St. Louis on the Air

Emil Frei and Associates teamed up with muralist Cbabi Bayoc for a stained glass collaboration that changes how Jesus and Mary Magdalene are portrayed in liturgical art. Bayoc and fifth-generation owner Aaron Frei discuss the art of stained glass and their unique commission.

Marc Connor of Rootberry and Rita Childers of Core + Rind both started exploring vegan food after they found it left them more energized and healthier. In this encore episode, they share their mission to bring plant-based foods to even the most stubborn carnivores.

Dr. Hannah Ha recently uncovered a surprising secret about her mother: Before fleeing Vietnam, Phương Tâm had been a rock star in her native Saigon. In this encore episode, Ha and music producer Mark Gergis discuss how they compiled Tâm’s decades-old recordings in a new album.

Actress Britt Lower is fresh off her starring role in the Apple TV+ series “Severance.” Before filming for the second season gets underway this fall, Lower will live in a small trailer on a St. Louis parking lot for a few weeks — playing a central role in Circus Flora’s “The Quest for the Innkeeper’s Cask.” In this episode, Lower explains why she chose St. Louis for her circus debut.

Even as St. Louisans across the metro have stepped up to help Afghan refugees, few have gone as far as Ann Wittman. She's crowd-funded to give families cars, plane tickets and washing machines. In one case, she even bought a family a house. Wittman discusses how she got involved and outlines her new goal: a capital campaign to buy 30 Afghans used cars.

As baby formula shortages continue, breast milk donors like Afsheen Wira have stepped up to the plate. The St. Louis nursing student explains how she ended up with 5,000 surplus ounces of milk — and why she was happy to share it with families in need.

Cousins Jodie Finney and Alicia Christopher each have a parent dealing with dementia. After bonding over their shared experiences, they formed a new nonprofit to help families dealing with the same issues — and provide practical support.

STLPR Justice Correspondent Rachel Lippmann breaks down the news of Lewis Reed’s resignation as President of the Board of Aldermen. He’s the third St. Louis official facing federal bribery charges to resign in recent weeks. At a press conference this morning, Mayor Tishaura Jones said she expects more indictments to come.

A Missouri woman named Tonia Haddix was ordered by a St. Louis judge to relinquish celebrity chimp Tonka to an animal sanctuary. She claimed he was dead — but last week, her lies unraveled. PETA attorney Jared Goodman explains how the case was cracked in the nick of time, and the fate that could now await Haddix.

The St. Louis Art Museum added six images from St. Louis photographer Jess T. Dugan to its permanent collection. Dugan’s work has been praised as “gorgeously sensitive portraits of queer love.” T,” but their latest photobook, “Look at me like you love me,” turns the camera on the photographer as well.

Supporters of beefalo, a cattle and bison crossbreed, say there is big potential to provide better, healthier meat by combining the best qualities of the two species. STLPR Correspondent Jonathan Ahl shares why proponents believe it’s the future of U.S. meat production — and what critics have to say.

St. Louis attorney Michael Loynd’s nonfiction debut, “The Watermen,” explores the birth of American swimming through the remarkable rise of Charles Daniels, an underdog from a scandal-marred background who became the first American swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal.

If you’ve used an at-home test to figure out whether you had COVID-19, you may have a patient at Barnes-Jewish Hospital to thank. More than 6,500 patients there were enrolled in clinical trials to evaluate COVID-19 tests. Washington University’s Dr. Stacey House, the principal investigator in those trials, discusses how her team handled 24 trials in just two years.

Deon Johnson became the first Black bishop and openly gay leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri in 2020. He discusses his journey from Barbados to the Midwest, his push for inclusivity in the church and how he hopes to combat falling church membership.

St. Louis residents are finding abandoned pet bunnies across the city — and few rescues have the capacity to take them in. The founder of Dolly’s Dream Home rescue, Katie Kottmeyer, explains what got her into rabbits and what people should know before adopting or buying them.

St. Louis residents are finding abandoned pet bunnies across the city — and few rescues have the capacity to take them in. The founder of Dolly’s Dream Home rescue, Katie Kottmeyer, explains what got her into rabbits and what people should know before adopting or buying them.

Ashley “Lux” Elzinga spent 15 years as an on-air personality for 105.7 FM the Point. She discusses why she left her dream job, how she dealt with toxic online comments and her new direction as a social media content creator promoting medical marijuana brands.

Since 1969, members of the city’s Lafayette Square neighborhood have invited people into their homes and gardens as a neighborhood fundraiser. Two residents discuss how far the neighborhood has come since those days — and how even small city lots can contain amazing gardens.

One day after the revelation of bribery charges against three members of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen (including its president), the Board convened, with a new leader presiding. STLPR Justice Correspondent Rachel Lippmann discusses the allegations against the officials — and the response from City Hall.

KWMU (now St. Louis Public Radio) made its broadcast debut on June 2, 1972. In this episode, we talk with longtime STLPR staffer Mary Edwards about the history of the station, and we hear from CEO Tina Pamintuan about her vision for the future.

Longtime Webster-Kirkwood Times editor Don Corrigan discusses his new book about Webster Groves, what the documentary “16 in Webster” got right about the bucolic suburb, and whether Webster citizens are right to block new development.

The venture capital space is overwhelmingly represented by white-owned companies. A St. Louis-based firm is hoping to change that by investing its millions in underrepresented founders whose ideas are being overlooked. Ascend Venture Capital founder Dan Conner and partner Yinka Faleti discuss how VC firms can increase diversity — and make huge returns at the same time.

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.