda.
-
Today marks 95 years since Martin Luther King Jr. was born. In Kansas City, King’s death set off a chain reaction that went all the way to McDonald's. Plus: A group of Kansas musicians formed one of the first all-women mariachi groups in the country.
-
With an election year underway, Kansas' 2024 legislative session is gearing up to be a big one. Medicaid expansion, school choice and tax cuts are expected to take up space as the Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate push back against Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s priorities.
-
The Brick, a celebrated dive bar in Kansas City's Crossroads Arts District, has been serving affordable comfort food in its low-key digs for over two decades. "They’ve become a sort of family to me,” owner Sheri Parr says of her long-time customers.
-
Finding an affordable meal in Kansas City isn’t as easy as it once was, especially as the restaurant industry emerges from the COVID pandemic. This list of local diners, markets and counter-service spots will help you eat well without spending more than $15.
-
When the 2024 Kansas Legislative session returns to Topeka next month, they are expected to once again debate cannabis. Republican Senate President Ty Masterson says he's against full legalization — even though a large majority of Kansans say they want it.
-
It’s been a tumultuous year for trans, nonbinary or gender-questioning kids and adults seeking healthcare in Missouri — and it's not over yet. We'll get you up to speed on the latest confrontation between the Missouri Attorney General and care providers in the state.
-
A Missouri trial that wraps up this week could determine the fate of the state’s controversial voter ID law and shape the results of the 2024 election. At stake are requirements that some say are intentionally designed to suppress votes in Democratic-leaning metro areas.