St. Louis on the Air

It got moody and introspective in month’s new music round up. Ryan Brown, also known as Big Esco, joined producer Miya Norfleet and host Elaine Cha to talk about their local favorites for the month including the funky sounds of singer/songwriter Frankie DoWop, post-grunge stylings of Yuppy and more. Check out our new music roundup playlist .

The emotional weight of loss and isolation and resilience are the hallmark of singer-songwriter Lizzie Weber’s new album “Wraiths in the Wake.” The darker tones, haunting vocals, and expressive lyrics tell the tale of Weber’s life experiences during the pandemic and suffering a miscarriage. She joins the show to talk about the origin of “Wraiths in the Wake,” “how she uses her music to express her...

Ten years ago, sisters Susan Logsdon and Amanda Helman founded Golden Gems. What started as a “side hustle” family business venture turned into a successful brand that celebrates being authentic and unapologetic. Logsdon and Helman share how family lore and their Florida upbringing show up in their work — and what they’ve learned in the decade since going all in on their own business.

Bryant Simon’s new book "For Customers Only" explores the history of public bathrooms in the U.S. It’s a story marked by inequality — with several St. Louis ties throughout the centuries. Simon talks about past and present bathroom discrimination, the golden age of public restrooms in the late 1800s, and how those facilities declined in quality, or outright disappeared, during a wave of disinvestm...

A Washington University student has opened TheHairVault, a vending machine selling textured hair products, with the help of a beauty shop owner. TheHairVault fills a gap on campus, where students have limited access to products for textured hair. Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts fashion design senior Zaria Taylor and Lake St. Louis Beauty Supply owner Tam King-Krolik discuss how the business...

Young St. Louis performers are getting a firsthand look at professional opera through a new production of “Joshua’s Boots,” a story about a Black teenager who leaves the South after the Civil War to build a new life in the West. The cast, ages 14 to 22, includes students from throughout the region, many of whom are performing in an opera for the first time. In this episode, we hear from director A...

A father and son's experiments involving a hot dog and a 12,000-kilowatt AM radio tower in St. Charles have captivated the internet. Radio engineer Joe Geerling and his son, Jeff Geerling, who has more than a million followers on his tech-focused YouTube channel, discuss their fascination with AM radio towers and the arcs of plasma produced by objects that get too close to RF energy. They also tal...

From St. Louis’ first known baseball game in 1860 to the Cardinals’ legendary 2011 World Series victory, the new Missouri History Museum exhibit “St. Louis at Bat: 100 Moments in Baseball History” explores the ways America’s pastime has shaped St. Louis culture — and how the region’s teams, players, and fans have impacted the sport. Exhibit curator and public historian Adam Kloppe and Terry Lemons...

Metro East native Col. Juan Cox started his career with the St. Louis County Police Department 30 years ago. He’s now a few months into his tenure as the department’s chief. Cox recently sat down with STLPR justice reporter Rachel Lippman to talk about why he decided to apply for the position instead of retiring, what it’s been like so far to lead the department, and how he hopes to make the depar...

Students and alumni of Lincoln University are suing Missouri, alleging the state has illegally underfunded the historically Black university for years. The lawsuit argues Missouri failed to provide Lincoln with funding required under the federal Morrill Act. STLPR politics correspondent Jason Rosenbaum spoke with former state Rep. Don Calloway, one of the attorneys behind the suit, about why he go...

Across the St. Louis region, restaurants are popping up, holding grand openings, and, in some cases, making drastic changes to their locations and even menus. It's a sign of a food scene where things are always changing, from downtown St. Louis, to O'Fallon Illinois. On this episode, STLPR digital editor Jessica Rogen and morning news anchor Abby Llorico talk about the latest restaurant openings a...

Almost 30 years ago, Chris Kilbride started his career as a teacher at the Ritenour School District. He's spent the last 15 years as the district's superintendent. Next year, his retirement will mark the end of one of the longest serving superintendents in the St. Louis region. In this episode, Kilbride sits down with STLPR education reporter Hiba Ahmad to reflect on his nearly three-decade career...

