St. Louis on the Air

Get ready for a musical joyride — this month’s new music roundup is filled with tracks that will keep your windows down and the volume up all summer long. Musicians Skylar Townsend, Ryan Koenig and STLPR’s Brian Heffernan dive into their favorite recent releases from St. Louis artists. Check out our new music roundup playlist.

Singer/songwriter Emerson Magaña’s childhood was filled with the rhythms of Central and South America. Born in Colima, Mexico, he first picked up guitar from his father. Eventually, nature, women, and tequila inspired him to write new original music. On this episode, Magana talks about his musical journey and how those songs became his debut album “Tequila Time” – an ode to his home in Mexico and...

St. Louis is set to host the 2028 U.S. Olympic marathon trials, bringing the nation’s top distance runners back to the city that hosted America’s first Olympics. We hear from St. Louis Sports Commission President Marc Schreiber, Go! St. Louis President Mona Vespa and St. Louis Run Club founder Ricky Hughes about the excitement around the marathon trials and what it’ll take to pull it off. We also...

Created by St. Louisan Lindsey Goodhart, “Closet Space” is a sapphic blind dating show that fosters a welcoming space for the LGBTQ community through its live studio audience. Goodhart reflects on how the show has sparked genuine connections and the importance of establishing dedicated queer spaces in Missouri, both on and off the stage.

Multiple dog attacks in St. Louis have made local headlines and shown up on social media feeds this past week. The issue’s not new, but data shows a marked increase in dangerous animal complaints in St. Louis in recent years. For residents like Slayden Figg, who was attacked by three loose dogs last year, the issue is so pervasive that he’s decided to move out of the city. We talk with him about t...

Encouraging a child’s love of books has benefits beyond reading. Ahead of a literacy event this Saturday, St. Louis authors Darian Wigfall and Pancho Rucker share what motivates their advocacy, and how encouraging youth to love books and write their own stories promotes confidence and self-worth. The writers are part of a free, all-ages June 13 “Reading is Fire” event, organized by Wigfall, that i...

"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" introduced readers to characters inspired by the childhood of its author Mark Twain. June 9 is the 150th anniversary of the book's publication in 1876. Multiple events are planned in Twain's hometown of Hannibal, Missouri, marking the book’s real-life setting and literary impact. Mark Schneider, development and marketing manager at the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museu...

Beyond aprons and roadside diners, women helped power and preserve Route 66. Edwardsville resident Cheryl Eicher Jett’s new book “Aprons Away: Women’s Work on Route 66” — which first premiered as a play — chronicles untold stories of more than 80 women who worked along the Mother Road’s 2,448-mile stretch. We talk with the author about some histories of the women who shaped the landmark, including...

More than 20 new restaurants, bars and cafes came onto the St. Louis area food scene in May. We discuss a sampling of them — and a few places that closed — in our monthly new restaurants run-down.

When the Riverfront Times abruptly closed its newsroom and ceased print publication, it marked the end of an era for the alt-weekly that had chronicled St. Louis arts, culture and public affairs for decades. But the newspaper’s history lives on through the archival efforts led by Washington University Libraries. Miranda Rechtenwald, curator of local history in the Department of Special Collections...

Each year, the Landmarks Association of St. Louis recognizes projects for its "Most Enhanced Awards." This year, awardees include a former gas station-turned-piano-cafe, a classic shotgun-style brick home and a senior living facility in East St. Louis. Landmarks executive director Stuart Keating talks about why the renovations of those and other cultural institutions like Powell Hall and Uncle Bil...

For more than 20 years, so-called “troubled” kids and teens from across the country have been sent to Change Academy at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. Now, former students of the youth treatment center are suing, alleging physical assault by its staff, and sexual abuse by fellow residents. Midwest Newsroom reporter Luke Nozicka shares the details of his new investigation into those allegation...

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, talked about his new book, “The Crisis of the Common Good: The Search for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America," at an event at St. Louis County Library last week. STLPR politics correspondent Jason Rosenbaum talked with him.

One year ago, a few dozen Phelps County residents met at Public House Brewing Company in Rolla to share their thoughts about the U.S. Immigration and Customs detention of immigrants at the Phelps County Jail. That meeting led to the creation of Abide in Love: an organization that’s since supported hundreds of people detained by ICE — along with their spouses and children. Today, the nonprofit has...

Now in its 40th season, Circus Flora is going back to high school for its “Fly High” show, which runs June 4-21. Circus Flora artistic director and executive director Jack Marsh previews the show, where classrooms are “filled with a mix of world-class acrobats, aerialists, jugglers and class clowns.” We also meet Chad Damiani, an influential figure in the modern clown scene in Los Angeles, who tea...

St. Louis Bosnians will paint the city blue, white and yellow in welcoming the Bosnia and Herzegovina national soccer team on Saturday at Energizer Park. It’s the team’s first appearance in St. Louis since 2014. Ahead of the friendly against Panama, we talk with Elvir Kafedžić, assistant coach for St. Louis City 2 and founder of the St. Louis Dragons youth club, about what this match means for the...

Dive into a good beach read this summer with recommendations from Lauren Brickey of St. Louis Public Library and Heather Neill of St. Louis County Library.

During the final hours of the Missouri General Assembly, the GOP-controlled legislature approved a measure moving school-related elections from April to November. Critics contend it will politicize local education. But state Rep. Richard West says it will prompt more people to decide on high-stakes contests, especially around bond issues. West, a Republican from Wentzville, talks about the legisla...

Christian Mitchell accepted Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s offer to be the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor. And during an appearance on “The Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air,” Mitchell discussed why Pritzker deserves a third term — and why he says he’s ready to step up as governor if Pritzker departs for the national stage.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has called for a formal diplomatic protest of the United States government in response to Brayan Garzón-Rayo’s death in a Rolla jail last year. STLPR’s Brian Munoz discusses why Garzon-Rayo’s case caught international attention.

At this time, Missouri isn’t joining other southern states in redrawing its congressional maps. But the demise of key Voting Rights Act protections is raising alarms among Black elected officials in the St. Louis-based 1st Congressional District.

St. Louis civic and political leaders want to expand Gateway Arch National Park across the river to Illinois. The project would fulfill the vision of the Arch’s architect, Eero Saarinen, and the dream of Malcolm W. Martin, who dedicated his life to park expansion. In the latest episode of “Meet Me,” we explore the Mississippi River as both a physical and psychological divide — and one effort that...

Missouri’s landscape features diverse geology ranging from shut-ins formed by volcanoes, sand dunes and tributaries. Author Don Corrigan and photographer Diana Linsley have compiled more than 80 locations across the state in their new book “Scenic Natural Wonders of Missouri,” a full-color guide to encourage emerging and experienced outdoor explorers to enjoy all the splendors Missouri has to offe...

An unusually fast verdict this month from the Missouri Supreme Court has set the stage for Missouri voters to use a map in August that could soon be challenged — and reversed — by a public referendum. Meanwhile, in St. Louis, a state-run police board is seeking an expedited ruling to force the city to spend another $67 million on the police budget. On this episode of the Legal Roundtable on “St. L...

While many St. Louisans are celebrating signs of the start of summer, heat-related illnesses can put a damper on summertime fun — and can lead to serious harm. In this encore episode, clinical assistant professor and community pharmacist Catherine Gilmore joins St. Louis on the Air to discuss the science behind what happens to the body when it fails to regulate heat and how certain types of medica...