St. Louis on the Air

<p>STLPR education reporter Ryan Delaney talks about the just-released school report cards and standardized testing in Missouri.</p>

<p>We go behind the headlines with STLPR politics editor Fred Ehrlich to discuss the week's news involving controversies involving St. Louis police officers.</p>

<p>A few years ago, Steven Webster was working in Washington and frequently giving tours of the U.S. Capitol when one particular tour went rather south, to put it mildly – and also sparked his decision to study political science.</p>

<p>Host Don Marsh talks with local media professionals about how the industry covers African-American communities – what has changed over the years and what's stayed the same.</p>

<p>With a growing sector of America having left traditional religion in recent decades, speculation about the reasons for that exit is common, as are easy conclusions about what it all portends. But it's all a bit more complex. James Croft, outreach director for the Ethical Society of St. Louis, and Leigh Schmidt, the Edward C. Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in the Humanities at Washington University, share their insights in this episode.</p>

<p>Kevin McKinney, executive director of SLACO – the St. Louis Association of Community Organizations, and local photojournalist Richard Reilly talk to host Don Marsh about how community organizing has evolved in the St. Louis region over the past 40 years.</p>

<p>STLPR reporter Chad Davis asks more listener questions about Better Together's proposal to representatives of the organization. The report was released on Monday.</p>

<p>Pat Kelly of the Municipal League of Metro St. Louis and Creve Coeur Mayor Barry Glantz outline why they are opposed to Better Together’s approach and suggest an alternative route to a potential shift in regional governance.</p>

<p>Host Don Marsh and St. Louis Public Radio listeners talk with two staff members from Better Together, the organization that earlier this week formally unveiled a much-anticipated proposal for a reunification of St. Louis and St. Louis County.</p>

<p>Sunday marked the international community’s commemoration of lives lost and tragedy caused during the Holocaust. Although it took place more than 70 years ago, its lessons continue to resonate today. Dan Reich, curator and director of education at the Holocaust Museum & Learning Center, survivor Rachel Miller join host Don Marsh to discuss how the younger generations will continue to tell the stories of those who experienced the Holocaust as survivors pass away. Miller, who now resides in Chesterfield, Missouri, also shares her own harrowing story of living through the Nazi occupation.</p>

<p>Evy Swoboda and Dakota Williams are both still in their 20s, yet they've already made big strides in the St. Louis restaurant scene. They join host Don Marsh and Sauce magazine's Heather Hughes for a conversation.</p>

<p>Although wintry skies in the St. Louis region didn’t make for ideal viewing conditions Sunday night as the sun, Earth and moon aligned for a total lunar eclipse, the anticipated celestial event still had many people looking skyward. It also sparked renewed interest in human understanding of the moon. In this segment, space journalist Rebecca Boyle, lunar scientist Brad Jolliff and St. Louis Public Radio’s own Eli Chen discuss the latest in moon research.</p>

<p>The St. Louis Theater Circle released its 2019 award nominees on Friday's <em>St. Louis on the Air</em> for locally produced professional theater in 2018. This is the seventh year of the awards. Judith Newmark, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s theater critic, and Mark Bretz, president of the St. Louis Theater Circle, join host Don Marsh to discuss the nominations and the upcoming award ceremony.</p>

<p>St. Louis Public Radio reporter Chad Davis talks with host Don Marsh about his recent coverage of how the partial government shutdown has been affecting a wide variety of St. Louis-area residents.</p>

<p>St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger talks with Don Marsh about his reporting series on debtors' prisons in rural Missouri – the practice of jailing people for not paying their court fines. </p>

<p>A recent report surveyed low-income women in St. Louis and found that nearly two-thirds of them can’t always afford pads or tampons – often resorting to rags, diapers or paper towels. Host Don Marsh delves deeper into the issue of period poverty with Anne Sebert Kuhlmann, associate professor of behavioral science and health education at St. Louis University, who led the study. Also joining the conversation are Angie Weisman, executive director of Dignity Period, and Jessica Adams, executive director of St. Louis Alliance for Period Supplies and the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank.</p>

<p><em>St. Louis on the Air</em>’s first monthly Legal Roundtable of the year returns as host Don Marsh delves into a variety of recent local and national stories pertaining to the law, including: a federal judge's ruling that blocks the Trump administration's plan to add a controversial citizenship question to the 2020 census, a federal court ruling that deemed the Affordable Care Act health plans unconstitutional, the lawsuit against the Sunset Hills retirement community Friendship Village and the appointment of Circuit Judge Robin Ransom to the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District.</p>

