St. Louis on the Air

William H. Danforth II died on Wednesday. The former chancellor of Washington University transformed the institution into a top-tier school, and he was the founding chairman of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. We listen back to excerpts from his appearance on the show from February 2008.

“Crime Beat Girl” tells the story of Debbie Bradley, who leaves her journalism job in Washington, D.C., to be closer to family in her native St. Louis. Author Geri L. Dreiling joins us to discuss her new novel.

The co-director of St. Louis County’s public health department, Spring Schmidt, joins to talk about kids and COVID-19, youth sports restrictions, Halloween during a pandemic and the importance of flu shots.

We talk with St. Louis author Vivian Gibson. Her debut book written at the age of 71 is a memoir about growing up in St. Louis neighborhood that no longer exists, “The Last Children of Mill Creek.” This is an encore of an interview that aired in April 2020.

Defunding police departments is a major goal for many Black Lives Matter protesters. But for others, it’s a scary idea — and that’s true for many St. Louis residents. In this episode, we explore what it means to defund the police in a city that struggles with high rates of violent crime. University of Missouri-St. Louis criminologist Richard Rosenfeld joins the discussion. This is an encore of an...

As many athletes have returned to fields, courts and arenas during the coronavirus pandemic, so have sports protests. More and more professional athletes are kneeling during the national anthem, displaying Black Lives Matter messages on their gametime attire, and speaking out publicly about police brutality and systemic racism. “But there’s at least one place where protesting is still not allowed,...

The Grand Avenue Water Tower has been a familiar sight for Brandon Bosley ever since he moved to St. Louis’ College Hill neighborhood at age 7 — until this past weekend, that is. Now the 3rd Ward alderman will need to get used to the tower’s bright new facade. On Saturday, a whole host of volunteers helped give the 149-year-old tower a long-overdue fresh coat of paint as part of the St. Louis comm...

Belleville News Democrat reporter Megan Valley joins the program to talk about how the lack of coronavirus transparency is concerning parents in the Metro East.

Even one baseball game has plenty of innings — seven, nine, or, if there’s an especially stubbornly tied score, perhaps even 11 or 12 innings. But it all pales in comparison to the 39 innings Tom Sullivan and his teammates completed over the course of a single summer day (and night) in St. Louis 43 years ago.

For more than 40 years, Joe Yancey has worked to help those with mental illness receive the treatment and support they need to lead successful, fulfilling lives. The former CEO of Places for People retired last month.

WePower's Elevate/Elevar business accelerator aims to uplift and assist Black and Latino entrepreneurs in St. Louis. It's inaugural cohort finished last month, and companies in the program averaged a 350% increase in sales.

Artists who live in north St. Louis are painting murals on business and residential doors and fences. Vibrant homages depict jazz culture, African-inspired flowers, St. Louis greats such as Josephine Baker and more.

It’s been six long months since Wendy Lea has been able to play or perform with the group of musicians dearest to her heart — or put a paycheck in their pockets. But this weekend, that’s changing as masked members of the Metropolitan Orchestra of St. Louis carefully gather on an outdoor stage alongside the Union Avenue Opera.

Republic Services general manager Brent Batliner talks about how the Hazelwood-based facility has adjusted to changes brought on by the pandemic and reiterates what to avoid tossing in the recycling bin.

Even as the COVID-19 crisis derailed many of Dance the Vote’s typical endeavors, St. Louisan Joan Lipkin and her collaborators knew that artists remained “an essential part of the conversation.” They decided to center the contributions of artists of color, and commissioned a series of videos highlighting the work of choreographers in St. Louis as well as beyond.

St. Louis Zoo resident Utamu is pregnant. The 18-year-old chimpanzee is expected to give birth this fall. In this interview, primate manager Helen Boostrom talks about how zookeepers are caring for Utamu during her pregnancy, what to expect during the birth, and how a new baby may alter the group dynamics of the facility’s nine chimpanzees.

Last week, supporters of a plan to privatize St. Louis Lambert International Airport announced they would withdraw the initiative set for city ballots this November. A week later, two of the major entities behind the privatization push announced they had decided to part ways just one day before the announcement on the airport initiative. In this episode, St. Louis Business Journal reporter Jacob K...

Artist William Morris' latest video debuts at the Bruno David Gallery this Saturday. “The Protest Project" explores how the coronavirus pandemic collided with an equally devastating problem this spring — racism and police brutality.

First-time author Eric Von Schrader discusses “A Universe Less Traveled," a work of speculative fiction that toys with St. Louis history. He explains some of the real-life legends that inspired it.

The documentary “Papa Ray's Vintage Vinyl Roadshow" debuted on the Nine Network. Vintage Vinyl co-founder Tom Ray discusses the show's inspiration, his shop on Delmar and his lifelong love of music.

Ever since he was a kid, Kip Loui has been fascinated by Defiance, Missouri. Something about the name of the town captured his imagination, and once he became a musician, he told himself that someday he would write a song called “Defiance.” “Then the current guy was elected president,” Loui says. And soon that song was in the works — along with the 11 others that would eventually become “Show Me S...

Last week, just before St. Louis Public Schools kicked off a fall semester like no other, Jana Flynn’s masked colleagues surprised her with flowers, a plaque and signs — all in celebration of her being named the district’s 2020 Educator of the Year. SLPS cited the gifted specialist's “passion, dedication and desire to think outside of the box” in her work with students ranging from preschool to ei...

St. Louis R&B legend Lamont Hadley Sr. recently died after a long battle with COVID-19. His longtime partner and son remember his life and music.

Many schools are now conducting classes 100% online. Navigating virtual education has many families scrambling to make it work, but likely none more so than families with special needs students. We explore how families with children with developmental disabilities are particularly challenged by schools moving to virtual learning.

Monty Cole's new play “Black Like Me,” grapples with John Howard Griffin’s seminal book. He explains how he adapted it for 21st century audiences, and how it found its way to the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.