St. Louis on the Air

In this encore of a one-hour special edition, Nina Gilden Seavey discusses her podcast "My Fugitive," which connects the story of anti-war activist Howard Mechanic with that of another fugitive who spent time in St. Louis: James Earl Ray, who was convicted of killing Martin Luther King Jr.

Lawyer and author Areva Martin discusses her book “Awakening: Ladies, Leadership, and the Lies We've Been Told” in this encore episode.

Hampton, a formerly four-lane thoroughfare, now limits traffic to one lane in each direction, with the addition of a center turning lane plus wider parking lanes on the sides. The city has plans for a somewhat similar transformation along Lindell Boulevard by Forest Park.

Michael Politte was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for allegedly murdering his mother as a 14-year-old. Attorneys and advocates explain the growing body of evidence that he’s actually innocent — and Politte tells his story.

Attorneys Mark Smith, Nicole Gorovsky and Connie McFarland-Butler talk about the big legal questions after a deadly tornado in Edwardsville, what Missouri law really says about who has the power to issue mask mandates, litigation against the Gateway Pundit and more.

Kirkwood native (and GQ sex columnist) Sophia Benoit discusses growing up in the St. Louis suburbs, the joys of Twitter and letting go of that bad first boyfriend.

Washington University has previously portrayed co-founder William Greenleaf Eliot as an abolitionist. In a contributed segment from STLPR’s Marissanne Lewis-Thompson, she talks with Wash U student Nkemjika Emenike and professor Iver Bernstein about how Eliot was not an abolitionist. A recent article in the university’s independent student newspaper, “Student Life,” uncovered the details.

Longtime baker and Tony’s pastry chef Helen Fletcher shares tips and tricks for baking cookies in this “St. Louis on the Air” interview.

Jason Struna, a professor who studies warehouse work and distribution centers, describes Amazon work culture and offers insight to the Edwardsville warehouse where 6 workers were killed this month.

As Pale Divine reunites for a show this New Year’s Eve, guitarist Richard Fortus discusses why the beloved St. Louis band broke up, his work as the longtime guitarist for Guns N’ Roses, and why The Psychedelic Furs recorded their most recent album in St. Louis.

Dr. Alex Garza discusses again leading the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force after his deployment in Kuwait and shares lessons he learned overseas.

A new law in St. Louis basically extends the possession rights enjoyed by medical marijuana card holders to everyone. Alderman Bret Narayan explains the bill’s genesis — and why it’s not yet legalization.

Shayn Prapaisilp is a lifelong St. Louisan. But as an Asian American, he’s still regularly asked where he’s “really” from. In this episode, he fires back with his answer.

All-girl punk band the Welders burst onto the St. Louis music scene in the 1970s. But their work never made it to vinyl — until now. Host Sarah Fenske sits down with three of the founding members of the band.

St. Louis University music professor Stephanie Tennill explains how she invented VocalEase, a mask now being used by top opera singers — and why it’s being manufactured right here in St. Louis.

Tom Wiley, who lost his late wife to breast cancer in 2016, started The December 5th Fund to provide sweet memories and home-related help to other families in the midst of hard journeys. Now, the St. Louis nonprofit is expanding its efforts into southern Illinois.

Clever Real Estate is growing fast by disrupting how real estate agents are found — and how much they get paid. Co-founder Luke Babich explains why St. Louis is a perfect place to grow the business.

Becky Sucher, senior manager of living collections, discusses a conservation effort involving the garden’s horticulturists — and some 17,000 seeds from the Appalachian Mountains.

Becky Sucher, senior manager of living collections, discusses a conservation effort involving the garden’s horticulturists — and some 17,000 seeds from the Appalachian Mountains.

After Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sent school districts around the state cease-and-desist letters about their COVID-19 precautions, Joe Hatley sent his own letter back, on behalf of a Lee’s Summit school district. Hatley explains why Schmitt’s opinion is wrong in his view.

Santa takes many forms this holiday season. St. Louis’ own "Cocoa Santa,” hip-hop Santa and the St. Louis Aquarium's "Scuba Claus” share their perspectives on the role of a lifetime.

Sauce Magazine Executive Editor Meera Nagarajan digs into why nine new restaurants earned rave reviews from Sauce staff.

Fossil hunter Guy Darrough discusses how recent new discoveries have changed our understanding of Missouri’s state dinosaur, Parrosaurus missouriensis, and what its excavation site in Bollinger County tells us about Missouri’s ancient past.

On Friday night, an EF-3 tornado tore through an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, killing six people. Another tornado killed a woman in Defiance, Missouri. STLPR Correspondent Jonathan Ahl talks about the disasters and the questions that remain unanswered.