<p>Arlene Zarembka, who is a lawyer for the plaintiffs in the case against Friendship Village, and Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of the ACLU of Missouri, discuss the context and implications of a circuit judge's recent dismissal of the suit.</p>

<p>Ken Page, whose career took him from The Muny to Broadway and the big screen, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the local Arts and Education Council. Host Don Marsh talks to Page about his expansive career, which ranges from creating the character of Old Deuteronomy in the Broadway debut of the iconic musical “Cats” to voicing Oogie Boogie in Tim Burton’s film “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”</p>

<p>Snow, ice, streets and St. Louis – it all tends to make for a tricky wintry mix, as was evident last weekend when a major snowstorm hit the region. With the potential for additional winter weather now imminent, this episode focuses on why some St. Louisans drive poorly in such conditions – and how residents can better prepare for and deal with future weather events. Joining the discussion are Kent Flake, commissioner of streets for the City of St. Louis, and Mike Right, vice president of public affairs for AAA of Missouri.</p>

<p>Despite a winter weather advisory, the <a href= "https://www.facebook.com/events/1157659197715720/" data-cke-saved-href= "https://www.facebook.com/events/1157659197715720/">St. Louis Women’s March</a> is still set to take place 10 a.m. Jan. 18 in downtown St. Louis. Host Don Marsh previews the march with two of this year’s local organizers and marchers: Lauren Kohn Davis and Heather Fleming. This year's event also includes an "action fair” that will house various organizations in the community helping women.</p>

<p>STLPR science reporter Eli Chen previews the total lunar eclipse.</p>

<p>St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson gives an update on the state of the city and her priorities for 2019. The first-ever woman to hold the post, she confirms that she does have plans to seek a second term.</p>

<p>A conversation with STLPR reporters Jason Rosenbaum and Rachel Lippmann about Gov. Mike Parson's State of the State Address.</p>

<p>St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies join host Don Marsh during a live broadcast of Gov. Mike Parson's State of the State Address and the Democratic response from state Sen. Gina Walsh.</p>

<p>Last year, St. Louis native and comedian Greg Warren tried a new approach in his comedy career by adding an all-ages family show. He will do the same this year as he returns to St. Louis this week for his appearances at the Funny Bone comedy club in Maryland Heights. He talks with host Don Marsh about his comedic approach and upcoming shows.</p>

<p>Circus Harmony's new show “<a href= "https://circusharmony.org/accelerando/" data-cke-saved-href= "https://circusharmony.org/accelerando/">Accelerando</a>” is a circus spy thriller where the performers twirl and climb their way to finding a top-secret document gone missing. Jessica Hentoff, artistic and executive director of the organization, joins host Don Marsh to discuss the show and other programs the social circus is conducting.</p>

<p>Barricades and “park closed” signs weren’t quite the sort of sights Andy Magee anticipated photographing when he embarked a couple weeks ago on a 365-day tour of the National Park Service’s 418 units around the U.S. But so far, his "418 Parks" Facebook page is full of such photos – evidence of the ongoing partial shutdown of the federal government.</p>

<p>The first African-American to hold the post, Wesley Bell discusses his current focus on implementing the reforms he campaigned on during his recent race against longtime incumbent Bob McCulloch. Bell takes questions from host Don Marsh and from listeners on a range of topics.</p>

<p style="line-height: 21.0pt;"><span style= "letter-spacing: .05pt;">Illinois Public Radio statehouse reporter Brian Mackey joins host Don Marsh to discuss the inauguration of Illinois' new governor J.B. Pritzker. Mackey highlights key moments of Pritzker’s speech and touches on what’s ahead for the governor and the state.</span></p>

<p>“City of Ink,” set in early 18th-century Beijing, is Elsa Hart’s third novel. She’s currently at work on her fourth. Hart talks with host Don Marsh about her characters and settings, some of her influences and favorite authors, and how she goes about bringing a centuries-old world to life for her readers.</p>

<p>Later this month, baseball fans and writers will react to who is inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. How is those players chosen? St. Louis Post-Dispatch sportswriter Derrick Goold details that process in conversation with host Don Marsh.</p>

