St. Louis on the Air

St. Louis Zoo resident Utamu is pregnant. The 18-year-old chimpanzee is expected to give birth this fall. In this interview, primate manager Helen Boostrom talks about how zookeepers are caring for Utamu during her pregnancy, what to expect during the birth, and how a new baby may alter the group dynamics of the facility’s nine chimpanzees.

Last week, supporters of a plan to privatize St. Louis Lambert International Airport announced they would withdraw the initiative set for city ballots this November. A week later, two of the major entities behind the privatization push announced they had decided to part ways just one day before the announcement on the airport initiative. In this episode, St. Louis Business Journal reporter Jacob Kirn talks about the end of the 14 year relationship between conservative billionaire Rex Sinquefield and political consultant Travis Brown.

Artist William Morris' latest video debuts at the Bruno David Gallery this Saturday. “The Protest Project" explores how the coronavirus pandemic collided with an equally devastating problem this spring — racism and police brutality.

First-time author Eric Von Schrader discusses “A Universe Less Traveled," a work of speculative fiction that toys with St. Louis history. He explains some of the real-life legends that inspired it.

The documentary “Papa Ray's Vintage Vinyl Roadshow" debuted on the Nine Network. Vintage Vinyl co-founder Tom Ray discusses the show's inspiration, his shop on Delmar and his lifelong love of music.

Ever since he was a kid, Kip Loui has been fascinated by Defiance, Missouri. Something about the name of the town captured his imagination, and once he became a musician, he told himself that someday he would write a song called “Defiance.” “Then the current guy was elected president,” Loui says. And soon that song was in the works — along with the 11 others that would eventually become “Show Me State,” the album that he and his wife, JJ Loui, released earlier this year.

Last week, just before St. Louis Public Schools kicked off a fall semester like no other, Jana Flynn’s masked colleagues surprised her with flowers, a plaque and signs — all in celebration of her being named the district’s 2020 Educator of the Year. SLPS cited the gifted specialist's “passion, dedication and desire to think outside of the box” in her work with students ranging from preschool to eighth grade.

St. Louis R&B legend Lamont Hadley Sr. recently died after a long battle with COVID-19. His longtime partner and son remember his life and music.

Many schools are now conducting classes 100% online. Navigating virtual education has many families scrambling to make it work, but likely none more so than families with special needs students. We explore how families with children with developmental disabilities are particularly challenged by schools moving to virtual learning.

Monty Cole's new play “Black Like Me,” grapples with John Howard Griffin’s seminal book. He explains how he adapted it for 21st century audiences, and how it found its way to the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

This summer, the Perseverance rover launched as part of the Mars 2020 mission. It’s scheduled to land on the Red Planet next February. Washington University's Raymond Arvidson will explain his lab’s role with the mission.

For more than 20 years, St. Louis native Leslie Gill has been focused on getting women what they need, whatever that may be. When she worked for Annie Malone Children & Family Services, that could mean shelter, clothing or food. Now, as president of the new nonprofit Rung for Women, it’s about providing what she terms “holistic self-sufficiency.”

The Missouri Senate earlier today passed legislation eliminating the residency requirement for St. Louis police officers. Yesterday, senators during their special session also advanced legislation through a committee that they say is tough on crime. Statehouse reporter Jaclyn Driscoll talks about the latest developments.

Jessica Murray built a St. Louis COVID Memorial website to memorialize the local lives lost to the virus. Murray researches obituaries, listens to family accounts and seeks out additional information online to craft each story — all with her pet cockatoos by her side.

Jack Coatar was worried about an exodus of residents and businesses from downtown St. Louis even before the area began seeing civil unrest and a surge in crime this summer. Now the 7th Ward alderman is hearing people express more and more concerns. In an area that used to bustle with concertgoers, diners and Cardinals fans on many nights, the pandemic-driven vacuum of activity has been filled with something else entirely.

“Thank you, frontline and essential workers. You are our heroes.” From yard signs to grocery store intercoms to stump speeches, such sentiments have become a fixture of American culture in 2020. But Dena Tranen, a mental health professional based in Clayton, knows that gratitude alone is insufficient.

Thom Wall is among the world’s most notable jugglers — and now he’s able to offer his tips and tricks to enthusiasts of all levels. The St. Louis native is coming out with a new book: “Juggling: What It Is and How to Do It."

Longtime Lumiere Place have dodged layoffs. Instead, they'll remain on a recall list that allows them to keep their seniority if the hotel/casino reopens their job stations before April. Kim Bartholomew of Unite Here Local 74 explains the good news.

