Humanities Hotline

About the Humanities Hotline

The toll-free Humanities Hotline delivers interesting short stories anytime, day or night. It’s simple: Dial 1-888-416-2018 and choose from a menu of humanities highlights, like a poem by Langston Hughes or the brief story of a presidential visit to Russell. These bite-sized micropresentations cover Kansas stories – both serious and light-hearted – and are researched and presented by experts across the state. 

The Humanities Hotline provides an accessible alternative to today’s Zoom culture and encourages the people of Kansas to participate in lifelong engagement with the humanities.

HK is partnering with 17 organizations to help spread the word throughout the state, including Abilene Public Library, ArtsConnect Topeka, Augusta Public Library, Clearwater Public Library, Dorothy Bramlage Public Library in Junction City, Coffey County Library System, Emporia Public Library, Finney County Public Library in Garden City, Garnett Public Library, Goddard Public Library, Hays Public Library, Lawrence Public Library, Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes in Fort Scott, Museum of World Treasures in Wichita, Norton Public Library, Ottawa Library, and Wamego Public Library. Visit them in person or follow them on social media for hotline updates and information.

Humanities Hotline topics change monthly. Call the toll-free number as often as you like. It’s free and available at the touch of a dial or the tap of a keypad. Call today!

Support for the Humanities Hotline has been provided by Cox Charities and the Lewis H. Humphreys Charitable Trust.

Current Humanities Hotline Topics 
 

• Ignacio Carvajal, Ph.D. recites his poem “a letter to the wetlands.” Listen here.

• Kevin Rabas, Professor at Emporia State University and previous Poet Laureate of Kansas, reads one of his own poems, "Bird’s Horn." Listen here. 
• Megan Kaminski, Associate Professor of English at the University of Kansas and editor of HK’s Words of a Feather book, reads her poem “Under tree canopy.” Listen here.
• Poet Laureate of Kansas Huascar Medina reads his poem “Mi Isla.” Listen here.

Humanities hotline Topics December 2021

• Cash Hollistah shares a playlist of songs to get you in the winter spirit. Listen here.
• Miranda Ericsson, Readers Librarian for the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, gives some fun winter reading recommendations. Listen here.
• President of the Historic Lecompton Museum, Paul Bahnmaier, tells the story behind the museum's Christmas Tree exhibit. Listen here.
• Andrew Gustafson, Curator of Interpretation at the Johnson County Museum, shares the history of the All-Electric House that resides inside their facility and gets a holiday makeover each year. Listen here.

Humanities Hotline Topics November 2021

• Teacher and artist José Faus reflects on buffalo through story and his own poetry. Listen here.
• Erin Pouppirt, Master of Counseling Psychology from KU and Member of the Kaw Nation, shares a brief history of her own fourth cousin and the 31st Vice President of the United States, Charles Curtis. Listen here.
• Rob Meseke from Wabaunsee County talks about the old-fashioned technique of loose stacking hay in northeast Kansas. Listen here.
• Ignacio Carvajal, Ph.D. recites his poem “a letter to the wetlands.” Listen here.

Humanities Hotline Topics October 2021

• Steven Foulke, Professor of History at Ottawa University, shares the history of central Kansas’ geographic wonder, Coronado Heights. Listen here. 
• Thomas X. Sarmiento, Associate Professor of English at Kansas State University, tells the story of Filipino American writer Bienvenido Santos. Listen here.
• Sheilah Philip, Professor Emerita of Theatre at Johnson County Community College, recites the poem “I would like” by Yevgeny Yevtushenko. Listen here.
• Kevin Rabas, Professor at Emporia State University and previous Poet Laureate of Kansas, reads one of his own poems, "Bird’s Horn." Listen here.

Humanities Hotline Topics September 2021

• Erin Raux, Museum Director and Curator of the Mid-America All-Indian Museum, shares the story of Blackbear Bosin, the artist behind Wichita's iconic Keeper of the Plains sculpture. Listen here.

• David Tamez, Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of Lawrence Talks, discusses the inspiration for his podcast series, "Charla de Merienda," or "snack talks." Listen here.

