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Alt-weeklies — which rely entirely on advertising and public events for revenue — were dealt a terrible early blow by the nation’s response to the coronavirus. From coast to coast, publications suspended print editions and laid off staffers. St. Louis’ Riverfront Times was among those hardest hit. The 42-year-old publication halted its print edition and laid off seven staffers, including three editors, the art director and a staff writer. Only two journalists remain on the payroll: Editor in Chief Doyle Murphy and Digital Editor Jaime Lees. But one of the laid-off journalists has simply refused to leave. Host Sarah Fenske talks to Riverfront Times Music Editor Daniel Hill, who, one day after being furloughed, defiantly posted on the publication’s website that he was going to keep writing whether or not he got paid for it.

Residents St. Louis city and county are being told they must stay home as the region tries to halt the spread of coronavirus. People can still go outside for exercise or to get groceries and prescriptions. The wide-ranging order takes effect as the number of positive tests for COVD-19 continues to increase.

As someone focused on child and adolescent psychology, Webster University’s Deborah Stiles is used to writing about psychological theory and case studies — and working with multiple co-authors in doing so. But one of her most recent projects involves a total of 14 co-authors, and this one isn’t simply ending up in a scholarly journal. Instead, it’s headed to the halls of power in Washington. Titled “The Psychological Impact of Separating Immigrant Children from their Families,” the 48-page report tells the stories of 10 children caught in the middle of U.S. practices along the nation’s southern border. This segment features Stiles' recent conversation with host Sarah Fenske about how Stiles and her collaborators approached this unusual project. Kaori Chaki, one of the graduate students who traveled with Stiles to Seattle last month to present it at the Society for Cross-Cultural Research’s annual conference, also participates in the discussion.

Public health considerations and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic continue to be at the forefront of daily life. Among those effects, the last few weeks have been incredibly tough for journalists and nonprofits alike, St. Louis Public Radio included. The station is dealing with the difficulty of being dependent on members, even as they face serious anxiety as well as real or potential losses in income. St. Louis Public Radio continues to cover the news while minimizing in-person contact. That is not easy. In this interview, Sarah Fenske sits down with St. Louis Public Radio General Manager Tim Eby to talk about precautions the station is taking while still delivering content, the decision to cancel the annual Talk Toast Taste fundraiser gala (a virtual fundraiser to benefit St. Louis Public Radio is in the works) and why the station’s spring member campaign was canceled.

Over the past 12 months, STLMade has featured regional staples ranging from Skate King to theWildey Theatre, profiling those who boost the local economy, including Tony’s Family Farms and Vega Transport, along the way. The three-year effort was started by regional representatives to highlight the stories of the people and businesses that make up the St. Louis region, and to help retain that talent. Leah Wilson, account director at Broughton Brand Company and fueler of the STLMade movement, joins host Sarah Fenske to reflect on the initiative's past year and plans to expand that unified message of pride to other areas of the country.

As more COVID-19 cases are confirmed in the region, listeners continue to submit questions to our Curious Louis series. St. Louis Public Radio's Shahla Farzan answers a few of the most common inquires that have come in over the past few days.

The summer slide — the propensity for students to lose academic achievements made during the school year — is something educators have expressed concern about for years. With the region’s schools being closed until at least early April due to the COVID-19 outbreak, teachers and administrators are working hard to make sure such a slide doesn’t happen this spring as well. In this episode, Sarah Fenske talks with St. Louis Public Radio’s education reporter, Ryan Delaney, about how K-12 schools are responding to coronavirus social distancing measures. Gary Ritter, dean of St. Louis University’s School of Education, also joins the conversation to discuss how teachers and parents can best prepare kids for virtual learning.

The year 1920 was a pivotal one for the Lemp family in St. Louis, and not just because of the enforcement of Prohibition. One hundred years ago this week, the front page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch proclaimed that Elsa Lemp Wright — then part of a local beer dynasty that had long rivaled Anheuser-Busch — had taken her own life. “This is the Lemp family for you,” her brother William Lemp Jr. said at the scene of her death. But was that really what happened? Local filmmaker Franki Cambeletta explores this question in his soon-to-be-released documentary from Shift Films, “Lemp’s Last Wright.” In this segment, host Sarah Fenske talks with Cambeletta about the project, which represents the culmination of many years of interest and research into Lemp Wright’s life.

Today’s college campuses are in many ways designed to be like small cities, featuring places to shop, eat and live daily life as well as learn and teach. And in the age of coronavirus, those campuses are facing major concerns and questions not unlike those that municipal leaders are grappling with. The University of Missouri-St. Louis’ Jessica Long-Pease is one of the people working closely with UMSL’s on-campus students and staff in this uncertain time. She’s the director of the Millennium Student Center and the Office of Student Life, both of which are normally buzzing with people.

