St. Louis on the Air

The Great Moscow Ballet’s Nutcracker made its local premiere at the Fabulous Fox this week. On stage with its star ballerinas? A bunch of local kids, being wowed by the experience. We’ll learn how they get chosen and what their preparation looks like. Host Sarah Fenske talks with Yuriy Kuzo, Moscow Ballet soloist and audition director, about the production.

Every year, one lucky group is the recipient of the Opus Prize. It’s given to an organization developing quote creative solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems. And it comes with a one million prize courtesy of the Opus Prize Foundation. Host Sarah Fenske talks with a group of St. Louis University students who were charged with deciding who gets it.

The new artistic director for the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Hana Sharif, makes her directorial debut at the Rep this December with an adaption of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” In this interview, Sarah Fenske talks with Sharif about the production and her background.

Kaiser Health News Midwest Correspondent Cara Anthony joins host Sarah Fenske to talk about her latest report examining problems that shoppers in East St. Louis encounter at local corner stores.

Jensen will joins host Sarah Fenske to discuss how his office handles everything from racketeering cases to civil forfeiture — and, under Jensen, has made violent crime in St. Louis a particular focus. Both a CPA and a former FBI agent, Jensen will share his thoughts on his office’s greatest triumphs and biggest frustrations — and what he hopes to accomplish in the next year.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson joined STLPR reporter Jason Rosenbaum in a wide-ranging interview. The topics included workforce development, abortion in light of controversy concerning Planned Parenthood, the Hyperloop initiative, regulating guns and more.

Each month, our partners at Sauce Magazine join us to hash out some of the top food and drink additions to the region. But 2019 has said its fair share of goodbyes to notable establishments in the St. Louis, from the tragic fire that shut down Goody Goody Diner to the closing of Piccione Pastry on the Delmar Loop after a seven-year run. Sauce’s managing editor Catherine Klene and artistic director...

Host Sarah Fenske talks with seventh-generation Ozarker Kaitlyn McConnell about her new guidebook, "Passport to the Ozarks," which lists 61 “out-of-the-way places to see, visit and experience throughout the Missouri Ozarks.”

In the wake of St. Louis Public Schools’ termination last month of Trey Porter, Roosevelt High School’s now former football coach and athletic director, there were more questions than answers. Porter joins host Sarah Fenske to share his perspective on the events of recent days.

What happens when you pair hip hop and violin? Host Sarah Fenske explores the answer with acclaimed hip-hop violin duo Black Violin, alongside St. Louis music producer and musician Brandon McCadney, known as Mad Keys.

The International Institute of St. Louis has been a welcome community for immigrants and refugees to the area for 100 years. In this segment, Sarah Fenske talks with the group's president and CEO, Anna Crosslin, as well as the founder of St. Louis Bosnians Inc. and the director of Grupo Atlantico.

Filmmaker Lynn Novick’s new documentary “College Behind Bars,” set to air on PBS later this month, follows the journeys of men and women pursuing academic degrees while in prison. In doing so, it illustrates the life-changing nature of educational opportunity while also putting a human face on mass incarceration and, as the film’s website puts it, “our failure to provide meaningful rehabilitation...

In the new Netflix documentary, "Game Changers," the former team physician for the St. Louis Rams and Cardinals challenges what he refers to as a “locker room mythology about meat, protein and strength.” Dr. James Loomis says that contrary to popular belief, protein isn’t what sustains a person’s energy. Rather, energy comes from carbohydrates, and when carbohydrate calories are sacrificed for pro...

The Trump administration’s formal withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Agreement on climate change has members of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative concerned. The organization is worried that the withdrawal could lead to U.S. commodities producers being taxed or penalized by countries that signed on to the accord, something that the European Union has signaled they would like to p...

At their core, Missouri and Illinois programs do the same thing: They allow doctors to certify patients to use cannabis if they have a qualifying condition. But there are significant differences in the details of each law. In this segment, Sarah Fenske talks with St. Louis Public Radio reporter Jaclyn Driscoll about the differences between the two state's medical marijuana programs.

Metro Theater Company’s Julia Flood was looking for a classic holiday show this fall — one that would also speak to Metro’s mission as a theater company inspired by the intelligence and emotional wisdom of young people. Her colleague John Wolbers’ fresh take on the story of George Bailey and the town of Bedford Falls aspires to fit the bill. Set at a fictional St. Louis radio station 70 years ago...

The weather outside may be frightful, but Patrick Horine, co-founder of the popular Tower Grove Farmers Market, isn’t exactly closing up shop for the colder months these days. As he looks toward the final market of the season this weekend in the south St. Louis park, he’s also gearing up for its wintry equivalent — which is growing. Initially launched in 2007 as a monthly affair, the Winter Market...

In 2012, Rita Csapo-Sweet and her husband, the late Frederick Sweet, jointly published a paper on the ghastly but little-known legacy of Carl Clauberg, a German physician who conducted mass sterilization experiments at Auschwitz during World War II. Clauberg would use his work in the concentration camp to develop a pioneering fertility test. “Clauberg’s name needs to be placed next to [Josef] Meng...

Bush honeysuckle isn't native to Missouri, but the species is flourishing in the state. In an effort to upset honeysuckle infestation, the Missouri Botanical Garden has organized public events and volunteer removal days to raise public awareness about the need for bush honeysuckle removal and the benefits of replacing it with native plants. Host Sarah Fenske talks with the garden’s restoration out...

In 2009, New York Post reporter Susannah Cahalan suddenly experienced hallucinations, paranoia, seizures and catatonia. She was misdiagnosed for a month before she was finally treated for a rare autoimmune disease that can attack the brain, anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. She investigated her experience and published the details in her 2012 book, “Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness.” Led by a con...

For nearly three decades, the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center at the University of Missouri-St. Louis has bestowed its World Ecology Award on prominent biodiversity-minded individuals ranging from John Denver to E.O. Wilson. But this year the center is instead honoring a pair of world-class local institutions — the Missouri Botanical Garden and the St. Louis Zoo — for their critical researc...

Last night, a meteor shower caused a bright flash in the night sky that many home security cameras in the St. Louis area captured. The annual Taurid meteor shower, which is known to burn more brightly than other meteor events, hit its peak on Monday evening. In this segment, Sarah Fenske talks about the science behind Monday's meteor with Will Snyder, manager of the James S. McDonnell Planetarium...

In 2009, when Sheila McGlown began battling metastatic breast cancer at the age of 43, she was already a skilled fighter. She’d spent 25 years in the U.S. Air Force, a background she says gave her strength as well as a sense of defiance that would serve her well amid new challenges. Ten years later, McGlown is still undergoing cancer treatment — and still focused on the service to others that she...

Parents and educators often look for various ways to engage kids in reading. While traditional novels are seen as the “ideal,” graphic novels can be just as effective. Similar to comic books, graphic novels tend to be in a longer format, and the narrative is largely self-contained. With the combination of text and pictures, graphic novels have complex plots, characters and conflicts. DC Comics rec...

For months on end, consultants with an interest in privatizing St. Louis Lambert International Airport have billed tens of thousands of dollars while working to craft language underpinning an airport lease. Their chief antagonists have been working just as long — only they’re doing it without any hope of a payday. Calling themselves STL Not for Sale, the group of gadflies has been a familiar prese...