St. Louis on the Air

Monday’s show (May 18) will include a focus on the unique challenges this coronavirus pandemic presents for college students. Graduating seniors are closing one chapter of life this spring and beginning a new one, during one of the most uncertain periods in all of our lifetimes. And as we look toward that segment next week, a project aimed at college students has caught our attention this week. On...

Host Sarah Fenske talks with NASA engineer Dajae Williams, a St. Louis Native, on how she’s using hip hop to make math and science more accessible to young people.

In 2018, voters approved the Clean Missouri constitutional amendment that included state redistricting and ethics changes. Now the Missouri House is backing an initiative to repeal the effort. In this interview, host Sarah Fenske talks with St. Louis Public Radio correspondent Jason Rosenbaum about his reporting on the ballot initiative aimed at repealing the Clean Missouri redistricting system.

St. Louis Fire Department employees are working on the front lines during the coronavirus pandemic. Captain Garon Mosby talks with host Sarah Fenske about the ongoing COVID-19 toll and some of the challenges the department faces as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Also included are pre-recorded comments from Laura Keller, executive director of the St. Louis Fire Department Foundation, who her...

The local Muslim community are halfway through observing the holy month of Ramadan. But this year, they've had to navigate it differently in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. With mosques closed, and social distancing recommended by city and county officials, many are having to observe the occasion without their friends and family. Joining host Sarah Fenske to talk about the changes are Dr. Mahrukh K...

Back in March, the University of Missouri-St. Louis put out a university-wide call, asking those with 3D printers to print face masks in light of COVID-19. Glen Anderson, an associate professor at UMSL, sought to answer that call. After some research, Anderson soon found out that printing masks with these particular machines just wasn't feasible. Instead, he continued brainstorming and turned to m...

Musician Pokey LaFarge’s concerts scheduled for this weekend at Off Broadway are on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. Leaving St. Louis for LA in 2018, LaFarge has gone through a self-described “fall from grace.” He’s now out with his eighth studio album and producer Alex Heuer talked with him.

Reading the headlines of 2020 can be pretty overwhelming. Between a pandemic, an economic crisis and even a much-hyped sighting of “murder hornets” in the Pacific Northwest, it can all leave one feeling pretty helpless about attempting to be a force for good in the world. But on an ecological level, at least one such attempt can take place right in one’s own backyard — and Nicole Miller-Struttmann...

As Quincy, Illinois, gets ready to be that state’s first Virtual Railfan location, we talk with local train enthusiasts about their devotion to the activity, and explore the success Virtual Railfan has already seen on the other side of the Mississippi River, in both La Plata and Kansas City, Missouri. Host Sarah Fenske is joined by Bob Cox, a station manager of Virtual Railfan at La Plata, and wel...

Attorney Dan Kolde sued the University of Missouri on behalf of the Beagle Freedom Project for violating the state's open records law. After he won at trial, the university has agreed to spend $175,000 to close out the case. Kolde discusses the lawsuit with host Sarah Fenske.

The documentary “Day One” follows a group of teenage refugees enrolled at a unique public school in St. Louis. The school only enrolls refugees and immigrants. The film is now playing on PBS stations around the country, including the Nine Network. In this interview, Sarah Fenske talks with the documentary’s producer and director, Lori Miller, about what she learned while filming these students.

Rural hospitals in Missouri have stopped elective and non-emergency procedures and have opened up their beds to treat those with COVID-19. As a result, those hospitals have lost income. Reporter Jonathan Ahl talks with host Sarah Fenske about his latest feature on how hospitals in central Missouri are dealing with the coronavirus.

Kirkwood native Joanna Serenko debuted to a national audience on NBC’s “The Voice” on Feb. 24. After the coronavirus upended live performances, the show went on a brief hiatus and returned with many performers singing at home — including Serenko. Serenko talks with host Sarah Fenske about her journey thus far on the singing competition — and her musical journey in St. Louis, which includes her tra...