For army trombonist Spc. Joseph Murrell, the military might just be destiny. According to his family research, almost every man in his paternal blood line — except for his father — served the military in some way. The legacy started when Murrell’s long-ago ancestor, Pvt. William Murrell, joined the Union Army in 1863. A runaway slave, Pvt. Murrell had fled to Ohio and served in the 109th United States Colored Troop.

Missouri state Sen. Jill Schupp (D-Creve Coeur) wants to unseat Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Ballwin) in Missouri's second congressional district. We talk with Schupp about why she thinks she's the better candidate in a race that the nonpartisan Cook Political Report now considers a tossup.

Artist Judith Shaw's show at the St. Louis Artists’ Guild was directly inspired by the $770 million construction project just outside her condo. Shaw used tire tracks made by heavy machinery as the basis for a series of prints -- and formed some unlikely friendships in the process.

In the city of St. Louis, primary elections frequently have bigger consequences than general ones. But one item St. Louis voters will see on their Nov. 3 ballots could change that pattern in a big way: Proposition D. Touted by proponents as a minor change for voters that would mean big improvement for St. Louis, the measure would establish a nonpartisan election system for the offices of mayor, comptroller, the president of the Board of Aldermen and alderman.

For evidence of the coronavirus pandemic’s wide-ranging toll on society, monthly jobs reports and quarterly GDP numbers are go-to sources of information — and highly credible ones. But for a more granular, real-time sense of the extent of community needs, a group of researchers at Washington University has been looking elsewhere: at 211 calls.

In her new children’s book "Ruth’s River Dreams," historian Elizabeth A. Pickard re-imagines the life of river historian and educator Ruth Ferris, who lived from 1891–1993. Ferris made it her life’s work to study Missouri’s waterways — particularly the Mississippi River.

When part of the Lemp Brewery collapsed this past weekend, it didn’t just destroy hundreds of bicycles. It also turned 160 years of history to dust. We checked in with the nonprofit whose inventory was crushed, as well as a local historian.

In July, the Greater St. Louis Labor Council voted to oppose the airport privatization plan being put before city voters, even though the carpenters' union is a major backer. President Pat White explains why.

Six years after Michael Brown was killed by a Ferguson police officer, his death continues to generate debate. St. Louis on the Air’s Legal Roundtable discussed St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell’s decision to reopen and then close the case, as well as the lawsuit filed by a grand juror seeking to expose what happened in the criminal probe into Brown’s death.

For 20 years, Donna Lochman has driven the streets and alleyways of St. Louis, looking for stray dogs — and sometimes a cat — to rescue from harm's way. On Monday’s St. Louis on the Air, we ride along with Lochman to learn more about her work as a rescuer for Stray Rescue of St. Louis.

Growing up, Vic Svec of Belleville, Illinois, knew his father’s origin story as a ripped-from-the-headlines mystery — one that would probably never be solved. But 86 years later, thanks to DNA and online sleuthing, he and his family cracked the case. He explains how.

Mvstermind — the performing name of St. Louis native Muhammad Austin — talks about how he lyrically skates past personal anxieties and overcoming universal troubles in "GEMS." He discusses the trajectory of his artistry and what it’s like pulling together projects when a pandemic halts production.

A new study published in the Nature Connections journal looks at the particular phenomenon of brood parasites. These are birds that try to trick other birds into raising their eggs. They parasitize other nests by “squatting and dropping” their eggs there instead of using their own. Washington University assistant professor in biology Carlos Botero explains why birds do this in the first place and how it impacts Missouri’s ecology.

August is Black Business Month, and for Delmar Loop-based bakeshop owner Stephanie White, the 31 days of attention to small businesses like hers are a particularly welcome event this year. White, who opened Sugar Momma’s at 6016 Delmar Blvd. in 2016, hasn’t seen as much foot traffic as she’d hoped for the past few years. And once COVID-19 entered the mix, the challenges escalated. But Sugar Momma's is still hanging on.

Senator Kamala Harris' acceptance of the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nomination marked the culmination of one of the longest and most critical vice presidential searches in the nation’s history. Host Sarah Fenske talks about the selections Joel Goldstein. He is a professor of law emeritus at St. Louis University School of Law and the author of “The White House Vice Presidency: The Path to Significance, Mondale to Biden.”

As a young man in the early 1980s, Wiley Price was spending many hours a day in the darkroom at the University of Missouri-St. Louis — and freelancing for local newspapers as well as the Associated Press. As he honed his craft, he also noticed something lacking in the industry. “I wanted to start seeing our people in the news,” Price, who is Black, explains. Four decades later, the 64-year-old is still “documenting Black St. Louis history in real time,” as a recent St. Louis American profile of him puts it, even amid a pandemic.

