St. Louis on the Air

For 12 years, Lo-Fi Cherokee has delighted music lovers with its one-day music festival format and one-take music video production before live audiences at multiple businesses along Cherokee Street. Filmmaker and Lo-Fi St. Louis founder Bill Streeter shares why 2024’s Lo-Fi Cherokee will be the last, and how his love for the local music scene and video production will continue. Singer/songwriter B...

Paris Woods grew up watching her mother navigate her own finances while caring for seven children on a secretary's salary. Drawing from a lifetime of observations, her own financial challenges, and professional experience in the “college access” industry, Woods authored her book, “The Black Girl’s Guide to Financial Freedom,” to encourage fellow Black women as they take control of their finances a...

Two-headed snakes don’t live long in the wild, but in captivity, they can live for decades. Tiger-Lily the western rat snake is lucky to be in the latter category. Found in southwest Missouri in 2017, Tiger-Lily is now a species ambassador with the Missouri Department of Conservation. Naturalist Lauren Baker talks about best practices for feeding two hungry snake heads at once (Tiger and Lily shar...

In 2008, Brian Dorsey was sentenced to death for two counts of murder. On April 9, he’ll become the first person executed by the state of Missouri in 2024 — unless Governor Mike Parson grants him clemency. Retired Missouri Supreme Court Judge Michael A. Wolff, who upheld Dorsey’s sentence in 2010, shares why he now supports Dorsey’s case for clemency and reflects on the factors that affect outcome...

First opened in 2004, the Missouri History Museum closed their long-running running exhibit on the 1904 World’s Fair last April to reimagine the experience. Next month the museum will unveil its work over the last year of confronting the many hard truths that hid behind the grandeur of the World’s Fair hosted in St. Louis. Sam Moore, managing director of public history and Sharon Smith, curator of...

On August 9, 2014, the killing of Michael Brown, Jr. by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson saw the birth of a social movement. A new Webster University exhibition titled, “Ferguson and Beyond: Artistic Responses to a Decade of Social Upheaval 2014-2024,” features art created as a means to process Brown’s death and bring about healing.

How bad does party infighting have to get for a frontrunner to leave a political race? Republican Senator Caleb Rowden knows first-hand. In this “Politically Speaking” interview, he shares his reasons for dropping out of the contest for Missouri Secretary of State — a decision prompted by discord within his party and other issues.

St. Louis resident and pilot Cathy Babis has been flying for more than 50 years. Starting this Saturday, she’ll attempt to do something that no woman has done before — circumnavigate mainland Australia in a seaplane. The journey marks the 100th anniversary of the Royal Australian Air Force’s circumnavigation of the continent. Babis talks with producer Alex Heuer about the trip and its goals of enc...

A St. Louis County SWAT team used a battering ram to burst into a home in Ferguson. Officers had used the Find My app to trace a pair of stolen AirPods linked to a carjacking to that address. The only problem? The AirPods had been tossed into the street. The family inside had nothing to do with the carjacking and never had the AirPods. This month’s Legal Roundtable convenes to discuss the raid. At...

“Missouri Weird & Wonderful” presents readers of all ages with a kid-friendly tour through the Show Me State. Author Amanda E. Doyle and illustrator Dan Zettwoch, two longtime St. Louisans, discuss highlights from the book, which closes with a scavenger hunt for famous Missouri people and things.

Are you the sort of Midwesterner who goes outside when tornado sirens go off to watch Mother Nature get crazy? Then you might be exactly who the National Weather Service - St. Louis wants to train to be a storm spotter. Meteorologist Matt Beitcher shares details on upcoming classes and how storm spotters can help save lives by collecting and sharing real-time weather data.

U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, won the GOP nomination in Illinois' 12th Congressional District for a sixth time earlier this week, warding off a challenge by former Illinois legislator Darren Bailey, R-Xenia. In the Madison County Republican primary for board chairman, treasurer Chris Slusser defeated the embattled incumbent, Kurt Prenzler. STLPR journalists Will Bauer and Brian Munoz discuss...

