St. Louis on the Air

Singer-songwriter Jordan Ward discusses his successful music and dance journey — and love for the south side of St. Louis — ahead of his homecoming show at the Blueberry Hill.

The Emmy Award-winning storyteller discusses his haunted storytelling event — and leaves listeners hanging with a two-minute teaser of a spooky story.

Fair housing and consumer advocates say First Mid Bank & Trust’s record shows significant fair lending and redlining concerns. They explain why the Federal Reserve should block its merger with Jefferson Bank & Trust.

The Legal Roundtable digs into litigation over the Rams’ departure from St. Louis, a professor’s demands against Gov. Mike Parson, religious freedom in Missouri and more.

Next year marks 50 years since rates of imprisonment rapidly increased in the U.S. Washington University sociology professor Hedwig Lee explains how people with family members in prison are affected by their time inside.

Businesses in Quincy, Illinois, are growing — and the area’s workforce needs to catch up. Mayor Mike Troup explains how the Quincy City Council aims to attract new workers by offering to help pay their rent or buy a new home.

Author Molly Butterworth discusses how St. Louis fell behind in its efforts to become a hub on the transcontinental railroad — and the history of streetcars and rail travel in and around the Gateway City.

After decades of grassroots organization and cleanup efforts by volunteers, the Father Dickson Cemetery in Crestwood has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

One of the best ways to combat climate change is by actually eating the food we buy. This episode of "St. Louis on the Air" talks about how minimizing food waste helps our environment — and our wallets.

As a doula, Eboni Hooper-Boateng supports women throughout pregnancy and labor. She discusses her work, how she’s helping women of color and teens access her services, and what the American birthing establishment can learn from Ghana.

Due to climate change, the U.S. is going to keep getting hotter. More and more, people will turn to air conditioning. In this documentary produced by Science Friday in partnership with STLPR's Shahla Farzan, we take a look at the history of air conditioning and the worsening effects of climate change.

Screening testing programs seek to stop COVID-19 spread before symptoms develop. But while the CDC has made them free for K-12 schools, only 18 of Missouri’s 500+ school districts have signed on. The state’s contractor discusses efforts to get more schools on board.

Tigrayan expats in St. Louis and Kansas City discuss the violence and turmoil in their home country of Ethiopia and share how a local support group has helped them come to terms with it.

STLPR reporter Chad Davis talks about his feature report on St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones' efforts to enact reparations on the local level.

When it comes to the shortage of teachers in America, one local school district is looking at an unusual talent pool: Its own student body. We delve into how the “Kahoks Teaching Kahoks" aims to encourage its own students to become educators.

R&R Marketplace is a $16 million investment coming to the Dellwood/Ferguson area. Pastors Ken and Beverly Jenkins discuss their vision for the area which has long been subject to disinvestment.

Pete Souza gives us a brief inside look at what it was like to be a presidential photographer during President Obama’s and President Reagan’s administrations. Millions of photos later, he’ll be inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame in St. Louis on Oct. 29.

Convention center backers planned on a $210 million expansion. But the funds are being blocked in St. Louis County over a two-year-old promise the council chair says wasn’t kept. Jacob Kirn of the St. Louis Business Journal explains the impasse.

Researchers at Lindenwood University and the St. Louis Zoo are developing virtual reality lessons that can teleport students to a desert across the world — or even just to the city’s zoo. T-Rex’s GeoSeed Grant Program is giving them $20,000 to start.

Acclaimed author Joy Williams discusses her new novel “Harrow,” guilt, typewriters, and the new exhibition at Washington University looking at her life and work.

In light of Gov. Mike Parson accusing the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of hacking a state website, we discuss HTML source code, encoding vs. encryption — and the ramifications for future security flaws.

Linda Dickerson-Bell was on the jury that sent Michael Politte to prison for life. She discusses her deep regrets about the verdict — and the guilt she’s lived with ever since.

Joy Grdnic Christensen went from radio fame to opening the Fountain on Locust. She explains why she’s moving on, what she’ll do next and how a long marriage is like St. Louis.

Missourians seeking to move from row crop production to small-scale farming see chestnuts as the path to get there. Jonathan Ahl explains why.

Metro Theater Company’s new play is aimed at young girls interested in math and science. It involves grief, dinosaurs and a groundbreaking paleontologist. Director Julia Flood delves into what it took to put on the company’s first in-person show since the pandemic began.

St. Louis lactation consultant and La Leche League leader Erin O’Reilly discusses the impediments to breastfeeding among American women — and calls for policy changes to support them.

