St. Louis on the Air

The New York Times recently featured St. Louis in its “Walks Around the World” series. That St. Louis walk starts at “Pillars of the Valley,” the art installation that memorializes the lost neighborhood of Mill Creek Valley, just outside CityPark. We listen back to a February conversation with artist Damon Davis and former Mill Creek Valley resident Vivian Gibson about “Pillars of the Valley.”

Starbucks workers at four unionized stores in the St. Louis region walked off the job Monday, joining a nationwide strike over reports that some Starbucks stores have not allowed LGBTQ+ Pride displays this year. St. Louis region barista Alex Barge shares why she joined the strike and what’s changed since her store joined Starbucks Workers United last year.

Dwayne Tiggs and Rikki Watts have shared the progress of their 420 square foot house since last year. Despite a few setbacks and a citywide plumber shortage, the house is taking shape with walls, a deck, and a roof in place. While building their own home, they are teaching others how to do the same all with reclaimed and recycled materials and a lot of help from neighbors and friends.

Supporting local artists sounds good in theory, but what does it look like in practice? Kranzberg Arts Foundation has put out a call for artist residencies for years, but this year they are expanding the reach in the ways to get involved. Director of artist residencies Larry Morris shares how supporting artists and creating sustainable communities around the arts benefit the region as a whole.

For 10 years, the the Southeastern Rodeo Association has proudly celebrated the contributions of Black cowboys, including St. Louis cowboy Reggie “Sauce Boss” Smith. St. Louis Public Radio photojournalist Brian Munoz interviewed Smith, and other participants, while experiencing the St. Louis Open Black Rodeo on June 25.

Graphic novel “The Atonement Bell” has a number of direct references to St. Louis. Co-creators Jim Ousley and Tyler B. Ruff took inspiration for both the plot and art of the horror story from their personal experiences in the region. The story has been nominated for an Eisner Award for Best New Series.

On June 6, Missouri’s State Board of Education suspended the teaching license of a Hazelwood preschool teacher. It’s an action that school districts are increasingly seeking: Under a 2016 law, districts are empowered to file for financial penalties as high as $10,000, and to suspend a teacher’s license, if a teacher decides to break their contract. Mark Jones, the communications director of the Mi...

Dive into a good beach read this summer with recommendations from two St. Louis librarians, Tammy Albohaire and Maryann Brickey.

Registered nurses Marchelle Vernell and Hadas Becker are sounding the alarm on what they say is a lack of safe staffing levels at SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital. They say patients are waiting too long for care — and that patient frustration can pose a security risk to staff and other patients.

You’ve likely heard a St. Louisan say, “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity,” when jokingly — or apologetically — talking about the high temps in the region during summertime. However, climate change experts take both the heat and moisture very seriously. Freelance environmental reporter Kelly Smits shared her reporting on the constant rising temperatures and why St. Louis’ history of red-lining...

St. Louis food writer and trained chef Holly Fann talks about what inspired her TEDxStLouis talk about the illusion of “authentic” ethnic food, and how candid conversation about it can make us better, more informed diners.

More than 44,000 marijuana cases, including over 10,000 felony convictions, were expunged in Missouri before a June 8 deadline. However, many remain unresolved. Attorney Dan Viets, Missouri coordinator for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and public defender Matt Schmidt discuss where that effort has fallen short.

With St. Louis’ population in decline and property being affordable, neglected land parcels are desirable to developers. Some might see the attention as a positive — addressing blight which would ideally lead to decreased crime and higher property values. West End residents April Walker and Lisa Potts along with their neighbors and support from Invest STL led by executive director Dara Eskridge cr...

For lovers of dogs, nature and music, St. Louis musician Mikey Wehling’s forthcoming album, Camp Scout Vol. 2, captures the sounds of summer. Wehling discusses how the album traces his adventures with his dog, Scout, to the Cumberland River in Tennessee and the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri, both of which inspired the instrumental album.

Construction workers have nearly twice the rate of substance abuse as the national average, and the rate of suicide for men working in construction is about four times higher than the general population. A newly formed St. Louis-based peer support system aims to improve outcomes for St. Louis construction workers who struggle with addiction and/or mental health issues.

The status of being publicly queer or trans has become increasingly fraught in Missouri in 2023. Historian Steven Louis Brawely and artist Steve Willits reflect on commemorating Pride month, and LGBTQ history, at a time when events are playing out, as Brawley says, in “real time.”

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen could vote as soon as this week to raise water rates by 40% over the next 2 ½ years. Future increases would be tied to the cost of inflation. Curt Skouby, Director of the City of St. Louis’ Department of Public Utilities and Water Commissioner, explains ongoing issues with rising prices and aging infrastructure, as well as why he supports the rate increase.

It wasn’t a single destination that spurred Jack Snelling to spend 10 days driving more than 4,300 miles around Missouri. His route, inspired by Missouri’s original highway system, led to 115 historic courthouses. Along the way, he learned to appreciate the state’s many communities, as well as the legacy of a now little-known highway system.

Tyler Small, a 27-year-old self-taught photographer and queer Black dad in St. Louis, is commemorating Father’s Day in a special way. He’s taking pictures of fellow Black fathers for a local nonprofit’s event that raises funds for free mental health services and he’s sharing his own story of becoming a father.

In St. Louis’ food scene, the current star of the show is the humble bagel. New shops, and long lines, have led Sauce Magazine’s Meera Nagarajan to declare it a veritable “bagel boom.” Ted Wilson, co-owner of Bagel Union in Webster Groves, describes the years of work to turn his boiled-and-baked dreams into reality, and Jackie Polcyn, the shop’s head baker and production manager, tells us what it...

Last October, the Hazelwood School District closed Jana Elementary School in Florissant, Missouri, after a company called Boston Chemical Data Corporation issued a report that said there was radioactive contamination in the school and that it was dangerous. But, the scientific consensus shows that radioactive contamination isn’t present. We listen to STLPR education reporter Kate Grumke’s extended...

St. Louis’ intimate one-ring circus, Circus Flora, is back at the Big Top in Grand Center. Artistic and executive director (and lifelong circus performer) Jack Marsh says acts such as aerialist Laura Lippert, the Globe of Speed, and world class juggler Roberto Carlos will thrill audiences in the circus’ 37th season that runs until June 25.

Seven years ago, singer-songwriter Lizzie Weber was living on an island off the coast of Washington state when she was inspired to write her forthcoming album, “Fidalgo.” The pandemic brought her home to St. Louis, and she is now set to release it June 9. Weber calls the journey a “full-circle moment.”

There are some 600 million cats in the world. Not all of them are pets — between 50 and 100 million in the U.S. — but cats share a fascinating history with humans. Washington University evolutionary biologist Jonathan Losos dives into that history in the new book, “The Cat's Meow: How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa.” Losos joins guest host Alex Heuer to talk about all things cats.

Restorative justice programs like Freedom Community Centers are gaining attention as the criminal justice system continues to get criticized for racial and economic biases. Kayla Thompson and her colleagues in the Free Us Group Track Program within FCC facilitate an intensive 12-week program which involves community service and therapy.