St. Louis on the Air

The Solid Sound Collective, a music project of the St. Louis nonprofit Action Art Collaborative, celebrates the long and living legacy of community activism. Three of its producers and musicians – Colin McLaughlin, Ryan Marquez, and Alicia Revé – talk about original songs commissioned for the project and the role of interviews in creating music that addresses social and economic inequities. The co...

Once strong and tight-knit, Clayton’s Black community was almost entirely wiped out by urban renewal policies that drove Black families away during the 1950s and 60s. A new historical marker commemorates those who were pushed out. Historian and retired Clayton High School teacher Donna Rogers-Beard discusses the history of the community, which dates back to the 1880s. Derek Novel recalls his memor...

Mayor Tishaura Jones says she has set the city of St. Louis on a course to be “safer, stronger and healthier” than it is today. Jones highlighted accomplishments at her State of the City speech last Tuesday. She also launched her re-election bid last week. STLPR reporter Rachel Lippmann joins the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air to discuss this news.

In a rare instance of triumph for Missouri Democrats, an effort to raise the bar to amend the state constitution — a central GOP priority — was defeated. Infighting among Republicans was a highlight of this year’s Missouri legislative session that ended Friday. STLPR statehouse and politics reporter Sarah Kellogg joins the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air. We also open up our mail...

Kirkwood-raised musician David Sanborn died earlier this week after an extended battle with prostate cancer. He won six Grammy awards and sold millions of albums across a more than 50-year career. Known for his warm sound on alto saxophone, Sanborn won acclaim as a solo artist and as a collaborator with a long list of stars in the worlds of jazz, rock and pop. Earlier this year, Jazz St. Louis hon...

St. Louis’ juvenile justice system is supposed to rehabilitate youth but it often makes things worse. That’s the topic of a recently published article written by Taylor Tiamoyo Harris and commissioned by the River City Journalism Fund. Taylor is a St. Louis-based journalist and recently began a job as investigative fellow for the New York Times. Harris discusses her recent reporting on juvenile ju...

Civil rights attorney and former South Carolina state lawmaker Bakari Sellers says national police reform is currently dead, but there is hope through voting to change the makeup of Congress. STLPR reporter Andrea Henderson recently spoke with Sellers when he was in St. Louis to talk about his new book, “The Moment: Thoughts on the Race Reckoning That Wasn't and How We All Can Move Forward Now.”

A St. Louis judge on Tuesday will hear arguments as to why the 1991 murder conviction of Chris Dunn should be vacated. Dunn has spent more than 30 years in prison. Two witnesses who identified him as the killer have recanted and two St. Louis prosecutors, Kim Gardner and Gabe Gore, believe that he is innocent. After Gore announced earlier this spring he would file a motion to vacate Dunn’s convict...

Gardening season is well underway, but it’s not too late to start planting. Local farmer Tosha Phonix is encouraging fellow north St. Louis residents to grow their own food through a new, free zine, “A Guide to Black Farming in North St. Louis.”

Most conversations about race and identity in the St. Louis region focus on Black and white residents, a binary that excludes one of the fastest growing populations in the area: the Asian and Asian American community. The Japanese American Citizens League - St. Louis and the St. Louis Pan Asian Collective have curated, “InVISIBLE: A Reclamation of the Asian Gaze,” a visual and literary arts exhibi...

Nadia and Maya Turner grew up eating batches of their mom’s chocolate chip cookies and watching “Shark Tank.” The University City sisters founded Chocolate Girls’ Cookies in 2019, after perfecting the family’s cookie recipe. They share what makes a good chocolate chip cookie, their aspirations for their business, and how they feel about sour cream as a cookie dough ingredient.

The St. Louis metropolitan area is showing troubling signs when it comes to population trends. There are fewer residents than in years past in St. Louis and St. Louis County, and the region isn’t keeping pace with other areas of the country where the population is growing. St. Louis University Professor Ness Sandoval and International Institute of St. Louis CEO and President Arrey Obenson discuss...

As students across many college campuses express solidarity with Palestinians during the latest war in Gaza, the parallels to other student and youth-led protests are apparent — including in St. Louis. St. Louis University history professor and chair of African American Studies Chris Tinson discusses those parallels and how it’s natural students are attuned to social and global issues — and that t...