Earlier this year, St. Louis musician Mikey Wehling took his dog, Scout, out into the woods of eastern Missouri, along with an instrument he was just beginning to learn how to play. They brought back a meditative compilation of songs, which now comprise Wehling’s seventh solo release.

Radiologist-turned-food journalist Dr. Harley Hammerman takes St. Louis down a food-filled memory lane with his blogs “Lost Tables” and “Lost Dishes.” He discusses the blog’s inspiration, sets some misinformation straight, and shares restaurant memories with listeners.

In the 1960s and '70s, “Wrestling at the Chase” regularly drew crowds to the Chase Park Plaza Hotel — and thousands more watched the matches on TV. Historian Ed Wheatley explores the highlights along with listeners.

Kendall Martinez-Wright’s mental health issues led to a suicide attempt and her decision to suspend her campaign. In this episode, the Democrat from Palmyra opens up about what happened — and how she’s finding a way forward.

The medical marijuana industry in Missouri is thriving. But accessing banking has proven a struggle for many dispensaries and even vendors doing business with them — even though their businesses are legal. St. Louis accountant David Smith explains why.

Ag-tech startup Benson Hill is now a publicly traded company worth $2 billion. Charlie Bolten of BioGenerator explains how BioSTL helped the St. Louis company get its start — and go public in less than a decade.

More money, more animals. Washington University scientist Solny Adalsteinsson explains how St. Louis topped the list in a recent study looking at the “luxury effect” across 20 cities — and why that’s not a good thing.

A two-year-old initiative from the Regional Business Council aims to recruit, train and mentor kids for skilled labor jobs as early as high school. Leader Art McCoy discusses its impetus -- and the big payday for people who participate.

Author Suzanne Corbett discusses her new book detailing the “foodways and iconic dishes” of the Show Me State — and shatters some myths about famous St. Louis food innovations.

Playwright Steph Del Rosso discusses her play about a startup that aims to rehabilitate men accused of sexual misconduct. “The Gradient” makes its world premiere at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

The St. Louis Zoo is vaccinating mammals against COVID-19, including chimpanzees, orangutans, lemurs, foxes and most of the zoo’s big cats. Dr. Sathya Chinnadurai explains why these species are being prioritized.

Wait times for 911 calls in St. Louis far exceed national standards. Interim Public Safety Director Dan Isom explains the complicated process of merging three dispatch centers to one and how that could fit into expanding the Cops and Clinicians program.

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters was long a political powerhouse in the St. Louis region — but now the organization has shuttered its St. Louis office and moved leadership to Chicago. Two experts analyze possible reasons for the shakeup and explore the potential fallout.

Most of what mankind knows about Mercury, Venus, Mars and Earth’s moon sits on servers in St. Louis thanks to researchers at Washington University. Earth and planetary sciences professor Raymond Arvidson discusses his department's latest $11.8 million contract renewal with NASA.

Former Missouri Appellate Court Judge Booker Shaw discusses the latest Hail Mary attempt by Stan Kroenke and the NFL — and why even a loss may not be enough to stop their efforts to move the trial from St. Louis

"Summer in St. Louis'' recently won Best Super Short Drama at the Berlin Flash Film Festival. Director Câmi Thomas shares how the film reflects her love for her community and the “constant narrow avoidance of danger” in St. Louis.

Ahead of the “Indigenous Knowledge & Sustainability” conference kicking off in St. Louis, two Native American scholars discuss how some solutions to climate change can cause great harm to indigenous communities.

A large crowd and energetic choir came together at the Sheldon Concert Hall on Saturday night for Requiem of Light, a public memorial honoring the thousands of St. Louisans lost to COVID-19. In this episode, we share reflections and musical highlights.

The Cardinals' offense is better on the road than it is at Busch Stadium. This episode of "St. Louis on the Air" discusses what role the stadium itself plays, and looks into how physics can affect the game.

St. Louis Art Museum’s new show features art inspired by, and made within, the region where the three most powerful rivers in the U.S. come together. The curators explain the road trips and rare finds that brought the exhibit together.

As the St. Louis Chamber Chorus returns to the stage after 20 months, artistic director Philip Barnes discusses choirs in the age of COVID-19 and masks you can actually sing in.

As of 2020, more people are dying than being born in Missouri. St. Louis University professor Ness Sandoval explains how we got here and what it will take to rebound from that decline.

The Native American Rights Fund donated 20 acres of ancestral Osage lands in Lafayette County, Missouri, to the Osage Nation this month. Andrea Hunter, the director of the Osage Nation Historic Preservation Office, discusses the gift, and the sale of Picture Cave, in this episode.

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.