St. Louis on the Air

Some Saint Louis University alumni are asking SLU President Fred Pestello to “open a process to rename the Pius XII Memorial Library.” It currently honors a former pope who stands accused of enabling the Nazis.

Bon Appetit Test Kitchen breakout star Claire Saffitz discusses her new book, “Dessert Person: Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence,” how St. Louis played a role in her online stardom and why she left the Test Kitchen.

Ken Kwapis' new book, “But What I Really Want to Do Is Direct: Lessons From a Life Behind the Camera,” provides plenty of useful advice to would-be directors and also details the lessons he learned as a movie lover growing up in suburban St. Louis.

St. Louis native Mike Leahy is the portrayer of Clownvis Presley — a character who combines musical parody and comedy. His live cast "Clownvis To The Rescue" show started after his gigs were cancelled due to the pandemic. It now draws a dedicated crowd every Friday and Saturday night at Yaquis on Cherokee Street.

With more people working from home, dogs and cats suddenly find their owners home most of the time. Veterinary behaviorist Dr. Debra Horwitz says it's normal for pets to develop new habits from the change in routine.

This week, the Missouri Independent launched with big plans for covering Missouri state government. The nonprofit news site promises to provide “relentless investigative journalism that sheds light on how decisions in Jefferson City are made and how those decisions affect Missourians.”

The Cherokee Virtual Silent Auctions Facebook page is a dedicated place where locals can donate items to raise money for the city's artists, bar and industry workers affected by the pandemic. So far, more than $44,000 has been raised.

St. Louis Public Radio education reporter Ryan Delaney is in Germany for one month thanks to the Education Writers Association and the Pulitzer Center. He joins St. Louis the program from Berlin to discuss what he’s learned about the German way of handling education in the pandemic.

Prop R asks city voters to increase property taxes, but some critics worry because the money it raises would go to nonprofits outside the public school system. A Yes on Prop R backer addresses those concerns.

Missouri state Sen. Bob Onder (R-St. Charles County), a lawmaker in favor of Amendment 3, and Sean Soendker Nicholson, campaign director for Clean Missouri, which is urging a "no" vote on the ballot issue, join St. Louis on the Air to debate the pros and cons.

Missouri State Auditor Galloway joined St. Louis on the Air two weeks before Election Day to make her final case against incumbent Governor Mike Parson — and answer to GOP attacks that accuse her of being pals with an anti-Trump celebrity.

A study by St. Louis University researchers last year found that incidence of head and neck melanoma among younger people rose significantly in recent decades — by 51% in fact. The researchers also found that incidence was higher among males than females, and pointed to that discovery as one to take into consideration when it comes to prevention campaigns. Central West End resident Elianna Goldstein points to it as a market opportunity.

Proponents of a ballot initiative St. Louis voters are weighing this fall argue Proposition D would change municipal races for the better. They envision a nonpartisan system that puts the focus on local issues that matter most, fosters a more responsive government and addresses the vote-splitting associated with the heavily Democratic city’s current primary setup. But not everyone is on board.

“When I get in front of my audience,” Kim Massie once told St. Louis Public Radio’s Nick Garcia, “I don't care if I’m playing for free or if I’m playing for a million bucks. I’m going to give you the same show, because that could very well be my last show, and you’re only as good as your last performance. … So I give it my all, every time I sing.”

In the wake of stubbornly inaccurate mainstream coverage of protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Charles Klotzer launched what is now known as the Gateway Journalism Review. The first issue appeared in September 1970, and the now-quarterly publication is still going strong — even as its contemporaries have long since ceased operations.

This week, a pair of women from the Mehlville area of south St. Louis County got married just outside St. Louis City Hall. They were part of a much larger movement of pop-up weddings there within the past week — all designed to highlight concerns within the LGBTQ community related to the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett.

