Missouri on Mic

KBIA

Missouri on Mic is an oral history and journalism project from KBIA staff and students documenting stories of Missourians in the state's 200th year. Catch new episodes on KBIA 91.3 FM and KBIA.org every Monday at 8:45 AM during Morning Edition or at 4:45 PM during All Things Considered.Special thanks to the State Historical Society of Missouri (SHSMO) and True False Film Fest for partnering with KBIA on this series, and to Missouri Humanities and the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) for their support for the series. Big thanks to the Burney Sisters for providing music for the project. You can follow the Burney Sisters on https://www.facebook.com/TheBurneySisters or learn more at https://theburneysisters.comTo learn more about the story behind this collaborative project and how to produce something similar in your community, check out our Tool Box website here. read less

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Charlotte Wolpers Craig: “Southeast Missouri has long been a tremendously underserved area in terms of rescues for animals."

Charlotte Wolpers Craig: “Southeast Missouri has long been a tremendously underserved area in terms of rescues for animals."

Charlotte Wolpers Craig spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the Margaret Harwell Art Museum in Poplar Bluff in July. She spoke about growing up in the area, and one of her lifelong passions – helping animals. She helped found the Animal Welfare Alliance of Southeast Missouri, which opened a no kill shelter earlier this year.

Episodes

Charlotte Wolpers Craig: “Southeast Missouri has long been a tremendously underserved area in terms of rescues for animals."

Charlotte Wolpers Craig: “Southeast Missouri has long been a tremendously underserved area in terms of rescues for animals."

Charlotte Wolpers Craig spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the Margaret Harwell Art Museum in Poplar Bluff in July. She spoke about growing up in the area, and one of her lifelong passions – helping animals. She helped found the Animal Welfare Alliance of Southeast Missouri, which opened a no kill shelter earlier this year.

Mike Shane: “The newspaper – they wanted weekly articles about museum exhibits, and so, I got voted to write those articles."

Mike Shane: “The newspaper – they wanted weekly articles about museum exhibits, and so, I got voted to write those articles."

Mike Shane spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the Margaret Harwell Art Museum in Poplar Bluff in July. He's a writer and spoke about some of the stories from his book, “Tall Tales: Stories from the Poplar Bluff Museum.”

Sue Crites Szostak: “As I grew up, I found out that books were my passion because they took me anywhere I wanted to go.”

Sue Crites Szostak: “As I grew up, I found out that books were my passion because they took me anywhere I wanted to go.”

Sue Crites Szostak spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the Poplar Bluff Municipal Library in July. She's the director there and spoke about how books have shaped her life.

John Stanard: "The Daily American Republic’ is the successor after many, many names of the first newspaper in Butler County.”

John Stanard: "The Daily American Republic’ is the successor after many, many names of the first newspaper in Butler County.”

John Stanard spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the Margaret Harwell Art Museum in Poplar Bluff in July. He spoke about his family’s long history with the newspaper industry in the area.

Diana Moxon: “As a child, I always felt like the world was this huge and exciting place… and that my adventure lay far beyond the borders of the town.”

Diana Moxon: “As a child, I always felt like the world was this huge and exciting place… and that my adventure lay far beyond the borders of the town.”

Diana Moxon lives in Columbia and spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the Unbound Book Festival last April, she hosts a weekly radio program called “Speaking of the Arts.” She spoke about how she ended up in Columbia, and about some of her lesser-known passions.

J.R. Patterson: “You can do whatever you want… ideas can be endless.”

J.R. Patterson: “You can do whatever you want… ideas can be endless.”

J.R. Patterson spoke with the Missouri On Mic team at the Margaret Harwell Art Museum in Poplar Bluff in July. He’s eight and from St. Louis., He spoke about his love of comics and making stop motion films. You can check out his work on YouTube as “ultimate_stop_motions.”

Cheryl Huffman: "Really the crazy jellies didn't really come around til probably this season."

Cheryl Huffman: "Really the crazy jellies didn't really come around til probably this season."

Cheryl Huffman spoke with the Missouri On Mic team at the Downtown Poplar Bluff Farmers Market in July. She’s from Doniphan, and spoke about how the need for extra income led her to revisiting a craft she learned as a child.

Kate Sandefur: "We wanted to start getting together again with kids, other children, and we felt like the safest place to do it was outside.”

Kate Sandefur: "We wanted to start getting together again with kids, other children, and we felt like the safest place to do it was outside.”

Kate Sandefur spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the Adair County Public Library in May. She’s a librarian and a former pre-school teacher and spoke about how the pandemic led to her and some other local parents starting Prairie Song Academy, a Kirksville area Montessori-based school.

