St. Louis on the Air

In the early 1970s, Chol Soo Lee, a Korean American immigrant, was falsely convicted for a San Francisco Chinatown murder and later sentenced to death. Activists led by a Korean American journalist and college students initiated a pan-Asian American movement to exonerate Lee. This largely unknown piece of history is the focus of the 2022 documentary film “Free Chol Soo Lee.” Liz Lenivy, attorney a...

Wednesday marked a milestone for St. Louis’ soccer fans, as thousands packed CityPark, the newest stadium in St. Louis and home to the latest MLS expansion team, which begins play in February. STLPR's Jeremy D. Goodwin and Wayne Pratt discuss CityPark's debut that featured an international exhibition.

In 1973, just a few years after coming out as gay, Patrick Haggerty and his band Lavender Country recorded their self-titled album. It would take more than 40 years for music lovers, and a record label, to rediscover “Lavender Country,” and for it to be recognized as the first openly gay country album. But it was a second country musician, St. Louis songwriter Jack Grelle, who helped propel him ba...

STLPR correspondent Jason Rosenbaum discusses Senator-elect Eric Schmitt's official foray into the world of federal policymaking.

Researchers are still learning and discovering what happens after someone has COVID-19 and what recovery looks like. Lasting effects of the viral infection are dubbed ‘long COVID’ by those experiencing mysterious conditions that linger well after harsh coughs subdue and fevers lower. Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, clinical epidemiologist at the VA St. Louis Health Care System and Washington University’s School...

St. Louis filmmaker David Kirkman, co-founder of the Black Speculative Arts Movement Reynaldo Anderson, and multi-disciplinary creative Dacia Polk discuss the rising interest in Afrofuturism and why St. Louis is uniquely positioned to be a hub of Afrofuturist creativity.

Smidley’s new album, "Here Comes The Devil" is Foxing vocalist Conor Murphy’s first solo album since his 2017 self-titled debut. It was released on Friday. He discusses the album, its influences and what Smidley allows him to explore outside of his work with Foxing.

ProPublica Local Reporting Network and the Kansas City Beacon released a new investigation into Missouri employment centers for disabled adults. Employees of these centers, or ‘sheltered workshops,’ are paid $4 an hour on average. The author of the report Madison Hopkins discusses why Missouri workshops have such low success rates and why state officials refuse to change the program.

Seven years ago, the Department of Justice called out St. Louis County police for detaining people without a warrant. Now, a federal appeals court says that system is “fraught” with constitutional risk. So, why do local police keep doing it? Maureen Hanlon, the Lead Attorney for Civil Rights Litigation at ArchCity Defenders, discusses the case, and the various ways the federal appeals court attack...

In the summer of 2020, several St. Louis women took to social media to share serious allegations about safety at restaurants, bars and a tattoo parlor in the city’s Grove neighborhood. Sam Hunerlach later founded St. Louis Against Sexual Assault to help train local bars and restaurants on how to prevent sexual harrassment and assault and make their establishments safe for patrons and staff.

There are almost 25,000 vacant houses, commercial buildings and land plots in St. Louis, and about 60% are privately owned. Some nuisance properties can be a blight on communities.. STLPR reporter Chad Davis talks about how neighborhood associations have been trying to acquire them or compel owners to fix them.

In the past four decades, smaller-brained birds have been shrinking, but a Wash U study finds that’s less true of their bigger-brained counterparts. We revisit Sarah Fenske's February 2022 conversation with study co-author Justin Baldwin about what’s driving the changes, as well as his passion for birds both as a researcher and bird watcher.

Martin L. Mathews, the co-founder of the Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club in St. Louis, died this week at 97. Matthews spoke with former host Sarah Fenske in 2020. We re-visit this conversation to honor his memory.

St. Louis poet and journalist Jacqui Germain’s debut full-length poetry collection, “Bittering the Wound,” takes readers back to the tear gas-choked nights of the Ferguson protests. Germain was there in 2014 — marching with others down West Florissant in the aftermath of the death of Michael Brown. She discusses her new collection, and, what it means to write “to” Ferguson, instead of “about” it.

Eldritch horror is a genre of fiction inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, among other authors, in the early 20th century. Unlike the genre’s forefathers, however, today’s Eldritch authors — like St. Louis creator Marie Enger — shed underlying themes of xenophobia and racism for modern stories that are inclusive.

Bob McCullough stood out among prosecutors nationally for his success getting the death penalty for defendants he prosecuted. He’s been out of office since 2019 but three of the 23 people he sent to death row are scheduled for execution in coming months. Ryan Krull has a deep dive into Bob McCullough’s legacy published this week in the Riverfront Times. It is part of a series exploring the death p...

Dive into the results of the November 8 election with St. Louis Public Radio political correspondent Jason Rosenbaum and UMSML political science professor Anita Manion. They recap all the dramatic campaign developments, from Eric Schmitt to legal cannabis to Sam Page. We also hear from newly elected Board of Aldermen President Megan Green, who discussed her win on Tuesday and the challenges facing...

From 1976 to 2007, thousands of bands performed at Mississippi Nights on Laclede’s Landing. AC/DC played their ninth American concert there in 1977. Nirvana performed its only St. Louis concert at the music club in 1991. Local bands such as the Urge, Pale Divine and Uncle Tupelo were there too. We talk with Stacy and Garrett Enloe who have written the new book, “Mississippi Nights: A History of Th...

At Literary Death Match, writers compete in a competitive, humor-centric reading series. After more than 500 such events across the country (and the world), the event finally makes its way to St. Louis November 10. Creator Adrian Todd Zuniga and author Deborah Jackson-Taffa discuss Literary Death Match’s origins and mission.

One of the most audacious protests in St. Louis history is the inspiration behind a new play chronicling the efforts of the activist group ACTION — which in 1972 sent members to infiltrate the Veiled Prophet ball. That operation, which dramatically unveiled that year’s Veiled Prophet, is among the subjects of the play “Action,” opening November 11. Director Kathryn Bentley and actor Miles Brenton...

Antisemitic rhetoric and violence is on the rise. The Anti-Defamation League tracks antisemitic incidents in the U.S. ranging from graffiti to assault and it have reported that incidents have been on the rise and climbing since 2016. Now they’re at the highest level since the ADL started tracking in the 1970s. Arts and culture senior reporter Jeremy D. Goodwin talks with Helen Turner, director of...

Nartana Premachandra’s parents founded Dances of India in St. Louis in 1977. Forty-five years later, the dance company is one of the oldest classical Indian dance groups in the country. Premachandra and Dances of India Co-Director Theckla Mehta discuss this year’s annual performance and the Hindu mythology that inspires their dances.

Death is scary, uncomfortable, and expensive. More families are looking for alternatives to the conventional method of being buried in a casket and looking toward more cost effective and eco-friendly options. Tim Johnson of Foundation Cremation and Gracie Griffin of Bellefontaine Cemetery discuss these alternatives and the conversations they’re having with families as they lay their loved ones to...

Arkadin Cinema opened in St. Louis’ Bevo Mill neighborhood in June 2020. Other local theaters were closing during the pandemic — but not Arkadin. The microcinema has grown a cult following with its monthly Drinkolas Cage events. Co-owners Keith Watson and Sarah Baraba talk about their big plans for the future, and we bring you the sounds of last month’s Drinkolas Cage event.

On November 8, voters in Missouri will face Amendment 5, which asks them: “Shall the Missouri National Guard currently under the Missouri Department of Public Safety be its own department, known as the Missouri Department of the National Guard, which shall be required to protect the constitutional rights and civil liberties of Missourians?” Its supporters include former Missouri National Guard Adj...