St. Louis on the Air

St. Louis native and comedian Nikki Glaser explains how her living situation, which involved a move back home to stay with her parents, is actually fueling her creativity. Host Sarah Fenske talked with her in July.

In 1948, Harry S Truman looked like a sure loser. He’d inherited the presidency soon after becoming Roosevelt’s vice president, and the media quickly concluded he was in over his head. So how did this quote “little man from Missouri” pull off the political upset of the century? Author A.J. Baime talks about the election in his book, “Dewey Defeats Truman.”

Dajae Williams is a rocket scientist. The native St. Louisan is a quality engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Los Angeles, California. The 26-year-old turns turns daunting math and science theories and formulas into hip hop songs. Producer Lara Hamdan talked with Williams in May about how she’s educating kids by building a bridge between science, technology, engineering, math — and hip-hop.

Emily Paul encouraged her boyfriend to kill his son. She's serving four months in prison but could serve 10 years if she violates probation. Her case raises interesting legal questions. She was miles away when it happened. Is pressuring someone to do something in a text message enough to net a long prison sentence? Our Legal Roundtable panelists discussed that case and others.

How do diseases jump from animals to humans? And is there anything we can do to stop them? A Washington University professor explains the problem — and some possible solutions.

Sonny and Bridgett Lewis’ eatery in Ferguson was just hitting its stride when the pandemic hit. Enter Restaurant: Impossible — with a plan to save this family business during the biggest crisis local restaurants have seen in a century.

Erin Armknecht and Colleen Oakes are old friends with college who wrote a novel together. They discuss their unique collaboration and the joys of the young-adult genre.

Alex Garcia has spent the last 1,101 days living in a Maplewood church. In 2017, Immigration and Customs Enforcement denied Garcia’s request for a stay of removal from the United States, and the Honduran native still lacks a viable path to U.S. citizenship. Until he has one, he and his community of supporters have made clear, Christ Church is home.

Sgt. Heather Taylor shares her thoughts after 20 years in the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. As president of the Ethical Society of Police, Taylor was a thorn in the side of department brass.

The year 2020 has taken plenty of well-deserved criticism, but its pumpkin harvest is actually looking pretty good. That’s according to Chris Eckert, president of Eckert’s, which operates pick-your-own operations in Belleville, Grafton and Millstadt, Illinois. The company's pumpkin picking season got going last weekend, with apple picking also well underway. And if you ask Chris Eckert, there’s “n...

The City of St. Louis has restricted playground access for months, even while bars and restaurants have reopened. The city's Department of Health director, Dr. Fredrick Echols, joins us to discuss what has driven the city’s playground policy.

“Black in the Middle: An Anthology of the Black Midwest" explores the experience of Black people in the Midwest. Editor Terrion L. Williamson and contributor Lyndsey Ellis discuss the book.

Lynne Jackson sometimes struggles to find her great-great-grandfather’s grave. Located in north St. Louis’ sprawling and historic Calvary Cemetery, the headstone is just two and a half feet high. A cemetery map helps, and on it, his grave is indicated in the key, with the number 19 beside his name: Dred Scott. It’s a modest memorial, and it’s also “the most asked-for grave out there,” according to...

This month, the pop-up soup dinner that provides funding for good causes returns to St. Louis after a five-year hiatus. Anne McCullough explains what led her to bring back STL Sloup.

The new archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis shares his thoughts on racism, sexual abuse, and calls from activists to remove the statue of St. Louis the King atop of Art Hill.

We explore the latest Great Rivers Biennial exhibit at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis with Misa Jeffereis, the assistant curator at CAM who organized the show, and Rachel Youn, whose "Gather” gallery on display blends the lines between dance and worship.

Holden Thorp, who is now the editor-in-chief of Science, has found it necessary to speak out in recent months about what he terms “an extreme attack on science that’s acute and forceful and very much in the news.” He doesn't mince words in his latest editorial for the magazine.

Some companies are welcoming workers back to the office. That comes with risks because of the coronavirus pandemic but we talk with employers who are trying to do it the right way and making necessary accommodations. Architect Megan Ridgeway of Arcturis also explains how she's working with companies to accomplish these goals.

Benson Hill is considered a rising star in the ag-tech space. The company was established in 2012 and has garnered about $133 million in funding, including from the investor arm of Google, GV. Co-founder and CEO Matt Crisp joins the show to talk about creating better tasting and more sustainable food. He also explains why the company chose St. Louis to open a new $53 million headquarters.

Brock Seals talks about his “artivism,” a term coined to describe the intersection between art and activism, and his upcoming project called “The Artivist.”

Persistence Surveillance Systems originally developed its technology for military use and now hopes to bring it to St. Louis to lower the city's crime rate. The company has been running a pilot program in the city of Baltimore — in conjunction with the city's police department — since April. Baltimore journalist Joanne Cavanaugh Simpson discusses the results of the trial run and how residents feel...

Some St. Louis residents have expressed concerns after demolition permits were issued for a group of historic buildings along the 1900 block of Olive Boulevard. The fate of another building, at 201 S. Jefferson, also has people speaking up. To city resident Catherine Hamacher, who works as an urban planner, both cases are a reminder that, oftentimes, “people have a hard time seeing the ‘what could...

St. Louis Public Radio's Sarah Fentem discusses finding safe ways to connect in yet another unprecedented season, what to keep in mind about the likelihood of significantly more indoor time, and how to approach the prospect of, well, being a bit cold at times in exchange for safer interactions.

In August, Pharrell Williams and Jay-Z released their music video “Entrepreneur” which features Black entrepreneurs from across the country. The video inspired St. Louis’ Jason Wilson, owner and CEO of Northwest Coffee Roasting Company, who collaborated with local director David Kirkman to create an edition of “Entrepreneur” that highlights Black-owned businesses in St. Louis.

Wellston's Trojan Park was recently named one of two winners of 2020's Urban Open Space Award. Landscape architect Chip Crawford joins us to discuss the park's surprising origin story and what makes a great park.