STL on the Air 📻

In conversation with panelists Bill Freivogel, Marcia McCormick and Mark Smith, host Don Marsh touches on several of the latest regional stories pertaining to the law as well as the confirmation of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the dismissal of Stormy Daniels’ defamation lawsuit against President Trump.

Emily Lohse-Busch, Natalie DiNicola and Sam Fiorello share their experiences with the local STEM startup scene with host Don Marsh. 

Alongside current breast cancer patient Jossalyn Larson, cancer survivor Heather Salazar, who is president of Pink Ribbon Girls, and Dr. Theresa Schwartz, a breast surgeon with SLUCare and SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, discuss some of the more mundane and often unanticipated challenges that frequently impact patients – and particularly women – while undergoing treatment.

St. Louis county voters will have to decide whether they will approve a 1/8th of one cent sales tax increase to help fund and maintain the St. Louis Zoo’s operations, specifically a new Conservation and Animal Science Center. Host Don Marsh moderated an in-depth debate between a supporter and opponent of the proposition.

On Wednesdays St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh spoke with Kalen McAllister and Pete Wallace, the founder and kitchen manager respectively of the Laughing Bear Bakery. The downtown shop is known for its delicious treats, and for its policy of only employing individuals with a felony record.

Is the purpose of college to prepare for a career or to pursue learning and knowledge as inherently worthwhile endeavors? That question isn’t a simple one to answer, and its tensions thoroughly inform a new book, co-authored by Washington University Provost Holden Thorp, titled "Our Higher Calling: Rebuilding the Partnership between America and Its Colleges and Universities."

On Tuesday's St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh discussed a new program implemented by Washington University in St. Louis that uses virtual reality to train faculty and staff in assessing and addressing the mental-health status of their students. He was joined by Jordan Worthington, the university’s assistant director of mental-health outreach and programming; Dr. Cheri LeBlanc, executive director of the Habif Health and Wellness Center; and Dr. Glenn Albright, the Co-Founder and Director of Research at Kognito, the health-simulation company responsible for At Risk for College and University Faculty and Staff.

Thirty years ago, Bruce Vantine decided he wanted to take the power of narrative choral music to a new level. "I had seen how effective [these] programs could be, and very often they’ve been focused on Christmas,” Vantine, who was on the University of Missouri-St. Louis music faculty at the time, recalled on Monday's St. Louis on the Air. "But I got the idea of doing a Thanksgiving type of a program with a social-justice message – so that we could touch people’s hearts." So began his St. Louis-based nonprofit organization that continues to spread its message of empathy throughout the U.S. and Canada.

A Dutch historian is in St. Louis this week searching for information about 172 African-American soldiers who are buried or memorialized in the Netherlands American Cemetery.

Host Don Marsh talks with three local Jewish residents participating in the first Jewish arts and culture festival taking place in the city. 

Host Don Marsh discusses the mounting effort to bring a team to St. Louis with Webster University's Jack Croghan and local attorney and soccer enthusiast Brian Howe.

Olivia Lahs-Gonzales, Miriam Ruiz and Colin McLaughlin - plus two very young local artists - explore immigration, labor and identity through a creative lens.

On Thursday's St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh spoke with author and St. Louis native William Knoedelseder about his latest book, "Fins: Harley Earl, the Rise of General Motors, and the Glory Days of Detroit.”

On Wednesday's St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh was joined by two Sauce Magazine contributors for a conversation about the best new local restaurants in the month of October.

“We’ve got over 1,400 careers that we’ve launched so far in the five years that LaunchCode has been [in St. Louis], but that doesn’t count the people who have taken our training and gotten placed elsewhere,” explains entrepreneur and investor Jim McKelvey.

Ever get the feeling of excessive exhaustion, lack of sleep and motivation from working? Host Don Marsh talks about ways in which people who are invested in emotionally draining work can avoid burnout and practice self-care. 

Musical-theater aficionados likely associate four-time Tony nominee Terrence Mann with the original Rum Tum Tugger of “Cats,” Inspector Javert in “Les Miserables” or perhaps one of the titular characters in “Beauty and the Beast.” Now the acclaimed actor is diving into yet another key role – this one on a St. Louis stage that will take him under the sea as King Triton.

The Hispanic community in the Missouri region has grown significantly over the past few decades and it's made it's impact on small businesses. In light of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15), host Don Marsh talked to Gabriela Ramirez-Aarellan, business counselor at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in St. Louis and. co-host of DMeToo podcast, photographer Carol Lara and Ness Sandoval, associate professor of sociology at St. Louis University, about the influence of Hispanic businesses on the region. 

On Monday's St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh discussed Christopher Columbus’s complex legacy with Peter Kastor, professor and chair of the Department of History at Washington University. Marsh also spoke to Bill Reininger, the executive director of Tower Grove Park, regarding the status of the commission tasked with determining the future of the park's Columbus statue.

St. Louis Public Radio political reporter Jo Mannies and retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jim Craig, director of UMSL’s Veterans Studies program, offer their perspectives on one of the big news stories of the week.