The Forum

Join Steve Werner, Ph.D., as he informs us on the origins and development -- and complexities --of the calendar we use today. Steve Werner moved to Kansas City four years ago to study at UMKC. He came from St. Louis, where he had taught college courses on religion, mythology, Christian history and American culture. He is a composer of songs such as “Irish Farewell” and “Where’s my fifteen minutes, Andy Warhol?” He wrote an opera based on The Epic of Gilgamesh. Check out his YouTube page: “TheCosmicMundane.” His books include “The Handy History Answer Book: From the Stone Age to the Digital Age,” “How to Study Religion: A Guide for the Curious,” and “Life Sucks!: An Exploration of the Pain and Suffering in Life.”

Dr. Benjamin Reed is a behavioral and physiological ecologist whose research with undergraduate students focuses on the Ornate Box Turtle. Benjamin leads teams of students that work at field sites and laboratory settings in Western Nebraska and Eastern Kansas every summer. The team’s recent research has focused on the movement ecology and behavioral types (personality) traits of box turtles with the ultimate aim of better understanding these fascinating creatures to better inform public education and management practices. Musical Guest: Joshua James Warren

Kerri VanMeveren is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Amazing Traditions, LLC and the creator of Smart Like a Fox™, a community education program that helps people recognize scams, evaluate information, and make more informed decisions. With more than a decade of experience conducting research, strategic planning, and organizational assessments for businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies, she brings a practical, evidence-based approach to every presentation. Kerri’s workshops are designed to give people real-world tools they can immediately apply to protect themselves, their families, and their communities.   Musical Guests: The Wanderlast Band

History is often presented as a collection of settled facts, but the stories we tell about the past are shaped by the questions we ask. What happens when we stop asking whether queer people existed in history and start asking how they lived, loved, performed, and imagined their futures? In this interactive lecture, artist and historian Joseph Germain Keehn II explores what it means to view history through a queer lens — examining the people, relationships, performances and possibilities that traditional historical narratives have often overlooked. Drawing on the research behind Queertauqua — a traveling tent show inspired by the late-19th and early-20th centuries Chautauqua movement — this hands-on program combines historical storytelling with plushie-making, inviting participants to become “producers” for Queertauqua’s inaugural production, "A Series of Unmentionable Acts." Perfect for anyone curious about history, creativity and the stories that refuse to stay buried. Joseph Germain Keehn II is a cultural creator whose interdisciplinary practice is informed by history, theater, museum studies and queer theory. Their conceptually driven projects bridge archival research with the glam of camp and the melodrama of the absurd to challenge conventional norms. Joseph navigates the past as a “performance artist as historian,” transforming silences into vibrant spectacles that address the struggles of those who came before. Rooted in theorist Annamarie Jagose’s call to locate “queer as the source, not the destination,” Joseph centers LGBTQIA+ experiences as foundational to our collective history. By amplifying marginalized agency and resilience, their work offers a nuanced, empathetic and critical interpretation of the past. Queertauqua is the manifestation of this journey — a thought-provoking and memorably camp laboratory for the tenor of our times.

Gary Jenkins, local hisorian, author, and documentarian will discuss the history of the Underground Railroad in Kansas ans Missouri.  The Underground Railroad was anetwork of abolitionists who worked to help escaped slaves to freedom in the period leading up to the Civil War.   Musical Guest: Izzy Heller

Nicoya Helm is our featured speaker this week. She unites expertise in education and modern mindfulness to help people look deeper, dream bigger and live better. She’s also passionate about reducing stigma around mental health challenges. Her presentation is entitled “Mental Health First Aid.” Also this week,, we are presenting a community moment presentation from Kansas City Oasis. Aidan Ready will speak to us about the Flying Scotsman, the famous railway locomotive that went around the world. Our musical guests this week are the Nite Owls, Wyatt Brewer and Sarah Lynn

Dr. Micah W. Kubic, Executive Director, America Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, will discuss the amendment on the upcoming ballot to amend the Kansas Constitution to authorize the election of state Supreme Court justices and abolish the existing state Supreme Court nominating commission. With more than 20 years of experience in civil rights and racial justice work, Micah leads one of the largest advocacy organizations in the state, defending and strengthening the rights that belong to everyone under the Constitution. Musical Guest: Josephine Eve

The episode contains two presentations from the Unitaraian Universalist Congregation in Lawrence, KS.  The first one is by Annette Hope Billings - a reading of her poetry with some story telling thrown in.  This will be followed by a conceret by award winning pianist, Melane Hadley Lina.

Marci Renée is the founder and director of Creative Voices of Freedom (creativevoicesoffreedom.org) and the founder and director of The Strawberry Girls (strawberrygirls.org) — a Spanish anti-trafficking, nonprofit organization working with Moroccan women exploited through the “Red Gold” strawberry industry of Spain and into the brothels. She feels called to be a voice for the “Silent Ones.”  Marci will discuss her work with broken, traumetized women in Spain and elsewhere. Musical guest: Ivory Blue (https://www.facebook.com/IVORYBLUEMUSIC)

Duncan Payne is a musician, athlete and academic who recently received his master’s degree in Dublin studying cognitive science, a discipline straddling the line between neuroscience, philosophy, psychology and computer science. Specializing in emerging theories of mind collectively known as ‘4E’ (embodied, embedded, extended, enacted), Duncan’s presentation engages questions of the nature of consciousness, individuality and subjectivity, social neuroscience and the relationship of the brain/mind to the body. Though technically within the scope of ‘hard’ science, these schools of thought stress the interconnected nature of life and thought, and the need for life to be lived to be understood.  Musical Guest: Heath Church