St. Louis on the Air

Cahokia Mounds in Collinsville hosts about 350,000 visitors each year. Much less well-known are the sites where 27 monuments once stood in St. Louis. The mounds, carefully constructed and engineered by Indigenous people between 800-1350 CE, were destroyed by white settlers to make way for urban development during the 19th century. In this encore episode, “Mound City” author and historian Patricia...

Robbie Daymond was bitten by the acting bug at a young age. The Warrenton native has gone from the stage to the recording booth, bringing life to animated characters like Marvel’s Spider-Man, Japanese anime fan favorites including “Sailor Moon” and “Jujutsu Kaisen” and a host of video games across several genres. Daymond joined the show to discuss his career, the art of voice acting, and some of h...

The Joseph Sappington Log House is preparing for the start of its new life with a January 11 groundbreaking at a historic park in Crestwood. Like a giant Lego set, the house was disassembled piece-by-piece in 2022 from its original location in Affton. The house will be rebuilt near the brick home built by Joseph Sappington’s cousin, Thomas Sappington. Antique Logs Unlimited owner Mark Pratt, who h...

Lead is a concern not just for people, but for animals. At the World Bird Sanctuary, two Bald Eagles were recently treated after being found with high lead levels. Both eventually died. The sanctuary is now trying to raise more awareness about the danger of lead. Winter is one of the highest risk times for birds to either be shot by hunters or ingest food that's been contaminated with lead, accord...

Founded in 2024 by Main Street Book’s owners Ellen and Andy Hall, and their daughter Emily Schroen, the Main Street Books Literacy Foundation donates new books to elementary schools with students from low income families in St. Charles County. The Halls and fellow founding board member Shana Youngdahl discuss the nonprofit’s origins, and its approach to providing access to book ownership and relat...

More than a third of Americans age 16 and up are considered bird watchers — a figure that has more than doubled since 2016. St. Louis birders discuss the 125th annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count, the rising popularity of birding, and share tips for bird watching in the St. Louis region.

We're listening back to our conversation with Jeremy Boyer. Boyer is part of what makes going to a Cardinals or Blues game special. He’s delighted millions of fans over the years as an organist for both teams. Now, he’s racking up millions of views on TikTok for his in-game renditions of songs from artists like Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift.

On this encore episode, Missouri Botanical Garden scientist, Charlotte Taylor, names 500 new species of plants. That makes her the most prolific living female botanist — an accomplishment only revealed last year by researchers from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the University of Cambridge. The researchers found Taylor is the third most prolific female botanist in the field — ever. Taylor discusse...

What kind of government did the founding fathers envision? Peter Kastor, a professor of history at Washington University, has spent years trying to address that question. He and his colleagues collected records of more than 37,000 people who worked for the federal government between 1789 and 1829. The results are now publicly viewable via the “Creating a Federal Government” digital archive. Kastor...

Jason Hall built a reputation as one of St. Louis’ most vocal cheerleaders in various positions at different economic development organizations over the past 12 years, most recently as the first CEO of Greater St. Louis Inc. Hall is leaving his post to take over the reins of the Columbus Partnership on Jan. 13. He talks with STLPR economic development reporter Eric Schmid about his time in St. Lou...

St. Louis Zoo WildCare Park plans to open to the public in 2027, but the 425 acre conservation area in north St. Louis County is already home to 38 animals. Park leaders share what it takes to transform a golf course into a safari park, the zoo’s aim to bolster endangered species, and how the park will be a boon to local wildlife and the regional economy.

The Michelin Guide is a gold standard in the culinary world, but you won't find a single Michelin-starred restaurant in St. Louis or even Missouri. As STLPR Morning Newscaster Abby Llorico discovered through recent interviews with St. Louis restaurateurs, it turns out that it's not simple (or cheap) to get a Michelin scout in your city. Along with Llorico, St. Louis Magazine food writer Cheryl Bae...

