St. Louis on the Air

St. Louis Public Radio statehouse reporter Sarah Kellogg discusses what the Missouri legislature has been working on in its first two weeks this year, and what’s to come this session.

Ike and Tina Turner were transplants who met in St. Louis and became a powerhouse duo. NYU professor Maureen Mahon discusses how the clubs of 1950s East St. Louis brought them together and inspired their sound.

Investigative journalist Alison Flowers discusses her forensic analysis of lighting conditions during a 2019 police shooting, which she believes demonstrates that a St. Louis police officer could not have been telling the truth about acting in self-defense.

Known as the “Voice of Selma,” Bettie Mae Fikes describes what got her involved in the civil rights movement, the violence she witnessed and her thoughts on voting rights legislation now pending in Congress.

Jennings School Superintendent Paula Knight finds herself in a constant struggle to maintain what’s best for her students and staff. Despite the odds, her district has managed to stay in-person during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The St. Louis University professor discusses her provocative new book of essays “On Compromise: Art, Politics, and the Fate of an American Ideal,” how she handles strange bedfellows and how her free-wheeling childhood left her wanting more.

Midtown St. Louis is seeing big developments. But the Grand MetroLink Station functions as a car-centric “doughnut hole” in its center. Kim Cella of Citizens for Modern Transit and traffic engineer Chris Beard discuss the problems — and a new report urging improvements.

Afghan refugee Zamzama “ZZ” Safi loves her life in St. Peters, Missouri, but remains terrified for her family that remains in Afghanistan. The former linguist for U.S. forces gives an update on her life in Missouri, five months after fleeing the Taliban.

For those concerned about Superfund sites in Missouri and Illinois, the EPA’s newly announced cleanup plans for 49 sites across the U.S come as great news. But community members say it’s also a reminder of just how much work still needs to be done.

Washington University recently received millions of dollars in grant money that researchers hope will turn the tide on Alzheimer’s research. Dr. John Morris and professor Joyce Balls-Berry explain the work they’re doing.

For residents of Arrow Senior Living communities, writing a mystery novel together proved to be the perfect pandemic project. A resident co-author and the organization’s editor and archivist discuss the creation of “The Old and the Beautiful.”

Missouri state representative Mary Elizabeth Coleman discusses her controversial new abortion bill, modeled after the one introduced in Texas last year, and why she believes banning abortion empowers women.

Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis digs into the region’s recent huge wave of COVID-19 cases and her approach to combating the pandemic. She also opens up about what keeps her going in a job and a field that has been incredibly challenging of late.

Clayton attorney Al Watkins discusses his representation of Jacob Chansley, the Arizona man who became the face of the Jan. 6 insurrection — and how going viral helps his legal advocacy.

Political anger leads to polarization, and that has Washington University professor Betsy Sinclair worried. She explains what's driving the anger, and how it puts the nation's future at risk.

Qui Tran and Jason Sparks, two local restaurant owners, are mentally and physically exhausted from working to stay afloat during the pandemic.

Service along the passenger rail line that runs between St. Louis and Kansas City was reduced by 50% earlier this week due to a lack of funding from the state of Missouri. Amtrak’s Marc Magliari explains what’s going on.

Local providers and organizers are scrambling to keep a pop-up emergency shelter open during freezing temperatures, while they wait on the city to fund one.

After Carlos Restrepo became a U.S. citizen in 2015, he kickstarted his father’s journey to the U.S. Carlos and his father, Luis, discuss their journey to St. Louis and the local support they found along the way.

"The Opposite of Chance" was published 39 years after author Margaret Hermes wrote its first chapters. She explains what took so long, how she overcame the story's complications, and how intense research allowed her to bring characters far different from herself to life.

The need for blood is on the rise, but the Red Cross is seeing fewer first-time donors — and is down to about one day’s worth of reserves. Joe Zydlo digs into what’s causing the shortfall, and how it plays into the organization’s recent response to tornadoes in Missouri and Arkansas.

By utilizing state-of-the-art technology, Wash U researchers hope to develop a better understanding of how rivers may react to future flooding events. Geomorphologist Claire Masteller joins us to discuss her work studying bedrock river erosion.

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.