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In the past week, protests against police brutality have filled the streets of St. Charles, O’Fallon, Kirkwood, Frontenac and more. In this episode, we explore the movement’s potential to lead to meaningful reform, as well as what will it take for all of St. Louis to affirm that black lives matter. Sarah Fenske talks with St. Louis Public Radio political editor, Fred Erlich, reporter Jonathan Ahl, and listeners who call in to share what’s on their minds at this moment in time.

Theater and restaurant workers have taken huge economic hits lately, and back before the coronavirus pandemic hit, Anna Blair was a busy member of both industries as an actor and bartender. Now theaters are closed, and restaurants and bars are seeing little traffic. But after experiencing some initial deep worry, Blair came up with an idea for how she wanted to spend her time during this crisis. She calls it Curbside Cabaret Cocktails. People looking for “a jolt of joy” can book her to serenade them karaoke-style — and mix them a drink while she’s at it. The other day, the St. Louis on the Air team stopped by one of Blair’s curbside performances in south St. Louis.

Vanessa Garry is passionate about preparing aspiring administrators to lead today’s schools. As an assistant professor of educator preparation and leadership at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, she often finds herself looking to the past for some of the most important lessons she teaches. That history is not always easy to grapple with, and Garry knows its ugliness better than most. The Missouri General Assembly’s 1847 passage of an act making it illegal to educate people of color is just one early example. Even after that changed in 1865, public schools were segregated by law. By the early 20th century, African American communities were leading the way in search of progress and reform. And one of those leaders was growing up in St. Louis’ Ville neighborhood: Ruth Harris. Described by Garry as a “reticent disrupter” in the Jim Crow era, Harris in 1940 became the first African American female president of Stowe Teachers College, which is now Harris-Stowe State University. This year marks the 80th anniversary of her appointment. Listen as Garry talks with host Sarah Fenske about Harris’ life and legacy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted almost everyone, but the epidemic poses unique challenges to children in foster care. Host Sarah Fenske talks with Rita Soronen, CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption,about the unique challenges facing kids in foster care right now. Also joining the conversation is t. Louis-based foster care recruiter Edna Green, who recently helped in the adoption of three St. Louis siblings. We also talk with their newly adoptive mother, Celeste Scott.

Jermar Perry and Bryant Antoine are social workers and friends. They graduated together from St. Louis University's Master of Social Work program in May 2019. Since then, the like-minded duo have launched an initiative aimed at what they say is their “life’s purpose” — helping men of color gain access to mental health resources. Perry and Antoine are the facilitators of the Village Healing and Writing Circle for Men of Color. The group's objective is to "heal from oppression, racism, toxic masculinity and the daily ills of life." It’s an effort to help black men, who are often dismissive of seeking mental health help, open up about their experiences and the world of therapy.

Seventeen-year-old Jalen Thompson and his friends Ryan Staples, Joseph Bartholomew and Ryan Fetsch had barely wrapped up their senior year at Fort Zumwalt West High School when protests against police brutality flared up across the country, sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Thompson and his friends wanted to seize the moment and find a way to galvanize their suburban community of O’Fallon, Missouri, which is largely white. They expected maybe a couple hundred people to show up at their June 1 demonstration — what they got was close to 2,000 people. In this episode of the talk show, Thompson joins host Sarah Fenske to talk about how he organized the first protest he’s ever even attended, the pushback he initially faced and how he’s already caught the attention of national media outlets — including MSNBC and the Today Show.

Last year, a report published in the medical journal Obstetrics and Gynecology surveying low-income women in St. Louis found that nearly two-thirds of them can’t always afford pads or tampons — often resorting to rags, diapers or paper towels. According to Laurel Segrist, program manager for the St. Louis Alliance for Period Supplies, such “period poverty” in the region is still as pressing of an issue than ever, perpetuated by the coronavirus pandemic.

When Heather Mitchell saw those viral Lake of the Ozarks images of not-so-socially-distanced partying over Memorial Day weekend, she felt concern and frustration — like many people. But she also saw the situation as a clear example of the various ways humans respond when new information conflicts with previously held beliefs. Mitchell is an associate professor of psychology at Webster University, and she specializes in cognitive dissonance. In the age of COVID-19, that means exploring how people deal with that psychological conflict — and the ways they rectify the uncomfortable disharmony between their beliefs and behaviors. In this episode of the talk show, Mitchell talks with host Sarah Fenske and responds to listener comments and questions about this topic.

St. Louis Public Radio political correspondent Jason Rosenbaum goes behind the headlines with Sarah Fenske on several of the biggest developments in the region over the past couple days. Callers join the conversation as well.