In 2024, Missouri voters got rid of the state’s near total ban on abortion yet overwhelmingly voted for Republicans who were opposed to doing so. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell defeated Rep. Cori Bush in the Democratic primary. And, former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan went on trial for public corruption. On this episode of the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on...

Growing up in St. Louis in the 1950s and 60s, Lee Hendrix was taught to fear the Mississippi River. But the sense of adventure it offered ended up being the seed that became a five decade career of piloting boats on the Mississippi. In this encore episode, Hendrix discusses his book, “Peep Light,” where he shares stories about the dangerous work of starting as a deckhand and later ascending to the...

In 2024, we said goodbye to a number of remarkable people who lived and worked in the St. Louis region. In this episode, we honor those we lost this year by listening back to conversations with them or by hearing from those who knew them well.

Republicans will gain control of the House, Senate and presidency next month and that means Missouri Rep. Jason Smith will become even more powerful, as he’ll have a clearer path as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee to reshape taxation and trade policy. Smith, who represents Missouri’s 8th Congressional District, discusses priorities including renewing or expanding tax cuts — and governing...

Congresswoman Cori Bush had an unlikely journey to Washington, D.C., rising from the Ferguson protest movement to the House of Representatives. Bush, who represents Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, will be leaving office in November after losing an expensive and bitter primary battle against St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell. She sits down for an exit interview reflecting on her four y...

Aida Ade — born Jamie Hudson — took a step back from music after the passing of her cherished aunt. She returned to music this year with the EP, “The Unbreakable Aida Ade,” which features songs written to lift herself up and to celebrate the power of a strong circle of loved ones.

Metro Boomin takes trust seriously. The St. Louis native recently returned to his hometown to continue his annual tradition of celebrating single mothers and honoring his late mother Leslie JoAnne Wayne, who was killed in June 2022. Producer Miya Norfleet sat down with the Grammy-nominated music producer to talk about his accomplishments, values, and views on what it means to be part of hip-hop cu...

Courtney Dowdall, music reviewer for The Arts STL, joins producer Miya Norfleet and Elaine Cha for a roundup of new music releases from St. Louis musicians. Their picks cover a range of genres, from Midwestern country to jazz to death metal.

Lawyers for County Executive Sam Page and Governor Mike Parson met in court this week to argue their case for appointing a new St. Louis County prosecutor to replace Wesley Bell. The unusual legal battle that pits county and state interests against each other is just one of the topics tackled in this month’s Legal Roundtable. Attorneys Mary Anne Sedey, Liz Lenivy and Dave Roland also dig into a fo...

A recent report out of the Policy Research in Missouri Education Center at St. Louis University shows that about 61,000 children in Missouri are homeschooled — an almost two-fold increase since 2020. Executive Director Collin Hitt and Senior Research Associate Amy Shelton discuss how Missouri compares to other states, what a continued trend toward homeschooled K-12 students could mean for state-le...

For more than 60 years, Santa’s House in Belleville’s historic downtown square has been a mainstay of the holiday season. Combined with an open air German Christmas Market, experiencing Christmastime in Belleville is a tradition for many Metro East families. Cindy Hawkins, co-president of the Optimist Club of Belleville and chairman of the Santa committee, shares the history and memories of Santa’...

A Black man from St. Louis has served a decade in prison for a crime he swears he didn’t commit. The only evidence linking him to the shooting that resulted in a 25-year sentence was the testimony of a white police officer. But what neither he, his attorneys nor the jury that convicted him knew at the time was the officer had mistakenly arrested another Black man seven months earlier, using an ill...

The closure of three Christian boarding schools in Missouri since 2020 is only a start, says Amanda Householder, whose parents ran the now-closed Circle of Hope Girls Ranch. Householder reflects on her upbringing at her parents’ unregulated boarding school, what happened after she escaped, and her feelings as her mother, Stephanie Householder, faces numerous charges of child abuse. We also hear fr...