St. Louis on the Air

First opened in 2004, the Missouri History Museum closed their long-running running exhibit on the 1904 World’s Fair last April to reimagine the experience. Next month the museum will unveil its work over the last year of confronting the many hard truths that hid behind the grandeur of the World’s Fair hosted in St. Louis. Sam Moore, managing director of public history and Sharon Smith, curator of civic and personal identity at the Missouri History Museum share the additions and new perspectives in the exhibit and upcoming events when the exhibit reopens on April 27.

On August 9, 2014, the killing of Michael Brown, Jr. by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson saw the birth of a social movement. A new Webster University exhibition titled, “Ferguson and Beyond: Artistic Responses to a Decade of Social Upheaval 2014-2024,” features art created as a means to process Brown’s death and bring about healing.

How bad does party infighting have to get for a frontrunner to leave a political race? Republican Senator Caleb Rowden knows first-hand. In this “Politically Speaking” interview, he shares his reasons for dropping out of the contest for Missouri Secretary of State — a decision prompted by discord within his party and other issues.

St. Louis resident and pilot Cathy Babis has been flying for more than 50 years. Starting this Saturday, she’ll attempt to do something that no woman has done before — circumnavigate mainland Australia in a seaplane. The journey marks the 100th anniversary of the Royal Australian Air Force’s circumnavigation of the continent. Babis talks with producer Alex Heuer about the trip and its goals of encouraging people from diverse backgrounds in STEM fields and raising awareness around suicide prevention.

A St. Louis County SWAT team used a battering ram to burst into a home in Ferguson. Officers had used the Find My app to trace a pair of stolen AirPods linked to a carjacking to that address. The only problem? The AirPods had been tossed into the street. The family inside had nothing to do with the carjacking and never had the AirPods. This month’s Legal Roundtable convenes to discuss the raid. Attorneys Eric Banks, Dave Roland and Nicole Gorovsky also discuss a white professor suing St. Louis’ historically Black university for racial discrimination, whether the Republican Party has a legal basis to stop an “honorary” Ku Klux Klan member from running as a GOP candidate for governor, and more.

“Missouri Weird & Wonderful” presents readers of all ages with a kid-friendly tour through the Show Me State. Author Amanda E. Doyle and illustrator Dan Zettwoch, two longtime St. Louisans, discuss highlights from the book, which closes with a scavenger hunt for famous Missouri people and things.

Are you the sort of Midwesterner who goes outside when tornado sirens go off to watch Mother Nature get crazy? Then you might be exactly who the National Weather Service - St. Louis wants to train to be a storm spotter. Meteorologist Matt Beitcher shares details on upcoming classes and how storm spotters can help save lives by collecting and sharing real-time weather data.

U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, won the GOP nomination in Illinois' 12th Congressional District for a sixth time earlier this week, warding off a challenge by former Illinois legislator Darren Bailey, R-Xenia. In the Madison County Republican primary for board chairman, treasurer Chris Slusser defeated the embattled incumbent, Kurt Prenzler. STLPR journalists Will Bauer and Brian Munoz discuss the results on the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air.

Missouri isn’t the competitive swing state that it was during the 20th century — or even in the 2000s and 2010s. But even though the state’s voters may continue to back GOP candidates for governor and other statewide posts, they may be amenable to backing a ballot initiative that legalizes abortion. On the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, SLU associate political science professor Steve Rogers and STLPR senior political reporter Jo Mannies discuss what the SLU/YouGov poll results mean for the 2024 election.

A new podcast is taking up the past and present of meth. "Home Cooked: A 50-Year History of Meth in America” begins with a Missouri-heavy exploration of meth use and manufacture as it grew in the 2000s. We talk with its host Olivia Weeks, and Prevent Ed executive director Nichole Dawsey, about how Missouri became known as the "meth capital of America,” and how use of the drug has changed today.

Washington University Professor Ian Bogost says checking email is a source of daily torment. In this episode, he makes the case for why it’s time to give up on email entirely. He also digs into the history of email, its evolution, and how we can better use text communication tools in ways that benefit our lives.

Humans have gotten a lot wrong when it comes to living on Earth. And while it wouldn’t be possible to entirely leave earthly problems behind, when humans settle outer space there will be a host of ethical questions with which to grapple. At an event presented by Missouri Humanities and recorded at the James S. McDonnell Planetarium, Elaine Cha spoke with astrophysicist and author Erika Nesvold. Nesvold is the author of “Off-Earth. Ethical Questions and Quandaries for Living in Outer Space.”

