St. Louis on the Air

A new report from the Freedom Community Center found St. Louis Circuit Court judges are increasingly denying bond — even for misdemeanor charges. Founder Mike Milton and policy organizer Hattie Svoboda-Stel discuss what this shift away from cash bail means for people charged with crimes, and the community.

The Tap In Center at St. Louis County Library's Florissant Valley branch gives people a space to address outstanding warrants and other legal matters without risking arrest. Nearly 300 warrants have been recalled since the center launched in the fall of 2020. Grant manager Miranda Gibson explains what led to a second location at the library branch in Moline Acres.

Dana Levin discusses exploring St. Louis after moving from Santa Fe, why she’s not ready to reject T.S. Eliot and the themes in her new book, “Now Do You Know Where You Are.”

Amid a national shortage of 80,000 truckers, companies are struggling to hire and retain the next generation of drivers. A St. Louis trucker tells us what brought him back to the road in 2022, while Tom Crawford of the Missouri Trucking Association shares what companies are doing to keep the industry rolling.

Bold Spoon Creamery started out because founder Rachel Burns couldn’t kill her mint plant. All her excess mint (and plenty of atypical flavors later) led to Bold Spoon launching in 2020. Now, Straub’s and Schnucks carry pints. Burns joined the show to share how not even a pandemic could stop her success.

Principal Brittany Green is a finalist for the 2022 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Leadership for her work transforming Gordon Bush Elementary from a failing school to a “commendable” one. She shares how she changed teacher mindsets and how she fights burnout.

New data on opioid deaths among Black St. Louisans show fatal overdoses up by more than 500% since 2015. A physician and a researcher with the new CENTER Initiative discuss what they’re doing to reduce those deaths.

City Foundry STL — the popular retail, entertainment and food hub in midtown St. Louis — has 16 food stalls, with another on the way. Sauce Magazine Executive Editor Meera Nagarajan gives her recommendations. She also details a new restaurant to try in West County and one in St. Charles.

O’Fallon, Illinois, junior high school teachers PJ and Jamie Creek built a thriving business creating detail-rich posters about American government. They discuss their first book, “We the People and the Presidency,” and the art of making social studies accessible to students.

Playwright Colin Healy’s “Big Machine” was inspired by the deadly events at a Standard Oil factory in Bayway, New Jersey, in 1924. He and director Nancy Bell discuss the history of lead poisoning — and what it takes to transform tragedy into musical theater.

Five St. Louis-area Starbucks stores have filed for unionization. Two workers discussed what’s driving these efforts, as Wash U’s Jake Rosenfeld gives insight to the wave of unionizations sweeping the nation.

Black entrepreneurs want to see more entrepreneurs from marginalized backgrounds break into the cannabis industry. The executive director of Exit Now, Marne Madison, discusses what it will take to make that vision a reality, while Adrienne Scales-Williams and Jamila Owens-Todd of Luxury Leaf share their story as Black women working in medical marijuana in Missouri.

Decades after lead was banned in residential paint, water pipes and gasoline, thousands of Missouri children continue to suffer from lead poisoning. Reporter Allison Kite discusses her new deep dive into the issue, co-produced by the Missouri Independent and NPR's Midwest Newsroom.

Terrell Robinson has served 12 years in Missouri prisons for a parole violation that he says was never explained to him. Attorneys at the MacArthur Justice Center say his incarceration is part of a pattern that led to a federal judge ruling in 2020 that Missouri’s parole system is unconstitutional. Attorney Amy Breihan and Robinson’s wife Lawanda discuss his case.

Lux Living is one of the largest developers in St. Louis, yet many of their tenants are dissatisfied. Current and former tenants continue to voice complaints, and the company’s business practices also are drawing heat. In this episode, we talk with St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Jacob Barker. He recently reported on the company and the brothers who run it.

Voters in St. Louis County on Tuesday dealt County Executive Sam Page two decisive defeats. In one of them, voters passed Proposition B, which prohibits the county executive from holding another job. Page has worked some hours as anesthesiologist and critics made no secret about the measure targeting him. STLPR Political Correspondent Jason Rosenbuam breaks down the election results as Page faces a Democratic primary challenger in August’s election.

