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For Missouri Democrats, tomorrow is judgment day.

After leading the Show Me State for most of its existence, voters will decide if the last two Democratic statewide officials remain in their posts. If U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and state Auditor Nicole Galloway prevail, it could provide a jolt for a party seeking to rebound after the disaster of 2016.

But if GOP Attorney General Josh Hawley is able to topple McCaskill, and Saundra McDowell is elected auditor, it could be the surest evidence that once-purple Missouri is now deep red.

Those two races aren’t the only things on the electoral radar. Voters will also decide on several major ballot initiatives — including three on legalizing medical marijuana. And across the river in Illinois, Republicans are on the defensive after Gov. Bruce Rauner’s tumultuous term.

Board Minutes February 9th, 2019 Read More »

Host Don Marsh goes behind the headlines to discuss the local Jewish community’s reaction to last weekend’s tragic event in Pittsburgh at the Tree of Life synagogue, where 11 people were killed.

Host Don Marsh talks to Cinema St. Louis' artistic director Chris Clark and a panel of documentarians about this year's 27th season of the St. Louis International Film Festival.

Host Don Marsh talks with Peter Sagal, comedian, author and host of NPR’s “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!” about his latest book, “The Incomplete Book of Running,” which explores why running is good, and why it helps with “the practice of perseverance” through life’s toughest moments.

On Thursday's St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh discussed the importance of media literacy with Webster University scholars Jessica Bellomo, Deja Lawson, and Art Silverblatt.

Author and St. Louis native Jeff Copeland talks to host Don Marsh about the 1924 Los Angeles deadly plague outbreak and its St. Louis connections, detailed in his book, "Plague in Paradise: The Black Death in Los Angeles, 1924."

On Wednesday's St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh spoke with Washington University neuroscientist Jeff Zacks about the brain's responses to watching horror movies.

Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Stephen Webber joins St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies to talk about how Democrats are stacking up in next week’s election.

Both Webber and Missouri Republican Party Chairman Todd Graves recorded episodes of Politically Speaking. You can listen to Graves’ episode by clicking here.

Webber is a former state representative from Columbia who was elected in 2016 as party chairman. The 35-year-old took on that role after narrowly losing a state Senate race to Republican Caleb Rowden.

Since becoming chairman, Webber has been traveling all over the state to rebuild the party after the 2016 election. He’s placed an emphasis on fielding more candidates in state legislative races — instead of letting Republicans run unopposed. And he’s also sought to foster a more aggressive get-out-the-vote effort to help U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and state Auditor Nicole Galloway win their elections.

Daniel Wildcat, Ph.D., proffers Traditional Ecological Knowledges as antidote (literally) to destruction. His scholarship and teaching at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas, is rooted in the relationships of Indigenous knowledge, technology, environment and education - elements related to each other, and to us.

What can each of us learn from an Indigenous cultural and ecological perspective? And how can we apply ourselves as individual antidotes to destruction along this kind of path?

Dan Wildcat directs the Haskell Environmental Research Studies Center, and is a founder of the Indigenous Peoples Climate Change Working Group. 

Dr. Wildcat comes to St. Louis on November 8 as guest of the Harris World Ecology Center, and one of three speakers about Traditional Ecological Knowledge. This event is free, but registration is required.

Music: Cadillac Desert, performed live at KDHX by William Tyler

THANKS to Anna Holland, Earthworms diligent engineer.

Related Earthworms Conversations: Plants, Indigenous People and Climate Change with Ethnobotanist Dr. Jan Salick (December 2015)

The Patterning Instinct in Human Nature (June 2017)

Missouri Republican Party Chairman Todd Graves joins St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies on the latest edition of Politically Speaking.

Both Graves and Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Stephen Webber taped podcasts giving their perspective on next week’s election, which will have a major impact on the state’s future political trajectory.

Graves is a partner at the Graves Garrett law firm in Kansas City. He became chairman of the Missouri Republican Party after the 2016 election cycle.

As part of St. Louis Public Radio's "Inform Your Vote" ballot issues forum, Jack Cardetti, Brad Bradshaw, Mike Colona, and Brandon Costerison, debated the pros and cons of Amendment 2, Amendment 3 and Proposition C, the three competing ballot measures to legalize medical marijuana.

Tuesday's St. Louis on the Air featured a debate over the pros and cons of Proposition B: The $12 Minimum Wage Initiative that was originally held at the St. Louis Public Radio "Inform Your Vote" ballot issues forum. The proponent of Prop B was Richard von Glahn, the organizing director of Missouri Jobs for Justice; the opponent was Ray McCarty, president and CEO of Associated Industries of Missouri.

Among the measures Missouri voters will decide on Nov. 6 is Amendment 1: The Lobbying, Campaign Finance, and Redistricting Initiative. It would amend the state constitution to change several aspects of Missouri’s political system. Proponent Benjamin Singer and opponent Jim Talent discuss Amendment 1 with St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh.

As part of the 2018 St. Louis Public Radio "Inform Your Vote" ballot issues forum, Scott Charton, SaferMO.com communications director, and Gwen Moore, a retired University of Missouri-St. Louis professor, debated the pros and cons of Proposition D: The Gas Tax Increase, Olympic Prize Tax Exemption, and Traffic Reduction Fund Measure 

St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies take a deep look at Amendment 1 on the latest edition of Political Speaking.

The measure, widely known as Clean Missouri, combines a host of ethics-related alterations with an overhaul of state legislative redistricting. Out of all the things on the Nov. 6 ballot, Clean Missouri is eliciting the most unusual political alliances.

Proponents include left-of-center activists and groups that helped craft the measure, as well as some prominent Republicans. Backers contend that Clean Missouri will make politics more accessible to people — as opposed to special interests or lobbyists.

Detractors believe that the ethics-related items in Clean Missouri, including curtailing lobbyist gifts and slightly lowering campaign donation limits, are aimed at making the state legislative redistricting changes more palatable to voters. While many of the opponents are Republicans, some African-American officials and groups aren’t supporting Clean Missouri because of fears it will lead to fewer black lawmakers getting elected.

We have excerpts of a 90-minute debate between Rep. Mike Bost, St. Clair County State's Attorney Brendan Kelly and SIU-Carbondale professor Randy Auxier.

St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh explores some of the region's spooky locales and tales with Pat Dorsey, author of the book "Haunted Webster Groves."

The St. Louis County Council has overridden County Executive Steve Stenger's veto of legislation that does away with a requirement that contractors bidding for construction work have apprenticeship programs. Host Don Marsh goes behind the headlines to talk about updates in the council with St. Louis Public Radio political reporter Jo Mannies.

For our monthly Sound Bites segment with Sauce Magazine, host Don Marsh discusses the new generation of local farmers in St. Louis and how they work with area chefs.