Missouri isn’t the competitive swing state that it was during the 20th century — or even in the 2000s and 2010s. But even though the state’s voters may continue to back GOP candidates for governor and other statewide posts, they may be amenable to backing a ballot initiative that legalizes abortion. On the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, SLU associate political science professor...

A new podcast is taking up the past and present of meth. "Home Cooked: A 50-Year History of Meth in America” begins with a Missouri-heavy exploration of meth use and manufacture as it grew in the 2000s. We talk with its host Olivia Weeks, and Prevent Ed executive director Nichole Dawsey, about how Missouri became known as the "meth capital of America,” and how use of the drug has changed today.

Washington University Professor Ian Bogost says checking email is a source of daily torment. In this episode, he makes the case for why it’s time to give up on email entirely. He also digs into the history of email, its evolution, and how we can better use text communication tools in ways that benefit our lives.

Humans have gotten a lot wrong when it comes to living on Earth. And while it wouldn’t be possible to entirely leave earthly problems behind, when humans settle outer space there will be a host of ethical questions with which to grapple. At an event presented by Missouri Humanities and recorded at the James S. McDonnell Planetarium, Elaine Cha spoke with astrophysicist and author Erika Nesvold. Ne...

St. Louis streets transformed this weekend into a sea of green as thousands of revelers celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. The city’s Irish community has a long history, which includes St. Louis’ 10th mayor, Bryan Mullanphy: Mullanphy’s contributions to the city go far beyond the street named for him. “Unseen St. Louis” writer and history buff Jackie Dana shares her findings from researching Mullaphy’s...

A coalition of racial justice groups has released the first of a slew of reports aimed at holding prosecutors in St. Louis and St. Louis County accountable. The group is tackling big questions: What should a prosecutor’s office be doing? What would it mean for those policies to be progressive — not just in name, but in reality? Mike Milton, founder and executive director of the Freedom Community C...

For 26 years, musicians of all levels have gathered for the annual St. Louis Tionól — not just to perform traditional Irish music, but to bask in the companionship of fellow performers and attendees. As festival co-founder Mike Mullins puts it, “The heart of Irish music is a social event.”

Rolla, Missouri, boasts one of the biggest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the Midwest. In this 2023 conversation, STLPR correspondent Jonathan Ahl and Missouri S&T historian Larry Gragg dig into Rolla St. Patrick’s Day history and the unique traditions that still continue today.

While St. Louis doesn’t have as many first-generation Irish immigrants as it used to, there are still strong cultural ties in the city. Eimear Arkins, a St. Louis transplant from County Clare, Ireland, is working to strengthen those ties. In this encore episode, she shares her thoughts on local holiday customs and how Americans can engage with Irish culture in meaningful ways.

St. Louis on the Air celebrated 314 Day with recording artist and arts ambassador Muhammad “Mvstermind” Austin, For the Culture STL’s founder Ohun Ashe, and co-owner of Strange Donuts and Up Late Jason Bockman. The trio discussed all things 3-1-4 — from St. Louis’ claim to have the best Chinese food in America to the steps towards progress since the Ferguson uprising nearly 10 years ago.

Fontbonne University leaders announced earlier this week that the school would close in 2025. Fontbonne President Nancy Blattner talks about why, and we talk with other guests who discuss the state of colleges and universities throughout St. Louis — and across the country.

A new St. Louis Art Museum exhibit (opening March 15) is highlighting the museum’s world-class collection of German Expressionism paintings. It's not just the paintings in focus, but the process of conservation, and the scientific analyses that have uncovered hidden layers, doodles, and even full paintings unknown until now. The exhibit’s two curators Courtney Books, associate paintings conservato...

St. Louis’ vast musical range includes reggae and native son Tevin Rice, aka the Gold Giraffe, is putting the genre’s sun-splashed vibes front and center just in time for 314 Day celebrations by hosting “If St. Louis Had A Beach” on March 15.