• Natalie Vondrak, Watkins Museum of History Summer Fellow, provides a brief history of John Brown - a Kansas icon - in preparation of their new national traveling exhibit, Encountering John Brown. Listen here. 

• Danny Caine, poet and owner of The Raven Bookstore, reads his poem, "The American Kid West." Listen here.

Humanities Hotline Topics, August 2021

• Historian Virgil Dean discusses the constituent correspondence from Bob Dole during his years in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1960s and the correlating exhibit open now at the Dole Institute of Politics, “Voices from the Big First.” Listen here.
• LuAnn Soliah, Former Clinical Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Oklahoma State University, shares, "What's for Lunch?", a history of the school lunch program. Listen here.
• Mary Madden, Division Director of Education and Museums at the Kansas Historical Society, reveals the story of Kansan Colonel James Clark Hughes and his extraordinary adventures. Listen here.
• Shelly Cline, historian and Director of Education at the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, tells you the story of Kansas City’s Holocaust memorial - the first in the nation, and possibly the only one in Kansas. Listen here.

Humanities Hotline Topics, July 2021

• Conny Bogaard, Executive Director of the Western Kansas Community Foundation, describes her memorable trip to the Supai Village at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Listen here.
• Filmmaker Lourdes Kalusha-Aguirre recounts the story of La Yarda, an East Lawrence community of Mexican railroad workers and their families. Listen here.
• Lem Sheppard, musician and historian based in Pittsburg, Kansas, shares the history of Black banjo and violin traditions in Kansas. Listen here.
• cash hollistah, educator and hip-hop artist, shares his top 10 picks for a summer road trip soundtrack. Listen here.

Humanities Hotline Topics, June 2021

• Megan Kaminski, Associate Professor of English at the University of Kansas and editor of HK’s Words of a Feather book, reads her poem “Under tree canopy.” Listen here.
• Patricia Cecil, Archivist Associate at the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Kansas, shares the history of Lawrence’s Black churches. Listen here.
• Lem Sheppard, musician and historian based in Pittsburg, Kansas, shares the story of the original Fisk Jubilee Singers, an African American a capella ensemble. Listen here.
• Trish Reeves, retired professor of English at Haskell Indian Nations University, tells the story of her great half-uncle, David Harlan, and the founding of Cherokee County, Kansas. Listen here.

Humanities Hotline Topics, May 2021

• Freddy Gipp, Founder and CEO of Lead Horse, LLC, shares the history and significance of powwows. Listen here.
• Beverley Olson Buller, chair of the William Allen White Children’s Book Awards selection committee, commemorates the centennial of “Mary White,” William Allen White’s most famous editorial written in memory of his daughter. Listen here.
• Rex Buchanan, Director Emeritus of the Kansas Geological Survey, talks about Kansas petroglyphs and what they tell us about the people who made them and their relationship to the land. Listen here.
• Sister Rosemary Kolich, professor of English at the University of Saint Mary, recounts Abraham Lincoln’s visit to Kansas in 1859. Listen here.

Humanities Hotline Topics, April 2021

• Kansas scholar Eric Anderson shares the history of the Memorial Arch at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence. Listen here.
• Aubrey Urban, professor of Theatre at Johnson County Community College, explores the stories behind old opera houses in Kansas. Listen here.
• Poet Laureate of Kansas Huascar Medina reads his poem “Mi Isla.” Listen here.
• Brad Penka, chairman of the Kansas Post Rock Limestone Coalition, discusses how innovative early Kansas pioneers used limestones as building materials that still shape Kansas architecture today. Listen here.

Humanities Hotline Topics, March 2021

• Mary Kohn, Associate Professor of Linguistics at Kansas State University, explores the ways in which Kansas dialects have shifted over the years. Listen here.
• Valerie Mendoza, Director of the Title III Strengthening Institutions grant at Washburn University, tells the story of Hazel Gomez, a beloved leader of Topeka's Hispanic community. Listen here.
• Author and historian Linda O'Nelio Knoll talks about the Amazon Army, a group of women who marched for coal miners' rights in southeast Kansas in 1921. Listen here.
• Miranda Ericsson, Reader's Librarian for the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, reviews two books in honor of women's history month. Listen here.