Joyce Slater: The Tale of the Sallybally

Joyce Slater: The Tale of the Sallybally

Joyce Slater spoke with the Missouri on Mike team at the 2021 Missouri State Fair. She's a professional storyteller, and she shared her love of ghost stories – especially Ozark folklore.

Toni Howe & Cate Oakley: “They know if you’re with Grandma, you're gonna go to the library.”

Toni Howe & Cate Oakley: “They know if you’re with Grandma, you're gonna go to the library.”

Toni Howe and Cate Oakley spoke with the Missouri On Mic team at the Poplar Bluff Library in July.Cate is 4-years old, and her Grandma Toni is a school librarian. They spoke about how they visit libraries together and their shared love of books.

Jason Haxton: "The story is Andrew Taylor Still. One man, 130 years ago, with an idea of bringing better health care."

Jason Haxton: "The story is Andrew Taylor Still. One man, 130 years ago, with an idea of bringing better health care."

Jason Haxton spoke with the Missouri on my team at the Kirksville Farmers Market in May.He's the Director of The Museum of Osteopathic Medicine at A.T. Still University in Kirksville. He loves his work and spoke about the museum and the legacy of osteopathic medicine in northeast Missouri.

Joe Love: “In the summertime, we would all go and pick berries, eat berries till we get sick, and then pick them and bring them home.”

Joe Love: “In the summertime, we would all go and pick berries, eat berries till we get sick, and then pick them and bring them home.”

Joe Love spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the Downtown Poplar Bluff Farmer’s Market in July. She spoke about her memories of growing up, food and family.

Zac Burden: "Through these stories, you really get a sense of what Kirksville has meant to this region—to the entire state"

Zac Burden: "Through these stories, you really get a sense of what Kirksville has meant to this region—to the entire state"

Zac Burden spoke with the Missouri on Mic team in Kirksville. He's the mayor there, and he stopped by our booth at the farmers market in May, to talk about his love of the town and the community's history.

Larry Lewis: "Even though we had very little money, we ate like kings."

Larry Lewis: "Even though we had very little money, we ate like kings."

Larry Lewis spoke with the Missouri On Mic team at the Unbound Book Festival in April - more specifically with his daughter, KBIA’s own Janet Saidi. Larry is a Missouri native and the two spoke about some fond memories of family and friends at the farm.

Sharon Pritchard: "I love to do the window and make people stop and think 'Oh my god, that's gorgeous.'"

Sharon Pritchard: "I love to do the window and make people stop and think 'Oh my god, that's gorgeous.'"

Sharon Pritchard spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the Kirksville Farmers Market in May. She and several other local women operate an art gallery in downtown Kirksville called Gallery 104.

William Robb: "We wanted to provide a place that it didn't matter what was in your pocket, you could still have healthy food that was delicious."

William Robb: "We wanted to provide a place that it didn't matter what was in your pocket, you could still have healthy food that was delicious."

William Robb spoke with the Missouri On Mic team at the Kirksville Farmer’s Market in May. He spoke about his passion for food equity and his work with a local non profit called Take Root.

Brittney Like: "If you want teachers, you need to pay them."

Brittney Like: "If you want teachers, you need to pay them."

Brittney Like spoke with the Missouri On Mic team at the Poplar Bluff Municipal Library in July. She works there, and she’s also a student teacher.

Joel Kabamba: "What I want is for people to be aware of the war that is going on in my country every single day."

Joel Kabamba: "What I want is for people to be aware of the war that is going on in my country every single day."

Joel Kabamba spoke with the Missouri On Mic team at the Adair County Public Library in May. He is the pastor for the french speaking Congolese community in Kirksville and he spoke about the ongoing violence in his home country. A brief note that this episode contains content that some listeners might find disturbing.

Ava Thompson: "That's how I even really found out about volleyball. I found a manga called 'Haikyū!!' that I read."

Ava Thompson: "That's how I even really found out about volleyball. I found a manga called 'Haikyū!!' that I read."

Ava Thompson spoke with the Missouri On Mic team at The Poplar Bluff Municipal Library in July. She’s a middle schooler from Elsinore Missouri and she spoke with KBIA's Rebecca Smith about her love of books and volleyball.

Hattie Berke: "Reading actually gives me more of an open-minded opinion on things and has helped teach me how to approach people in different situations"

Hattie Berke: "Reading actually gives me more of an open-minded opinion on things and has helped teach me how to approach people in different situations"

Hattie Berke spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the Adair County Public Library in May. She works there, and she's also a full-time student at Truman State University studying anthropology and Spanish.She spoke about her love of books and reading, and about some of her experiences with book banning.