It seems that, nowadays, you can’t open a social media app without seeing zodiac content about specific sun signs or having folks worried about Mercury going into retrograde. But for millennia, the practice of astrology was more than pop culture fodder to consume. Astrologer Jade Moore tracks the cosmos personally and professionally at her store Sincerely, the Craft in Midtown. She joins the show to give a crash course on astrology’s history, culture and practice.
Jan 08, 2024•30 min
A newly unearthed ancient temple in Italy complicates the history of paganism and Christianity in the Roman Empire. Douglas Boin, a history professor at Saint Louis University, talks about his team’s discovery of an imperial cult temple that dates back to the fourth century.
Jan 08, 2024•21 min
Missouri lawmakers opened the 2024 session this week with GOP majority leaders of the House and Senate expressing optimism that they can accomplish major policy initiatives. That's despite election year pressures and a softening budgetary picture that may make it challenging to have a productive session. STLPR statehouse reporter Sarah Kellogg discusses what's ahead for this year's term in Jefferson City.
Jan 05, 2024•16 min
A recent vote by St. Louis Public Schools board members means fewer kids will have a St. Louis College Kids Savings account through the City of St. Louis’ College Kids program. Our guests dive into the origin of the program, and why it's drawn scrutiny from journalists and critics. They also explore how children’s savings accounts can help kids see higher education as an option, not just a possibility.
Jan 05, 2024•35 min
Since legal sales of medical marijuana started in Missouri in 2020 and adult recreational cannabis in 2023, business around all things marijuana has become a billion-dollar business. Missouri Independent journalist Rebecca Rivas talks about her recent coverage of Missouri’s cannabis industry, including a 60,000-product recall – and how lawsuits and politics could shape the industry in 2024.
Jan 04, 2024•33 min
In the fall of 2022, a Missouri law went into effect that opened school officials to possible criminal charges if they provide “explicit sexual content” to students. That has had a chilling effect on librarians, and it resulted in Missouri removing the third highest number of books from library shelves, following Florida and Texas. STLPR reporter Kate Grumke talks with Mernie Maestas, the lead librarian for the Wentzville School District in St. Charles County.
Jan 04, 2024•18 min
When Central Visual and Performing Arts High School student Ray Strickland performed his original song “Time for Change” at the St. Louis Teen Talent Competition in 2023, he sang in recognition of his cousin who he lost to gun violence, of George Floyd, who was murdered shortly after Strickland wrote the song, and in reflection of the mass shooting at his school months earlier. He shares what he is up to now and his belief in the power of the “universal language” of music.
Jan 03, 2024•20 min
D.B. Cooper’s 1971 airplane hijacking did more than just create an American crime legend: He inspired copycats, including in St. Louis in 1972. The St. Louis caper forms the core of University of Missouri history professor John Wigger's new book, “The Hijacking of American Flight 119: How D.B. Cooper Inspired a Skyjacking Craze and the FBI’s Battle to Stop It." Wigger interviewed McNally, who was released from federal prison in 2010, and more than a dozen retired FBI agents. Wigger spoke with St...
Jan 03, 2024•31 min
Sam Goodwin was just thirteen countries away from reaching his goal of visiting every country when he traveled to Syria. His visit took a wrong turn when he was wrongfully accused of espionage and held in the country’s notorious prison system. Goodwin’s forthcoming book about his captivity shares the ways coincidence and connection led to his release.
Jan 02, 2024•29 min
50 years after the Endangered Species Act was passed, the Missouri Botanical Garden continues their plant conservation efforts within the garden grounds and in the wild. Matthew Albrecht, director of Missouri Botanical Garden’s Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development, and Becky Sucher, senior manager of the garden’s Living Collections share the successes in plant conservation and how the noticeably changing weather patterns affects their work at the garden and in the field.
Jan 02, 2024•22 min
2023 was a year of change in St. Louis politics as Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner resigned from an office in turmoil and the Board of Aldermen was cut in half. STLPR journalists Jason Rosenbaum, Brian Munoz, Will Bauer, Rachel Lippmann and Sarah Kellogg break down the top political stories of the year.
Dec 22, 2023•32 min
The St. Louis Board of Aldermen went through a major political and structural transformation in 2023. St. Louis Board of Aldermen President Megan Green discusses some of the highlights of the past year and what to expect from her aldermanic colleagues in 2024.
Dec 22, 2023•20 min
On Monday morning, a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officer drove his SUV through the front wall of a local gay bar. The incident ended with Bar:PM co-owner Chad Morris in handcuffs, under arrest and charged with felony assault. Attorneys Mark Smith, Kalila Jackson and Dave Roland discuss this case, and others, in this Legal Roundtable episode.
Dec 21, 2023•50 min
Yes, radio stations have photojournalists — and they’re vital to the stories St. Louis Public Radio produces. Interim Digital Editor Brian Munoz and photojournalist Tristen Rouse have wrapped up collecting STLPR’s “Year in Photos.” They join the show to discuss what happens behind the lens, and how it’s led to some of their favorite images among the thousands they’ve captured in 2023.
Dec 21, 2023•19 min
In this encore, listen back to our September interview with columnist and commentator Michael Harriot. Harriot's debut book, “Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America,” offers a compelling retelling of American history. Harriot discusses why he tackled a sweeping retelling of American history, and also shares his experiences from covering protests in Ferguson in 2014 and St. Louis in 2017.