Humanities Hotline Topics, February 2021

• Poet, scholar, and author Mercedes Lucero talks about the connection between inspiration and craft. Listen here.
• Dave Tell, Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas, tells the story of the struggle to memorialize Emmett Till. Listen here. 
• Jay Price, Director of the Public History Program at Wichita State University, discusses the role of the county in Kansas identity. Listen here. 
• Tom Prasch, Professor of History at Washburn University, reviews the recent film First Cow with a Kansas slant. Listen here. 

Humanities Hotline, December 15 - 31, 2020

• Lona Reeves, Education and Community Outreach Director at the Kansas African American Museum, tells the story of Kwanzaa. Listen here.
• Kim Perez, Associate Professor of History at Fort Hays State University, recounts the story of the Christmas Bird Count. Listen here.
• Emily Ryan, Director of The Commons at the University of Kansas, talks about what we can learn from the wintering prairie. Listen here.
• Pat Ackerman, freelance writer and Professor of Language Arts at Kansas State University, shares the history of holiday celebrations at Marymount College, Kansas’s first four-year college for women. Listen here. 

Humanities Hotline, December 1 - 15, 2020

• Eric Cale, Director of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, talks about the history of the electric guitar. Listen here.

• Sheilah Philip, Professor Emerita of Theatre at Johnson County Community College, shares lessons about civil disobedience and moral courage from Sophocles’ Antigone. Listen here. 

• Jordan Poland, President and CEO of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, discusses Kansas’s long-time love of golf. Listen here. 

• Lori Goetsch, Dean of Libraries at Kansas State University, shares the history of the restoration of the Overmyer murals in the historic Farrell Library. Listen here. 

Humanities Hotline, November 15-30, 2020

• Gene Chávez, public scholar, shares the history of the tortilla and a recipe for tortillas or sopapillas. Listen here.
• Devon Mihesuah, Cora Lee Beers Price Professor in the Humanities at the University of Kansas, discusses the cultural importance of indigenous food. Listen here.
• Aaron Barnhart, public scholar, tells the story of Henry Clubb's Kansas Vegetopia of 1856. Listen here.
• Journalist Beccy Tanner talks about the history of Jell-O and shares a few of her favorite Jell-O salad recipes. Listen here.

Humanities Hotline, November 1 - 14, 2020

• Angela Bates, Executive Director of the Nicodemus Historical Society, shares the legacy of Nicodemus, Kansas. Listen here. 
• Daniel Ireton, Associate Professor at Kansas State University, talks about the history of the board game. Listen here. 
• Laura Moriarty, Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Kansas, reads from her 2012 novel The Chaperone, set in Wichita, Kansas. Listen here. 
• Dawn Hammatt, Director of the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, talks about Eisenhower’s experience growing up in Abilene, Kansas. Listen here. 

Humanities Hotline, October 15 - 31, 2020

• University of Kansas English Professor Giselle Anatol talks about the history of the vampiric “soucouyant.” Listen here. 

• Washburn University Lecturer and Poet Dennis Etzel, Jr. shares “The Mystery of the Black Fans.” Listen here. 

• McPherson College English Professor Kim Stanley discusses the role of ghosts in literature. Listen here. 

• Emporia State University English Professor Emeritus Jim Hoy tells “The Legend of the Blue Light Lady” of Hays. Listen here. 

Humanities Hotline, October 1 - 14, 2020

• University of Kansas English Professor Emeritus John  Edgar Tidwell reads "Who but the Lord" a poem by Langston Hughes. Listen here. 
• Audrey Coleman, Associate Director of the Dole Institute of Politics and Director of the Dole Institute Archives and Museum, tells the story of "A Picnic for a President--in 24 Hours or Less." Listen Here.
• Prisca Barnes, Founder and CEO of Storytime Village, recounts the story of the 1958 Dockum Drugstore Sit-in. Listen Here.
• Erin Raux, Curator at the Mid-America All-Indian Center, shares a little bit about the history of the Native American vote. Listen Here. 

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