St. Louis streets transformed this weekend into a sea of green as thousands of revelers celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. The city’s Irish community has a long history, which includes St. Louis’ 10th mayor, Bryan Mullanphy: Mullanphy’s contributions to the city go far beyond the street named for him. “Unseen St. Louis” writer and history buff Jackie Dana shares her findings from researching Mullaphy’s life, including his then-scandalous decision to leave one-third of his estate to the City of St. Louis, specifically to help poor immigrants and travelers.

A coalition of racial justice groups has released the first of a slew of reports aimed at holding prosecutors in St. Louis and St. Louis County accountable. The group is tackling big questions: What should a prosecutor’s office be doing? What would it mean for those policies to be progressive — not just in name, but in reality? Mike Milton, founder and executive director of the Freedom Community Center in St. Louis, digs into the report and talks about the leadership of former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, the promises of St. Louis’ new top prosecutor Gabe Gore, and the work of St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell.

For 26 years, musicians of all levels have gathered for the annual St. Louis Tionól — not just to perform traditional Irish music, but to bask in the companionship of fellow performers and attendees. As festival co-founder Mike Mullins puts it, “The heart of Irish music is a social event.”

Rolla, Missouri, boasts one of the biggest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the Midwest. In this 2023 conversation, STLPR correspondent Jonathan Ahl and Missouri S&T historian Larry Gragg dig into Rolla St. Patrick’s Day history and the unique traditions that still continue today.

While St. Louis doesn’t have as many first-generation Irish immigrants as it used to, there are still strong cultural ties in the city. Eimear Arkins, a St. Louis transplant from County Clare, Ireland, is working to strengthen those ties. In this encore episode, she shares her thoughts on local holiday customs and how Americans can engage with Irish culture in meaningful ways.

St. Louis on the Air celebrated 314 Day with recording artist and arts ambassador Muhammad “Mvstermind” Austin, For the Culture STL’s founder Ohun Ashe, and co-owner of Strange Donuts and Up Late Jason Bockman. The trio discussed all things 3-1-4 — from St. Louis’ claim to have the best Chinese food in America to the steps towards progress since the Ferguson uprising nearly 10 years ago.

Fontbonne University leaders announced earlier this week that the school would close in 2025. Fontbonne President Nancy Blattner talks about why, and we talk with other guests who discuss the state of colleges and universities throughout St. Louis — and across the country.

A new St. Louis Art Museum exhibit (opening March 15) is highlighting the museum’s world-class collection of German Expressionism paintings. It's not just the paintings in focus, but the process of conservation, and the scientific analyses that have uncovered hidden layers, doodles, and even full paintings unknown until now. The exhibit’s two curators Courtney Books, associate paintings conservator, and Melissa Venator, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Assistant Curator of Modern Art, discuss the exhibit, and how German Expressionism found a home in St. Louis after World War II.

St. Louis’ vast musical range includes reggae and native son Tevin Rice, aka the Gold Giraffe, is putting the genre’s sun-splashed vibes front and center just in time for 314 Day celebrations by hosting “If St. Louis Had A Beach” on March 15.

Peter Sagal is no stranger to St. Louis. The host of NPR’s “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me” has hosted the show here — and he’s also run through the streets of downtown St. Louis in his underwear and feathered wings while holding a bow and arrow. Sagal returns to St. Louis this Friday for a solo show at the Sheldon. In this episode, he discusses his experiences as the longtime host of “Wait Wait,” what his solo show entails and how he’s come to love St. Louis.

It's not a sign of a lavish lifestyle to have diapers and period products, but Missouri taxes those necessities at the same rate as jewelry and sports cars. The impact of that tax falls on the poorest families. St. Louis Diaper Bank executive director Muriel Smith discusses legislative efforts to lower the tax rate and how the Diaper Bank works with a coalition of partners across the state to help families and parents in need. We also get an update on efforts to combat period poverty.

Results from recent polling suggest that there’s enough political will to end the practice of switching between daylight saving time and standard time every spring and fall. But Americans remain divided on which schedule to stick with. Washington University biologist Erik Herzog believes that permanent standard time is more beneficial to human health. Alongside St. Louis University political scientist Steven Rogers, Herzog discusses the effects of the current system, the history of daylight saving time, and how the daylight saving time/standard time debate has the golf lobby and scientists at odds.

As Missouri Senate Majority Leader, Cindy O’Laughlin has a front row seat to the factionalism of the General Assembly’s upper chamber. During a wide-ranging interview on The Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, O’Laughlin discusses the brunt of criticism from the Missouri Freedom Caucus, the need to reauthorize the Federal Reimbursement Allowance, initiative petition reform and more. St. Louis Public Radio’s statehouse reporter Sarah Kellogg also discusses what’s ahead in the second half of this year’s legislative session.

