During the just-concluded special session, a bipartisan contingent of Missouri lawmakers were able to get the stadium package across the finish line while also aiding victims of the May 16 tornado. State Sen. Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis, and House Speaker Jon Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, discuss the legislative action. STLPR statehouse and politics reporter Sarah Kellogg also joins the discussion.
Jun 13, 2025•30 min
Five Missourians are recipients of the Missouri Foundation for Health’s inaugural Spark Prize — a $200,000 grant to individuals for their vision, commitment and promise to improve health and well-being in the state. One recipient is Ciearra “CJ” Walker, the St. Louis-based founder and CEO of the Community Health Worker Coalition. Walker talks about how her organization aims to have trained community health workers that help others navigate systems and reinforce that health outcomes aren’t just a...
Jun 12, 2025•17 min
St. Louis’ Bosnian community is observing the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica. A local coalition is leading efforts to commemorate the massacre and its 8,000-plus victims with a series of events and a July 12 walk in downtown St. Louis. The genocide changed the lives of many Bonsians, including Elvir Ahmetovic, who lived through the Srebrenica massacre as a child and is now a St. Louis teacher. Ahmetovic, attorney Adna Nedim Ramic, and Center for Bosnian Studies Director Adna Kara...
Jun 12, 2025•33 min
In Misty Copeland’s 10 years as the American Ballet Theater’s first Black woman principal dancer, she has inspired others to see themselves in ballet shoes and on stages across the world — and St. Louis is no exception. Erica Hill, founder of the Florissant-based dance company Pointe of Surrender, speaks to Copeland's influence — on herself and the Black dancers who come to her studio. Hill also describes Healing Humanity Through Arts, her dance company’s nonprofit arm, and its work to make danc...
Jun 11, 2025•22 min
On May 6, Missouri's Endangered Wolf Center sent six tiny wolf pups to New Mexico on a rare journey. From that point on, the 10-day-old wolves will grow up wild. The center has raised 289 Mexican wolves since it was founded about 50 years ago by former St. Louis Zoo director — and host of “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” — Marlin Perkins. Sarah Holaday, the center's director of animal care and conservation, and Susan Schmoker, the center’s curator, share their insights into the crucial role Miss...
Jun 11, 2025•29 min
Dive into a good beach read this summer with fiction, nonfiction and locally-focused book recommendations from Jennifer Alexander of St. Louis County Library and Ted Reidy of St. Louis Public Library.
Jun 10, 2025•50 min
The May 16 EF-3 tornado destroyed Centennial Christian Church in the Fountain Park neighborhood in north St. Louis. One person died and two others were trapped beneath the rubble before they were rescued. In this episode, STLPR afternoon newscaster Marissanne Lewis-Thompson talks about their story. She also details how the people trapped below weren’t able to successfully reach 911 during the disaster.
Jun 09, 2025•32 min
Cultures around alcohol consumption run a range as broad as beverages on a drink menu. For some, drinking culture means afternoons at a vineyard, and for others it’s a night on the town full of raucous fun. In some cases, drinking habits can lead to an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. Thankfully, there are bar proprietors who focus on the “art of alcohol” — promoting responsible drinking that stems from the sharing of different histories and cultures linked to wines and spirits. Javia Gillia...
Jun 09, 2025•18 min
The community response to St. Louis' May 16 tornado has involved hundreds of volunteers putting in thousands of hours over the last three weeks. But some volunteer efforts are now entering a different phase. On June 6, the People’s Response Hub closed its location in O’Fallon Park. We explore the current status of this ongoing, unofficial relief effort with Action St. Louis Executive Director Kayla Reed, and why the closing will result in a “gap” in aid services as volunteers work to reestablish...
Jun 06, 2025•25 min
Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and her daughter, poet and writer Ruby Aiyo Gerber, talk about co-writing the opera, “This House.” in this encore episode. Taking place in a majestic Harlem brownstone, the opera explores themes of gentrification and losing Black histories. It also delves into what connects – and binds – people to history and to one another. “This House” will have its world premiere at Opera Theatre of St. Louis this May.