Prediction markets have become prominent in the last couple years, especially as they enlist sports stars to advertise their products. But greater scrutiny is also coming with the increased notoriety. Many states, including Illinois and Missouri, contend companies like Kalshi are effectively gambling platforms that should be regulated similarly to sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel. Kalshi’s...

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered an unambiguous ruling last week: Missouri has to use a congressional map passed in 2022. That decision was a stunning blow to a Donald Trump-backed effort to draw Congressman Emanuel Cleaver out of office before the 2026 midterm elections. STLPR’s Jason Rosenbaum and Sarah Kellogg analyze the big takeaways over Missouri’s messy redistricting effort on “The Politica...

The St. Louis Chamber Chorus opens its 71st season Sunday, Oct. 4, with the world premiere of a work by renowned Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds at the 2nd Baptist Church in Richmond Heights. Ešenvalds has written for the chorus three times, but this is his first visit to St. Louis for a premiere. While he’s in St. Louis, Ešenvalds is also visiting the grave of St. Louis native and Pulitzer Prize...

Last year’s May tornado displaced hundreds of people and destroyed thousands of trees in St. Louis’ north side — an area with predominately Black neighborhoods where the tree canopy is historically thin. The devastation highlighted a disconnect between the Black St. Louisans and trees due to tree-related violence like lynchings, and disinvestment in north St. Louis. Black Healers Collective founde...

A three-time losing streak at the U.S. Supreme Court has turned Missouri’s upcoming election into national news — and a disappointment to President Trump. On this Legal Roundtable edition of the show, a panel of expert attorneys discuss the rulings, counter-rulings and controversies — including why so many people are now suing Missouri’s secretary of state.

About half of the school-aged kids in St. Louis don’t attend the city’s public school district. St. Louis parents face an overwhelming number of school options: magnet, neighborhood, gifted, charter, parochial, private or homeschool. In the latest episode of our “Meet Me” podcast, host Luis Antonio Perez walks to school with a family in Ellisville, then sits down with three parents. Each chose dif...

Last week, we talked with Amanda Doyle and Cameron Collins, co-authors of the new coffee-table book, “Forest Park: St. Louis’s Gathering Place Since 1876.” Our phone lines were full, so after the show, we kept the conversation going. Hear listeners share their favorite memories of spending time in Forest Park.

You don’t have to go far to experience awe for the beauty and power of nature. That’s what wildlife photographer Noppadol Paothong takes away from his more than 25 years spent in the field. Ahead of his Oct. 9 talk in St. Louis, “Conservation in Focus: Lessons from a Life in Photography,” the Missouri photographer recalls his encounters with prairie chickens, raptors, eastern hellbenders, and the...

St. Louis native and Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer reflects on the people and experiences that have shaped his career in restaurants, from growing up in the St. Louis area to a conversation with his uncle that changed the course of his life. Ahead of his book launch event at St. Louis County Library for “What Could Possibly Go Right?,” Meyer discussed his approach to hospitality, why he believes...

For 150 years, Forest Park has been many things to many St. Louisans: a place to walk, play, gather, escape the heat, visit a museum, see an animal at the zoo or simply find a quiet place to read. But the history of the park also tells a larger story about the city itself. Amanda Doyle and Cameron Collins talk about their new coffee table book, “Forest Park: St. Louis’s Gathering Place Since 1876,...

The St. Louis-based nonprofit MidAmerica Clean Future Alliance aims to reduce plastic pollution — from food and beverage containers to tires — along the Mississippi River. Executive director Jennifer Wendt and community engagement specialist Caran Hanks talk about their community-driven approach to reduce plastic waste in local neighborhoods and waterways from St. Paul, Minnesota down to the Missi...

A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that Missouri must use a congressional map passed last year for this November’s election. That order goes against what the Missouri and U.S. Supreme Courts ordered earlier this month. STLPR politics correspondent Jason Rosenbaum shares the various legal issues at play and what may happen next.

A now-retracted letter asking some St. Louis businesses to stop giving water to homeless people elicited significant backlash last week. The letter highlighted ongoing gaps in the region’s shelter and social safety support system. To explore what happened on South Grand, why the letter drew outrage, and how city officials and advocates are responding, we talk with the director of the continuum of...