St. Louis on the Air

The Riverfront Times was sold to an undisclosed buyer in May, but the secret may be out. STLPR’s Jessica Rogen reports that an LLC in Texas appears to be the new owner. The investigation involved digging into incorporation documents, lawsuit filings and more — all of which points to RSC Ventures, a company that’s leveraging the RFT’s online reputation to fund a link-farming business involving Only...

Bob Putnam, co-owner of the iconic St. Louis artist’s haven the Way Out Club, passed away August 26, 2024. His wife and fellow Way Out Club owner Sherri “Danger” Lucas shares memories of Putnam, who was beloved as a friend, mentor and dedicated supporter of local arts.

Prescription drug monitoring programs — a technology originally designed for law enforcement — have been used by health care systems to combat the opioid crisis since the early 2000s. In her new book “Policing Patients,” St. Louis University Associate Professor Liz Chiarello speaks to the technology’s effects on overdose rates and patient outcomes. She also sheds light on the tool’s effect on doct...

This past Thursday, producer Danny Wicentowski joined our show to discuss how VP St. Louis has ousted the central figure and namesake of the secret society that runs St. Louis’ Fourth of July Parade — the Veiled Prophet. This episode of STLPR’s podcast “We Live Here” takes a deep dive on the history of the Veiled Prophet and explores how it’s connected to the Ferguson uprising.

Despite not having the most money or the flashiest social media strategy, state Sen. Denny Hoskins emerged as the winner of the crowded GOP primary for secretary of state. Hoskins has a proposal that is alarming elections officials — to hand count ballots. St. Louis County election directors Eric Fey and Rick Stream join the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air to discuss why they thi...

Neither Missouri or Illinois are competitive in this year’s election cycle. But residents in both states are contributing time and money to campaigns. In this episode of the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, we hear from voters and political consultants in both states about why they’re still involved in presidential politics.

St. Louis County native Gabe Fleisher started a politics newsletter when he was nine years old. Now, the recent Georgetown University graduate has nearly 50,000 people subscribed to his “Wake Up to Politics” newsletter on Substack. Fleisher joins the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air to talk about the evolution of his journalism — and what he’s paying attention to in the home stret...

After Brad Edwards and his family experienced a massive tragedy — twins lost to stillbirth — he decided to create an opportunity to train dads to better support mothers and be advocates for their birth partners. Edwards’ loss was the catalyst to developing Dads to Doulas which will welcome its first cohort Oct. 2024, an initiative under the media platform Dear Fathers which focuses on Black father...

The Veiled Prophet is gone. According to VP St. Louis, the central figure and namesake of the secret society that runs St. Louis' Fourth of July parade “is no longer part” of the group that once bore his name. In a rare public interview, VP St. Louis Chief Operating Officer Michael Ruwitch said the decision to remove the Veiled Prophet was made “for reasons.” He insisted that “VP is just letters.”...

Children of immigrants often face heritage language loss. In this encore episode, we hear from St. Louis parents and community members who are taking practical steps to maintain linguistic and cultural connection across generations.

Female rappers are dominating the charts, including St. Louis’ very own Diamond Smith — better known by her stage name Big Boss Vette. The writer and rapper behind hits like “Snatched” and “Pretty Girls Walk” reflects on her St. Louis roots, her fast-growing career and the lessons she’s learned along the way.

Producer Miya Norfleet shares reflections for artists and attendees of this year’s Music at the Intersection Festival hosted in Grand Center.

The "How to Destroy Everything" podcast is back after a long break with new episodes, continuing the strange, twisting tale of the late St. Louis attorney Richard Jacobs. Listen back to our 2023 interview with creators Danny Jacbos and Darren Grodsky, who describe their growing investigation into the ways Jacobs, Danny’s father, controlled and terrorized the people in his life. We also hear an upd...

Do speed humps help curb reckless driving? Crown Candy Kitchen owner Andy Karandzieff says he’s seen a marked improvement in driver behavior at the intersection near his restaurant in Old North St. Louis. He joins Elaine Cha and 14th Ward Alderman Rasheen Aldridge to talk about traffic violence, what it takes to get speed humps installed, and what else needs to happen to improve the safety of our...

Sam Altman wants to be careful about not overhyping Thursday’s release of the newest model of ChatGPT. But that’s not stopping the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI from celebrating OpenAI o1 as a new artificial intelligence model that can reason and solve complex problems. Altman grew up in St. Louis and was back in his hometown speaking at his alma mater, John Burroughs. Altman discusses his St. Loui...

St. Louis summers are infamously hot and humid. But this year saw a combination of much hotter, more humid and drier days. Matt Beitscher, lead meteorologist with the National Weather Service-St. Louis, and Trent Ford, Illinois’ State Climatologist speak to what’s causing extreme weather events in the Midwest region, and what is challenging about keeping vulnerable people safe.

Leticia Seitz is the owner of Arte Rojo STL and broadcaster behind Conectando Raices Radio. She joined “St. Louis on the Air” to discuss the importance of providing a way for people of Mexican descent living abroad to stay connected to their heritage as well as sharing her culture with those who are interested in learning more about Mexico. She also shares what’s planned for Fiesta Mexicana, a loc...

St. Louis took over the airwaves and the hip-hop Billboard charts in the early 2000s, and helping lead the charge was Walnut Park native Howard Bailey, Jr. — better known as Chingy. He’s bringing those nostalgic hits and newer works to the Music at the Intersection stage Saturday, Sept. 14.

The St. Louis initiative Dance the Vote is using the arts to get people to register to vote ahead of the November general election. Ahead of this Saturday’s Dance the Vote event at the Missouri History Museum, cofounder Joan Lipkin and youth activist Precious Barry discuss the importance of fostering civic engagement among young people before they hit voting age, disability voting rights and effor...

A Missouri Supreme Court order this week ended days of legal drama surrounding an amendment to legalize abortion in Missouri. St. Louis Public Radio politics correspondent Jason Rosenbaum breaks down the legal developments and political ramifications, and what happens if voters approve Amendment 3 on November 5.

Sam Goodwin’s recreational trip to Syria took a terrifying turn when he was wrongfully accused of espionage and detained for nine weeks in 2019. While stuck on the inside of the country’s notoriously lethal prison system, his family in St. Louis worked relentlessly to secure his release. The story of his captivity, and the international network of people who helped him get out, is detailed in his...

The BBC is turning its lens toward St. Louis. The Arts Hour on Tour will showcase the city’s talent on Tuesday night at the Touhill Performing Arts Center; and the flagship daily news program, Newshour, broadcast from STLPR’s studios on Monday. Newshour anchor James Menendez discusses the BBC’s reporting in St. Louis which included stories on efforts to legalize abortion and a trip to a rodeo in D...

Illinois has joined a slew of states and cities looking to redesign their flags. The Illinois Flag Commission — made up of political appointees and representatives from the state archives, state museum and state superintendent — will accept ideas online or by mail until Oct. 18.

Fifty years after his death, Bruce Lee’s status as one of the world’s most influential martial artists endures through his work as an actor and his philosophical teachings. In the 2020 book “Be Water, My Friend,” Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee speaks to principles that guided her father’s life as well as her own. In this encore episode, she talks with Elaine Cha about the book and her father's teachin...

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will square off in their first presidential debate on Tuesday. St. Louis has a rich history of hosting such events. Washington University hosted presidential or vice presidential debates in 1992, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2016. Longtime St. Louis journalist Jo Mannies discusses this history on the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, and we hear from WashU C...