St. Louis on the Air

Annual physical fitness tests have become a cornerstone of military life. Each service has its own take on the once-a-year assessment but the country’s newest military branch is ditching that model. STLPR reporter Eric Schmid talks about how the Space Force plans to use wearable fitness devices to track physical activity throughout the year.

Glendale City Administrator Benjamin DeClue says that the St. Louis region has “become a poster child for political corruption.” To solve that problem, he argues, St. Louis and St. Louis County should adopt a council-manager form of government.

In the wake of several recent fatalities caused by high speed vehicle pursuits in the St. Louis region, St. Louis City NAACP President Adolphus Pruitt calls for policy reform within the St. Louis and St. Louis County police departments.

Roughly two years after he came close to unseating U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, Jason Kander found himself checking into a Veterans Administration facility to get help for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. A day later, he would go public about leaving electoral politics to tend to his mental health — a journey Kander recounts in vivid and often startling detail in his new book, “Invisible Sto...

In the wake of several recent fatalities caused by high speed vehicle pursuits in the St. Louis region, St. Louis City NAACP President Adolphus Pruitt calls for policy reform within the St. Louis and St. Louis County police departments

When Lt. Col. Rochelle Jones retired from the St. Louis police department last month, she was the highest-ranking Black woman in the department’s history. STLPR's Rachel Lippmann talks with Jones about her 39-year-career: how she rose through the ranks and about some of the opportunities and challenges she faced along the way.

For the Culture STL began as the passion project of activist and protester Ohun Ashe. Four years later, the group is staging multiple summer events and boosting Black businesses in St. Louis. Ashe previews those events and reflects on her years-long efforts to support Black businesses in St. Louis.

Many schools across the St. Louis area have more open positions than normal for this time of year. STLPR education reporter Kate Grumke joins the show to talk about why schools are faced with a shortage of teachers and support staff.

Since the age of 11, Thalia Cervantes Landeiro has been winning national competitions in her home country Cuba and abroad. Now based in St. Louis, she shares how chess is part of her culture’s identity and the influence St. Louis has on the professional chess world.

Chris Randall believes that anyone who wants to own a gun should receive proper training. In 2020, Randall founded Raider Defense Group. He’s trained about 75 people — particularly Black St. Louisans — how to be a responsible gun owner. Randall, a former police officer and U.S. Marine, joined the show in addition to one of his clients, Erica Alexander.

St. Louis lost a pillar of the Cherokee Street community in late June, when Minerva Lopez Montaigne passed away at the age of 60. Gabriela Ramirez Arellano, the co-host of “We Live Here Auténtico!” and others help celebrate Lopez Montaigne’s legacy.

Olajuwon Davis had big dreams for the theater stage and movie screen, but his arrest during the Ferguson protests of 2014 led to headlines about the Black Panthers, the FBI and a foiled bomb plot. After six years in federal prison, Davis is a free man and back on stage in St. Louis with the Black Rep. Joined by Black Rep founder Ron Himes, Davis discusses his downfall, his time in prison, and his...

An analysis of 911 calls in St. Louis County shows that few are about violent crime. That raises questions about who is really best-suited to respond. Karishma Furtado, senior director of data and research at Forward Through Ferguson, joins the show to talk about reimagining public safety.

Jeremy D. Goodwin and Sarah Kellogg discuss proposed income tax cut.

Larry Morris, MC of the St. Louis hip-hop band iLLPHONiCS, established a new music festival to elevate rising hip-hop bands while introducing local audiences to the wide range of live hip-hop subgenres.

Former U.S. Attorney John Wood has launched an independent bid for the U.S. Senate. Most recently, he served as the senior investigative counsel for the House Select Committee on the January 6th Attack. Steve Vockrodt, investigative editor for the Midwest Newsroom, breaks down what effects this could have on the race.

Rep. Cori Bush sees several avenues to expand abortion rights at the federal level. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Missouri’s subsequent ban on most abortions, Bush wants Congress to codify abortion rights, expand the U.S. Supreme Court and repeal the Hyde Amendment.

In the wake of last week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and Missouri’s trigger law — which effectively bans most abortions in the state — OB-GYN Dr. Jeannie Kelly has concerns about how the new state law will affect gynecological and obstetrics care.

A new Missouri Botanical Garden exhibition examines the relationship between sound and plants. Nezka Pfeifer, the curator of “Botanical Resonance: Plants and Sounds in the Garden,” will discuss how the new Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum exhibition reveals important things about how we interact with our environment.

Asian carp has a new name — copi. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into a rebranding effort and landed on the name “copi,” to reflect the copious amount of the fish that live in Midwestern rivers and streams. Harvest Public Media reporter Dana Cronin joins us to talk about this fish story.

A series of hard-hitting investigative stories exposed a decades-long history of abuse at an evangelical summer sports camp that hosts thousands of children every year. Journalist Nancy French describes what she found as she connected with victims, former campers, staffers and parents — as well as her efforts to trace a counselor fired for abuse to a St. Louis ministry.

Hall Of Famer Ted Simmons is an avid art collector along with his wife Maryanne Ellison Simmons. A new exhibition at the St. Louis Art Museum, “Catching The Moment,” is curated from the Simmons collection.

Trump-backed candidates prevailed in two key Illinois primary contests. Rep. Mary Miller bested Rep. Rodney Davis in Illinois’ 15th Congressional District. That race pitted two incumbents against one another. GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey also emerged victorious by a large margin. NPR Illinois’ Hannah Meisel breaks down the results.

Para athletes from across North, South and Central America convene in St. Louis next week for the World Para Powerlifting Parapan American Open Championships. Missouri natives David Horvath and Brett Forbes discuss their love of powerlifting, what it takes to compete on Team USA, and their Paralympic dreams.

UMSL political scientist Anita Manion discusses the political ramifications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.