St. Louis on the Air

This year’s fall foliage looks a bit different than past years. Among the golden, warm-toned hues sprucing up the St. Louis region for autumn is still a noticeable amount of green leaves. Daria McKelvey of the Missouri Botanical Garden explains why.

On November 2, 1920, William E. Woods made St. Louis’ first radio broadcast, announcing election results from his home on De Tonty Street out to the airwaves. Frank Absher of the St. Louis Media History Foundation gives us the details.

Dr. Ravi Johar, chief medical officer of UnitedHealthcare of Missouri, explains how health officials are getting a handle on what to expect where this flu season — and how that data is driving their decisions.

How did Missouri celebrate Halloween during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic? A professor shares what she's found in her research — and describes how Halloween has changed in the last century even beyond the need to contain germs.

A new self-guided tour promoted by the visitor's bureau in Quincy highlights 30 of the city’s trove of mid-century modern designs.

A growing body of evidence suggests that our twice-yearly tradition of changing our clocks isn’t just irritating. It’s actually dangerous. Washington University Biology Professor Erik Herzog makes the case for why we'd be better off eliminating Daylight Saving Time.

A panel of experts discusses lawsuits and criminal cases in the news this past month, including a St. Louis restaurant's lawsuit again DoorDash, a former St. Louis County employee's whistleblower claim and a possible copyright claim against a pair of St. Louis lawyers.

Administrators from both public and private schools in St. Louis County explain how they are making in-person learning work amid difficult circumstances.

Journalist Connor Towne O'Neill discusses his new book, “Down Along With That Devil’s Bones," which explores monuments to Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest in four Southern cities -- and the people seeking to take them down.

Some Saint Louis University alumni are asking SLU President Fred Pestello to “open a process to rename the Pius XII Memorial Library.” It currently honors a former pope who stands accused of enabling the Nazis.

Bon Appetit Test Kitchen breakout star Claire Saffitz discusses her new book, “Dessert Person: Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence,” how St. Louis played a role in her online stardom and why she left the Test Kitchen.

Ken Kwapis' new book, “But What I Really Want to Do Is Direct: Lessons From a Life Behind the Camera,” provides plenty of useful advice to would-be directors and also details the lessons he learned as a movie lover growing up in suburban St. Louis.

St. Louis native Mike Leahy is the portrayer of Clownvis Presley — a character who combines musical parody and comedy. His live cast "Clownvis To The Rescue" show started after his gigs were cancelled due to the pandemic. It now draws a dedicated crowd every Friday and Saturday night at Yaquis on Cherokee Street.

With more people working from home, dogs and cats suddenly find their owners home most of the time. Veterinary behaviorist Dr. Debra Horwitz says it's normal for pets to develop new habits from the change in routine.

This week, the Missouri Independent launched with big plans for covering Missouri state government. The nonprofit news site promises to provide “relentless investigative journalism that sheds light on how decisions in Jefferson City are made and how those decisions affect Missourians.”

The Cherokee Virtual Silent Auctions Facebook page is a dedicated place where locals can donate items to raise money for the city's artists, bar and industry workers affected by the pandemic. So far, more than $44,000 has been raised.

St. Louis Public Radio education reporter Ryan Delaney is in Germany for one month thanks to the Education Writers Association and the Pulitzer Center. He joins St. Louis the program from Berlin to discuss what he’s learned about the German way of handling education in the pandemic.

Prop R asks city voters to increase property taxes, but some critics worry because the money it raises would go to nonprofits outside the public school system. A Yes on Prop R backer addresses those concerns.

Missouri state Sen. Bob Onder (R-St. Charles County), a lawmaker in favor of Amendment 3, and Sean Soendker Nicholson, campaign director for Clean Missouri, which is urging a "no" vote on the ballot issue, join St. Louis on the Air to debate the pros and cons.

Missouri State Auditor Galloway joined St. Louis on the Air two weeks before Election Day to make her final case against incumbent Governor Mike Parson — and answer to GOP attacks that accuse her of being pals with an anti-Trump celebrity.

A study by St. Louis University researchers last year found that incidence of head and neck melanoma among younger people rose significantly in recent decades — by 51% in fact. The researchers also found that incidence was higher among males than females, and pointed to that discovery as one to take into consideration when it comes to prevention campaigns. Central West End resident Elianna Goldste...

Proponents of a ballot initiative St. Louis voters are weighing this fall argue Proposition D would change municipal races for the better. They envision a nonpartisan system that puts the focus on local issues that matter most, fosters a more responsive government and addresses the vote-splitting associated with the heavily Democratic city’s current primary setup. But not everyone is on board.

“When I get in front of my audience,” Kim Massie once told St. Louis Public Radio’s Nick Garcia, “I don't care if I’m playing for free or if I’m playing for a million bucks. I’m going to give you the same show, because that could very well be my last show, and you’re only as good as your last performance. … So I give it my all, every time I sing.”

In the wake of stubbornly inaccurate mainstream coverage of protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Charles Klotzer launched what is now known as the Gateway Journalism Review. The first issue appeared in September 1970, and the now-quarterly publication is still going strong — even as its contemporaries have long since ceased operations.

This week, a pair of women from the Mehlville area of south St. Louis County got married just outside St. Louis City Hall. They were part of a much larger movement of pop-up weddings there within the past week — all designed to highlight concerns within the LGBTQ community related to the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett.