St. Louis on the Air

In her first one-on-one interview since the indictment of three city officials, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones discusses results from the city’s ARPA survey, which sought input on spending the remaining $249 million allotment in COVID-19 relief funds. Jones also shares thoughts on the opportunity for incentive reform.

The Legal Roundtable discusses a high-profile case that could see Geico paying millions after a Missouri woman had sex in a car, as well as a lawsuit filed by a graduate student alleging Southern Illinois University Edwardsville wrongly ordered her to stay away from her classmates, and more.

For nine years, the St. Louis Story Stitchers have told stories from their lives using rap, rhythm, spoken word, singing, and dance. Youth Programming Coordinator Branden Lewis and singer She'kinah Taylor preview of the arts collective’s Juneteenth performances.

Dr. Sophia Roberts is a resident training to become a cardiothoracic surgeon — a rarity for females in the U.S. As if that wasn’t unique enough, she’s following in her dad’s footsteps. Dr. Harold Roberts is himself a cardiothoracic surgeon for more than 30 years. In honor of Father’s Day, the duo discussed their relationship and what it’s like to work at Barnes-Jewish Hospital together.

Homegrown ice cream company Clementine’s Creamery fell prey to an elaborate scam last week — one that owner Tamara Keefe explained had actually been attempted in the past at a different location. She explains how the scam artists tricked her employee — and why other businesses should be on the lookout.

Andrew Hartzler discusses his politically prominent aunt, U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, and why he’s joined a class-action lawsuit filed by LGBTQ students seeking to end an exemption in civil rights that allows anti-gay discrimination in religious colleges.

Club Riviera rivaled the Cotton Club in Harlem and attracted the biggest jazz acts of the day, including Nat King Cole and Duke Ellington. A new play “Live at the Riviera” aims to retell its origin story before it’s lost in history. Director Thomasina Clarke and Playwright Freeman Cole share how they collected oral histories to piece together events.

After St. Louis news anchor Michelle Li mentioned eating dumplings on a New Year’s broadcast, a viewer chastised her for being “very Asian.” She’s now turned that viral moment into a movement with the Very Asian Foundation. She discusses the organization’s push for schools and libraries to build and maintain robust Asian American youth literature collections.

The debut novelist and resident of Troy, Illinois, explains how family stories and the long-suppressed truth about Stalin terrorizing Ukraine led to her book “The Memory Keeper of Kyiv” — and the long process of researching and writing it.

Three teens were shot in downtown St. Louis at the beginning of June. 5th Ward St. Louis Alderman James Page shares what city officials are doing to bring order to the neighborhood, which includes banning scooters.

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.

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.