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra returns to Powell Hall this week. Seven months after the coronavirus pandemic shut down events, the symphony kicks off a shortened season of “chamber orchestra concerts." Music director Stephane Deneve previews the season and its highlights.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis has some big news today: an acclaimed new playwright in residence. She’s a Golden Globe award winner and a two time Emmy nominee. And thanks to a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, she’ll be working in St. Louis for the next three years.

Tinus Le Roux, CEO of FanCam, and Sara Baker, policy director for the ACLU of Missouri discuss artificial intelligence’s potential for both good and evil. The issues they raise are currently getting a fuller airing at Prepare 2020, virtual month-long conference by Prepare.ai.

National politics might dominate the news right now, but Washington University professor Betsy Sinclair says there is a resurgence of political life at the local level — and technology can help with that. She co-founded Magnify Your Voice, a civic engagement app meant to help residents work together to tackle a project in their neighborhood.

H.W. Brands’ new book “The Zealot and the Emancipator: John Brown, Abraham Lincoln and the Struggle for American Freedom” explores the run-up to slavery's abolition -- and choice to confront its "great evil" via politics or violence -- through the lives of two men: John Brown and Abraham Lincoln.

Whether it’s 20 tips for 20-somethings or 30 movers and shakers under the age of 30, there’s always a new list aimed at young professionals doing big things. And that makes sense — early adulthood, after all, is typically focused on forging a career path. But maybe there should also be some different lists. Say, 70 first-time novelists over the age of 70, or 80 up-and-coming small business owners in their 80s. St. Louisan Lynn Hamilton believes it's never too late to try something new.

A masked violinist has been making music while strolling the streets of Alton. There are rumors that she's a ghost from the Mississippi River and that she hasn’t been seen since the 1918 influenza. She calls herself the Fiddle Assassin, and says her only enemy is the coronavirus.

Carolyn Mueller, a local author and zookeeper at the St. Louis Zoo, has explored the trails of Forest Park for more than a decade. And with locals practicing social distancing as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, some of the spots Mueller highlights in her new book, “Forest Park: A Walk Through History,” are particularly timely.

As a scholar who works with human remains, Anne Austin had long looked closely at bones. Her training is in osteology and Egyptology, and for many years she worked to expand the world’s knowledge about the health, medicine and disease of past civilizations. But in 2016, her focus suddenly turned from bones to ancient skin — and body art.

Theater returns to a St. Louis stage this month — and for the first time since the region shut down in March, it’ll be indoors and with an in-person audience. Midnight Company's mounting of Eric Bogosian’s “Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll” comes with the ArtSafe seal of approval, and a host of safety precautions.

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.

Angie Schmitt’s new book, “Right of Way: Race, Class and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths,” examines why more American pedestrians are dying, who makes up these deaths and what simple yet concrete things we could do to save people like them. She discusses her book on St. Louis on the Air, and we hear from a victim's sister and a local transportation policy planner, too.

New places continue to open in the St. Louis region — often with extensive safety protocols. And they’re offering new items for local food lovers and ways for patrons to get their favorite dishes. Sauce Magazine features 10 new restaurants to check out for this month’s Hit List.

Missouri has lost seven rural hospitals since 2014. It’s a trend seen in areas across the country, and it’s a topic explored extensively in the new podcast “Where It Hurts.”

Crestwood Elementary School physical education teacher Darrion Cockrell hasn’t just overhauled his school’s fitness program. His creative virtual education videos have also caught the attention of influencers such as Chance the Rapper and Ellen DeGeneres. Now, Cockrell has been awarded the distinction of Missouri Teacher of the Year.

In the summer of 2018, St. Charles resident Cindy Fricke got some really bad news following her annual mammogram: She had breast cancer. The diagnosis put her on a long, two-year path involving chemotherapy, radiation and a partial mastectomy. Now she is cancer free, and as she continues to receive care through SSM Health, her outlook is full of gratitude and optimism, even amid a pandemic.

NPR's new podcast "No Compromise" dives deep into the most uncompromising corner of the gun debate — it follows groups like the Missouri Firearms Coalition that feel the NRA is too soft on gun rights. Podcast co-host Chris Haxel of KCUR shares what they uncovered in their investigation.