<p>Host Don Marsh talks with St. Louis Public Radio's Shahla Farzan and Kae Petrin about their recent reporting on the number of scooter-related injuries that area emergency rooms are seeing.</p>

<p>Longtime St. Louis journalist Linda Lockhart retires this month after a media career spanning more than four decades. She talks with host Don Marsh about the changes she's seen in the industry over the years and highlights her favorite moments. </p>

<p>Terry Jones, who is a professor emeritus of political science at UMSL and the author of “Fragmented by Design: Why St. Louis Has So Many Governments," offers his take on the latest talk of a city-county merger.</p>

<p>STLPR political reporter Jo Mannies reflects on her career as a journalist and talks about the big and memorable stories she covered. Mannies is retiring but will work part time beginning in March.</p>

<p>Moonlighting, freelancing, working a second job, picking up a side hustle – all of these terms and cobbled-together career strategies have become common themes in an ever-changing 21st-century economy. And many people in the St. Louis region are among those who have adopted such an approach to making a living. Host Don Marsh leads a discussion about such labor trends, digging into the reasons behind them.</p>

<p>Host Don Marsh talks up some of the latest additions to the St. Louis region’s food-and-beverage community with Sauce Magazine’s managing editor Heather Hughes and art director Meera Nagarajan.</p>

<p>Host Don Marsh talks to St. Louis Public Radio political reporter Jason Rosenbaum as the Missouri General Assembly begins its 2019 session in Jefferson City.</p>

<p>In 2014, writers Michael Walker and Kristen Adele Calhoun met for the first time as grad students in New York City through a play-reading group. On that same day, a young man named Michael Brown was shot nearly 1,000 miles away in Ferguson, Missouri.</p> <p> </p> <p>Years later, they join host Don Marsh along with The Black Rep's producing director Ron Himes to discuss their "Canfield Drive" production. </p>

<p>For more than 20 years, the City Museum in downtown St. Louis has provided a unique getaway. The museum is partly a playground, but it also contains numerous architectural marvels, many of which are the creation of Bob Cassilly, the founder of City Museum who died in 2011.</p> <p>Host Don Marsh talks with Rick Erwin, director of the City Museum, about the history of the institution and about its recent sale to Premier Parks, an Oklahoma-based theme-park company.</p>

<p>Ahead of his Jan. 22 appearance in St. Louis, Republican politician and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush discusses everything from the passing of both of his parents in 2018, to the uncertainty and future of the United States, to the current situation in Washington.</p>

<p>Host Don Marsh leads a discussion about observing and appreciating urban wildlife in the bi-state area. Joining the conversation are Danny Brown, a lifelong Missourian, retired biologist and avid wildlife photographer; and Mark Glenshaw, a local naturalist whose focus is the owls who reside in Forest Park.</p>

<p>Jeff Tweedy discusses his memoir, childhood, musical influences and founding Uncle Tupelo and Wilco. We also sample and analyze some songs from Tweedy's career.</p>

<p>Fourteen-year-old St. Louisan Kennedy Holmes made her hometown proud this past fall as she competed on NBC's "The Voice." She made it to the final episode of the season, ultimately snagging fourth place on the wildly popular show. St. Louis Public Radio newscaster Marissanne Lewis-Thompson talks with the young star shortly after the competition's conclusion.</p>

<p>Rossino’s and Café Balaban are two restaurants many St. Louisans remember fondly. They're among the more than 40 restaurants highlighted in Ann Lemons Pollack's new book "Lost Restaurants of St. Louis." Pollack recalls bygone eateries that loom large in memories. She also profiles three iconic restaurants that still exist and even traces the food history of the 1904 World’s Fair.</p>

<p>St. Louis Public Radio political reporters Jo Mannies and Jason Rosenbaum join "St. Louis on the Air" host Don Marsh for analysis of everything from recent changes to the St. Louis County Council to new ideas about potentially merging the county and St. Louis City.</p>

<p>St. Louis Public Radio politics editor Fred Ehrlich and political reporters Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies joined host Don Marsh during Thursday’s talk show to look back at the past year in local and regional politics. They also touched on what's in store in 2019.</p>

<p>The year 2018 didn’t go down quite like Jossalyn Larson or her family expected. After being diagnosed with breast cancer in May, Larson underwent several months of chemotherapy. And yet through all the change, some things have stayed the same – and she’s found the various aspects of everyday life helpful as she travels a difficult path.</p>