St. Louis on the Air
News & Politics Podcasts
St. Louis on the Air creates a unique space where guests and listeners can share ideas and opinions with respect and honesty. Whether exploring issues and challenges confronting our region, discussing the latest innovations in science and technology, taking a closer look at our history or talking with authors, artists and musicians, St. Louis on the Air brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region.
Location:
St. Louis, MO
Genres:
News & Politics Podcasts
Description:
St. Louis on the Air creates a unique space where guests and listeners can share ideas and opinions with respect and honesty. Whether exploring issues and challenges confronting our region, discussing the latest innovations in science and technology, taking a closer look at our history or talking with authors, artists and musicians, St. Louis on the Air brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region.
Twitter:
@STLonAir
Language:
English
Contact:
3651 Olive St. St. Louis, MO 63108 (314) 382-8255
Email:
talk@stlpublicradio.org
Episodes
Hearing to vacate Chris Dunn’s 1991 murder conviction to begin Tuesday
5/16/2024
A St. Louis judge on Tuesday will hear arguments as to why the 1991 murder conviction of Chris Dunn should be vacated. Dunn has spent more than 30 years in prison. Two witnesses who identified him as the killer have recanted and two St. Louis prosecutors, Kim Gardner and Gabe Gore, believe that he is innocent. After Gore announced earlier this spring he would file a motion to vacate Dunn’s conviction, producer Danny Wicentowski spoke with Dunn from the South Central Correctional Center in Licking, Missouri, about his reaction.
Duration:00:10:39
A local farmer wants more north St. Louis residents to grow their own food
5/16/2024
Gardening season is well underway, but it’s not too late to start planting. Local farmer Tosha Phonix is encouraging fellow north St. Louis residents to grow their own food through a new, free zine, “A Guide to Black Farming in North St. Louis.”
Duration:00:14:32
How Asian St. Louisans are sharing their culture and experiences in a new art showcase
5/15/2024
Most conversations about race and identity in the St. Louis region focus on Black and white residents, a binary that excludes one of the fastest growing populations in the area: the Asian and Asian American community. The Japanese American Citizens League - St. Louis and the St. Louis Pan Asian Collective have curated, “InVISIBLE: A Reclamation of the Asian Gaze,” a visual and literary arts exhibition that’s focused on sharing the diverse stories and experiences of those community members.
Duration:00:23:17
Young University City entrepreneurs bake cookies for college and breast cancer awareness
5/15/2024
Nadia and Maya Turner grew up eating batches of their mom’s chocolate chip cookies and watching “Shark Tank.” The University City sisters founded Chocolate Girls’ Cookies in 2019, after perfecting the family’s cookie recipe. They share what makes a good chocolate chip cookie, their aspirations for their business, and how they feel about sour cream as a cookie dough ingredient.
Duration:00:20:35
Why St. Louis’ population is shrinking and how to fix it
5/14/2024
The St. Louis metropolitan area is showing troubling signs when it comes to population trends. There are fewer residents than in years past in St. Louis and St. Louis County, and the region isn’t keeping pace with other areas of the country where the population is growing. St. Louis University Professor Ness Sandoval and International Institute of St. Louis CEO and President Arrey Obenson discuss why this is happening and what needs to be done to turn the tide.
Duration:00:49:31
The parallels between student-led protests of the past and present in St. Louis
5/13/2024
As students across many college campuses express solidarity with Palestinians during the latest war in Gaza, the parallels to other student and youth-led protests are apparent — including in St. Louis. St. Louis University history professor and chair of African American Studies Chris Tinson discusses those parallels and how it’s natural students are attuned to social and global issues — and that they congregate and participate in civil-disobedience.
Duration:00:28:36
Why community health is an increasing priority for St. Louis hospitals
5/13/2024
Despite the exorbitant amount of money spent on health care in the U.S., its population is relatively unhealthy. Dr. Alexander Garza, the Chief Community Health Officer at SSM Health, believes that improving health outcomes in the St. Louis community starts well before patients walk through clinic or hospital doors. Alongside his colleague Karen Bradshaw, Garza discusses how SSM Health is partnering with other area hospital systems to complete a federally mandated assessment that identifies community health needs.
Duration:00:26:31
CAM ‘Breathers’ exhibit showcases kinetic art that centers the necessity of air
5/10/2024
Visitors to the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis can experience New York artist Paul Chan’s exhibition “Breathers,” which relies upon air and wind to create kinetic movement and evoke an emotional response that reminds us to inhale and exhale with greater intention. Associate curator Misa Jeffereis and artist Simiya Sudduth reflect on what air and breath look like both in art and in healing —- and why taking a ‘breather’ is necessary.
Duration:00:23:08
Students and faculty arrested at Gaza protest say Wash U is still missing the point
5/10/2024
Last month at Washington University, police arrested over 100 people who attempted to set up a Gaza solidarity encampment on campus grounds. WashU junior Andrew de las Alas and senior lecturer Michael Allen were arrested and temporarily suspended for their involvement with the April 27 campus protest. They talk about the protest on Wash U’s campus and dealing with its aftermath. Shanti Parikh, Chair of the African and African American Studies department and professor of anthropology at WashU, discusses how faculty are trying to support those who were arrested.
Duration:00:32:27
Many young adults face economic insecurity and depression, finds new St. Louis Fed report
5/9/2024
More than one in three young adults, ages 18-24, report zero income. Depression rates in that age group are also comparatively high. And feelings about financial stability vary notably by race. Senior St. Louis Fed researcher Ana Hernandez Kent talks through those and other findings from the 2024 State of Economic Equity report, with notes about how research can inform better support for economically disconnected youth.
