“Silence in Sikeston” explores what it means to live with racism and violence, then charts the toll on our health — from hives, high blood pressure, inflammation and heart disease to struggles with mental health.

In 1942, Cleo Wright was removed from a Sikeston, Missouri, jail and lynched by a mob. Nearly 80 years later, Denzel Taylor was killed by police in the same community. The deaths of these two Black fathers tell a story about the public health consequences of racism and systemic bias. Meet residents determined to live healthier lives after generations of community silence. “Silence in Sikeston” is the podcast about finding the words to say the things that go unsaid. This is an invitation. Perhaps this journalism, these stories, will spark a conversation that you’ve been meaning to have.

Hosted by Cara Anthony, a KFF Health News Midwest correspondent and an Edward R. Murrow and National Association of Black Journalists award-winning reporter from East St. Louis, Illinois. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Time magazine, NPR, and other outlets nationwide.

The limited series drops every Tuesday starting September 10. Subscribe and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart or wherever you get your podcasts.

The podcast is a production of KFF Health News and WORLD. Distributed by PRX.📱Watch the accompanying documentary, “Silence in Sikeston,” starting Sept. 16. Learn more here.

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