Last year, St. Louis Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier unveiled legislation known as an Unhoused Bill of Rights. The bill included a lot of different ideas — including the creation of intentional encampments and restrictions on when city officials can break up encampments. But the legislation faced a rash of criticism, including from St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones. Sonnier shelved that legislation, and on The Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air discusses how she’s going back to the drawing board to overhaul how shelters are approved.

For many years, Washington University has portrayed one of its founders, William Greenleaf Eliot, as an abolitionist. But, in 2021, a group of students and faculty released findings that disproved that notion and even showed Eliot was vehemently opposed to abolitionism. Three years later, the university has now established a Naming Review Board that gives people the opportunity to challenge the names of buildings, professorships, and scholarships that are named after people with problematic legacies.

Metro East sound engineer Bob Heil built sound systems and equipment that influenced the development of live concert sound in the 1970s and ‘80s, and show up in music produced across genres through today. Heil died on February 28, 2024. We talk with Peter Palermo, executive director of the Sheldon Arts Foundation, about Heil’s legacy.

Only 10% of domestic violence victims report their abuser, and of those who do file for orders of protection, only 20-25% are granted the order. Mike Burton knows the real-life implications of these statistics well. As a St. Louis County Circuit Judge, he oversaw countless domestic violence cases — and in doing so, became aware of the many flaws in the system that lead to abusers not being held accountable. Alongside domestic abuse survivor Monique Green, Burton launched St. Louis Survivors Legal Support after retiring to help victims of domestic violence secure adequate legal representation.

On Feb. 7, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore filed a motion to vacate Chris Dunn’s murder conviction. “The eyewitness recantations alone are enough to show clear and convincing evidence of actual innocence in this case,” Gore said. In an interview from prison, Dunn reflects on what this development means in his decades-long effort to prove his innocence. Also joining the conversation are Dunn's wife, Kira, and Rachel Weston, managing attorney at the Midwest Innocence Project.

Since the early 2000s, healthcare systems have used technology originally made for law enforcement to combat misuse of prescription meds — yet the opioid epidemic continues to worsen. SLU Associate Professor Liz Chiarello discusses how prescription drug monitoring programs lead to an increase in overdose rates and how such surveillance systems threaten patient privacy.

Colin Murphy, co-founder of Boom Magazine — a queer publication focusing on the bi-state region — has died after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 53 years old. He is remembered for his positivity and mentorship despite the adversity he faced as a gay man with HIV as well as his passion for providing a news platform by and for queer people in the bi-state region.

In 2009, revelations of sexual abuse at one of the largest Christian camps in the country rocked the Branson-based Kanakuk camp. Now, a community of survivors and their supporters are building a path to change — including backing a proposed bill to expand the state’s statute of limitations. To discuss the ongoing legacy, and reckoning, around Kanakuk and Missouri law, we talk with journalist Nancy French, who investigated the camp, and attorney Bobby Thrasher, who represents a former camper who was abused there.

Hundreds of entrepreneurs from St. Louis and beyond apply for the Arch Grants Startup Competition each year, in the hopes of securing a $75,000 grant. The stakes are high, but a free mentorship program at the Olin Business School at Washington University is giving founders valuable feedback to help take their application to the next level.

Moving to a new place comes with a great deal more than an address change. For those who pack up their lives to move to an entirely new country, adjusting to language, systems, and culture that’s very different from what they’ve known can be difficult and lonely. The St. Louis Mosaic Project’s International Mentoring Program pairs immigrants with St. Louisans in order to promote networking opportunities, build friendships and help people new to the U.S. navigate life in the region.

A case that began with a Missouri prison guard suing the state for workplace discrimination has “concerned” U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. The problem: The possibility that religious people who view homosexuality as a sin will be “labeled as bigots and treated as such.” Attorneys Erin Lueker, Connie McFarland-Butler and Bill Freivogel dive into Alito’s concerns, as well as the art of jury selection. The panel also discusses a case of donors suing Webster University, hazing at Eureka High School, and a Missouri lawyer using AI to write legal briefs.

Dr. Travis Threats is a professor and chair of St. Louis University’s Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences. He’s also the grandson of Mae Bertha and Matthew Carter, parents who dared to force Mississippi to recognize the injustice of the state’s “freedom of choice” in 1965 — one year after the passage of the Civil Rights Act. He shares how his grandparents’ fight inspires his work today including his efforts to diversify the field of speech pathology.

STLPR politics editor Fred Ehrlich, in 2022, wrote a memoir about his life with dogs. A few weeks ago, he gifted that book to producer Aaron Doerr, who was grieving the loss of his dog, Tallis. In this episode of “St Louis on the Air,” we talk about the close bonds we have with our pets and the healing that comes with saying goodbye.

