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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.

Leaders of Native American tribes say they support proposed legislation to make Cahokia Mounds a national park as a way to preserve a place that is sacred to their people. Many tribes who live in the Midwest trace their heritage to those who built the ancient city 1,000 years ago.

In this segment, Sarah Fenske talks with Gena McClendon of Washington University about a study finding that on Election Day, voters encounter more obstacles in predominantly black and low-income neighborhoods. Local election board directors from the city and county, Gary Stoff and Eric Fey, also join the conversation.

Host Sarah Fenske takes a closer look at a St. Louis story, about a baby found in a freezer, that riveted the nation when it first broke. The family mystery behind the shocking headline is the focus of a new Riverfront Times feature.

Sen. Bill Eigel is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where he talked with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum, Julie O’Donoghue and Jaclyn Driscoll about the future of the Conservative Caucus in the Missouri legislature. The St. Charles County Republican is a member of a six-person Senate faction which has questioned GOP proposals involving transportation spending and economic development.

When people are shot and killed, the pain can linger for families left behind. Sharon Williams’s 19-year-old son was killed on a street corner in the Mark Twain neighborhood 10 years ago. She says losing a child to gun violence has left her with years of traumatic grief and an enormous sense of guilt.

The artistic path of Brian Owens has long charted both tribute territory and totally new ground, and Owens is known to navigate both well. The local singer-songwriter’s 2017 album “Soul of Cash” premiered via Rolling Stone, and that same year Owens released the song “For You,” showcasing the vocals of five-time Grammy winner Michael McDonald alongside his own. McDonald and Owens share a hometown — Ferguson, Missouri — and are collaborating musically again this Sunday during a benefit concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center celebrating McDonald’s legacy. Owens joins host Sarah Fenske to discuss the event, which is billed as “A Night for Life” and also features “The Voice” contestant Kennedy Holmes. Owens also discusses his journey as a musician and community activist.

The Missouri Botanical Garden's scientists are closely surveying Midwestern plant life. Host Sarah Fenske talks about climate change’s effects on them with Missouri Botanical Garden's assistant scientist, Adam Smith, and Daria McKevley, a supervisor of home gardening information and outreach at the center.

Host Sarah Fenske talks with St. Louis Public Radio reporter Corinne Ruff about Denver’s failed effort in airport privatization. Does it present a cautionary tale for St. Louis?

Denver International Airport recently fired Ferrorvial Airports, the developer involved in a nearly $2 billion public-private partnership. The same company likely will bid for a lease to operate St. Louis Lambert International Airport.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry spokes with St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum ahead of his Oct. 1, 2019, speech in St. Louis. Kerry is taking part in Maryville University's St. Louis Speakers Series.

Attorney Javad Khazaeli discusses the many complaints about former officer Eddie Boyd’s behavior over the years ⁠— and the fact he was hired in Ferguson after complaints of misconduct as a St. Louis Metropolitan Police officer. He also reveals that Boyd has recently left the Ferguson Police Department. In addition to the conversation with Khazaeli, this segment includes an interview with Walter Rice, Khazaeli's client, who details for the first time the impact that his arrest, and that of his wife, has had on their family.

Sauce Magazine’s latest issue features local career servers at some of St. Louis’ oldest establishments, like Tony’s and Sidney Street Cafe. Host Sarah Fenske talked with two of them about why they love what they do, how they’ve made a living in a job so dependent on gratuity and why the job is something for others to consider.

When it comes to gun violence, many seem to think children are excluded from being harmed. But more children in St. Louis have been killed by guns since Memorial Day, compared to all of last year. Experts, police, and people in the neighborhoods discuss the "norms" when it comes to not harming or killing children, and why things have shifted.

Host Sarah Fenske discusses Empower Missouri’s latest SNAP Challenge, which invites state and federal legislators to participate and shop for a three-day supply of food for a family of four using only the amount of money available to families from the program. She talked with Empower Missouri’s executive director, Jeanette Mott Oxford, and Shavanna Spratt, a stay-at-home mother who relies on SNAP benefits, and State Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R-Arnold), who participated in the challenge and documented her experience on Twitter.

Missouri House Rep. Ian Mackey is the latest guest on the Politically Speaking podcast. The Democrat from Richmond Heights talked to St. Louis Public Radio’s Julie O’Donoghue and Jason Rosenbaum. Mackey won his first election to the state house in 2018. His district includes Richmond Heights, Clayton and University City.

In this episode of St. Louis on the Air, Sarah Fenske talks with NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg. They discuss the rate at which the Trump administration has appointed federal appeals court judges and district court judge, the upcoming Supreme Court docket, and the loss of Nina's friend and colleague, Cokie Roberts.

Queer Puerto Rican author Gabby Rivera is coming to St. Louis to talk about her novel 'Juliet Takes a Breath.' The book was originally published by an extremely small press, to a limited audience. But it resonated with LGBTQ and Latinx readers nationally, and now, three years after its initial publication it’s being re-released in hardback and translated into Spanish.

Since 1999, Washington University’s Mini-Medical School has taught students everything from the basics of a checkup to how to repair nerves via microscopic surgery. In this episode of St. Louis on the Air, host Sarah Fenske learns more about Mini-Medical School by chatting with its director, Dr. Cynthia Wichelman. One of the courses’ presenters, a physician who studies gastrointestinal diseases, also joins the conversation alongside her patient, who lives with a chronic, inflammatory bowel disease.

Several years ago, restaurant industry veteran Michael “Kup” Kupstas was happily enjoying retirement when the appeal of Lion’s Choice prompted a change of plans. He wound up reentering the workforce in 2017 as the regional fast-food chain’s president and CEO. “It was really the similarity of an experience I had early on [in a previous role] with Panera, to be honest,” Kupstas says in this episode, explaining what impressed him about Lion’s Choice. “I think what makes certain brands stand out is that they are able to differentiate dramatically in a really crowded field.” Kupstas tells host Sarah Fenske that he was also drawn to the “loyal, fanatic fans” and the employees of Lion’s Choice, which Food & Wine magazine recently deemed Missouri’s best fast food.