St. Louis on the Air

Five St. Louis-area Starbucks stores have filed for unionization. Two workers discussed what’s driving these efforts, as Wash U’s Jake Rosenfeld gives insight to the wave of unionizations sweeping the nation.

Black entrepreneurs want to see more entrepreneurs from marginalized backgrounds break into the cannabis industry. The executive director of Exit Now, Marne Madison, discusses what it will take to make that vision a reality, while Adrienne Scales-Williams and Jamila Owens-Todd of Luxury Leaf share their story as Black women working in medical marijuana in Missouri.

Decades after lead was banned in residential paint, water pipes and gasoline, thousands of Missouri children continue to suffer from lead poisoning. Reporter Allison Kite discusses her new deep dive into the issue, co-produced by the Missouri Independent and NPR's Midwest Newsroom.

Terrell Robinson has served 12 years in Missouri prisons for a parole violation that he says was never explained to him. Attorneys at the MacArthur Justice Center say his incarceration is part of a pattern that led to a federal judge ruling in 2020 that Missouri’s parole system is unconstitutional. Attorney Amy Breihan and Robinson’s wife Lawanda discuss his case.

Lux Living is one of the largest developers in St. Louis, yet many of their tenants are dissatisfied. Current and former tenants continue to voice complaints, and the company’s business practices also are drawing heat. In this episode, we talk with St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Jacob Barker. He recently reported on the company and the brothers who run it.

Voters in St. Louis County on Tuesday dealt County Executive Sam Page two decisive defeats. In one of them, voters passed Proposition B, which prohibits the county executive from holding another job. Page has worked some hours as anesthesiologist and critics made no secret about the measure targeting him. STLPR Political Correspondent Jason Rosenbuam breaks down the election results as Page faces...

Areas near power lines are often desolate. But wildlife biologists see them as an opportunity to plant pollinator habitats. Staffers at Ameren Illinois and Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever discuss how they’ve transformed 175 acres in Illinois by removing invasive species in favor of native plants.

In its 25 years, St. Louis’ drug treatment court has gone from being perceived as a way to keep drug convictions from marring otherwise clean records to helping the city’s most vulnerable. Commissioners Rochelle Woodiest and Matt Melton discuss their work — as three graduates share how it changed their lives.

Co-owners of Urban Buds, Karen “Mimo” Davis and Miranda Duschack, talk about their path to becoming farmer-florists, how their industry is wasteful and what they’re doing about it. Plus, home gardeners get some tips for planting flowers.

Illinois has become a destination for people seeking abortion, and “practical abortion funds” make cross-country trips a possibility. Midwest Access Coalition director Diana Parker-Kafka explains how logistics are increasingly key to abortion access.

St. Louis’ music video festival involves three crews making 13 music videos on Cherokee Street over a single day. Founder Bill Streeter explains the event’s accidental origins, how it’s changing this year and what he’s learned in a decade of capturing live performances on video.

Brian Jennings’ Bosnian American studies course at Affton High School seeks to engage the district’s large Bosnian population — and tell the story of a community shaped by genocide. He and his students share what they’ve learned in class.

St. Louis attorney Mark Pedroli discusses his five-year battle over disappearing text apps by officials in the office of then-Governor Eric Greitens, how the probe ensnared the office of then-AG Josh Hawley and what he sees as troubling implications for transparency in Missouri.

St. Louis entrepreneur Akeem Shannon went on ABC’s “Shark Tank” in 2020 and scored an investment for his product, Flipstik. Pandemic-related supply chain issues dealt Shannon a blow, but he’s overcome those. In this episode, Akeem Shannon explains how and what led to scoring a nationwide deal with Target.

An investigation by ProPublica and APM Reports and St. Louis Public Radio revealed that officials were lowering St. Louis' murder count by classifying some killings as justifiable homicides instead. The report's co-author, investigative reporter Jeremy Kohler, shares the details.

A $100 million expansion of Powell Hall requires the demolition of the historic Culver House — unless preservationists can find an alternative. Recently, backers trying to save the building gained an unexpected ally: Longtime developer Steve Smith.

St. Louis artists have started selling NFTs, and it’s helped them make money and get their work out to a wider audience. Many people say the digital tokens are hopelessly speculative — but one expert says their success points out the underlying nature of the art market in general.

Prop R would shift ward redistricting in St. Louis into civilian hands and require new disclosures for aldermen. Jami Cox, the policy chair for Reform St. Louis, makes the case for Prop R, while former alderwoman Heather Navarro shares her concerns about the changes it would bring.

Attorneys Bevis Schock, Nicole Gorovsky and Connie McFarland-Butler discuss a copyright infringement claim against U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, St. Louis’ aggressive defense of cops accused of civil rights abuses, and more. Editor’s note: During the on-air discussion of AG Eric Schmitt’s case against the Lee’s Summit school district, we wrongly indicated that the judge had granted default judgment to th...

John “JT” Thomas was an otherwise healthy 20-year-old when he was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2012. He discusses a life-changing kidney donation alongside his living donor, Niki Nickeson, a former high school acquaintance who felt compelled to give a kidney.

Three decades ago, the Shawnee National Forest was the focus of fierce battles over commercial logging on public lands. A new documentary by filmmaker Cade Bursell revisits that history and calls attention to new efforts to preserve the forest. Bursell discusses the film alongside longtime environmental activist John Wallace.

Attorney Mark Pedroli and journalist Steve Vockrodt discuss revelations and share highlights from the 50-plus hours of recordings that capture meetings of the working group exploring leasing St. Louis’ airport to a for-profit entity.

St. Louisan Gene Litvin traveled to Poland this month to help Ukrainians fleeing the war. Litvin, who himself left Ukraine in the 1990s as a Jewish refugee, shares what he saw, how he raised $20,000 to aid Ukraine and where he spent the money.

Missouri History Museum archivist Dennis Northcott discusses some of his favorite handwritten letters in the museum archives, including eyewitness accounts of a deadly incident in St. Louis during the Civil War and the terrible train accident that killed the father of future author Kate Chopin.

Born without arms, Letisha Wexstten achieved YouTube fame by showing people all the things she can do — drive a car, bake a cake and more. Now, she wants to help other disabled people demonstrate what they can do via her online career development platform V15Able, which links people with disabilities to employers.