Jun 06, 2025•25 min
Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s style, stage presence and sonic expression complement each other perfectly on their double-headlined Grand National Tour. The two have collaborated for much of their careers and their working relationship was evident at the sold-out appearance at the Dome at America’s Center. Host Elaine Cha and producer Miya Norfleet recount their experience at the GNX tour stop in St. Louis.
Jun 05, 2025•18 min
When Dorsa Derakhshani was banned from playing for Iran's national chess team because she didn't wear a hijab at an international tournament, she left the country to attend St. Louis University. Now a Mizzou medical student, St. Louis Chess Club instructor and U.S. citizen, Derakhshani is passionate about being an advocate for freedom of speech and expression — and for making room for women to be in traditionally men’s spaces. She reflects on what it meant to leave her home country for the U.S.,...
Jun 05, 2025•41 min
More than 10,000 buildings were damaged from the May 16 tornado that tore through St. Louis. Soon after, affected city residents began seeing stickers affixed to their front doors — each signifying the amount of damage to the structure. Red stickers cautioned: “Danger: Entry Prohibited: Violators subject to prosecution.” City building division leadership shed light on how those assessments were made and what they mean. Later in the episode, a legal advisor with Tenants Transforming Greater St. L...
Jun 04, 2025•35 min
Circus Flora is back for its 39th season with a brand-new production starting this week under the Big Top in Grand Center. The new show, “Urban Legend”, is a monster story that features a new collection of talented performers, from acrobats to jugglers and even dogs. Circus Flora artistic and executive director Jack Marsh and St. Louis-native juggler Book Kennison take us inside the production to share their insights on bringing the magic of a circus act to life.
Jun 04, 2025•15 min
A city’s poet laureate does more than write and recite original stanzas. Pacia Elaine Anderson, St. Louis’ new Poet Laureate, shares how she looks forward to adding her voice and arts-forward sensibilities to decision-making tables at City Hall and being an advocate for the arts.
Jun 03, 2025•23 min
The biggest restaurant news each month usually centers on openings and closings. But the May 16 tornado that tore through St. Louis shifted the focus. We look at how restaurants in the Delmar Maker District were affected, then turn to the latest openings and closures in the St. Louis dining scene. Our guests are STLPR digital editor Jessica Rogen and St. Louis Magazine food writer Cheryl Baehr.
Jun 03, 2025•27 min
Many St. Louisans impacted by the May 16 tornado have lost their official government issued documents to the storm, and they need those documents to claim aid. Sheree Hickman, director of the Missouri State ID Access Coalition; and Andre Cole, executive director of the nonprofit Urban City Services share how coalition member organizations are helping people get birth certificates and state identification documents in the aftermath of the tornado.
Jun 02, 2025•19 min
Missouri lawmakers have kicked off a special session focused in part on providing relief for those affected by the May 16 tornado. The region is also waiting to see whether President Trump will approve a major disaster declaration — a move that could unlock additional federal resources. In the meantime, the City of St. Louis is weighing its own response, but those efforts ran into a setback on Friday. STLPR’s Rachel Lippmann explains.
Jun 02, 2025•7 min
A Missouri Supreme Court ruling last week has, for now, reinstated the state's ban on abortion. It’s a familiar development for doctors and patients here in Missouri — and, for Planned Parenthood, part of a yearslong fight that has only grown more entrenched. The recently appointed chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, Dr. Margaret Baum, shares her reaction to the Missouri Supreme Court decision and the closing of Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide. She also responds to cl...
Jun 02, 2025•25 min
U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell, D-St. Louis County, discusses his call for President Donald Trump to sign off on Gov. Mike Kehoe’s request for a major disaster declaration, which would provide individual assistance to victims of the May 16 tornado.
May 30, 2025•30 min
Missouri lawmakers will return to Jefferson City on Monday to take part in a high-stakes special session. Gov. Mike Kehoe wants legislators to pass state relief for tornado victims, some unfinished capital improvement projects, and an incentive package to keep the Chiefs and the Royals in Missouri. Missouri State Sen. Brian Williams, D-University City, discusses the upcoming session and how tensions from the regular session may shape what happens next.