President Trump is far from the first president to face serious illness in office. And it’s not just President Roosevelt or President Wilson who kept the details from the American public. Washington University history professor Peter Kastor puts the president’s bout with COVID-19 in context. And, we explore the media’s role in pressing for details — or giving the White House a wide zone of privacy.

In recent months, as Jessica Hentoff and her Circus Harmony crew began planning the social circus organization’s first performance in a long while, they didn’t have to search too far for the show’s overarching theme. “Circus is always an analogy for life,” Hentoff, artistic/executive director, explains, “but now more than ever.”

With the 2020 presidential election less than a month away, St. Louis Public Radio correspondent Jason Rosenbaum breaks down the differences between absentee and mail-in voting, shares the deadlines to apply for either method and discusses why sending materials ASAP is the best way to make sure that your ballot counts.

Patrick Murphy discusses his book "Candy Men," which tells the story of Switzer Licorice Co. His great-grandfather co-founded the company, which made candy in St. Louis for more than a century.

St. Louis Cardinals fans and baseball lovers everywhere are mourning the loss of legendary pitcher Bob Gibson, who died Friday at the age of 84. Gibson is the second Cardinals great to pass away in the space of a month. Gibson’s longtime teammate Lou Brock, 81, died Sept. 6.

Missouri Botanical Garden horticulturist Susie Ratliff has worked at the center's Climatron since 1997. She'll share tidbits about the geodesic dome's iconic history and all the care that goes into its living collection.

Schnucks “Local Grab and Go” program is bringing local products made by Black-owned businesses to supermarket shelves.

Throughout the pandemic, the Nine Network has been featuring local teachers teaching on a show called “Teaching in Room 9.” This fall, the PBS affiliate has actually increased from two to three hours a day. One local teacher explains how she learned to teach for TV.

St. Louis native and comedian Nikki Glaser explains how her living situation, which involved a move back home to stay with her parents, is actually fueling her creativity. Host Sarah Fenske talked with her in July.

In 1948, Harry S Truman looked like a sure loser. He’d inherited the presidency soon after becoming Roosevelt’s vice president, and the media quickly concluded he was in over his head. So how did this quote “little man from Missouri” pull off the political upset of the century? Author A.J. Baime talks about the election in his book, “Dewey Defeats Truman.”

Dajae Williams is a rocket scientist. The native St. Louisan is a quality engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Los Angeles, California. The 26-year-old turns turns daunting math and science theories and formulas into hip hop songs. Producer Lara Hamdan talked with Williams in May about how she’s educating kids by building a bridge between science, technology, engineering, math — and hip-hop.

Emily Paul encouraged her boyfriend to kill his son. She's serving four months in prison but could serve 10 years if she violates probation. Her case raises interesting legal questions. She was miles away when it happened. Is pressuring someone to do something in a text message enough to net a long prison sentence? Our Legal Roundtable panelists discussed that case and others.

How do diseases jump from animals to humans? And is there anything we can do to stop them? A Washington University professor explains the problem — and some possible solutions.

Sonny and Bridgett Lewis’ eatery in Ferguson was just hitting its stride when the pandemic hit. Enter Restaurant: Impossible — with a plan to save this family business during the biggest crisis local restaurants have seen in a century.

Erin Armknecht and Colleen Oakes are old friends with college who wrote a novel together. They discuss their unique collaboration and the joys of the young-adult genre.

Alex Garcia has spent the last 1,101 days living in a Maplewood church. In 2017, Immigration and Customs Enforcement denied Garcia’s request for a stay of removal from the United States, and the Honduran native still lacks a viable path to U.S. citizenship. Until he has one, he and his community of supporters have made clear, Christ Church is home.

Sgt. Heather Taylor shares her thoughts after 20 years in the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. As president of the Ethical Society of Police, Taylor was a thorn in the side of department brass.