Areas near power lines are often desolate. But wildlife biologists see them as an opportunity to plant pollinator habitats. Staffers at Ameren Illinois and Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever discuss how they’ve transformed 175 acres in Illinois by removing invasive species in favor of native plants.

In its 25 years, St. Louis’ drug treatment court has gone from being perceived as a way to keep drug convictions from marring otherwise clean records to helping the city’s most vulnerable. Commissioners Rochelle Woodiest and Matt Melton discuss their work — as three graduates share how it changed their lives.

Co-owners of Urban Buds, Karen “Mimo” Davis and Miranda Duschack, talk about their path to becoming farmer-florists, how their industry is wasteful and what they’re doing about it. Plus, home gardeners get some tips for planting flowers.

Illinois has become a destination for people seeking abortion, and “practical abortion funds” make cross-country trips a possibility. Midwest Access Coalition director Diana Parker-Kafka explains how logistics are increasingly key to abortion access.

St. Louis’ music video festival involves three crews making 13 music videos on Cherokee Street over a single day. Founder Bill Streeter explains the event’s accidental origins, how it’s changing this year and what he’s learned in a decade of capturing live performances on video.

Brian Jennings’ Bosnian American studies course at Affton High School seeks to engage the district’s large Bosnian population — and tell the story of a community shaped by genocide. He and his students share what they’ve learned in class.

St. Louis attorney Mark Pedroli discusses his five-year battle over disappearing text apps by officials in the office of then-Governor Eric Greitens, how the probe ensnared the office of then-AG Josh Hawley and what he sees as troubling implications for transparency in Missouri.

St. Louis entrepreneur Akeem Shannon went on ABC’s “Shark Tank” in 2020 and scored an investment for his product, Flipstik. Pandemic-related supply chain issues dealt Shannon a blow, but he’s overcome those. In this episode, Akeem Shannon explains how and what led to scoring a nationwide deal with Target.

An investigation by ProPublica and APM Reports and St. Louis Public Radio revealed that officials were lowering St. Louis' murder count by classifying some killings as justifiable homicides instead. The report's co-author, investigative reporter Jeremy Kohler, shares the details.

A $100 million expansion of Powell Hall requires the demolition of the historic Culver House — unless preservationists can find an alternative. Recently, backers trying to save the building gained an unexpected ally: Longtime developer Steve Smith.

St. Louis artists have started selling NFTs, and it’s helped them make money and get their work out to a wider audience. Many people say the digital tokens are hopelessly speculative — but one expert says their success points out the underlying nature of the art market in general.

Prop R would shift ward redistricting in St. Louis into civilian hands and require new disclosures for aldermen. Jami Cox, the policy chair for Reform St. Louis, makes the case for Prop R, while former alderwoman Heather Navarro shares her concerns about the changes it would bring.

Attorneys Bevis Schock, Nicole Gorovsky and Connie McFarland-Butler discuss a copyright infringement claim against U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, St. Louis’ aggressive defense of cops accused of civil rights abuses, and more. Editor’s note: During the on-air discussion of AG Eric Schmitt’s case against the Lee’s Summit school district, we wrongly indicated that the judge had granted default judgment to the district; instead, the case is still pending. We regret the error.

John “JT” Thomas was an otherwise healthy 20-year-old when he was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2012. He discusses a life-changing kidney donation alongside his living donor, Niki Nickeson, a former high school acquaintance who felt compelled to give a kidney.

Three decades ago, the Shawnee National Forest was the focus of fierce battles over commercial logging on public lands. A new documentary by filmmaker Cade Bursell revisits that history and calls attention to new efforts to preserve the forest. Bursell discusses the film alongside longtime environmental activist John Wallace.

Attorney Mark Pedroli and journalist Steve Vockrodt discuss revelations and share highlights from the 50-plus hours of recordings that capture meetings of the working group exploring leasing St. Louis’ airport to a for-profit entity.

St. Louisan Gene Litvin traveled to Poland this month to help Ukrainians fleeing the war. Litvin, who himself left Ukraine in the 1990s as a Jewish refugee, shares what he saw, how he raised $20,000 to aid Ukraine and where he spent the money.

