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Host Sarah Fenske gets the details on a controversial aerial surveillance program being proposed for St. Louis city.

Host Sarah Fenske delves into the purpose of emotional support animals, how they differ from standard service animals or pets, and what the law says about them.

Tim McBride is a professor at Washington University’s Brown School, where he focuses on health care policy. He’s also served on a board that oversees Missouri’s Medicaid program — so he has a lot to say about the possibility of expanding the health care program. McBride joins St. Louis Public Radio’s Julie O’Donoghue and Jaclyn Driscoll on the latest episode of Politically Speaking, so let’s hit the music.

Many are familiar with the fact that women make up the majority of the ownership group for St. Louis’ new pro-soccer franchise. Plenty of fans in the area also know that Georgia Frontiere owned the NFL’s Rams when the team moved to the region. But they might not be aware that the first female owner in Major League Baseball history was in St. Louis.

University City, Missouri, is considered to be among the more diverse communities in a region still grappling with the stubborn legacy of segregation. But five decades ago, things were different in U. City, including at the local schools. When Judy Gladney began attending University City High School in the '60s, she was one of its very first African American students, and found herself bridging two disparate worlds. So did Eric Vickers, Gladney’s future husband. Years later, the two would send their children through the same school district, which is now largely non-white. As Gladney looks toward her 50th high school reunion this month, she joins host Sarah Fenske alongside her daughter Erica Vickers Cage and local journalist and storyteller Ellen Futterman.

While the sun’s rays were at full effect this August, the Missouri Botanical Garden launched its Grow Solar St. Louis program for St. Louis-area home and business owners. Property owners throughout the city and county can participate in this pilot program to help pool their buying power for discounts on solar panels. Host Sarah Fenske delves into why the initiative was started and how interested St. Louisans can use green energy to power their homes.

Children from Emerson Academy Therapeutic School in the Greater Ville neighborhood of St. Louis are talking about how they cope with gun violence. The area has a high crime rate with little to no resources to change the culture.

St. Louis Public Radio's Julie O'Donoghue, Jason Rosenbaum and Jaclyn Driscoll talk about the news that matter during the week of Sept. 30, 2019. We also talked with St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Jeremy Kohler on his latest story about St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson conversed with a Centene business executive about fighting crime.

Only 10% of domestic violence shelters accept pets. That means many people fleeing abuse find themselves giving up animals with whom they’ve formed meaningful bonds. Lydia’s House is a St. Louis shelter that houses battered women and their pets for up to two years. The pet-friendly amenities at Lydia’s House are the result of Purina’s Purple Leash Project and the work of Rescue Rebuild. In this interview, Sarah Fenske talks about this ongoing effort with Purina president Nina Leigh Kruger and Karen Kirk, the executive director of Lydia’s House.

The late, great jazz composer and bandleader Duke Ellington once said, “Whether it be Shakespeare or jazz, the only thing that counts is the emotional effect on the listener.” In the summer of 1956, Ellington found himself seriously digging the bard. Inspired by his encounters with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival while on tour in Stratford, Ontario, he composed a twelve-part suite titled “Such Sweet Thunder.” This week, the critically acclaimed suite becomes the soundtrack for a new joint production from Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, Nine Network of Public Media, Jazz St. Louis, and The Big Muddy Dance Company. In this segment, Sarah Fenske talks about the production with Tom Ridgely, executive producer of Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, and Gene Dobbs Bradford, president and CEO of Jazz St. Louis.

Host Sarah Fenske talks with our partners at Sauce Magazine about the latest additions to the St. Louis region’s food-and-beverage community.

Michael Plisco is a pulmonologist in the intensive care unit at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis who treated the man who died from vaping-related lung injury last month. While medical experts still don’t know exactly what causes death and severe illness in some people who vape, Dr. Plisco says the St. Louis patient offers clues into the little-understood dangers of vaping.

Growing up in Great Britain, Susan Walker heard bits and pieces about her great-aunt Mary Ranken Jordan, who had immigrated to the U.S. from Northern Ireland in the late 19th century. But several years ago she became determined to learn more about this distinguished yet mysterious relative. She knew of her lasting impact in St. Louis, and now Walker’s research into Ranken Jordan’s life and legacy has her traveling overseas herself to the Gateway City. In this segment, Sarah Fenske talks with Walker about the children’s hospital Jordan founded in 1941, what she’s learning through her research — and about what she’s still hoping to discover about her great-aunt from others.

Lt. Darla Gray remembers being the last person to enter the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s cadet program before it was dissolved in 1981. Now Gray is helping to lead its return. The program started back up in 2018 and presently boasts 64 aspiring officers. “I was actually looking at retirement, and they told me they were starting the program back up and asked if I would like to help develop it,” explains Gray. “And I postponed my retirement to do it, because I believe in this program that much.” In this episode, host Sarah Fenske talks with several of the young people currently participating in the cadet program as well as with Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards.

Fort Leonard Wood is huge, and a lot of it is undeveloped natural areas. That means some of Missouri’s threatened species, such as bats, have a safe home among the soldiers. And the Army is working to keep it that way.

Much of the conversation about contemporary American health care revolves around money more than actual medicine. But given the crushing costs associated with seemingly every aspect of the industry, that focus isn’t so surprising. As Dr. Marty Makary of Johns Hopkins University notes in his newly published book “The Price We Pay: What Broke American Healthcare — And How To Fix It,” one in five Americans currently has medical debt in collections. In this episode, Makary joins host Sarah Fenske to talk about his research into why costs are skyrocketing — and what can be done to redesign the broken U.S. health care system.

A mural project in Belleville is bringing public art to the city's downtown streets. It's funded through donations from individuals and area businesses. Artists and organizers believe the effort will have a lasting impact on the Metro East city.

Understanding how we humans think, act and prioritize our decisions, Wisconsin sociologist and energy expert Kathy Kuntz founded Kanndo Consulting, LLC in a career move move from "simply" promoting energy efficiency to engaging US in sustainability dialogues and processes. Now she works with the tough stuff - and she believes we are worth the efforts.

        

In this lively Earthworms conversation, Kuntz and host Jean Ponzi polka through ideas and realities around creating a culture where Green practices are not only preferred, but are the norm.

Kuntz will speak in St. Louis on Tuesday October 8, as guest of the U.S. Green Building Council-Missouri Gateway Chapter. Catch this one, if you're in town! 

Music: Taproom, performed live at KDHX by Brian Curran
Thanks to Sasha Hay, engineering this Earthworms edition

Related Earthworms Conversations: Morality and The Envio-Crisis with scholar and author Roger Gottlieb (April 2019)

DRAWDOWN: Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (March 2018)

Peoples' Pocket Guide to Enviro-Action with Caitlin Zera (July 2017)

Among the local politicians with huge sway over the potential privatization of St. Louis Lambert International Airport is St. Louis Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed. Host Sarah Fenske gets the politician's thoughts on the city’s exploration of a controversial experiment in privatization. Reed could ultimately prove the swing vote that determines whether an airport lease is approved.

Host Sarah Fenske talks with New York-based journalist Meaghan Winter about her book: “All Politics Is Local: Why Progressives Must Fight For The States.” It examines how Missouri, once a purple state, had become solidly red — with GOP representatives handily passing legislation that just years before might have felt too extreme.