Speak Up St. Louis

James Forbes is a social entrepreneur and Founder of Good Life Growing (an urban farm and agricultural training center in The Ville Neighborhood) and Old North Provisions (a healthy grocery store in Old North St. Louis). This episode was recorded onsite at Old North Provisions, and we speak to James about his journey as a social entrepreneur, experience working with the community in North St. Loui...

Peat Wollaeger is a legendary St. Louis Street Artist. Most known for the "St. Louis Eye", you can see Peat's beautiful murals on buildings all over St. Louis (and the world). In this episode Peat discusses his journey as an artist, the origins of Street Art, it's culture in St. Louis, and the deeper meaning behind his Eyez. We also discuss prospects for Cement Land. Eye'm...

Erica Williams is an activist in North St. Louis County, and Executive Director of  A Red Circle, a nonprofit dedicated to bettering community and reversing racism through employment, education, holistic living, policy, and the arts. On this episode of Speak Up St. Louis, Erica shares her journey towards getting involved in the community, and what inspired her to start A Red Circle. We discuss the...

Tim Tucker is an Urban Pioneer. He co-founded The City Museum with Bob Cassilly in the 90s, and previously participated in the revitalization of the Loft District, Lafayette Square, and Benton Park.  Tim joins the podcast to discuss St. Louis's decline in the 1970s, and his lived experience of Urban Renewal ever since, including the founding of the City Museum. We touch on history, community...

Molly Rockamann is the Founder of EarthDance, an organic farm school in Ferguson. EarthDance sits on the old Mueller Farm site, the oldest organic farm west of the Mississippi River. Since its founding in 2009, EarthDance has empowered hundreds of St. Louisans to grow their own food organically. Molly joins us to tell her story of founding EarthDance, and what she has learned on her journey about...

Dan Guenther is the Progressive Alderman of the 9th Ward of the City of St. Louis, encompassing the Benton Park neighborhood and Cherokee Street.  Dan joins us this week to share his philosophy of authentic neighborhood development, what it take to become an Alderman, the state of affairs in the City of St. Louis, and what the election of Tishaura Jones means for this community. We thank Dan for s...

Jenny Price is a public writer and artist, and a Research Fellow at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University-St. Louis. She is the Author of a new book Stop Saving the Planet!: An Environmentalist Manifesto . On this episode of the Podcast, Jenny discusses her new book , the state of the Environmental movement, and why environmentalists need to "Stop Savings the...

Bob Lachky is a St. Louis Marketing Legend. He was the Chief Creative Officer at Anheuser Busch and oversaw beloved advertising campaigns such as Wazzup, the Frogs, Real Men of Genius, and the 9/11 Clydesdale commercial. Bob joins us to reflect on his career in Marketing, tell the creation story of famous ads, reflect on AB's significance within St. Louis culture, and analyze the current stat...

Noah Offenkrantz is the Founder and CEO of Find Your Farmer, a St. Louis startup that delivers fresh produce from local farms directly to people's homes. Noah joins the podcast to talk about St. Louis's local food system, the struggle and joy of founding a startup, his perspective on STL as a WashU student, and his overall philosophy and ethos towards food. Noah is well spoken, super sma...

Jim Holloran is the founder and owner of McGurk's Irish Pub, and a St. Louis legend. He grew up in Tower Grove Park in the 1940s and 50s, and began purchasing real estate in Soulard in the late 1970s. In this episode, Jim shares his perspective on the redevelopment of Soulard, and how these lessons can be applied to other city neighborhoods today. We also track the history of McGurk's, t...

Brian Temple is a fervent St. Louisan who is a mover and shaker within the community. Growing up in North St. Louis he always had a passion for design, construction, infrastructure and simply put, new things. He is an Architect with HOK, and author of the book "Product of STL". Brian joins the podcast to talk about growing up on the Northside, 314 Day, his book "Product of STL"...

Mayor Reggie Jones is BACK to discuss the outcome of the St. Louis City Mayoral primary, as Cara Spencer and Tishaura Jones advance to the next round. We also talk about the new approval voting system, CoVid, as well as politics at the state, and federal level. If you love local politics, you will not want to miss this! Reggie Jones is the Mayor of the City of Dellwood in North St. Louis County, a...

