St. Louis on the Air

An international adoption has entangled a Missouri family into the legal systems of two countries. Adam and Jill Trower discuss their efforts to bring home a four-year-old orphan named Luke, who is currently living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and why they’re suing the U.S. government to do it.

The musical is the first pre-Broadway tryout to come to St. Louis. Original screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen joined the show to talk about how the process of its creation sold him on musicals and whether “wax on, wax off” will get a solo track.

Missouri lawmakers recently passed a bill to restrict pharmacists from telling patients about risks around ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine sulfate — both sometimes used to treat COVID-19 despite having no FDA clearance for that use. St. Louis University sociologist Liz Chiarello explains how the bill fits into recent political battles affecting pharmacists.

While the nation reels from the mass shooting in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, Dr. Kristen Mueller reflects on the amount of everyday firearm injury she sees as an emergency care physician in St. Louis — and what it would take to reduce the toll.

The Legal Roundtable discusses how two lawsuits over the pandemic-era switch to Zoom classes turned out very differently. Panelists also discuss a pair of big jury verdicts, Sunshine law litigation involving former Gov. Eric Greitens and former Attorney General Josh Hawley, and more.

The Missouri Historical Society’s two-year-old See STL Tour program offers two dozen walking and bus tours that go far beyond what you might expect. Tour guides Amanda Clark and Josiah Gundersen discuss what people take from the tours and how they each fell in love with the city’s more unusual stories, locations and characters.

Washington County Prosecutor Josh Hedgecorth recently filed a motion to vacate the conviction of Michael Politte, who spent 23 years behind bars for allegedly murdering his mother. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, who is the only prosecutor in Missouri to successfully deploy the state’s new wrongful conviction law, discusses what could happen next.

Afghan refugee students are missing school because St. Louis Public School District doesn’t have enough drivers to fill their bus routes. Without a car, driver’s license or strong grasp of English, many parents are unable to get their children to school without a bus. Sue Scott, a volunteer with Welcome Neighbor, joins the show to talk about how missed bus routes affect the Afghan family she’s partnered with.

Jamestown Mall has sat vacant in unincorporated St. Louis County for about just over a decade. Now that the St. Louis County Council has approved a plan for its demolition, urban planner and consultant Bob Lewis discusses what could happen next — and why the mall was doomed to fail. (Correction: The former Jamestown Mall is located in unincorporated St. Louis County, not Florissant, MO.)

Summer days can present an opportunity to explore fictitious worlds or delve into a gripping historical epic, and St. Louis’ local booksellers are on the case. Mark Pannebecker of Spine Bookstore and Cafe, Ymani Wince of Noir Bookshop and Joice Carrawell of Little Readers reveal their summer reading lists, including adult novels and children’s books.

Starting July 1, Missouri's inmates will no longer be able to receive personal mail. Instead, they'll get photocopies. St. Louis Public Radio reporter Shahla Farzan shares what she's learned about the new policy — including concerns from criminal justice advocates who worry the policy will only further isolate inmates from the outside world.

St. Louis-based Fulfill Food & Beverages recently notched $1 million in annual sales — largely due to the popularity of its Karviva (formerly Karuna) prebiotic smoothie and juice beverages. Founder and CEO Angela Zeng talks about the company and her entrepreneurial journey.

Gabe Montesanti came to St. Louis for grad school at Wash U, and quickly found herself sucked into the roller derby scene. She discusses her new memoir, her complicated family relationships and how she owes everything to a near-catastrophic injury.

The new documentary “Head Over Heels: Remembering Wrestling from the Chase” explores St. Louis’ wrestling mid-century heyday. Film producer and local historian Ed Wheatley discusses the matches, the TV series and the documentary.

In 2015, Lori Lawson won a World Cup with the U.S. national team. But she and her teammates were paid significantly less for the win than male players — and that unequal system persisted until last week, when U.S. Soccer announced a new collective bargaining agreement that equalizes pay for men and women. Lawson joins St. Louis on the Air to discuss what led to this historic agreement.

