We Live Here

The COVID-19 pandemic flipped the education system on its head. Teachers had to find new ways to engage with students virtually. Students had to learn how to navigate chrome books, laptops, and other devices in order to complete their studies. Everything changed and a lot was uncovered such as the lack of resources in minority school districts. In this episode we hear from a young school board mem...

This time around we’re going to do things a little differently. We partnered with Dr. Kira Banks and the Raising Equity podcast on this episode to discuss movement and mental health. Dr. Banks and I wanted to understand more deeply how people are coping with the feeling of loss, the loss of normalcy, loved ones, jobs, and more. In this episode we hear from a yoga instructor and math teacher about...

I wanted to hear from Black women in our region about what the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) act means to them and discuss their own personal journey with hair. In this episode we visit Frizz Fest 2021, hear from a beauty salon owner about the importance of individuality, and an African American history professor breaks down the history of Black hair.

This is the second of a two-part tribute to the late Dr. Jonathan Cedric Smith, whose commitment to cultural memory we shared in our most recent episode. In this episode, we’re handing over the mic to family, friends, and community members who were impacted by Jonathan’s passion for social justice and will be carrying forth the legacy of love that he left them.

This episode is the first of a two-part tribute to a man whose passion for social justice and cultural memory impacted hundreds of people in the St. Louis region: Dr. Jonathan Cedric Smith, who died this year on Juneteenth. Among many community roles, he served on the board of St. Louis Public Radio. Last year, Lauren and Jia Lian had the opportunity to interview Dr. Smith about his perspective as...

Jia and Lauren sit down in the studio for the first time since March 2020 to discuss reporting during the pandemic and how life has been for the past year. As they discuss personal trials and tribulations the We Live Here team is also excited about the new listener survey. Whether you are a long time listener, contributor, or community member we want your input. What do you enjoy, what can we do b...

Throughout this season, we’ve shared stories of those living in unhealthy environments, how those environments came to be, and what we can do to create a better environment for the future. But in order to complete this series on the environment, we had to discuss land, the people who originated from that land and the movements to restore and give back to Indigenous people. In this episode, we hear...

Throughout this season we have introduced you to small urban farmers, people working on the ground to change their environment, politicians working to pass environmental legislation, and more. But there are also many environmental scholars working to provide a space for Black environmentalists to thrive. That’s why we are introducing you to Dr. Dorceta Taylor, an author and professor at the Yale S...

We wanted to share a follow-up conversation with Myisha Johnson, one of the three working members of State Street Tenant Resistance and the founder of Community First Plus, a new housing and environmental justice organization. She’s been connecting the dots between health problems and pollution from facilities like Kinder Morgan for over a decade. In this episode, we hear how Myisha felt when resi...

The pandemic triggered a major housing crisis, resulting in millions of renters and unhoused people across the country becoming at risk for being evicted or displaced. Meanwhile, those living in apartments with mold or pests have been stuck with environmental conditions that exacerbate asthma and COVID-19. Locally, tenants and housing advocates are pushing back by advocating for eviction moratoriu...

Democratic Representative Cori Bush made history when she became the first Black Congresswoman for Missouri, unseating the Clay political dynasty. She brought her background as a nurse, activist, organizer, single mom and pastor to her new role and has jumped headfirst into advocating for issues ranging from reparations for Black Americans to taxing billionaires to Medicare for All. She teamed up...

We wanted to share the stories of the people who are at the heart of the environmental justice movement: urban farmers. In St. Louis, urban farmers have made great strides and continue to educate the next generation about the importance of growing their own food. In this bonus episode, we visit an urban farm, then hear from a food justice director advocating for a healthier environment and the fou...

The We Live Here team balances deep dives into systemic issues with inspiring stories about people working to make a difference in their own communities. So when a listener reached out and introduced us to the work of Jeffrey “JD” Dixon, an activist organizing cleanups and coalitions in East St. Louis, a predominantly Black city in Illinois, we knew that we’d have to drive across the river to shar...

We wanted to know how environmental issues affect babies and birthing people during childbirth, one of the most delicate life processes. In the U.S., Black babies are two times more likely to die before their first birthday than white babies, and Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications then white women. So in this episode, we hear from a documentary film...

St. Louis is consistently listed as one of the worst “Asthma Capitals” in the country by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. During the pandemic, environmental issues such as dust from demolitions and housing conditions make it even harder for people to breathe. In this episode, we hear from a chronic disease epidemiologist and health education coordinator about an initiative to create h...

In St. Louis, there are many stories about how environmental racism impacts everyday people and their health, housing, and daily lives. So in this season, we’ll use the Washington University Interdisciplinary Environmental Law Clinic’s 2019 report on Environmental Racism in St. Louis to guide us through conversations about the top environmental issues facing the most vulnerable communities in St....

In this episode, we introduce you to two Black artists who teamed up to heal and educate their community through an urban farm in predominantly Black North St. Louis City. They share their vision for building an education garden with accessible raised beds, and growing flowers and healing herbs alongside chickens and bees. Then we learn about how they encountered a major obstacle that put their dr...

In the last two seasons of the show, we have covered the COVID-19 pandemic and the current uprising for Black lives, both of which continue to shape society today. The pandemic and the uprising also raised two major questions, which we’ll be addressing in our new season on environmental racism: How do we achieve a healthy life? And what kind of world do we want to leave for the next generation? Th...

This year, we produced a season that put a racial equity lens on the COVID-19 pandemic and a season about the current uprising for Black lives. As a collective, we have faced this season's challenges head first and continue to press on by producing meaningful and impactful stories, which is why we wanted to know what other journalists in our region experienced during this time. In this episode, we...

Over the past months, we’ve seen civil unrest across the country in a renewed uprising for Black lives and the fight to hold police accountable. But we should not forget the painters, poets, musicians, and more who have decided that through their art they can motivate people to move into action. In this episode, we’ll hear from a young man who found beauty in destruction and created a group for lo...

The call to defund the police has gained steam as activists and advocates bring attention to police budgets that they believe could be better allocated to education, healthcare, and social services. At the heart of this call is the question of whether or not police increase public safety. Growing numbers of people are joining a movement to abolish the current system of policing and imagine new str...

Many schools have started hybrid in-person and online learning, even as coronavirus cases keep rising and students continue to experience disparities in accessing technology, meeting their daily needs, and learning at home. So in this episode, we’ll hear from a first generation college student who has been helping her community navigate the education system and an executive director of a local edu...

Back in early March, we were collecting stories from first generation college students about their experiences on campus. Since then, COVID-19 hit college campuses across the country and we’re seeing a rising number of cases since students have returned for in-person classes. So in this episode, we hear from a first generation college student about navigating post-grad life during a pandemic, a he...

Back in 2014, after the police killings of Michael Brown Jr. in North St. Louis County and VonDerrit Myers Jr. in South St. Louis City, the St. Louis University Clock Tower became a site for Occupy SLU: six days of teach-ins, community conversation, and an occupation by community activists and students, which resulted in the creation of 13 Clock Tower Accords to advance racial equity at the school...

The uprising for Black lives has amplified the names of Black people who have been killed by police and in racist attacks. But the names of people who are Black and trans are lesser known due to transphobia and a lack of understanding from media and society. In St. Louis, organizers have been uplifting the name of Kiwi Herring, a Black trans woman who was known by her loved ones as a playful nurtu...