Dec 20, 2023•32 min
St. Louis-based dining critics & food writers dish on STL’s 2023 trends and highlights, and talk about what’s to come in 2024. Guests include Meera Nagarajan (Sauce Magazine), Ian Froeb (St. Louis Post-Dispatch), and Holly Fann (Eater, St. Louis Magazine).
Dec 19, 2023•28 min
On Oct. 25, more than a dozen of Fatima Elkabti’s family members were killed in Gaza City in a single Israeli airstrike. The war is taking a toll on the Palestinian American, wife and mother. And, it comes at a time when the Washington University creative writing grad is writing a book that’s preserving her family’s history of displacement — and drawing parallels to today.
Dec 19, 2023•23 min
In 2023, we said goodbye to a number of remarkable people who lived and worked in the St. Louis region. In this episode, we honor those we lost this year by listening back to conversations with them or by hearing from those who knew them well.
Dec 18, 2023•50 min
When war erupted in the Gaza Strip, Linda Badran decided it was time to co-found a local chapter of the non-profit aid group Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. She wants to rally fellow St. Louisans who want to see an end to the war and contribute to the healing, and recovery, of the thousands of children being harmed by violence.
Dec 15, 2023•24 min
In its 68th season, the St. Louis Chamber Chorus is taking a musical tour around the globe. This Sunday’s concert at the Second Presbyterian Church in the Central West End adds to that theme and will feature the premiere of “Seeking You,” a new Christmas song composed by Kerensa Briggs that uses text from a poem of the same name by Charles Anthony Silvestri. Briggs and St. Louis Chamber Chorus Artistic Director Philip Barnes join the show.
Dec 15, 2023•17 min
The new book “Black St. Louis” explores the life of Black people, from the founding of the city to the start of the 21st century. Through colorful imagery and detailed documentation, co-authors Calvin Riley and NiNi Harris tell the stories of enslaved people, night-club owners, soldiers and everyday Black St. Louisans.
Dec 15, 2023•41 min
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are using nature as inspiration to combat the growing problem of plastic pollution. In this encore episode, we learn how they’re using a $3.6 million grant to develop sustainably sourced plastics by mimicking natural materials like spider silk fibers.
Dec 13, 2023•16 min
In 2018, writer Robert Langellier and botanist Neal Humke cut down every tree across 19 acres in Pioneer Forest. Their aim was to restore one of the Ozarks' rarest ecosystems: a glade. While it may seem counterintuitive to cut down trees in a time of climate change, restoring glades helps ensure biodiversity. In this encore episode, Langellier talks about the conservation effort. Humke, land stewardship coordinator for the L-A-D Foundation (which privately owns the land in the Pioneer Forest) di...
Dec 13, 2023•26 min
Congress is poised to give final approval to the National Defense Authorization Act, a customarily popular and bipartisan bill. But, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley voted “no” and he’s accusing congressional leadership of abandoning St. Louis-area victims poisoned by nuclear contamination from the Manhattan Project. Hawley talks with STLPR senior environmental reporter Kate Grumke about his opposition to the bill.
Dec 12, 2023•13 min
December 8 was the last day for the staff of The Southern Illinoisan. Its new owner, Paxton Media Group, eliminated the entire staff of unionized workers. The decision blindsided its longtime workers, and marks the end of an era. Former editor-in-chief Jackson Brandhorst discusses what happened at The Southern, what's been lost, and where the paper's former journalists and staff go from here.
Dec 12, 2023•14 min
Hollywood film producer and director Reginald Hudlin is the mind and energy behind cult classics “House Party” and “Boomerang” as well as “Marshall,” starring the late Chadwick Boseman. He also has producing credits on the Quentin Taratino film “Django Unchained.” Hudlin credits his interests in the arts to his upbringing in East St. Louis, Illinois. STLPR arts and culture senior reporter Jeremy D. Goodwin sat down with Hudlin to talk about his childhood heroes, his take on how Hollywood’s recep...
Dec 12, 2023•17 min
Children of immigrants often face heritage language loss. St. Louis parents and community members are taking practical steps to maintain linguistic and cultural connection across generations.
Dec 12, 2023•42 min
John Goodman has worked in Hollywood for nearly 50 years, but he’s always kept St. Louis close to his heart. The Affton native will be in town on Dec.17 for the Repertory Theater of St. Louis' “Rally for The Rep.” The benefit show’s proceeds will help the theater raise $2.5M to make up for its current budget shortfall. In this episode, Goodman reflects on the power of theater performance, his career highlights, and how growing up in St. Louis has informed many of his movie and television roles o...
Dec 08, 2023•25 min
Ki Chapman was searching for a way to get active and found her way back to a favorite childhood pastime — jumping double Dutch. Since discovering the 40+ Double Dutch Club, she’s become the captain of the St. Louis chapter double Dutch is more than just a game. For Chapman, it’s shown her new ways to give back to her community and connected her with jumpers across the country.
Dec 08, 2023•17 min
In October, the City of St. Louis made two national rankings for LBGTQ+ friendliness, but each list told a different story. One list named it among the most friendly to the queer community. The other list named St. Louis as one of the most unfriendly. We explore what’s behind that discrepancy with panelists Avi Ivaturi, peer support organizer at St. Louis Queer Support Helpline; Midwest Rainbow Research Institute Executive Director Inoru Morris; and Nick Dunne, LGBTQIA+ and Arts Liaison for the ...
Dec 07, 2023•40 min