May 30, 2025•20 min
Effects of the deadly tornado that hit St. Louis earlier this month are raising legal questions for people impacted by the disaster, from negotiating with insurance companies and landlords to obtaining federal aid. There are also legal implications in the city’s failure to sound its tornado siren as the storm gathered strength on May 16. Those topics, and more, are taken up in the May edition of “St. Louis on the Air”’s Legal Roundtable with expert attorneys.
May 29, 2025•50 min
In late April, Carol Mayorga -- a resident of Kennett, Missouri, a rural town in the state's Bootheel area -- went to St. Louis to renew her employment authorization documents at a routine check-in with immigration officials. She was detained, and shackled, and is now held at the Greene County jail in Springfield, Missouri. She faces deportation to Hong Kong. Midwest Newsroom investigative reporter Kavahn Mansouri and STLPR reporter Chad Davis discuss their story that details why Mayorga was arr...
May 28, 2025•23 min
In the aftermath of the May 16 tornado in St. Louis, social media feeds have been filled with photos of the devastation, lists of ways people can help, and pleas for folks to protect any bricks that may have fallen off their homes and businesses: “Don’t let them come and take your bricks.” And for good reason — a pallet of bricks sells for about $270. But the bricks aren’t just financially valuable: They symbolize a bond of people to place. In this episode, we talk about the ongoing work to help...
May 28, 2025•27 min
On May 15, 2025, Tenelle Winmore had one of the best days of his life — he had just graduated with his Masters of Art in Teaching from St. Louis University. The next day, he watched a peach tree get pulled out of his backyard from an EF3 tornado. The storm tore through areas of St. Louis County, St. Louis and the Metro East — including the Fountain Park neighborhood in north St. Louis that Winmore calls home. He shares what it’s been like to repair his home, assist his neighbors, clean up debris...
May 27, 2025•19 min
Researchers at Saint Louis University are seeking volunteers for 10-day stays at “Hotel Influenza,” the nickname for an unusual testing facility run by Saint Louis University. The facility is designed to give researchers a rare, controlled look at how viruses affect the human body. Participants will be getting paid close to $3,500 to be infected with a strain of influenza. Dr. Daniel Hoft, director of SLU’s Vaccine Center and principal investigator of an upcoming study, explains how the study wi...
May 27, 2025•32 min
Brit Lockhart started jazz fusion band Ish Ensemble in 2016. Its creation came from love for St. Louis’ local music scene and putting its musicians first. He shares his method of creating music, collaborating with fellow artists and choosing just the right venue for a performance. According to Lockhart, it boils down to doing what feels right. Ish Ensemble has a residency at Pie Guy Pizza in the Grove and will hit the MATI Festival stage this summer.
May 24, 2025•25 min
Female rappers are dominating the charts, including St. Louis’ very own Diamond Smith — better known by her stage name Big Boss Vette. The writer and rapper behind hits like “Snatched” and “Pretty Girls Walk” reflects on her St. Louis roots, her fast-growing career and the lessons she’s learned along the way.
May 23, 2025•24 min
As a tornado swept through St. Louis on Friday, traffic stood still on Interstate 170 near Berkeley after a handful of drivers parked underneath an overpass. Experts have long warned motorists not to do so during storms, but the idea that it’s a safe practice persists. National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Deitsch and AAA spokesperson Nick Chabarria bust — or validate — common storm and tornado myths and warnings, including: “Do tornadoes avoid cities and places with lots of concrete? Is ...
May 22, 2025•26 min
The tornado that tore a path through St Louis on May 16 has sparked ongoing community relief efforts on the city’s north and west sides. Three organizers of that effort, Kayla Reed, Aaron Williams and Ohun Ashe, share their experience and takeaways as they work with hundreds of volunteers to distribute aid, clear debris, and reach people who are still in crisis without basic services.
May 22, 2025•25 min
