Artspeak Radio

About Artspeak Radio

ARTSPEAK RADIO is a live radio program on KKFI that airs every Wednesday from 9am - 10am CST Host Maria Vasquez Boyd serves up information about the visual and literary arts community including live interviews with artists, writers, and performers.

Publisher

KKFI 90.1 FM Kansas City Community Radio

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

24 Jan 2014

Latest episode

6 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

1 of 596 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   6 Aug 2026

   Artspeak Radio with Jennifer Case and Marcy Smalley

   Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes authors Jennifer Case and Marcy Smalley. JENNIFER CASE- Part memoir and part cultural reflection, The Carework Project combines intimate storytelling with research, interviews, and visual art to explore what care means in a time of climate crisis. “Care work is climate work.” Jennifer Case first encountered this message during the pandemic, while monitoring her daughter’s attempts at virtual learning and trying to keep her toddler from running naked into faculty Zoom meetings. The phrase appeared online beside photos of backyard gardens and essential workers in masks, offering an unexpected validation: caring for others—whether children, the ill, or the earth—is vital work. Intrigued, Case began exploring the connections between personal, domestic, and ecological care. What started as research through the lenses of feminism and economics grew into a larger investigation that touched on environmental thought, Indigenous teachings, disability studies, and the psychology of empathy. Along the way, Case developed a broader spiritual and ecological awareness that changed how she viewed the act of caring itself. Part memoir and part cultural reflection, The Carework Project combines intimate storytelling with research, interviews, and visual art to explore what care means in a time of climate crisis. Case shows how caregiving, often invisible, gendered, or undervalued, is central to our survival. She examines how trauma and burnout affect our ability to connect, and how healing can start with the smallest gestures of attention. The book invites readers to envision a world where care is not a burden but a source of mutual renewal and belonging. Visually striking collage postcards enhance the text. The result is a hybrid work that feels both timely and timeless, honoring the messy, creative, and transformative act of caring for one another and the living world. Why This Story Matters Now ● The Carework Project is the rare book that tackles all types of caregiving (not just one, such as childcare or eldercare) and does so through the lens of climate change and environmental justice. The connection between carework and climate change is underexplored and sets this book apart from other works about caregiving. ● The book is also incredibly timely, directly engaging conversations surrounding climate change, caretaking, and mental health in a manner that will appeal to literary readers, environmental activists, mothers, and careworkers of all types. Target Audiences The Carework Project appeals to multiple audiences: general and literary readers, environmental activists, all kinds of caregivers, and anyone interested in topics relating to environmental humanities, women and gender studies, healthcare and mental health studies, human consciousness and spirituality, and literary nonfiction about social justice. Interview Opportunities Jennifer Case offers compelling perspectives on: ● Feminism and gender studies, especially relating to the act of caregiving and motherhood ● Environmental humanities, climate anxiety, and a broader ecological awareness ● Mental health and healthcare, especially relating to the effects of trauma and burnout on connection and the importance of small gestures of attention to healing ● A vision of a world in which care is a source of mutual renewal and belonging Author Bio Jennifer Case teaches creative writing at the University of Central Arkansas. She also serves as an assistant nonfiction editor at Terrain.org and is the supervising editor of Arkana. She is the author of The Carework Project: Reckoning with Love, Labor, and the Living World, We Are Animals: On the Nature and Politics of Motherhood, and Sawbill: A Search for Place, and her work has appeared in Orion, the Sycamore Review, and Fourth River. She lives in central Arkansas. www.jenniferlcase.com MARCY SMALLEY, author, Piloting the Currents: Growing Up In Turbulent Times 1962-1973 Born into the uneasy normality of postwar Kansas City, a girl comes of age in the fast changing world of the 1960’s. With a government in crisis and social traditions failing, she navigates the counter-cultural rapids and family upheavals. Buoyant with curiosity, she creates an adulthood beyond the one expected of her. A look back then begins to reveal parallels with today’s world. Marcy A. Smalley, a retired urban planner, is a writer, and musician.  Her writing has appeared in The Sun and other publications.  She edited Threshold – A Life’s Journey to Prairie, by Elaine Jones, Blurb Press, 2024.  Her musical scores have been performed locally.  As an urban planner she assisted in the development of the Kansas City regional transit plan. She and her husband Barrie (a Habitat for Humanity volunteer) live in the Kansas City area near their children and grandchildren. This is her first book. www.marcysmalley.com

2. 