Last night, the city of Ferguson elected its first black mayor: Ella Jones. She is also the first woman to hold the position. She talks with host Sarah Fenske about her historic win as well as her concerns and hopes for the north St. Louis County municipality.

Long before protests against police brutality spread to cities across the country, they took place in Ferguson. In this episode, Ferguson activists leading the community in today's protests share their thoughts on the movement now sweeping the globe, and where things stand right here in St. Louis.

Four St. Louis police officers were shot late Monday night after official protests in the city ended over the killing of George Floyd. Two were shot in the leg, one in the arm and one in the foot, said Police Chief John Hayden. He was visibly frustrated as he gave an update on the shootings shortly before 2 a.m. Host Sarah Fenske talks with STLPR reporter Rachel Lippmann about the events.

Protests against police brutality have now broken out around the world in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. That of course includes St. Louis, Clayton, University City and Ferguson. St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum joins host Sarah Fenske to discuss what happened over the weekend locally — and why so many St. Louisans are again taking to the streets.

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson has announced a plan to distribute $64 million in federal aid intended to bolster the city’s response to the coronavirus. The plan, which Krewson said she’ll submit to the Board of Aldermen for revisions and approval, includes $2.5 million for contact tracing: to hire 25 people and invest in technology. In this episode of the talk show, host Sarah Fenske is joined by St. Louis Alderwoman Cara Spencer, D-20th Ward, who chairs the city’s Health and Human Services Committee. Acting health department director Dr. Fred Echols also offers his perspective alongside Franda Thomas, the health department’s communicable disease bureau chief.

Host Sarah Fenske talks with Big Shark Bicycle Company owner Mike Weiss about why his shop is seeing an increase in bike sales during the COVID-19 crises and talk with Emma Klues of Great Rivers Greenway about her recommendations for specific biking trails and routes to explore while continuing to help limit the spread of the coronavirus

St. Louisan Eric Strand just set a fastest known time with his run across the entire length of the Katy Trail, covering over 240 miles in just three days and 14 hours. Since announcing his plans and setting up a GoFundMe charity page just last week, the Drury Hotels chief operating officer has raised nearly $40,000. It will all go to a foundation fund to help frontline hospitality workers who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. Host Sarah Fenske talks with Strand about his experience running the trail and his response to the GoFundMe page.

Imagine orchestrating a virtual telethon in the middle of a pandemic. A host of St. Louis arts organizations led by Opera Theatre St. Louis did just that, with the Arts United STL benefit set to premiere online May 31. Host Sarah Fenske talks with Opera Theatre General Manager Andrew Jorgensen about the financial needs that inspired the event and the difficulties that go into producing such a large group undertaking in the age of social distancing.

Legal Roundtable: Can students sue their universities for not refunding tuition and fees after they were forced to study from home because of the pandemic? Can St. Louis County force the House of Pain gyms to close? What about churches? Legal experts Bill Freivogel, Nicole Gorovsky, and Dave Roland talk with host Sarah Fenske about these issues and more.

As a scholar who works with human remains, Anne Austin had long looked closely at bones. Her training is in osteology and Egyptology, and for many years she worked to expand the world’s knowledge about the health, medicine and disease of past civilizations. But in 2016, her focus suddenly turned from bones to ancient skin— and body art. “As I was doing my research, I accidentally came across this really heavily tattooed mummy — minimum 30 tattoos, on her arms, her shoulders and her back,” Austin recalls. “That discovery literally rewrote what we understand about tattooing in ancient Egypt. And since then I’ve been able to go back and find more tattoos at the site [where] I work.” The University of Missouri-St. Louis professor isn’t fascinated by these ancient tattoos merely for their own sake. She sees relevance for our understanding of contemporary body art as well — from the stories they tell, to the wide range of functions they serve, to the stigma that is sometimes associated with tattoos. Austin’s expertise came in especially handy while serving on the dissertation committee for Lacee Kaufmann, who just earned her PhD in nursing at UMSL. Kaufmann’s qualitative study probed the experiences that 12 participants — each of whom have tattoos covering at least 9% of their body — have had with health care providers.

It’s not just parents of young children trying to balance caregiving with other responsibilities during this pandemic. People whose loved ones suffer from dementia are also finding themselves under increased stress. Adult day centers are closed to limit the spread of COVID-19. Many therapists and other support staff no longer offer in-person visits. And people with Alzheimer’s or other cognitive impairments may not realize why masks are necessary, much less remember the explanation from hour to hour. Memory Care Home Solutions has been helping its “care partners” deal with those complications — and many more — throughout the months of the pandemic. Amy Sobrino, program services coordinator for the organization, says its services continue, albeit remotely. Clients like Gail Brown, whose mother lives with dementia, say that assistance has been a godsend.