St. Louis on the Air

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.

The year 2020 has taken plenty of well-deserved criticism, but its pumpkin harvest is actually looking pretty good. That’s according to Chris Eckert, president of Eckert’s, which operates pick-your-own operations in Belleville, Grafton and Millstadt, Illinois. The company's pumpkin picking season got going last weekend, with apple picking also well underway. And if you ask Chris Eckert, there’s “no better way to grocery shop” right now than going outside and choosing produce straight from the source.

The City of St. Louis has restricted playground access for months, even while bars and restaurants have reopened. The city's Department of Health director, Dr. Fredrick Echols, joins us to discuss what has driven the city’s playground policy.

“Black in the Middle: An Anthology of the Black Midwest" explores the experience of Black people in the Midwest. Editor Terrion L. Williamson and contributor Lyndsey Ellis discuss the book.

Lynne Jackson sometimes struggles to find her great-great-grandfather’s grave. Located in north St. Louis’ sprawling and historic Calvary Cemetery, the headstone is just two and a half feet high. A cemetery map helps, and on it, his grave is indicated in the key, with the number 19 beside his name: Dred Scott. It’s a modest memorial, and it’s also “the most asked-for grave out there,” according to Jackson, who last week launched a fundraiser in hopes of creating a nine-foot-tall educational memorial at the spot.

This month, the pop-up soup dinner that provides funding for good causes returns to St. Louis after a five-year hiatus. Anne McCullough explains what led her to bring back STL Sloup.

The new archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis shares his thoughts on racism, sexual abuse, and calls from activists to remove the statue of St. Louis the King atop of Art Hill.

We explore the latest Great Rivers Biennial exhibit at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis with Misa Jeffereis, the assistant curator at CAM who organized the show, and Rachel Youn, whose "Gather” gallery on display blends the lines between dance and worship.

Holden Thorp, who is now the editor-in-chief of Science, has found it necessary to speak out in recent months about what he terms “an extreme attack on science that’s acute and forceful and very much in the news.” He doesn't mince words in his latest editorial for the magazine.

Some companies are welcoming workers back to the office. That comes with risks because of the coronavirus pandemic but we talk with employers who are trying to do it the right way and making necessary accommodations. Architect Megan Ridgeway of Arcturis also explains how she's working with companies to accomplish these goals.

Benson Hill is considered a rising star in the ag-tech space. The company was established in 2012 and has garnered about $133 million in funding, including from the investor arm of Google, GV. Co-founder and CEO Matt Crisp joins the show to talk about creating better tasting and more sustainable food. He also explains why the company chose St. Louis to open a new $53 million headquarters.

Brock Seals talks about his “artivism,” a term coined to describe the intersection between art and activism, and his upcoming project called “The Artivist.”

Persistence Surveillance Systems originally developed its technology for military use and now hopes to bring it to St. Louis to lower the city's crime rate. The company has been running a pilot program in the city of Baltimore — in conjunction with the city's police department — since April. Baltimore journalist Joanne Cavanaugh Simpson discusses the results of the trial run and how residents feel about the new technology.

Some St. Louis residents have expressed concerns after demolition permits were issued for a group of historic buildings along the 1900 block of Olive Boulevard. The fate of another building, at 201 S. Jefferson, also has people speaking up. To city resident Catherine Hamacher, who works as an urban planner, both cases are a reminder that, oftentimes, “people have a hard time seeing the ‘what could be.’”

St. Louis Public Radio's Sarah Fentem discusses finding safe ways to connect in yet another unprecedented season, what to keep in mind about the likelihood of significantly more indoor time, and how to approach the prospect of, well, being a bit cold at times in exchange for safer interactions.

In August, Pharrell Williams and Jay-Z released their music video “Entrepreneur” which features Black entrepreneurs from across the country. The video inspired St. Louis’ Jason Wilson, owner and CEO of Northwest Coffee Roasting Company, who collaborated with local director David Kirkman to create an edition of “Entrepreneur” that highlights Black-owned businesses in St. Louis.

Wellston's Trojan Park was recently named one of two winners of 2020's Urban Open Space Award. Landscape architect Chip Crawford joins us to discuss the park's surprising origin story and what makes a great park.

William H. Danforth II died on Wednesday. The former chancellor of Washington University transformed the institution into a top-tier school, and he was the founding chairman of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. We listen back to excerpts from his appearance on the show from February 2008.

“Crime Beat Girl” tells the story of Debbie Bradley, who leaves her journalism job in Washington, D.C., to be closer to family in her native St. Louis. Author Geri L. Dreiling joins us to discuss her new novel.

The co-director of St. Louis County’s public health department, Spring Schmidt, joins to talk about kids and COVID-19, youth sports restrictions, Halloween during a pandemic and the importance of flu shots.