Sheila Pride is a licensed clinical social worker and holistic therapist in the St. Louis area.   She holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work and integrates Eastern and Western practices into her private practice.  Sheila is also an owner of the Moksha Institute, which she runs with her husband Ryan Pride (past guest on the show!). On the podcast, Sheila shares her incredible journey as a social wo...

Nicole Jenkins is the Founder of Veterans Advantage Urgent Care, and is running against Sam Page as County Executive in 2024 as a member of the Republican party. Nicole joins the podcast to talk about growing up in North St. Louis, the key issues facing our region, her political perspective as an African American conservative, and her innovative approach to providing healthcare to veterans in our...

This week we are joined by TOWEL MAN of the St. Louis Blues!  Ron Baechle is the most legendary fan in Blues history. For over 30 years, he's used his towel to rally the crowd, and be the hype man for every goal scored on home ice.  You've seen him on the Jumbotron, you've seen him on TV...but now you will get to HEAR him Speak Up about his journey as Towel Man, the history of Blues...

Tishaura Jones is the Treasurer of the City of St. Louis, and is running for Mayor in 2021. In this episode, Tishaura tells us about her platform, WHY she is running, and WHAT she plans to do to create change in the City of St. Louis. This was a serious but fun conversation with a great civic leader about the important issues facing our region. Enjoy! Learn more about Tishaura, and how to support...

Matt Lebon is the founder of Custom Foodscaping, a St. Louis based edible landscaping company. Custom Foodscaping transforms ordinary green spaces into beautiful food producing gardens. Matt is a thought leader in the space of Permaculture and Ecological Design in our community, and has an absolutely fascinating approach towards urban landscapes. In this episode, we discuss Matt's work at Cus...

Cynthia Chapple is a scientist and founder of Black Girls Do STEM, a local organization focused on the empowerment of black girls in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Cynthia joins the podcast to discuss her background in science, how her programming is impacting girls in the community, and how we can overcome the barriers faced by women of color in the STEM fields....

Our guest this week is Neil Salsich, the guitarist and lead singer of The Mighty Pines, one of St. Louis’s finest local bands. Neil joins the Podcast to discuss the art of songwriting, the origin of his love for music, the Mighty Pines, St. Louis’s music heritage, and challenges of the industry during the CoVid era. Thanks to Neil for joining us! 

Chris Geden is a “boots on the ground” community leader in the City of St. Louis. He’s best known for his career working with Youth in the City, and for helping start the Tower Grove Farmers Market.  Chris joins the podcast to “Speak Up” about better serving our region’s Youth, and explain how the Tower Grove Farmers Market got started. As always, Chris keeps this conversation fun yet 100% real as...

Cara Spencer is the Alderwoman of the 20th Ward, and a candidate for Mayor in the City of St. Louis. Cara joins the podcast to discuss her campaign's platform, innovative solutions to the City's biggest problems, and the strategies she would use to make St. Louis "the next fastest growing city in the nation." https://caraspencer4mayor.com/

This week producer LRKR  and Co-hosts Lucas and Quinton are taking time to reflect on the last ten episodes of the podcast. In this episode, we discussed the moments that have impacted us during the podcast, connecting underlying themes and thoughts that speak to the relationship that we have with St. Louis and individuals that live here. A “Crew Review” will drop after every 10th episode, as a wa...

Our guest this week is Dr. Ryan Pride. Ryan is a certified Leadership Coach, Industrial/Organizational Psychologist, Yoga Instructor, keynote speaker, and author.  He combines experience working in Fortune 500 companies with knowledge from Psychology and Eastern philosophy to help transform leaders/individuals. Ryan is the founder of the Moksha Institute.  His vision is to revolutionize the manage...

Mac McKenzie is the Founder and Owner of Mac's Local Buys and Mac's Local Eats. In this episode of Speak Up St. Louis, we discuss his intro to the world of food, his focus on responsibly-sourcing proteins and fresh ingredients, and his love of smash burgers.  Mac is a man of many talents, a consumer advocate, and an all-around cool dude. Tune in to this week's episode and if you lik...

Segun Babalola is the President of the St. Louis African Chamber of Commerce. As the son of a diplomat, Segun has lived all over the world. Born in Nigeria, he lived in the Ivory Coast, Tunisia, and Paris, before making his way to Missouri for college. His focus on local politics and economic development led him to found a local African Chamber of Commerce to strengthen our immigrant community, an...