A patient from Boone County is the first coronavirus-related death in Missouri. State officials say there are two dozen COVID-19 cases in the state. They include two physicians from Washington University. In Illinois, nearly 290 cases are being reported, including at least 7 in the Metro East.

Luetkemeyer talks with Julie O'Donoghue about what Coronavirus means for the 2020 legislative session. He also walks her through a bill he has sponsored to lengthen prison sentences for violent offenses and the prescription drug monitoring program legislation.

Paige Alyssa Hegwood is back — in St. Louis and in music. After spending some time in Los Angeles and doing some soul searching, the singer-songwriter is now expressing that growth both musically and individually. Through up-tempo pop and vibrant vocals, Paige Alyssa is releasing music on their own terms for the first time in two years with their new single, “What’s the Move,” which features mixing and mastering by Shock City’s Sam Maul. Paige Alyssa joins host Sarah Fenske to talk about their time in Los Angeles, how they overcame artistic struggles and what new music they have in store.

Rebecca Messbarger is a cultural historian of medicine, as well as a professor of Italian at Washington University. There, she teaches a class called Disease, Madness and Death — Italian Style. She begins the course by discussing the classic Italian novel “The Decameron.” Written in 1353, Giovanni Boccaccio’s work is framed by a story of medieval social distancing during the bubonic plague. Messbarger never imagined that it would be so relevant to today’s time. She joins host Sarah Fenske to talk about social distancing — both how it provided the framing device for “The Decameron" and was also at the root of St. Louis health commissioner Max Starkloff’s approach to the 1918 influenza pandemic.

St. Louis has an abundance of unique culinary creations that locals don’t care to convince outsiders to embrace: one being a St. Paul sandwich. It’s an egg patty topped with lettuce, tomato and pickles, and held together by white bread smothered in mayo. Regional eaters can now find variations of the sandwich that include pork belly, ham or shrimp. Sauce Magazine’s Matt Sorrell recently delved into how exactly the cult favorite was created. Sorrell joins host Sarah Fenske to talk about the sandwich’s rise to fame as a St. Louis classic. Also joining the discussion are Ben Welch, the Midwestern executive chef who’s been eating St. Pauls since he was a kid, and Kristin Liu, whose family owned Chinese Gourmet Restaurant in Florissant from 1984 until it closed in 2017.

Dine-in service is being suspended at restaurants in the Missouri part of the St. Louis region. It follows similar action in Illinois designed to stop the spread of coronavirus. More cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in both states, including the first case in Madison County. Also, we examine how decade-old quarantine policies appear to have left states including Missouri unprepared for the outbreak.

According to Rebecca Lester, the author of “Famished: Eating Disorders and Failed Care in America,” eating disorders are among the most misunderstood medical conditions. For instance, she says there is an assumption that eating disorders are mostly a problem for upper-middle-class white girls. While that’s not completely untrue, it’s just a sliver of the story. In “Famished,” Lester looks closely at the impact of common misconceptions, as well as the way the health care system fails to treat these disorders.

Schools are closed. Libraries are closed. Many restaurants have closed — with more almost certainly on the way. Health officials say all of those measures are essential, as the ongoing spread of coronavirus has led to best practices of “social distancing.” But in addition to COVID-19, the coronavirus has also spread widespread angst. People are worried about their jobs and their families, even as they confront a seemingly endless cascade of worrying headlines. In this episode of the talk show, listeners share their ideas for de-stressing in a stressful time, along with two experts: Tony Buchanan, a professor of psychology at St. Louis University and co-director of its neuroscience program, and Dr. Jessi Gold, an assistant professor in Washington University’s Department of Psychiatry.

St. Louis officials are reporting the first case of COVID-19 in the city. Health officials also say a third person in St. Louis County has tested positive for the disease caused by the new coronavirus. More positive results are also being reported in Illinois as that state holds its primary election. Also, we examine the implications of a question on the 2020 census that has not received much attention.

There is a lot of anxiety swirling right now over the new coronavirus. There’s also a lot of misinformation. In this interview, Sarah Fenske talks with infectious disease physician Dr. Alexis Elward to help set the record straight and answer listener questions and concerns.

One day after regional leaders announced broad new rules to limit gatherings in the St. Louis area to 50 people or fewer, St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson stressed their importance in “flattening the curve” of infections caused by the coronavirus across the U.S. Krewson stressed that while restaurants and bars are still open, they are subject to the 50-person limit at any point in time. They are also recommending that eateries move tables and other furniture so there is a six-foot space between diners. In this episode, Krewson also addresses restaurateurs’ questions about whether the region will follow the lead of Illinois and Ohio and shut down on-site dining.