Comedian Alonzo Bodden of “Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!” fame and host of the podcast “Who’s Paying Attention?” will be performing in St. Louis this week at Helium Comedy Club. In this interview, host Sarah Fenske talks with Bodden about how the pandemic has impacted his work as a panelist on “Wait Wait” and as a comic.

Of the many industries decimated by the coronavirus, the arts may have been hit the hardest. Host Sarah Fenske discusses the arts and culture climate in St. Louis, and hear from an artist about her hardships throughout the pandemic and how she’s remained busy.

Earlier this summer, Missouri paleontologist David Schmidt and a small team unearthed a rare triceratops skull in the South Dakota Badlands. Schmidt describes what the excavation process was like and what he and his fellow researchers hope to learn from the bones of the dinosaur they named “Shady.”

Earlier this month, when Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton announced a plan to overhaul the state’s juvenile justice system, she repeatedly used a word that stood out to ProPublica reporter Duaa Eldeib: "love." In this interview, Eldeib talks about her reporting on Illinois’ plan and how it may have been influenced by what’s known as the “Missouri Model.”

Researchers at Washington University's Institute for Informatics are using Facebook’s Social Connectedness Index to study the potential impact of students and faculty returning to various counties within Missouri. Can Facebook connections predict the spread of COVID-19?

Unlike most area high schools, Lutheran High School South in Affton will be open for in-person instruction five days a week. Principal Jonathan Butterfield explains how, and why his own children will be among those returning to class this week.

Every year, Aug. 17 is National Black Cat Appreciation Day. These felines have become the poster cats for superstition, but they’re so much more than the age-old myths stacked against them. Humane Society of Missouri’s Becky Krueger delves into the myths surrounding black cats, and how that's impacted their adoption rates.

We Stories is a St. Louis organization that helps foster conversations about racism and race among white families and children. And this summer, it went national. Program manager Rhema Anazonwu talks about expanding the organization’s efforts to help lead the conversation in communities in, and beyond, St. Louis for transformative reconciliation.

St. Louis-based author Elsa Hart's fourth book is a vividly rendered murder mystery set in 18th-century London. She discusses “The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne" and the craft of mystery writing.

We delve into the APM Reports “Black at Mizzou” documentary, in which "We Live Here's" Lauren Brown details how Black students fostered their own community, what they call “Black Mizzou,” the racism she faced on campus, where the leaders of the Concerned Student 1950 movement are today and what they think of the movement’s legacy.

St. Louis City SC CEO Carolyn Kindle Betz explains what's behind the newly announced name of St. Louis’ Major League Soccer team. The crest features the Gateway Arch and wavy lines that signify the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The colors — red and navy blue — were inspired by St. Louis’ flag.

Outdoor activities are all the rage these days, especially those that allow for social distancing. But St. Louis’ Shakespeare in the Park tradition regularly draws dense crowds — and its actors were hesitant enough about the idea in 2020 that this year’s iteration was ultimately canceled. In the midst of all of that, the festival team and a host of local artists got creative, and A Late Summer Night’s Stroll was born.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner cruised to victory in the city’s Democratic primary. Less than a week later, Governor Mike Parson proposed legislation that would give Attorney General Eric Schmitt the ability to take over the prosecution of certain high-level felonies in St. Louis. In this interview, Gardner joins host Sarah Fenske to talk about the governor’s proposal and discuss plans for her next term.

In a way, the reinvention of performing arts in the age of coronavirus fits right in with the founding spirit of the St. Lou Fringe Fest. Now in its ninth season, the festival draws its inspiration from mid-20th-century Scotland, where avant garde artists responded to a more traditional festival by setting up makeshift venues in alleys and streets — anywhere they could connect with an audience. Now places like couches and closets are among the best and safest spots to do so.

During the special legislative session this week, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson called for lawmakers to allow the state's attorney general to intervene in local homicide cases. In this interview, St. Louis Public Radio reporter Rachel Lippmann discusses the governor’s attempts to solve St. Louis’ crime problem. She also talks about the work of the federal agents who have been handling homicide cases in St. Louis for a few years and how Operation LeGend fits into that effort.

Michael Kinch is as eager as anyone for a COVID-19 vaccine. But the Washington University professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics is also worried about the potential implications of rushing through development and U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, especially with so much political pressure in the mix.