Hampton Stevens

Contributor

Hampton Stevens has written for The Atlantic, ESPN the Magazine, Playboy, Maxim, and many other regional and national publications. He lives in Kansas City, Missouri with his pit bull, Ginger.

Stories by Hampton Stevens

Mandy Moore really loves animals. Possibly more than she loves her soon-to-be ex-husband Ryan Adams. (Photo: Diane Bondareff | AP file)

Sounding Smarter

According to an extensive story at Foreign Policy, India is building a top secret facility to produce nuclear weapons. Which means, at the very least, India is going to need a new definition of the phrase “top secret”. In other apocalyptic weapons news, the U.S. is “considering a response” to an Iranian ballistic missile test. Apparently, we’re going…

The Weekender

It’s the last weekend before Christmas. That means you’ll probably spend most of your weekend shopping or at holiday parties. This is also the week (in case you hadn’t heard) that the new Star Wars movie premiers, meaning that pretty much everyone in North America is going to spend at least some precious weekend time…

Sounding Smarter

At the Climate Summit in Paris, Leonardo DiCaprio delivered a powerful speech about the dangers of global warming. Afterwards, Leo got into a private jet, flew to one of his several mansions and spent some time chilling on a giant yacht. Coca-Cola said on Friday that it may have to close some bottling plants in India if the government…

The Weekender

At this point in the holiday season, you might have done all the more traditional stuff. You’ve seen “The Nutcracker” and “A Christmas Carol”. You’ve looked at the Plaza Lights. You’ve gone to see Santa Dive with the Penguins at the Kansas City Zoo. You know, all the basics. Why not try something a little more…

Sounding Smarter

China is set to build a massive cow cloning facility with an eye toward eventually cloning human beings. Isn’t China making enough human beings the old-fashioned way? In case you haven’t been paying attention, the Secret Service is a hot mess. According to a scathing report released on Thursday, the agency has seen at least a half-dozen previously undisclosed security…

The Weekender

It’s full-on Christmas season. You can try it to fight it or embrace it. No matter which camp you choose, Flatland has your weekend on lock. BUYING For unique gifts, don’t forget that this weekend is a First Friday. Buying local art from local galleries is always a smart and thoughtful way to shop. You could…

A New Stage

Since artistic director Eric Rosen arrived in 2008, the Kansas City Repertory theater has been staging challenging, world class performances. The theater itself, however, has been a clunky mess. Now, for the first time since being built in 1979, the Spencer Theatre, home of the Rep, has been renovated. To celebrate the completion of a…

Sounding Smarter

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey will not apologize for downing a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border. Let’s hope nothing comes of the incident. It would be a shame to see anything threaten the stability of the Middle East. In what has become a great American holiday tradition, fights broke out across the country over…

The Weekender

  It’s a long holiday weekend. Emphasis on the “long.” Sure, we all love spending time with family, but we also love getting out of the house. Unfortunately, there’s really only two things to do this weekend: shop or avoid shopping. If you are in the latter group, Flatland has a few ideas for you….

Five Things We Learned About Thomas Hart Benton

“American Epics: Thomas Hart Benton and Hollywood” is a landmark event. The show, which runs until January 3, 2016 at the Nelson-Atkins Museum, is the first major retrospective of Benton’s work in more than 25 years. It’s also the first exhibit ever to really put Benton’s work in proper context. Featuring nearly 100 works, including more than 50…