Calvin Davis became very ill in late March, and was diagnosed with COVID-19 shortly after. After being admitted to the hospital on April 9, he spent 76 days there and more than 90 days away from home as he battled the coronavirus. For much of that time, he was on a ventilator. In this interview, we hear the incredible story of one family’s battle against the coronavirus and the intensive recovery process that they are still dealing with, weeks later.
Consultants who work closely with conservative billionaire Rex Sinquefield have gathered enough signatures to force a vote on the privatization of St. Louis Lambert International Airport this November. If voters say yes to the plan, the city would basically be required to lease the airport to a private company by next summer. One argument for doing that is that it could help pay down the airport’s half a billion dollar debt. St. Louis Public Radio reporter Corinne Ruff recently dug into that claim.
Author Gloria Shur Bilchik spent 18 months observing the St. Louis County Board of Elections. She discusses “Election Insiders: Behind the Scenes With the People Who Make Your Vote Count” with host Sarah Fenske.
Monument Lab recently gathered 750 crowdsourced maps of St. Louis monuments, both real and imagined. A Washington University professor of African and African American History says those maps reflect the city’s lingering divides.
This month marks 100 years since the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted U.S. women the right to vote. But the fight for women’s suffrage was a long one, starting many decades prior to that celebratory day in 1920. And St. Louis women were among some of the earliest suffragists around the country. In this segment, host Sarah Fenske talks with local curator Katie Moon and scholar Elizabeth Eikmann.
“Yogi: A Life Behind the Mask" author Jon Pessah discusses Yogi Berra’s remarkable life, including his early years on the Hill, his baseball career and the racial slurs he faced as an Italian in the 1940s.
Horse racing has resumed without fans at Fairmount Park. It had been delayed for months because of the pandemic. Online betting is helping to generate some revenue but is likely not enough for the track to survive.
Missouri’s Aug. 4 primary has snuck up fast during a year when the U.S. presidential election is looming large amid a global pandemic. But plenty of key local races will be decided in the heavily Democratic St. Louis region — and voters throughout the state will determine whether Missouri expands Medicaid coverage, joining the 37 other states that have opted to do so in conjunction with the Affordable Care Act. If passed, Amendment 2 (the Medicaid Expansion Initiative) would effectively expand Medicaid eligibility to include adults between the ages of 19 and 65 whose income is at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level. As of 2020, that amounts to $17,608 for an individual and $36,156 for a household of four.
Contemporary citizen journalists can find a lot of common ground with a trailblazer who was active during the late 19th and early 20th centuries: Ida B. Wells. Motivated by false narratives and the downplaying of abuse of Black Americans of her day, Wells chronicled the stories of those impacted by lynchings and riots. Wells’ quantitative work pioneered the way for data journalism and inspired her great-granddaughter Michelle Duster to dedicate her life to countering false narratives.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner faces one of her former top assistants, Mary Pat Carl, in the Democratic primary on Tuesday. Gardner beat Carl in 2016. Both have visions for using the criminal justice system as a tool for second chances.
In “Ordinarily Extraordinary: Love and Anger, Life and Death, Hope and Inspiration,” Patrick P. Long reflects on the moments of doubt, stress and anxiety that come with a spouse’s cancer battle. In this episode, he talks with host Sarah Fenske about his memoir and how despite a devastating loss, he developed the belief that nothing in life is insurmountable.
All too often, artistic expression proves inaccessible to everyday people, a kind of luxury out of reach for those struggling to make ends meet. Katherine Dunham understood this reality when she first turned her attention to East St. Louis in the 1960s. And so does Leverne Backstrom, one of a handful of dedicated community members still carrying on the world-renowned dancer and choreographer’s legacy there today.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department collects a lot of information on how it uses force. But it doesn’t release most of the data. Researchers say those details are crucial for understanding how officers interact with the public.
St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum teams up with Left Bank Books' Shane Mullen once again to interview author Larry Tye.
Tye is the author of the new book Demagogue: The Life and Long Shadow of Senator Joe McCarthy. It's the definitive biography of the Wisconsin senator who gained historical infamy for his ill-fated crusade against communism.
You can buy Tye's book at Left Bank Books by going to left-bank.com — or copying and pasting this address (https://www.left-bank.com/book/9781328959720) into your browser.
Attorneys Mark Smith, Nicole Gorovsky and Dave Roland dig into the legal matters of the month, including the criminal charges filed against two personal injury attorneys and an allegation of "extortion" St. Louis County has made against a local attorney.
Curators from the Missouri Historical Society are keeping track of how St. Louisans are coping with the coronavirus pandemic. The project includes photos, videos and journal entries.
How do we fix nature after we have disrupted it? Practitioners of the science, art and disciplines of Ecological Restoration are exploring this process, on the job. James Faupel does this work.
At the Litzsinger Road Ecology Center in the suburbs of St. Louis, James tends, tracks and works to repair the vitality of ecosystems including wetlands, woodlands, prairies and Deer Creek. His tools range from computer databases to flame torches. His skills evolved through stints in construction and horticulture, hands-on learning augmented by a degree from St. Louis Community College that parallels how professionals of all kinds have grown Ecology as a significant focus.
Earthworms host Jean Ponzi and James are colleagues in our region's circle of biodiversity advocates. This conversation follows a path of shared passions for working with nature, for nature. With emphasis on how a career trajectory like James' can benefit many more energetic, inquisitive, Earth-appreciating humans.
Litzsinger Road Ecology Center is not a public facility, rather it hosts school and adult groups for structured ecological learning programs. LREC is managed by the Missouri Botanical Garden.
THANKS to Andy Coco, Andy Heaslet and Jon Valley - Earthworms all-star engineering team.
St. Louis native and comedian Nikki Glaser explains how her living situation, which involved a move back home to live with her parents, is actually fueling her creativity.
The Muny's artistic director and executive producer shares highlights for this summer's virtual variety hours — a star-studded mix of never-before-aired clips from past Muny shows, cast reunion sing-alongs, and song and dance performances by Muny artists.
For Jaylon Muchison, speech has paid off in a big way. The recent Belleville West High School graduate recently netted $22,500 from Optimist International’s 2020 Oratorical World Championship — winning his regional and state rounds before claiming the international title. That money will make a huge difference as the 18-year-old heads to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign this fall. He plans to pursue a double major in acting and communications.
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