As high school students, Shreya and Saffron Patel set out to help their grandmother – and ended up founding the nonprofit Letters Against Isolation, which has helped senior citizens around the world. Wash U sophomore Shreya Patel discusses the organization’s big reach.

Dr. Dale Anderson created a free app for those struggling with mental health in the pandemic. He believes even small doses of cognitive behavioral therapy can get people to a healthier place.

St. Louis Art Place Initiative hopes to help 20 artists purchase homes in a four-block area of the city’s Gravois Park neighborhood. Operations director Kaveh Razani explains how the program works and what it hopes to do for artists, and the Cherokee Street area, as housing costs escalate.

Author Mark Kruger (“The St. Louis Commune of 1877”) describes how the railroad strike of 1877 became a much broader strike in St. Louis, basically shutting down all commerce in the city — and how communists took control of the city.

The International Institute of St. Louis is overwhelmed trying to resettle more than 300 Afghan refugees and turning to other nonprofits for help.

Lydia Caesar has found a home in the St. Louis music scene. Her new EP tells listeners not to settle or sacrifice themselves in relationships, but to strive for something monumental.

The head of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force discusses the latest regional trends, the Missouri attorney beneral’s fight against mask mandates and whether the omicron variant could be a cause for optimism.

Librarians Jennifer Alexander of St. Louis County Library and Kathy Condon Boettcher of St. Louis Public Library share their favorite books released in 2021.

For choral conductor Maria Ellis and her students, convening historic Sumner High’s first choir in decades has proved to be a challenging task — but also full of reward. We check in with the choir as it prepares for a winter concert.

In the new Netflix documentary “Procession,” six survivors of sex abuse by Catholic priests process their trauma by using drama therapy techniques. Filmmaker and Mizzou Professor Robert Greene joins the show alongside one of the survivors.

Grammy Award-winning rapper Murphy Lee discusses his rise to fame as a St. Lunatic, his new journey as an independent artist and why he wants fans to reach out and text him.

Tomáseen Foley’s “A Celtic Christmas,” now in its 26th year, is making its first-ever St. Louis stop Dec. 13 — and two locals have big roles. They join us in anticipation of the big evening.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Ben Frederickson discusses the road to St. Louis’ settlement over the Rams’ departure, why an expansion team was never in the mix, and his thoughts on how to spend the money.

Percy Menzies, founder of Assisted Recovery Centers of America, and Ben Westhoff, author of “Fentanyl, Inc.” discuss how fentanyl is fueling record-high overdose deaths and what we can do to help people affected by it.

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Tony Messenger discusses his first book, which expands on his columns about debtors prisons and the fight to reform the court fees and fines that trap Americans in a cycle of poverty

For years, Missouri was known for its problem dog breeders. Advocates explain what changed after legislation cracked down on the industry — and where they still see room for improvement in the Show Me State.

After attending Clayton High School, comedian Jo Firestone went to college and then to New York City, where she’s lived for more than a decade. But one of her current gigs, as a writer, producer and co-star in a hit TV show, puts her back in the Midwest in a fictional version of Marquette, Michigan.

It’s been 40 years since the first official HIV/AIDS case was diagnosed in the U.S. But researchers now know the 40-year mark is likely an incomplete understanding of the disease’s beginnings.

St. Louis has $41 million in sales tax revenue that could be used to build a north-south MetroLink expansion. But is that what the city’s public transit system needs? Transit scholar Kate Lowe and community members weigh in.

Shopping local can make a big difference for the region, as the Federal Reserve’s Bill Rodgers explains. He’s joined by Debra Hunter, co-owner of Provisions St. Louis, and St. Louisans sharing their favorite local spots.

Approximately 50 St. Louis families lose their homes to tax foreclosure each year, even though they owe on average just a few thousand dollars. Abdul Abdullah talks about a new fund that aims to help those families stay in their homes and keep the tax collector at bay.

St. Louis author Beth Bacon discusses her new book “Helping Our World Get Well: COVID Vaccines,” the art of a good children’s book and how to talk to kids about complicated topics.

Alden Global Capital wants to buy the company that owns the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. An investigative reporter and the president of the union that represents Post-Dispatch staffers discuss what that could mean for the daily — and St. Louis.

More than 45 years after her death, St. Louis native and entertainer Josephine Baker is receiving France’s highest honor: induction into the Panthéon. We talk with Lionel Cuillé of Washington University and Lois Conley of the Griot Museum of Black History about Baker’s life and legacy.

Opera star Christine Brewer discusses the cabaret show she debuts this weekend in St. Louis, how she was pushed to become a performer and what makes her nervous even after all these years singing in public.

Tom Zoellner's new book, "The National Road: Dispatches from a Changing America," is a journey into the uneasy soul of the nation: What unites us, what divides us, and what lies in the middle of the cities of the coasts.