Despite the exorbitant amount of money spent on health care in the U.S., its population is relatively unhealthy. Dr. Alexander Garza, the Chief Community Health Officer at SSM Health, believes that improving health outcomes in the St. Louis community starts well before patients walk through clinic or hospital doors. Alongside his colleague Karen Bradshaw, Garza discusses how SSM Health is partneri...

Visitors to the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis can experience New York artist Paul Chan’s exhibition “Breathers,” which relies upon air and wind to create kinetic movement and evoke an emotional response that reminds us to inhale and exhale with greater intention. Associate curator Misa Jeffereis and artist Simiya Sudduth reflect on what air and breath look like both in art and in healing —- an...

Last month at Washington University, police arrested over 100 people who attempted to set up a Gaza solidarity encampment on campus grounds. WashU junior Andrew de las Alas and senior lecturer Michael Allen were arrested and temporarily suspended for their involvement with the April 27 campus protest. They talk about the protest on Wash U’s campus and dealing with its aftermath. Shanti Parikh, Cha...

More than one in three young adults, ages 18-24, report zero income. Depression rates in that age group are also comparatively high. And feelings about financial stability vary notably by race. Senior St. Louis Fed researcher Ana Hernandez Kent talks through those and other findings from the 2024 State of Economic Equity report, with notes about how research can inform better support for economica...

Katie McGrath founded Immigrant Song as a response to the increase in race, culture and religion-based domestic hate crimes in the U.S. since 2016. Alongside the concert series’ music director Larry Pry, and performers Chuck Flowers and Anu French, she reflects on the power of music and storytelling as a way to combat hate and divisiveness. The nonprofit organization’s next concert is this Sunday,...

University City resident Nichole Angieri recently discovered that her neighborhood is being used as a police training ground. It's the latest update in the aftermath of a $190 million Costco development in University City that's left residents feeling unheard, stranded in their homes, and left to fend for themselves. In this episode, we hear from Angieri and from producer Danny Wicentowski.

Metro Transit, a service of Bi-State Development, may tighten its Call-A-Ride reservations window. Disability rights advocates say that would make existing service gaps even worse. Taulby Roach, President and CEO of Bi-State Development talks about the proposed policy change. Jeanette Mott Oxford, Paraquad Public Policy & Advocacy Manager, and Seyoon Choi, former Parquad Public Policy Intern, also...

In the 1960s, St. Louis nearly became one of the most magical places on earth. A planned Disneyland, called the Riverfront Square, captured imaginations as local leaders sought to strike a deal with Walt Disney himself — until that deal went bibbidi, bobbidi, bust. Writer Devin Thomas O'Shea reminds us of what the canceled Disney attraction might have been, the disputed reasons why the plan fell a...

When Juliet Simone turned 30 years old she decided to try for a baby and sought a sperm donor to start her family. She had no idea just how much the birth of her first child would open up her family’s world. Once she gave birth to her first son, doctors told her the baby tested positive for a genetic disorder and recommended family genetic screening. This led to the revelation that her mother, Reb...

Adam Wainwright enjoyed an 18-year big-league career with the St. Louis Cardinals that included closing out the World Series as a rookie and, in his final season last year, securing 200 career wins. The former pitcher has now embarked on a career as a baseball analyst for network television and musician. STLPR’s Jeremy D. Goodwin spoke with Wainwright about his songwriting and recently released co...

St. Louis-born music producer Metro Boomin is one of the most prolific beat makers of today. His productions top Billboard charts, win Grammys, and make stars out of his collaborators. He also is interwoven in the biggest rap beef in the last decade between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Producer Miya Norfleet, arts and culture reporter Chad Davis, and political correspondent Jason Rosembaum share thei...

In Missouri, much of the attention as to what issues will be on the ballot in November has been about efforts to legalize abortion and sports betting. Another initiative that could boost the minimum wage and establish paid sick leave also seems primed for a vote. Missourians for Healthy Families and Fair Wages turned in roughly 210,000 signatures to Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office. The me...