   5 Aug 2026

   Artspeak Radio School Edition

   Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, August 5, 2026, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd talks with educator Whitney Boyd and Luna, singer/songwriter Heath Church. Fact: Missouri ranks near the bottom nationwide for teacher pay, consistently appearing in the 49th or 50th position. American teachers are increasingly stepping away from their jobs because of the educational systems and structures that prevent them from engaging in good teaching, which involves professional judgment, attunement to students’ multidimensional needs, and a connection to one’s purpose and values. The barriers to good teaching include overwork and underpay, in a profession that is increasingly undervalued—but that is not the whole story. The results of a massive survey, America’s Teachers on Teaching in an Era of Change, indicate a strong correlation between teachers’ job satisfaction and feeling that their voices are heard. Ninety-eight percent of the 20,000 respondents believe that teaching is more than a profession; it is how they make a difference in the world. The survey also suggested that new teachers, in particular, have comparatively higher needs for both content and social support. A frequently cited challenge for teachers was finding time to collaborate with colleagues, and rural and small-town teachers feel significantly more isolated and in need of support, connection, and collaboration. While self-care strategies such as mindfulness, gratitude, and self-compassion have been shown to support individual well-being, they are insufficient to support teachers who believe that their institutions are not in alignment with their values. These educators need the support and connection of an authentic learning community to give meaning, purpose, and direction to their work. Such communities are of particular importance for reengaging those suffering from demoralization, helping them regain their self-efficacy, which can lead to increased job satisfaction and commitment to students and the profession. There is power and hope when we work together. (What Teachers Really Need to Thrive, Greater Good Magazine, July 15, 2024, Margaret Golden, Ed.D, www.greatergood.berkeley.edu) Margaret Golden, Ed.D., is the director of learning communities at the Greater Good Science Center. She is the coauthor of Teach Our Children Well: Essential Strategies for the Urban Classroom and editor of Teaching and Learning from the Inside Out: Revitalizing Ourselves and Our Institutions. Teacher funding comes from crowdfunding platforms, non-profit organizations, and state or federal grants. On average, U.S. educators spend roughly $895 annually out of pocket for classroom supplies, making external grants and community donation programs vital resources to offset these costs. Crowdfunding and Donation Platforms • DonorsChoose: Use the DonorsChoose platform to post specific project requests and connect with individual donors. • AdoptAClassroom.org: Register on AdoptAClassroom to secure flexible funds, corporate sponsorships, and supply packages for your room. • Community options: Most users on Reddit agree that sharing Amazon wishlists on social media, checking local Buy Nothing groups, and utilizing PTA resources are effective supplementary tactics. Local and Regional Grants • State catalogs: Search localized opportunities like The Grant Portal to find active funding listings specific to Missouri educators. • Union support: Check the Missouri NEA for regional tuition assistance, humanitarian aid, and small project grants. Professional and Federal Programs • Fellowships: Apply for self-designed professional development funding through Fund for Teachers when applications open. • Government grants: Look into federal opportunities such as the Teacher and School Leader Incentive Program via the U.S. Department of Education. HEATH CHURCH is a singer-songwriter from the Midwest whose music is best described as dreamy indie-folk. His inspirations range from folk music legends including Johnny Cash, Blaze Foley, and John Prine to more recent indie artists such as Elliott Smith, Odie Leigh, Eels, and The Japanese House. Warm acoustic guitar tracks with layered vocals and undeniably catchy lyrics are all part of Heath Church’s signature sound which has been described as “Midwestern Heartbreak”. Since he first began his journey with songwriting over a decade ago, he has released multiple EPs & singles and has played over a hundred shows. Heath Church now shares his life experiences on stages across the country. When I play a song for you, I want to create an experience that sticks with you. I want to take you to a place in your mind where you feel accepted and understood in a unique way that you haven’t before. That’s what music does. It understands us. I think everyone needs a chance to feel understood. -Heath Church https://www.facebook.com/share/1BYd2k8NmE/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/5THqQuSbp7IuOk5zQbnDeW...

3. 

   29 Jul 2026

   Artspeak Radio with Kasim Hardaway

   Artspeak Radio with Kasim Hardaway

Inside a recent episode

ARTSPEAK RADIO with Osvaldo Navarro, Writers Place, InterUrbanArtHouse, & Jones Gallery

Published 10 Dec 2018 · Transcript excerpt

[…] We, we appreciate you and I love you for everything that you do. Up next, turning my focus away from that, uh, we have Wolf Brock, who is the operations manager, Enjoy Baker, artist with the Inter Urban Arthouse, which was founded and developed by a local community artist, Nicole Emanuel. So in 2011, it began as a series of conversations with artists and arts organizations, civic and business leaders. And then it was clear that there was a void in the arts resources and studio facilities for Northeast Kansas. And they've been going strong ever since. So welcome, Wolf and Joy. Thanks for having us. […]

Who has been a guest on Artspeak Radio

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• GK Callahan
• Izzy Vivas
• Sean Whalen
• Laura Treas
• Kēvin Callahan

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 39 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

78

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

0

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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