St. Louis on the Air

Lawyer and author Areva Martin discussed her book “Awakening: Ladies, Leadership, and the Lies We've Been Told” before a live audience. The St. Louis native explained the lies told to women and why society needs an overhaul, not a tweak.

We'll listen back to when Rob Mellon, executive director of the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County, guided us through SeeQuincy's new self-driving tour. It highlights 20 historically significant sites and stories in Quincy, Illinois.

Biologist Bruce Carlson joined our program in June to talk about the evolution of communication in the animal world. In this encore discussion, he explained how fish use electric pulses as they signal their peers.

In this encore discussion, journalist Connor Towne O'Neill delves into his new book, “Down Along With That Devil’s Bones," which explores monuments to Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest in four Southern cities — and the people seeking to take them down.

In 2012, St. Louis residents voted to cut the number of wards in half – 28 to 14. STLPR reporter Rachel Lippmann talks about how this process is playing out now that the Board of Aldermen has released its first draft of a map.

A dispatcher explains how the St. Louis County Police Department is paving the way for centers across the region to formally recognize 911 dispatchers as first responders.

The documentary film "Ferguson Rises" focuses on Michael Brown Sr. in the five years after the death of his son. Filmmaker Mobolaji Olambiwonnu discusses the film ahead of its showing at the St. Louis International Film Festival.

Augusta is seeing a big increase in economic development. While it seems like a positive change for the small St. Charles County town, some residents worry that too much is happening too quickly.

British-born writer Zadie Smith comes to town this week as the 54th recipient of the St. Louis Literary Award. She discusses everything from death, anger and the COVID-19 pandemic to her first foray into writing a historical novel.

The Illinois legislature has repealed parental notification laws for abortion — one of the state’s last abortion restrictions. An abortion provider discusses why she pushed for the repeal, and how it will affect her practice.

After growing up in the St. Louis area, Mary Anne Rothberg wound up in New York City, in the advertising industry. But in recent years, she’s shifted to documentary films — and her very first feature-length one features Martin Scorsese on camera.

Since 1967, the St. Louis Literary Award has brought heavy hitters to town, including Shelby Foote, Eudora Welty and Chinua Achebe. Executive director Ted Ibur discusses the award’s history and what it’s like to deal with writers such as Margaret Atwood and Stephen Sondheim.

Washington University’s Dr. Jessi Gold says the COVID-19 crisis has been particularly hard on college students, and yet they are often not part of the conversation about pandemic impacts. Gold joins us for a look at what is happening on campus — and what can be done.

The Strong Towns founder and former engineer discusses what his former profession gets wrong, what makes streets safer and why St. Louis is, in one key way, a “tragedy” — albeit one that could still be fixed.

Pedestrian deaths have spiked in St. Louis in recent months. Tiffanie Stanfield and Xandi Barrett discuss what they’re each doing to prevent such traffic violence.

STLPR's new education reporter, Kate Grumke, discusses her first story for the station that takes a look at how the state of Missouri is trying help alleviate the short supply of substitute teachers and meet demand.

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” is a most appropriate tale for Halloween during the pandemic. This audio version is recited by historical interpreter Anne Williams with production and sound design by Aaron Doerr.

Homer G. Phillips Hospital was internationally known as a state-of-the-art institution and for training Black medical graduates, when few institutions in the U.S. did so. Former nurses and a historian remember its legacy.

Kelli McCrary, executive director of the Downtown St. Louis Community Improvement District, discusses the tax district’s quest for renewal and vision for downtown amid criticism from some local property owners.

As part of an ongoing focus on increasing safety and comfort along Metro Transit vehicles, Bi-State Development’s Taulby Roach has high hopes for a new partnership aimed at connecting struggling riders with much-needed services. He and the CEO of Chestnut Health Systems, Dave Sharar, talk with host Sarah Fenske.

In honor of “Bat Week,” we talk with two local scientists about their work at the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Shaw Nature Reserve to highlight the winged mammals that keep our insect populations in check.

Creating wetlands in farm country can reduce the severity of flooding downstream. The Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative and Ducks Unlimited have partnered to create more wetlands in the Mississippi River basin.

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.