Podcasts

For this episode of Marching On, we discuss the work in Wyandotte County to get Spanish voting materials for voters with Karla Juarez of AIRR KC, Erica Andrade of El Centro, Evan Altman (ACLU KS Voting Rights Organizer) and led by Jesse Kielman (ACLU KS Communications Manager). After their discussion, stick around for audio vingettes from Judith Silvestre and Tom Alonzo, both of whom have worked as volunteers in the campaign for language access in Wyandotte.

We are in the latter portion of the 2025 Kansas Legislative Session, and are reporting out on the updates you need to know. In our first conversation, Executive Director Micah Kubic and Communications Director Esmie Tseng discuss the dangerous proposed legislative amendment that would politicize the Kansas Supreme Court. Our second conversation features Policy Strategist Lindsay Callender and Digital Communications Specialist Alina Matejkowski as they discuss the many other bills we saw this session that directly impact civil liberties.

The 2025 Legislative Session is in full swing. Already we have seen bills make their way through the process to potentially being made law. Some we support, such as HB 2197 eliminating fines and fees in our juvenile court system, and some we detest, such as SB 63 which bans gender-affirming healthcare for minors, which passed after a hasty veto override. There’s still a lot of session left, and we want you to be empowered to get involved. We’re joined in this episode by advocates from Loud Light and Equality Kansas as they share what you need to know to make your voice heard this legislative session as we fight against mail-in voting restrictions, a proposed power grab for selecting judges, and more.

To end the year we once again have gatherer ACLU of Kansas staff members to reflect on 2024, look ahead to 2025 and, most exciting, answer questions submitted by listeners.

When it comes to impacting our civil liberties, most of us first think about the courts and lawmakers. But the people who have an outsized effect on your rights are closer by: your local county officials. Leslie Butsch, Policy Director and Esmie Tseng, Communications Director, discuss the power of local advocacy and some of the ways we’re putting that into action in Kansas. Learn more about how you can hold local leaders accountable to address the needs of your community.

The constitutional right to vote is at the heart of our democracy, and free and fair elections uphold our entire system of governance. Democracy is not a partisan matter – it’s the mechanism for each of us to take part in the decision-making process in our communities. On this episode, ACLU of Kansas staff share more about two vital programs aimed to help eligible Kansans vote—and how you be a part of it.

On this month’s pod, Marquetta Adkins-Woods, Executive Director of Destination Innovation, the parent organization of Progeny, and Kunyu Ching, Staff Attorney, join Esmie Tseng to share more about the recent settlement in our case challenging the Wichita Police Department’s discriminatory gang list. Afterwards D.C. Hiegert, LGBTQ+ Legal Fellow, is joined by advocates to discuss Pride and its importance, especially in smaller Kansas communities.