- Welcome back for another edition of "Kansas City Experience."

I'm Catherine Hoffman.

This month, as parents have become more critical of certain school curriculum, we find out how the process works in Kansas for deciding what ends up in the classroom.

- Kansas has a proud tradition of strong public schools, it's one of the founding values of our state.

And so our state board, these are elected individuals from across the state, they work to set those standards.

- [Catherine] The pandemic has had a mixed impact on animal shelters.

We take a look at how one shelter is struggling to find homes and foster homes for dogs.

- [Lisa] You can give them so much in a home environment, and de-stress them, because in that shelter, as nice and beautiful as this shelter is, it's still not home.

- [Catherine] As political discord continues to rise, so too has the prevalence of hate crimes.

We share some of the discussion from an American public square on the rise of antisemitism.

- Millennials and Gen Z, more than 50% of them had never heard of Auschwitz.

More than 60% of them had no idea that six million Jews perished in the holocaust, and over 10% believed that Jews were responsible for the holocaust.

- [Catherine] We also check in with filmmakers, Steve and Mary Pruitt to discuss their latest project, "The Land."

(ominous music) - [John] Tell me, what is "The Land" about?

- "The Land" is about change, facing change, and the vanishing present, that which we've always known, and we've come to the point where that disappears, so our identity is tied very much to what we do, our careers, our jobs, etc.

So what happens when that disappears?

- [Catherine] And "Making Movies" stops by our studio for 90.9, The Bridge, in-studio session.

(fun salsa music) ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ (synthesizer modulating) Kansas City has made its mark with its local roasters and brewers, but don't forget about the distillers.

This month, we kick things off with a taste test of some of Kansas City's finest whiskeys.

- Hey, it's me, Cassie.

Not only am I a beer enthusiast, but I also love me some good whiskey.

That's right, today on "Tap List," we're doing things a little bit differently.

(laid-back music) All six of these whiskeys come from six different distilleries in the area.

To make it a little easier, we chose each distillery's flagship, or most popular whiskey that they have.

I'm gonna blind taste these whiskeys.

They are all identified with tape on the bottom that I cannot see.

Then I'm gonna decide which one I think would go best in a cocktail, which one is the most unique, and which one is my all around favorite.

Because what better gift than the gift of whiskey?

A car.

Have a little (clicks tongue) palette cleansing Topo Chico.

Bear with me, my skills are in beer tasting, but I'm up for the challenge.

Whiskey number one.

(laid-back music continues) Whoa.

You really can't (pops) get your nose in there as much as a beer.

(laughs) It kind of stings.

Mmm, yeah, it just smells like that oaky little bit of sweetness.

Not like a crazy punch of alcohol.

(laid-back music continues) Hmm, but it's got kind of like a little spicy bite at the end of it.

I really like that, I think that one could be in the running for a great cocktail whiskey.

I still feel like you'd be able to taste it no matter what you mixed it with, but still.

Welp, that's really good.

Okay, soda water time.

Whiskey number two.

(laid-back music) Hm.

This one, so far, is like a more subtle (sniffs) nuanced aroma still.

I mean, I don't think we're gonna get like crazy differences in aroma, but... Yeah, it doesn't have as much of an alcohol, like hot aroma to it.

(laid-back music continues) Oh.

Hmm.

Okay.

This one is a lot smoother, kind of softer.

It still has a good bit of sweetness, but the sharpness is right at the beginning, rather than like a sharp bite finish, like the first one.

So, that would be in the running for a nice mellow sipper by the fireplace, in your robe.

Number three.

(laid-back music continues) This one (sniffs) almost gave me like a little maple syrup, not maple syrup, but kind of that same sort of deep sweetness.

(laid-back music) It's also a little more subtle, not as sharp as number one.

(laid-back music) Mm.

But, the flavor is a little sweeter, and a little deeper.

More of those oaky notes, and a pretty, not intensely sharp, but like a nice little spiciness that kind of covers your whole mouth after you take a sip of it.

So not up front, not in the back, just kind of a lingering, I guess, spicy finish.

(snaps) That's what they say.

I also need to be taking my own notes because there's a lot of these, so.

(laid-back music) Okay, whiskey number four.

I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with all these so far.

Oh.

This one, oh my gosh, what is the aroma?

It definitely smells a little bit fruitier, weirdly.

It also kinda smells like honey.

Mm, okay.

Enough of that, start tasting.

(laughs) (laid-back music) This one tastes pretty complex.

It tastes like honey, but also kind of at the end, almost like burnt sugar.

It's really interesting, but really smooth, too.

This one differs from the other three so far, I think, because it's a lot going on.

This is the first one that I've been like, I feel like I might need to take another sip because I'm not sure, my brain can't comprehend it.

It's like a little bit spicy, but a little bit just like a very caramelized sugar of some kind at the end.

Not quite burnt, but kind of almost gives you that burn, in a good way.

Cool.

Okay.

Yum.

That's in the running.