Amur leopard cubs Anya and Irinia were born last month at the St. Louis Zoo. Steve Bircher, curator of carnivores at the St. Louis Zoo, explains how their birth is part of an elaborate scientific matchmaking service that’s meant to preserve the species. Fewer than 100 Amur leopards now exist in the wild.

Guitarists Phil Ring and Ryan Wasoba share the secrets of Thor Axe, a long-running side project for members of indie rock band So Many Dynamos that brings humor (and influences of Nintendo video game soundtrack) to the St. Louis band scene.

Beloved by Monarch butterflies, Mead’s milkweed has become threatened as prairie habitats disappear. Now researchers at the Missouri Botanical Garden have made a surprising discovery that is giving the species a fighting chance at survival. MoBot scientist Christy Edwards discusses how her research changed conservation practices.

Bennie Terrell has worked for 22 years as a fuel specialist in Missouri’s Mark Twain National Forest. He describes how prescribed burns help restore ecosystems — while also addressing an ongoing controversy over a prescribed burn gone terribly awry in New Mexico.

Seven months after landing in St. Louis, nearly 600 Afghan refugees are living in permanent housing. But the International Institute has higher aims: to turn St. Louis into a destination for more Afghan refugees. CEO Arrey Obenson and Moji Sidiqi, who manages the Afghan Support Program, discuss what’s on tap.

Missouri’s only senior center devoted to immigrants and refugees resumed its popular senior groups in April. Producer Kayla Drake went to the Macklind International Senior Center’s picnic in Tower Grove Park — their first since the pandemic started.

Up until about a decade ago, it was believed that prominent 19th-century St. Louisans Robert and Virginia Campbell had never enslaved people at the St. Louis mansion that bears their name. A small detail in a St. Louis census changed that understanding, and now the story of an enslaved woman, Eliza Rone, is told in the new exhibit, “The Back of the House: Servants and Slavery at Campbell House.”

Ben Westhoff discusses his relationship with Jorell Cleveland, with whom he was paired by Big Brothers Big Sisters — and his quest for the truth about Cleveland’s life and death after the 19-year-old was murdered in north St. Louis County.

Former Post-Dispatch metro editor Alan Achkar recently returned to lead the daily as its editor-in-chief. He discusses what got him into journalism, what brought him back to St. Louis, and why he’s axing arts reviews. He also takes questions from callers.

Kit and Webster Heffern are keeping a 109-year history alive with their jewelry business, Elleard Heffern Fine Jewelers. The father and son discuss their unusual paths to the family business, as both pursued careers in science and engineering before embracing their roles, and heritage, as purveyors of luxury.

After St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones signed an $84 million infrastructure bill that will repave the city’s most pothole-riddled streets, the Community Mobility Committee made an unusual request: Slow down. The committee’s Liz Kramer tells us why, and what the city can do to better protect pedestrians on those streets.

A new investigation by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reveals how Rams owner Stan Kroenke and the NFL worked hand-in-hand to secure the team’s relocation to Los Angeles. Business reporter Austin Huguelet gives an overview of the saga.

Toni Taylor and Emanuel Powell have direct experience with “fatal state violence.” That’s the term used by Arch City Defenders to describe deaths in the region’s jails and at the hands of its police. One year into the Fatal State Violence Project, Taylor and Powell describe the tragedies that informed its creation and how they reach other families struggling in grief.

STLPR Statehouse Correspondent Sarah Kellogg discusses how the state’s 2022 legislative session ended Friday with a congressional map — and how bickering over that map derailed many red-meat Republican priorities.

When Joanna Busby realized she couldn’t find formula for her 3.5-month-old son, she started a Facebook “formula swap” group that’s grown to 900-plus members in the St. Louis region. As the national shortage continues, Busby shares what she and other parents are doing to keep their kids fed.

The Globe Building’s new “sensitive compartmented information facility” brings new opportunities to St. Louis-based geospatial intelligence firms that require a classified environment to conduct business. Geospatial intelligence and national security expert Keith Masback shares what the facility brings to the region.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis Artistic Director James Robinson is at the helm of both “Awakenings” and “Harvey Milk,” two operas readying for world premieres within a week of each other. Robinson discusses both shows, the source material they draw upon and his work bringing “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” from its St. Louis debut to the Met.