Walter Johnson’s new book tells the story of St. Louis’ history. In Johnson’s telling, it’s a messy, often ugly struggle where racism is paramount. The historian and Harvard University professor talks to host Sarah Fenske about his book “The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States" and what we can learn about America by examining St. Louis.

It comes as no surprise that older individuals are more at risk for COVID-19 and the crisis has revealed longstanding disparities regarding systematic racism and ageism in the St. Louis area. Nancy Morrow-Howell, the director of the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging at Washington University, hopes the revelation of the disparities will lead to improvements, such as a deeper understanding of olde...

Almost two months have passed since St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson declared the coronavirus pandemic a public health emergency. Following the declaration, Krewson ordered many venues, bars, and restaurants to close. Now Krewson says the city will ease public health restrictions starting May 18. In this interview, host Sarah Fenske talks to Krewson on about what reopening St. Louis will look like, th...

In March, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit against Branson-based televangelist Jim Bakker, alleging Bakker had touted a product called “Silver Solution” as a treatment for the coronavirus. Consumers, Schmitt suggested, could be victimized by the false information. Former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon argues that the lawsuit violates Bakker’s First Amendment rights. Nixon explains t...

Transgender and non-binary individuals have it hard. And it’s gotten worse since the coronavirus pandemic hit the St. Louis area. Some don’t have access to cars and some are homeless. Sayer Johnson, co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit Metro Trans Umbrella Group talks to host Sarah Fenske about the challenges trans and non-binary people face before and during the coronavirus pandemic...

Photographer Nate Burrell has captured musicians for more than a decade, shooting album art for St. Louis’ rising stars in the scene, including Pokey LaFarge and Kevin Bowers. But when the coronavirus shut down bars and music venues, Burrell turned his eye to a different series of images: Capturing the new normal that the coronavirus brought upon the city. Host Sarah Fenske talks to Burrell to dis...

Geoffrey Soyiantet, a Kenyan immigrant, founded Vitendo4Africa 10 years ago to support African immigrants in St. Louis. He joins host Sarah Fenske to discuss the organization's work, as well as its unique partnership with the St. Louis Zoo. Mike Fitzgerald, a veteran journalist who recently wrote a cover story for the RFT about the group, joins Fenske and Soyiantet to explain what native-born resi...

The story that Alana Woodson has devoted so much of her time over the past few years to telling is far from a simple one. After all, it’s about Kinloch, Missouri — a once-thriving suburb that has nearly disappeared. Her father’s childhood home there is no more. And what was once a community of 6,500 black St. Louisans has dwindled to less than 200 residents today. But Woodson, who goes by Alana Ma...

Host Sarah Fenske discusses the political and cultural significance of Afro-Latin music here in the Midwest with Pablo Sanhueza and Carmen Guynn. Sanhueza is known as the region’s premier salsa and Latin jazz percussionist and Guynn is a salsa instructor and the artistic director and owner of Almas Del Ritmo Dance Company. Ten years ago, she founded the St. Louis International Salsa Bachata Congre...

Host Sarah Fenske talks with Marcus Harrison to learn about how morticians are organizing funerals and treating people who have died during the pandemic. Harrison is the general manager and embalmer at Austin Layne in north St. Louis County and said the center has seen COVID-19 victims daily.

The St. Louis’ homeless population is no longer residing at the tent encampment near Market Street following an order from St. Louis Health Director Fredrick Echols. Echols ordered the camp to be cleared on April 29. In response, the nonprofit civil rights law firm ArchCity Defenders filed a federal lawsuit on May 1 that included a temporary restraining order against the city, but a federal judge...

St. Charles County is open for business. Host Sarah Fenske talked with County Executive Steve Ehlmann about the decision that’s in line with Gov. Mike Parson’s plan for the state. STLPR reporter Jason Rosenbaum also joined the discussion to talk about how local governments are proceeding and the political ramifications of it all.