♪ Note, notes, notes ♪ (laid-back music) Okay.

This is a lot more interesting than I thought.

Now I don't know what I was thinking, but it's really interesting.

Okay.

Whew, it's getting hot!

(crew laughing) (Cassie laughing) Okay, number five.

(laid-back music continues) More subtle aroma again.

Just that hint of oaky sweetness.

Ooh.

Okay.

This one starts off really kind of mild, and then hits you with a little bit of a bite.

I don't know what the correct whiskey person term is for that.

I'm gonna take one more sip, 'cause that was weird.

This one I would say is pretty spicy.

I think this would be in the running for a great cocktail as well.

Unless you like sipping spicy whiskeys, 'cause those are good for sippers, too, but a little bit of sweetness, but a really spicy finish.

And something else that I can't determine.

Whiskey number six.

(laid-back music continues) Hmm.

This one kind of reminds me of one of these other ones that had sort of a somewhat fruity-ish aroma.

Fruity and a little (sniffs) spicy.

Interesting.

(Cassie sucking air in) (crew member laughs) This one is sort of smoother, and just, lightly sweet.

Yeah, it's got this really nice, light sweetness up front, and then just kind of a mildly spicy finish that lingers for a little bit, and then kind of disappears, so not a crazy long finish.

(bass-heavy instrumentals) Okay, so I kind of think that for my most unique category, is whiskey number four.

It was the one that was kind of like; in your face, but smelled like honey, but also had that burnt caramel finish.

So can I look and see which one it was?

- [Crew] Yeah.

That one was Restless Spirits Distillery.

The Restless Spirits GullyTown, double-barrel aged, single malt whiskey.

That was really cool.

I think my favorite cocktail one was whiskey number one.

It was spicier and had more of a a bite, so once you add sugar or anything else that goes with it, I think that'll balance out, and then you'll still be able to taste the whiskey.

That one was really good.

Okay, let's see what it is.

West Bottoms.

Kansas City Whiskey.

Great job, West Bottoms Whiskey Co. For my all around sipping whiskey, I guess I should say, maybe I'm gonna pick this, whiskey number two, because in my notes, I wrote that it was pretty light and easy-drinking.

This is the all-around, any night of the week whiskey, I think.

Lifted Spirits.

Yeah, that's delicious.

I feel like people that are like, "Oh, maybe I don't love whiskey," would maybe give this one a shot, 'cause it's a little bit different in that way.

Yeah, turn yourself into a whiskey drinker.

All six of these were so good, and would be great gift choices.

These three happen to be my favorites, but don't let me stop you from going out and tasting all of these whiskeys out and about in town.

(relaxed music) - This month's curiousKC question is, "Who are all the decision makers in creating a school's curriculum?"

- So this is actually a broad question, and it is specific to each state, and so I can speak about Kansas.

And one of the ways in which Kansas is unique is that our founders included constitutional authority to the state board of education in Kansas, and then through that to the local boards of education.

So our legislature, our executive branch, our governor is not involved in setting the standards for our students in the state of Kansas.

Kansas has a proud tradition of strong public schools.

It's one of the founding values of our state.

And so our state board, these are elected individuals from across the state, they work to set those standards.

They have an education commissioner who then helps get that information out to the local boards, and then the local boards, based off of our local curriculum cadres, which I just spoke about, we approve our curriculum, after folks within our distract have brought it to us.

So our curriculum cadre folks are our educators, they are in the room with students, our instructional coaches who work with our educators, and then we have curriculum coordinators, and so, they go over what the standards are that are set by the state board, and they say, "This is what we believe we need to be providing you from a curriculum to make sure we're meeting the state standards."

And they bring that to the board and the board votes on it.

We usually have educators who will sample curriculum and try teaching it in their classroom first, so that they can come back and give us feedback.

Is it getting the information necessary into kids, are they experiencing it, are they learning it, before we end up with final approval with board vote.

It's a fairly detailed and involved process, but it's also one that I think could potentially be under attack, politically in the Kansas legislature.

We saw in the last legislative session where the state legislature tried to step in and say, "Kansas schools need to be teaching this," or "Kansas schools need to be teaching that," and those bills were voted down in the state house.

But I can see how some of these arguments that are currently occurring surrounding CRT, could be used as a weapon against the state board of education in Kansas to say, even though CRT is not being taught, there will be individuals who say, "In order to make sure CRT is not taught, we need to strip this constitutional authority from the state board of education."

To keep that authority with the state board of education is really important, to make sure the individuals making decisions about the curriculum and what children learn are experts on education.

(calm music) (pleasant music) - Great Plains is one of the largest no-kill animal shelters in the Kansas City area.

We serve about 4,000 animals every year.

We will not euthanize an animal just because we've run out of space here.

We always find a place for them, and a home for them, if they are healthy animals.

- Being a foster is so rewarding.

You can give them so much in a home environment, and de-stress them, because in that shelter, as nice and beautiful as this shelter is, it's still not home.