"We Live Here Auténtico!” is an outgrowth of two separate podcasts: "We Live Here" and "Auténtico!" Co-hosts Gabriela Ramirez-Arellano and Alejandro Santiago joined the show.

Three members of the former “Cassilly crew” share behind-the-scenes tales about this St. Louis treasure and swap stories about the visionary who made it all possible: Bob Cassilly.

Unlike pricey club sports, New Dimensions is free and offers soccer and life skills training for kids who need it. Co-founder Tom Michler shares what he’s learned about the myriad benefits of unstructured play — and the magic of building community with families from all over the world.

Unlike pricey club sports, New Dimensions is free and offers soccer and life skills training for kids who need it. Co-founder Tom Michler shares what he’s learned about the myriad benefits of unstructured play — and the magic of building community with families from all over the world.

Cellist Jody Redhage Ferber’s new concert series brings top musicians to a Kirkwood hiking trail, with small combos on six different stages playing music inspired by the wildlife around them (and even echoing their calls). Ferber explains what inspired her vision — and how she hopes it can bring a new audience to classical music.

For the past three years, Missouri lawmakers have introduced legislation that targets trans youth. A bill making headway in the current session would prevent trans girls from playing on girls’ sports teams. Two moms of transgender kids discuss how they mobilized to speak out against the bill — and how it would affect their children.

Cellist Jody Redhage Ferber’s new concert series brings top musicians to a Kirkwood hiking trail, with small combos on six different stages playing music inspired by the wildlife around them (and even echoing their calls). Ferber explains what inspired her vision — and how she hopes it can bring a new audience to classical music.

Jason Sommer discusses his new book, “Shmuel’s Bridge,” and the story it tells of his 2001 trip to Eastern Europe with his Holocaust survivor father, Jay. The men retraced the final journey of Jason’s uncle Shmuel, who was shot by German guards after making a desperate bid to flee the cattle car transporting to Auschwitz.

St. Louis singer-songwriter Joanna Serenko discusses how she went from being a finalist on “The Voice” to releasing her debut album — and her plans to travel the country in a van after she gets her nursing degree.

About eight people experiencing homelessness are living in tents in south St. Louis along the River Des Peres. Some members of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen want to make that illegal — to pitch tents in public right of ways. 12th Ward Alderman Bill Stephens shares why he’s asking his colleagues to hit the pause button.

Wash U professor John Hendrix explains how doodling during a sermon led to his new graphic novel, how it was inspired by both his Christian faith and his doubt, and why it took 10 years to bring it to book form.

St. Charles is putting $350 million into a new riverfront development. They hope to attract younger people and more tourists, and say the Riverwalk project will “redefine the city.” Mayor Dan Borgmeyer discusses his vision for the riverfront and speaks to some criticisms of it.

Construction firms are grappling with labor shortages across the country. St. Louis-based McCarthy Building Companies discusses how it’s found success by targeting younger workers, women, and minorities — and finding ways to retain them.

Missouri’s “trigger law” goes into effect if Roe v. Wade is repealed — and could have a big impact on residents. The law would eliminate most abortion access, and law professor Marcia McCormick explains how it could also affect contraception and fertility.

Nikki Glaser has spent more than two years living in her hometown, St. Louis. A new reality show on E! documents her move back as she reconnects with old friends and hangs out with her parents, Julie and EJ. Stick around to the end for a few extra bonus minutes of talking with Nikki and EJ!

Samantha Rudolph, founder and CEO of Babyation, explains why she and her husband gave St. Louis a chance, how they were able to bring their manufacturing here, and the challenges they encountered while taking the Babyation breast pump from concept to market.

After the success of her podcast “Dr. Death,” medical journalist Laura Biel dove into the case of a St. Louis-area woman named Sarah Delashmit, who left a trail of fraud and heartbreak going back decades. Biel discusses what she uncovered, and her new podcast chronicling the bizarre case, “Sympathy Pains.”

Kaleidoscope art is a serious venture. Artists and collectors Mike and Donna Thibodeau of St. Charles discuss the kaleidoscope exhibit on display at the Foundry Art Centre and the international expo that comes to Westport Plaza later this month.