Missouri History Museum archivist Dennis Northcott discusses some of his favorite handwritten letters in the museum archives, including eyewitness accounts of a deadly incident in St. Louis during the Civil War and the terrible train accident that killed the father of future author Kate Chopin.

Born without arms, Letisha Wexstten achieved YouTube fame by showing people all the things she can do — drive a car, bake a cake and more. Now, she wants to help other disabled people demonstrate what they can do via her online career development platform V15Able, which links people with disabilities to employers.

MoDOT engineer Shirley Norris earned the admiration of people around the country after we interviewed her about her career as the state’s oldest full-time employee. Producer Kayla Drake checks in as she receives a surprise package from someone who was touched by her story.

Washington Park Cemetery, a century-old Black cemetery in north St. Louis County, is seeing new attention from volunteers after decades of neglect. Producer Emily Woodbury visits the site and talks to descendants of people buried there, while community advocate Aja Corrigan shares her hope for renewal.

St. Louis-based journalist Kathy Gilsinan discusses her new book about the people who tried their best to help others during the COVID-19 pandemic — and how not getting the marriage proposal she expected led her to her first book proposal.

Pups rode free on the Ferris wheel at St. Louis' Union Station on March 23, 2022. STLPR's Lara Hamdan checks in with local people and their pets on how that played out.

Local musician Mark Pagano is leading the way for St. Louis’ “kindie” music scene, making charming kids’ music their parents also listen to. He explains how his band FIRE DOG fell into kids’ music and the reason for his new moniker.

A switch to permanent daylight saving time might seem appealing for those who enjoy lighter evenings. Wash U’s Erik Herzog discusses research that shows it could have dangerous effects on health and safety and our natural biological rhythms.

Jerry Tovo is a successful commercial photographer, but instead of glossy advertisements or models, his new exhibition at the International Photography Hall of Fame turns the focus on homeless veterans. A former drill sergeant, Tovo discusses his past in the military, the challenges of finding his subjects, and his hopes for change.

A spill from Marathon Petroleum unleashed around 165,000 gallons of crude oil in and around Edwardsville. For nearby residents like Toni Oplt, the environmental disaster raises questions — and concerns about the next spill. The Sierra Club also shares its concerns.

Camp Indigo Point is a week-long summer camp for LGBTQ youth. While some camps exist like this on the coasts, this one — located in southern Illinois — is the one of the first in the Midwest. It’s now drawn kids from 19 different states, and will take place for the first time this June. The response from parents and kids has been greater than the founders ever anticipated.

Lance Geiger is “The History Guy” on YouTube. The former corporate trainer was laid off in 2015, and in 2017, he launched the channel. He recently surpassed 1 million subscribers and his videos have more than 2.7 million total views. In this episode, Geiger shares his unusual path to becoming a YouTube star.

Adults who struggle with alcoholism miss an average of 32 workdays a year — double the number of workers who don’t suffer from alcohol use disorder. Two Wash U psychiatrists discuss their new study — and how workplaces hold the solution.

Major St. Louis hospitals rely on one volunteer to place discharged patients who need shelter — instead of United Way’s 211. The hospital has called Nicole Warrington 400 times in the past year. She explains how the unpaid role has affected her life and what local officials need to do to fix the problem.

The EPA admits that nuclear waste at the West Lake Landfill Superfund site is more extensive than previously stated. Dawn Chapman, a Maryland Heights resident who lives two miles from the site, discusses her frustration with the agency — and her fears over what the tests will reveal.

Buildings across St. Louis of 50,000 square feet or more must comply with new energy guidelines — or face fines of up to $500 a day beginning in 2025. The manager of the city's new Office of Building Performance explains the new rules, while Cara Spencer, director of the new Building Energy Exchange St. Louis, explains how her organization will help building owners comply.

A Missouri mom was trapped in a 15-year sentence for selling a few ounces of weed – until a commutation from the governor set her free last month. But clemencies can only chip away at the ongoing effects of Missouri’s draconian drug laws. One lawmaker hopes her new bill can do more.