Being in a home environment and getting that attention, and getting that love, it really brings out another side to the animals that maybe staff here don't see on a daily basis, because they are so stressed out.

- [Tracy] We have a wonderful dog who's living in my office right now.

Her name is Early, and she doesn't like other dogs, so when she's in a kennel, and she's surrounded by a bunch of other dogs, it really stresses her out, - Hi!

- [Tracy] and she then (dogs barking and whining) displays that stress by barking in her kennel, and lunging at the kennel door, and that kind of behavior is not very attractive for adopters, so adopters overlook her, and she's now living in my office, as I said.

She's doing much better there, but then she's not on the adoption floor, so she doesn't get adopted.

And then she's here longer, and she gets more stressed out.

She's a wonderful dog.

She's sweet, she's house-trained, she's loving and affectionate, she's a great co-pilot in the car, but she's stuck, she's stuck here.

She's been here for two months, and we've just got a lot of dogs that are in this situation, where the longer they stay, the more stressed they get, and it exacerbates itself.

(calm, sad music) We really just are looking for homes for these dogs, whether it's a permanent home or a foster home.

Their behavior changes dramatically when they get into a home.

(calm, sad music) - Good evening.

My name is Allan Katz, and I'm delighted to see your here for tonight's panel; The Rise of Antisemitism on the Left and the Right.

(quiet dramatic music) - I'm the granddaughter of a holocaust survivor, and I'm an American, I'm a very proud American, and I would say that like a lot of American Jews, I think I feel both very grateful to this country, and also very responsible for the ways in which it's failed certain minority groups.

- The reason I was so thrilled to agree to participate in this discussion is that it's an opportunity to come together, to have a rational conversation about a really important topic, without grandstanding, without yelling, without the kinds of things that happen all too often irrationally these days.

- The really big structural shifts that are happening around the world, big economic shifts, shifts in information technology, shifts that are leading to the movement of different kinds of people, and that those big shifts end up manifesting in people's lives causing a lot of fear and anxiety, and some of the ways in which that fear and anxiety manifests is in the form of racisms, like antisemitism.

Here in this really beautiful train station, where there's an exhibit on Auschwitz, and I think the Claims Conference did a poll, just within the past year or two, that found that there was young people, millennials and Gen Z, more than 50% of them had never heard of Auschwitz.

More than 60% of them had no idea that 6 millions Jews perished in the holocaust, and over 10% believed that Jews were responsible for the holocaust.

- I'm in sixth grade.

I don't really know what the holocaust is.

- I'm 13 years old, and I'm going to eighth grade.

I didn't actually learn about it in school, I learned about it throughout the years on the internet.

- We need to be just as serious about confronting the hatred of Jews, and we need to clearly confront it together, wherever it comes from, and educate our friends, neighbors, and importantly, the next generation, about the threat that it poses, not only to the Jewish community, but to our democratic ideals overall, if we're not serious in this push.

(upbeat music) - Hello, I'm John McGrath I'm a producer for Flatland at Kansas City PBS.

Art House takes you behind the scenes of locally-lensed film, "The Land," shot right here in Kansas City, and it's produced and directed by the local husband and wife team of Steven and Mary Pruitt.

(projector counting down) (wind chimes blowing) (quiet, dramatic music) - [John] Tell me, what is "The Land" about?

- "The Land" is about change, facing change, and the vanishing present, that which we've always known, and we come to the point where that disappears, so our identity is tied very much to what we do, our careers, our jobs, etc.

So what happens when that disappears?

- The dynamic duo here, tell me how this whole thing works out.

- We actually write the screenplays together, emailing the files back and forth to each other, and once we're actually on set producing and shooting, I'm dealing with the actors, I'm the lead DP with another gentlemen named Michael Lopez for "The Land," and so I'm working, directing, and lighting and shooting, and Mary is doing all the important stuff behind the scenes; making sure the schedule's working, dealing with payroll, all that kinda stuff.

- The last three features, it's amazing.

"The Tree" in 2017, "Terminal" 2018, and then "The Land," like we talked about earlier, it says 2019.

How did you turn to being these prolific filmmakers here in Kansas city?

- We've just been working on passion projects, things that really matter to us.

"The Land," you know, it's a question that so deeply affects so many of us at this age; are you more than what you do?

And I think so many baby boomers have realized that maybe I'm not more than what I do, and we answer the question, "Yes you are."

"The Tree" was about my mother.

"Terminal" was so much about my upbringing, and my background, so we just grab things that we think are gonna be heartfelt pieces of work, and so far, so good.

(quiet, dramatic music) (car engine running) (drum roll) (electric guitar strumming) (fun salsa music begins) (singing in foreign language) (singing continues) ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ (singing in foreign language) (singing continues) ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ (synthesizer modulates) (synthesizer modulating melodies) (salsa music continues) (synthesizer modulating continues) (salsa music intensifies) (singer shouting into mic) ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ (symbols crashing)