Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner is suing the St. Louis Police, a former undergrad is suing Washington University, and across the country, there are thousands of lawsuits against Bayer-Monsanto. Locally, a trial kicks off in St. Louis this week involving Bayer-Monsanto’s weed killer Roundup, as well as one in Cape Girardeau involving Dicamba. In this episode, a panel of legal analysts joins host Sarah Fenske to discuss these cases and more.
George Herbert Walker III, better known as Bert, was a St. Louis businessman, philanthropist and former U.S. Ambassador to Hungary. He died Saturday at the age of 88. In this remembrance, we listen back to when Walker came on the show in March 2007.
Host Sarah Fenske learns more about Downtown STL’s process of upgrading the street lights throughout downtown's 360 square blocks. Once completed, St. Louis will become one of the largest smart cities in the U.S., second only to San Diego. Joining the discussion is Downtown STL CEO Missy Kelley and the father-and-son team that helped develop the smart technology: Ted Stegeman, CEO of Labyrinth Technologies, and his 23-year-old son John, the company’s chief technology officer.
In an age of crumbling infrastructure across the U.S., sidewalks have been no exception to the pattern of decay. The city of St. Louis alone is home to roughly 2,000 miles worth of sidewalks, and both the physical condition and suitability of those streetside pathways vary widely. David Newburger, St. Louis' commissioner on the disabled, is constantly working with colleagues to update sidewalks and maintain ADA compliance, and they’re also thinking about sidewalks within the context of streets as a whole. Meanwhile, local municipalities including both St. Louis and Kirkwood are participating in the National Complete Streets Coalition, which is focused on making roads better for all types of users rather than prioritizing drivers. U.S. Department of Transportation statistics on pedestrian deaths show there’s still much work to be done. For Kirkwood City Councilwoman Kara Wurtz, the fact that Missouri ranks among the more dangerous states for pedestrians is a problem. She’s made addressing it within her municipality’s borders a focus. In this episode of the talk show, Wurtz and Newburger join host Sarah Fenske for a discussion about the state of the region’s sidewalks and what needs to happen to improve pedestrian comfort and safety. Also participating in the conversation is Cindy Mense, CEO of Trailnet. The discussion also includes listeners during the show who call in and post messages on social media with their thoughts on sidewalks.
When news breaks about a dangerous situation, it’s natural to wonder what one might have done in a similar scenario: Tried to help? Been courageous? Perhaps made things worse? Running into burning buildings and shielding others from active shooters may be the sort of dramatic situations that come to mind. But far subtler opportunities to intervene on behalf of fellow humans come up more regularly than one may recognize — right in the grocery checkout aisle, for example, when witnessing a tense parent-child interaction. That’s the sort of scene Nancy Weaver and her colleagues at St. Louis University’s College of Public Health and Social Justice have been helping others around the region visualize and then learn to respond to in positive, practical ways.
There are roughly 2.8 million people living in Greater St. Louis, many of whom would be surprised to know that they share the space with a good variety of wildlife. The St. Louis Wildlife Project now has four seasons of data that they hope will give insight into how wildlife occupy and utilize the region’s urban spaces. For the past year, they’ve collected images from 34 motion-activated cameras planted in parks and green spaces across St. Louis. They’ve spotted foxes, turkeys, river otters, and even a couple bobcats. In this interview, Sarah Fenske talks with the researchers involved to learn about their observations from the past year.
Host Sarah Fenske talks with Fran Caradonna, Schlafly’s CEO, about how St. Louis’ craft scene has changed in the last three decades, Schlafly’s expansion plans and what it’s like being a woman in a field long dominated by men. She's helped position the now 29-year-old brewery in a much-changed beverage landscape.
St. Louis Public Radio morning newscaster and reporter Wayne Pratt joins host Sarah Fenske to talk about all the excitement in the city as the National Hockey League kicks off festivities for this weekend’s all-star tournament. It’s the first time the Blues will host the league’s all-star events since 1988.
In some ways, the concept behind St. Louis Public Library’s Creative Experience makerspace, located at its downtown branch, sounds pretty simple: It’s a space dedicated to creating things. But as makers of all sorts of stuff know, it can be difficult to bring even the best ideas to fruition without the right tools. That’s exactly where Creative Experience comes in — providing studio-quality software and equipment to help bring many different kinds of projects to life. Now, SLPL is adding a second such makerspace to the library district, reinventing existing space at its Barr branch located at Jefferson and Lafayette avenues.
The Commonwealth Project at Harvard University aims to model a new way for universities to engage with social problems through service and collaboration, with a special focus on St. Louis. A half-dozen local artists were selected for its new #IntheCity Visual Arts Fellowship last November. The goal of the program is to provide exposure and resources for up-and-coming artists in the region. Joining host Sarah Fenske to discuss the fellowship is Kareem "Tef Poe" Jackson and two visual artists and 2020 Harvard Commonwealth fellows: Collin Elliott and Nyara Williams.
On this month’s Sound Bites segment, produced in partnership with Sauce Magazine, managing editor Heather Hughes Huff gives an overview of the six up-and-comers the publication chose for its annual "Ones to Watch" feature that highlights local culinary talent. Host Sarah Fenske talks with Hughes Huff as well as featured restaurateurs, Alejandra Fallows and Bailey Schuchmann.
Host Sarah Fenske delves into the Salam Clinic’s impact on the region and the services its first psychiatric clinic will offer. Joining the discussion are cardiologist Dr. Zia Ahmad, founder and medical director of Salam Clinic, and psychologist Dr. Syed Mumtaz, coordinator of the clinic’s Mental Health Services.
Richard Geary is an actor, director and playwright. He frequently portrays the author Mark Twain, using only the words of Sam Clemens himself. Geary owns the Planters Barn Theater in Hannibal, and his 18th season there kicks off this May. This summer’s show is called “Mark Twain for President,” and it focuses on Twain’s satirical runs for the nation’s highest office. Before that, on February 21 and February 22, Geary will perform a show called “Mark Twain on Slavery.”
During this episode, in light of the observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, host Sarah Fenske talks with Lucy Grimshaw, Courtney McDermott and Sha-Lai Williams about how the UMSL tour has influenced their perspective on the civil rights movement — and the connections they see to St. Louis events and issues, both past and present.
Host Sarah Fenske talks with Mayor Lyda Krewson as the Close the Workhouse campaign relaunches its push surrounding St. Louis’ Minimum Security Institution.
The effort to shutter the city’s workhouse jail got new life this week with the launch of what activists call Close the Workhouse 2.0. Their argument this time isn’t just about poor conditions. It’s about the $10 million the city could save with jail closure. Host Sarah Fenske talks to one of the campaign’s co-founders, Kayla Reed. Also joining the discussion is prosecutor Mary Pat Carl, the former lead trial attorney under former Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, who supports the campaign.
Following Governor Mike Parson's 2020 State of the State address, host Sarah Fenske digs into its main themes and a few surprises with St. Louis Public Radio's Jaclyn Driscoll and Julie O'Donoghue.
A few weeks ago on the show, we learned about a brand new medical device that allows users to measure nutritional ketosis with a breathalyzer. Nutritionists say they’ve witnessed the reemergence of the keto diet as a means for weight loss in the past few years. Both during and after that segment aired, we received a lot of questions about the keto diet, as well as some concern that this may be an unhealthy choice for some people. In this conversation, we dive into what the research says about keto with several nutritionists.
St. Louis on the Air host Sarah Fenske talks with St. Louis Public Radio reporters Jaclyn Driscoll and Jason Rosenbaum during this broadcast of Gov. Mike Parson's 2020 speech.
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