A Girl Scout troop in St. Louis County made bracelets to raise funds for child war victims in Gaza. Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri told them to stop — or face legal action. The troop’s co-leaders, and one of the scouts, discuss what happened next, why they’ve decided to disband from the organization to create their own group, and their continued efforts to fundraise for the Palestine Children's Relief Fund. (Correction: Mariyah Abdelbaset is in fifth grade, not sixth grade, as mentioned in this episode.)

John Ulett started as a DJ at KSHE-95 in 1976 when he was just 19 years old. He’s never left, and he’s about to begin his 40th full season as the Cardinals’ PA announcer at Busch Stadium. Ulett reflects on his long career in his hometown in advance of Thursday evening's event at the Sheldon, “Life, Death & Other Scary Things: An Evening with KSHE-95's John Ulett.”

With a high violent crime rate and claims of inequitable policing in St. Louis, local leaders are questioning the $100,000 per year Chief Robert Tracy receives from local business owners. “Can the criminals get together and pay the chief?” asked one alderwoman. ProPublica reporter Jeremy Kohler talks about his story on the topic.

In the Missouri legislature, 2023 was the year of bills targeting trans people. But there is a bigger picture here: For observers of the national picture, Missouri is a bellwether and a trendsetter. We sit down with two trans journalists to talk about what they’re seeing in Missouri in this movement, and this moment. Joining the discussion is Erin Reed, the author of the newsletter Erin in the Morning; and Evan Urquhart, founder of Assigned Media.

Earlier this week, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivered his annual budget address that outlined his priorities. Among the priorities in the $52.7 billion state spending plan are more money to address the migrant crisis and education, and tax hikes for businesses and for sports bettors. STLPR Metro East reporter Will Bauer discusses Pritzker’s speech, and we include Pritzker’s address in this episode of the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air.

St. Louis is in an unusual position of having a lot of extra money — primarily from a settlement from the departure of the St. Louis Rams. City leaders also got more positive news last year with a drop in violent crime. Even with the good news, policymakers still have a lot of work to do to fully address some long-standing problems. In a wide-ranging interview on the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones discusses those issues and addresses homelessness, the cause of bad police driving and more.

Like most Illinois Republicans in Springfield, Sen. Jil Tracy, R-Quincy, said she’s largely skeptical of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s $52.7 billion proposed budget. And, Republicans in the Illinois General Assembly are limited in what they can do because they are in the super minority in both chambers. STLPR’s Jason Rosenbaum and Will Bauer talk with Sen. Tracy on the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air.

Jazz great David Sanborn, a Kirkwood native, got his start playing teen hangouts and clubs around St. Louis. Known for his warm sound on alto saxophone, Sanborn has won acclaim as a solo artist and as a collaborator with a long list of stars in the worlds of jazz, rock and pop. He joins STLPR senior reporter Jeremy D. Goodwin to discuss the lively, mid-century St. Louis jazz scene, the magic of genre-bending in music, and ways the music industry has evolved throughout his storied career.

Relationships look differently than they did 50, even 25 years ago. Millennials aren’t getting married at the same ages and rates compared to older generations. And while most people desire companionship, relationships today often vary from the traditional romantic relationships seen in classic films. Dr. Dixie Meyer, professor at St. Louis University and director of SLU’s relationships and brain sciences research laboratory, shares why romance is taking a back seat and how it impacts individuals, families and society.

What do Josephine Baker, Langston Hughes, and Bayard Rustin have in common? They are all Black American trailblazers that have had their queerness understated or erased from their identities or in the retelling of their influence in pivotal historic moments — and they are far from the only ones. Tre’von Griffith co-founded werQfest with his husband, Shelton Boyd-Griffith, to uplift Black, queer artists in St. Louis. For this year’s Black History Month, their mission has expanded with the introduction of the digital campaign, “Black, But Make It Queer.”

Missouri Children's Division Director Darrell Missey talks about where the massive backlog of child abuse and neglect case investigations stands, and other issues affecting children in the state. Last year, St. Louis Public Radio reported that the division's office serving St. Louis and St. Louis County had a backlog of 6,124 cases that remained open after 45 days. Missey describes the division's improvements since then, and where things stand now.

A Missouri researcher’s study of “prosocial” behavior in classrooms is getting a big boost of federal money — but it’s already made a difference in hundreds of classrooms. Now in its fifth year, the program emphasizes kindness, compassion, empathy and respect. University of Missouri researcher Christi Bergin and program director Jen Foster discuss how prosocial behavior can help teachers and students support each other through empathy.