St. Louis on the Air

In April, St. Louis lawyer Elizabeth “Liz” Heller took a break from the office and spent some time racing on a velodrome – an arena for track cycling – in Aguascalientes, Mexico. At the International Cyclists Union competition, she broke two world records: one in the women's over-50 category in the one-hour ride and the other in the individual two-kilometer pursuit. She joined guest host Sharon St...

This month’s Sound Bites segment with Sauce Magazine features Nicola Macpherson of Ozark Forest Mushrooms, an immigrant from the UK who runs a mushroom farm and supplies many of the restaurants in the St. Louis area with mushrooms. Macpherson and Sauce's managing editor Catherine Klene expand on how people get their start in mushroom farming and what all goes into it.

St. Louis Public Radio's Rachel Lippmann and Jason Rosenbaum talk with guest host Sharon Stevens on the heels of Missouri's latest legislative session in Jefferson City.

Producer and director Michael Dalton-Smith’s early passion for volcanoes has followed him throughout his career. His film “Volcanoes: Fire of Creation” takes viewers on an IMAX adventure to the boiling lava lakes of the world, grasslands and the depths of the oceans, all where volcanoes help shape vibrant ecosystems. He delves his interest in volcanoes, the theory of how they developed billions of...

St. Charles-based Lindenwood University made the decision that it will cease its daytime undergraduate academic programs at its Belleville campus following the 2019-2020 academic year. Belleville Mayor Mark Eckert talks about what the consolidation means for the community.

Doyle Murphy discusses his latest feature for the Riverfront Times, which digs into the question of what constitutes just punishment. In the piece, he juxtaposes the sentence a former Webster University administrator received after stealing about $375,000 from the institution with the sentences handed down in other specific crime cases in the region.

The Luminary Arts Center “Counterpublic” exhibition is scaled to a neighborhood “set to animate the everyday spaces of Cherokee Street” with expansive artist commissions, performances, processions and more. Local artists José Guadalupe Garza and Miriam Ruiz talk about why they installed a mobile library in El Chico Bakery, a family owned and operated Mexican bakery in south St. Louis. The Luminary...

St. Louis-area residents Rachel Webb and Jossalyn Larson come from different walks of life, but they have at least one path in common: They’ve both in recent years developed breast cancer – and have chosen to open up online about their experiences living with it. While they now have intensive treatments and surgeries behind them, their respective journeys are far from over. The two women join gues...

As the U.S. population grows more ethnically diverse, many historians and educators are becoming more aware of changing demographics and are keen on ensuring that diversity is reflected in the way the nation’s history is presented in classrooms. Guest host Ruth Ezell of the Nine Network delves into how educators are developing more well-rounded approaches to teaching history in an inclusive way.

After many months of planning and construction, the owners of a unique project in north St. Louis are now calling the completed space home. Gina and Travis Sheridan moved into their house, which is made out of nine steel shipping containers and located in the Old North neighborhood, several weeks ago. In this episode of "St. Louis on the Air," they discuss what went into the effort and share what...

Like many urban and rural areas around the U.S., the St. Louis region has seen a shortage of veterinarians, and it's affecting clinic hours, staffing and wait times in some communities. Guest host Ruth Ezell talks with three people deeply invested in the profession and in seeing both veterinarians and the animals they care for thrive.

A little over a year ago, Benjamin Akande was tasked with a big job: strengthening and expanding Washington University’s efforts in Africa. He was appointed as director of the Africa Initiative, which aims to strategically enhance a wide range of institutional activities connected to the African continent. He gives an update on the initiative, offers his perspective on the demise of Better Togethe...

Guest host Ruth Ezell of the Nine Network talks with St. Louis County Library Director Kristen Sorth about the final projects in the Your Library Renewed campaign, which includes the new library branch openings in the region, among other initiatives.

Residents of towns along the Mississippi River are all too familiar with the effects of flooding on their communities. The disasters happen again and again, and people are eager for a path forward – and for solutions that look beyond levees. Guest host Ruth Ezell talka with Jo Anne Smiley, the mayor of Clarksville, Missouri, and Phil Stang, the mayor of Kimmswick, Missouri, about their goals movin...

CC Ice talks with producer Evie Hemphill about working on the Marvel movies, the intense and inherently risky nature of her chosen profession – and how growing up in Missouri has influenced her life and career.

This week marked the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Many Muslims locally and around the world are observing this holiday by daily fasting, increased religious observance and self-reflection. For the next few decades, the month will take place within the school year. The Missouri chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations released “An Educator’s Guide to Ramadan and Accom...

As journalists who frequently produce stories focused on the environment, St. Louis Public Radio’s Eli Chen and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Bryce Gray are no strangers to the Mississippi River and its critical role in their city. Now they’ve traveled all 2,300-plus miles of it, following the Big Muddy from Minnesota to Louisiana and bringing home an even deeper understanding of the waterway. Che...

The latest local reminder of an ongoing nationwide epidemic came over the weekend as at least 19 people were injured and two people killed in St. Louis during multiple incidents involving guns. Guest host Jim Kirchherr talks with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Stu Durando about his new book “Under the Gun: A children’s hospital on the front line of an American crisis.”

St. Louis-based author Terry Baker Mulligan, who wrote the award-winning memoir “Sugar Hill: Where the Sun Rose Over Harlem,” joins guest host Jim Kirchherr to discuss her new book “These Boys are Killing Me: Travels and Travails With Boys Who Take Risks,” and what lessons she’s learned from her experience as a mother.

It’s been about a year since New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive women around the country were busy taking on powerful Democratic incumbents during the 2018 midterms. St. Louisan Cori Bush was one of them, and her challenge of longtime Congressman Lacy Clay fell short in the primaries. But she and the three other candidates whose campaigns are featured in the new Netflix docu...

Edwina Sandys, a sculptor and Winston Churchill's granddaughter, joins guest host Jim Kirchher to discus the sculpture she created in Fulton commemorating her grandfather's famous "Iron Curtain" speech, her artistic process and more.

Ahead of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s season finale, music director designate Stéphane Denève and CEO Marie-Hélène Bernard recap Denève’s first season at Powell Hall as music director designate and what’s in store for next season.

The St. Louis Public Radio politics editor joins guest host Jim Kirchherr for an update on the news that broke this week about the ambitious plan that had aimed to consolidate St. Louis and St. Louis County governments.

Sauce Magazine managing editor Catherine Klene and staff writer Matt Sorrell talk up some of the latest additions to the St. Louis region’s food-and-beverage community.

The idea of autonomous vehicles, or AVs, used to seem rather futuristic. But if the latest technological advancements and general cultural buzz about self-driving cars are any indication, AVs are moving ever closer to becoming everyday transportation reality along U.S. roadways. What that shift could mean for all sorts of sectors and communities is on the minds of regional leaders who are gatherin...