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Host Don Marsh talks to members of the Ahmad family, who reside in St. Louis County, about their volunteer work locally and abroad. The family co-founded Biking4Books, a non-profit that raises money to donate books to St. Louis city schools. They also travel to Bangladesh to help Rohingya refugees. 

On Wednesday's St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh facilitated a conversation about the limitations facing American immigrants seeking employment and new policies being implemented to diminish these barriers. Joining the conversation were Anna Crosslin, president and CEO of the International Institute of St. Louis; Amanda Bergson-Schilcock, director of upskilling policy at the National Skills Coalition in Washington, D.C.; and Eduardo Sequeira Hernandez, a recent Costa Rican immigrant serving now as a cloud compliance specialist for Nestlé Purina.

State Auditor Nicole Galloway returns to the Politically Speaking podcast to talk about her quest for a full four-year in office.

The Democratic official was appointed to her post in 2015 after the suicide of  Tom Schweich. She’s squaring off against Republican Saundra McDowell in Nov. 6 election. McDowell’s episode of Politically Speaking will be posted on Wednesday afternoon.

Host Don Marsh talks to members and an ally of Missouri's trans and gender non-conforming community about their efforts to bring awareness to the rights and presence of trans and gender non-conforming (TGNC) individuals.

On Tuesday's St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh discussed confronting discrimination in the workplace with Susan Balk, Founder of Hatebreakers and Holly Edgell, St. Louis Public Radio race, identity and culture editor. Both guests will be participants in the Missouri Historical Society's upcoming "Woke at Work" panel.

In conversation with panelists Bill Freivogel, Marcia McCormick and Mark Smith, host Don Marsh touches on several of the latest regional stories pertaining to the law as well as the confirmation of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the dismissal of Stormy Daniels’ defamation lawsuit against President Trump.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies examine Thursday night’s televised debate between U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and Attorney General Josh Hawley.

The debate comes as most polls show a tight race between McCaskill and Hawley. And few observers believe that Democrats have any chance of taking over the Senate if McCaskill can’t win a third term.

Among other things, the candidates debated health care, immigration policy, “right to work” laws, global warming and Second Amendment rights. Hawley contended that McCaskill is too liberal for a state which went for President Donald Trump by 19 points. McCaskill emphasized her independence, someone who will work with “anyone, anytime” to address the state’s needs.

Emily Lohse-Busch, Natalie DiNicola and Sam Fiorello share their experiences with the local STEM startup scene with host Don Marsh. 

Alongside current breast cancer patient Jossalyn Larson, cancer survivor Heather Salazar, who is president of Pink Ribbon Girls, and Dr. Theresa Schwartz, a breast surgeon with SLUCare and SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, discuss some of the more mundane and often unanticipated challenges that frequently impact patients – and particularly women – while undergoing treatment.

St. Louis county voters will have to decide whether they will approve a 1/8th of one cent sales tax increase to help fund and maintain the St. Louis Zoo’s operations, specifically a new Conservation and Animal Science Center. Host Don Marsh moderated an in-depth debate between a supporter and opponent of the proposition.

On Wednesdays St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh spoke with Kalen McAllister and Pete Wallace, the founder and kitchen manager respectively of the Laughing Bear Bakery. The downtown shop is known for its delicious treats, and for its policy of only employing individuals with a felony record.

Our minds and bodies are powerful healers, and strong in maintaining well-being for each of us, overall. But do we use these inner tools?

The profession of Therapeutic Horticulture brings together plants and people, to explore and promote well-being in both profound and simple ways. Jeanne Carbone and her colleagues on the TH team at Missouri Botanical Garden offer a new program to help us explore and strengthen well-being, in partnership with Nature.

The setting for this exploration is Seiwa En, the Japanese Garden of Pure, Clear Harmony and Peace, at Missouri Botanical Garden in the City of St. Louis. Pathways and reflection points provide many opportunities to cultivate personal well-being.

This new program, Journey to Well-Being, includes three guided visits to Seiwa-En and prompts to experience and reflect on your own, in a series of weekly walks. Self-guiding options make this journey as convenient as it is powerful, especially in relation to a jewel of nature in the St. Louis region.

Registration is open for the winter session, with additional sessions coming in 2019.

Music: Bitter Root, performed live at KDHX by Matt Flinner

THANKS to Anna Holland, Earthworms engineer

Related Earthworms Conversations: Grow, Create, Inspire with Crystal Stevens (December 2016)

Is the purpose of college to prepare for a career or to pursue learning and knowledge as inherently worthwhile endeavors? That question isn’t a simple one to answer, and its tensions thoroughly inform a new book, co-authored by Washington University Provost Holden Thorp, titled "Our Higher Calling: Rebuilding the Partnership between America and Its Colleges and Universities."

On Tuesday's St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh discussed a new program implemented by Washington University in St. Louis that uses virtual reality to train faculty and staff in assessing and addressing the mental-health status of their students. He was joined by Jordan Worthington, the university’s assistant director of mental-health outreach and programming; Dr. Cheri LeBlanc, executive director of the Habif Health and Wellness Center; and Dr. Glenn Albright, the Co-Founder and Director of Research at Kognito, the health-simulation company responsible for At Risk for College and University Faculty and Staff.

Thirty years ago, Bruce Vantine decided he wanted to take the power of narrative choral music to a new level. "I had seen how effective [these] programs could be, and very often they’ve been focused on Christmas,” Vantine, who was on the University of Missouri-St. Louis music faculty at the time, recalled on Monday's St. Louis on the Air. "But I got the idea of doing a Thanksgiving type of a program with a social-justice message – so that we could touch people’s hearts." So began his St. Louis-based nonprofit organization that continues to spread its message of empathy throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Congresswoman Ann Wagner joins Politically Speaking to talk about her re-election battle against Democrat Cort VanOstran.

The Ballwin Republican represents Missouri's 2nd District, which includes parts of St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson Counties.

Many political prognosticators believe that Democrats have a good chance of retaking the House this year. And if they do, the party may gain the most ground in places like Wagner’s 2nd District — which take in a big portion of the St. Louis suburbs. Wagner contends she’s well positioned to fend off a potential "blue wave."

St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies delve into the three medical marijuana initiatives.

Missourians will vote on Amendment 2, Amendment 3 and Proposition C. All three initiatives would make it legal to get marijuana for medical use. But they differ greatly in terms of how much marijuana will be taxed, how the regulatory framework would work, and where the money would go toward.

A Dutch historian is in St. Louis this week searching for information about 172 African-American soldiers who are buried or memorialized in the Netherlands American Cemetery.

Host Don Marsh talks with three local Jewish residents participating in the first Jewish arts and culture festival taking place in the city. 

Host Don Marsh discusses the mounting effort to bring a team to St. Louis with Webster University's Jack Croghan and local attorney and soccer enthusiast Brian Howe.