Duration:00:19:22
Immigrant Song concert series strikes a chord against hate
5/9/2024
Katie McGrath founded Immigrant Song as a response to the increase in race, culture and religion-based domestic hate crimes in the U.S. since 2016. Alongside the concert series’ music director Larry Pry, and performers Chuck Flowers and Anu French, she reflects on the power of music and storytelling as a way to combat hate and divisiveness. The nonprofit organization’s next concert is this Sunday, May 12.
Duration:00:30:49
A developer abandoned a U City neighborhood. Its homes are now a police training ground
5/8/2024
University City resident Nichole Angieri recently discovered that her neighborhood is being used as a police training ground. It's the latest update in the aftermath of a $190 million Costco development in University City that's left residents feeling unheard, stranded in their homes, and left to fend for themselves. In this episode, we hear from Angieri and from producer Danny Wicentowski.
Duration:00:17:56
Metro Transit weighs policy change that disabled riders say would make services worse
5/8/2024
Metro Transit, a service of Bi-State Development, may tighten its Call-A-Ride reservations window. Disability rights advocates say that would make existing service gaps even worse. Taulby Roach, President and CEO of Bi-State Development talks about the proposed policy change. Jeanette Mott Oxford, Paraquad Public Policy & Advocacy Manager, and Seyoon Choi, former Parquad Public Policy Intern, also join the conversation to discuss what a local advocacy group has recommended instead.
Duration:00:32:28
Walt Disney dreamed of a St. Louis park. Then the deal went bust
5/7/2024
In the 1960s, St. Louis nearly became one of the most magical places on earth. A planned Disneyland, called the Riverfront Square, captured imaginations as local leaders sought to strike a deal with Walt Disney himself — until that deal went bibbidi, bobbidi, bust. Writer Devin Thomas O'Shea reminds us of what the canceled Disney attraction might have been, the disputed reasons why the plan fell apart (no, it wasn't just over beer), and the problematic characters and mythologized storytelling that the park would have been designed around.
Duration:00:24:01
Love, loss and a 30-year family secret bring a St. Louis mom and daughter closer together
5/7/2024
When Juliet Simone turned 30 years old she decided to try for a baby and sought a sperm donor to start her family. She had no idea just how much the birth of her first child would open up her family’s world. Once she gave birth to her first son, doctors told her the baby tested positive for a genetic disorder and recommended family genetic screening. This led to the revelation that her mother, Rebecca Massie, also sought sperm donors to birth Simone and Simone’s brother Alex. Simone and Massie share their story of a family secret that grew their families beyond all expectation.
Duration:00:26:52
Cardinals great Adam Wainwright soars into a new career: playing country music
5/6/2024
Adam Wainwright enjoyed an 18-year big-league career with the St. Louis Cardinals that included closing out the World Series as a rookie and, in his final season last year, securing 200 career wins. The former pitcher has now embarked on a career as a baseball analyst for network television and musician. STLPR’s Jeremy D. Goodwin spoke with Wainwright about his songwriting and recently released country music album “Hey Y’all.” Wainwright’s musical adventures have also included a debut at the Grand Ole Opry and an opening slot for Zac Brown Band at Chaifetz Arena.
Duration:00:23:34
How St. Louis is represented throughout Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s rap beef
5/6/2024
St. Louis-born music producer Metro Boomin is one of the most prolific beat makers of today. His productions top Billboard charts, win Grammys, and make stars out of his collaborators. He also is interwoven in the biggest rap beef in the last decade between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Producer Miya Norfleet, arts and culture reporter Chad Davis, and political correspondent Jason Rosembaum share their thoughts on the week-long back and forth between the hip-hop giants and how St. Louis’ significance in hip-hop is undeniable.
Duration:00:27:04
Missourians could vote to boost state’s minimum wage and establish paid sick leave
5/3/2024
In Missouri, much of the attention as to what issues will be on the ballot in November has been about efforts to legalize abortion and sports betting. Another initiative that could boost the minimum wage and establish paid sick leave also seems primed for a vote. Missourians for Healthy Families and Fair Wages turned in roughly 210,000 signatures to Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office. The measure would raise the state’s minimum wage to $13.75 an hour next year – and eventually move it up to $15 an hour by 2026. Campaign manager Richard von Glahn talks about the effort.
Duration:00:09:06
Kids died after Missouri child abuse investigators missed signs of fentanyl abuse
5/3/2024
Missouri child abuse investigators missed warning signs of fentanyl use among parents before their young children died of accidental overdoses from the drug, according to a new state report. It found that Children's Division investigators, who are tasked with following up on claims of abuse and neglect, “lacked essential procedures, missed warning signs and left vulnerable children at risk.” Jessica Seitz, executive director of the Missouri Network Against Child Abuse, joins the show. She also helped put the report together.
Duration:00:22:59
Missouri Congressman Mark Alford says the U.S. must continue to support Taiwan
5/3/2024
It’s been over a week since Congress put the finishing touches on a foreign aid package to help Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. And while much of the attention and focus is around opposition to providing military assistance to Ukraine and Israel, there’s been less debate about helping Taiwan blunt any potential invasion from China. U.S. Rep. Mark Alford, R-Cass County, recently traveled to Taiwan as part of a bipartisan delegation and discusses why he voted for Taiwan aid in order to stem China’s growing influence.
Duration:00:19:17