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Friday, August 30, 2019 - DACA Art Exhibit

5 years 2 months ago
Missouri resident Fidencio Fifield-Perez will premiere a new visual fiber design exhibit based on his time as a member of the DACA program. In his work, the artist from Oaxaca, Mexico, focuses on his experience as an immigrant.

Lamar Johnson's Supporters Hope For A Reprieve

5 years 2 months ago
Lamar Johnson has been in prison for 24 years. A St. Louis jury found him guilty of murder in 1995 – and he’s been serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole ever since. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner now says prosecutors in her office engaged in serious misconduct. Saying her Conviction Integrity Unit has found new evidence that Johnson is actually innocent, she sought a new trial. St. Louis Circuit Judge Elizabeth Hogan denied that request. She says Gardner’s motion came “approximately 24 years” past the deadline. Tricia Bushnell, director of the Midwest Innocence Project, isn’t buying it.

St. Louis Author Ben Westhoff Tackles 'Fentanyl, Inc.'

5 years 2 months ago
Fentanyl has become an international scourge. It’s been blamed for a spike in drug overdose deaths in Missouri as well as around the world. It’s both contaminated many recreational drugs and become a substitute for heroin in many American cities. And yet the Chinese factory responsible for manufacturing most of its precursors has received funding and lucrative tax breaks from the Chinese government. Through years of research, St. Louis journalist Ben Westhoff has become one of the foremost experts into the international fentanyl trade. In this episode, he discusses his new book, “Fentanyl, Inc.: How Rogue Chemists Are Creating the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Epidemic.” Westhoff talks about how his investigation followed the drug from its manufacture in China to the streets of St. Louis – and the terrible impact that synthetic, laboratory-made drugs are having on communities around the world.

Thursday, August 29, 2019 - Medicaid Drop

5 years 2 months ago
More than 120,000 people, most of them children, have been dropped from Missouri's Medicaid rolls since the beginning of 2018. They've been dropped by the state or did not re-enroll. State officials say fewer people are using the program because they don't need it. But many families say they have unfairly and unwittingly lost coverage.

Performer Maxi Glamour Does St. Louis Proud On Season 3 Of 'Boulet Brothers' Dragula'

5 years 2 months ago
As a St. Louis-based designer, burlesque performer, artist and more, Maxi Glamour’s personal and professional brand is a multifaceted one. But one particular title does stand out, and that’s Glamour’s drag performer identity as the “Demon Queen of Polka and Baklava.” That persona comes to life in a new way in the new season of the “Boulet Brothers’ Dragula” reality TV series, which features Glamour. The first episode premiered on Amazon Prime Video on Tuesday, and in this episode of the talk show, host Sarah Fenske talks with Glamour about their experience on “Dragula” as well as other topics. Glamour, who identifies as queer and non-binary, is believed to be the first drag performer from St. Louis to appear on a major televised drag competition. They became a fan of the show long before being cast in it.

Investigative Journalist To Give Talk On The World’s Most Popular Weed Killer, Roundup

5 years 2 months ago
Glyphosate, the active ingredient in the weed killer Roundup, is manufactured by Monsanto-Bayer. Depending on who you talk to, it’s either a safe, highly effective herbicide, or, it’s a dangerous substance linked to cancer cases from use by farmers and landscapers. In this interview, Sarah Fenske talks with journalist Carey Gillam, who is coming to St. Louis to talk about her investigations into the topic of agrochemical safety and corporate interests.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019 - Insect Love Songs

5 years 2 months ago
Tiny plant-eating insects known as treehoppers serenade each other during mating using vibrational songs. They can change depending on the temperature of the environment, which means climate change might disrupt treehopper mating in the future. SLU researchers have found that although the songs changed, female treehoppers still responded to them.

Grow Solar is Charging Up Metro St. Louis, MO and IL

5 years 2 months ago

Solar costs are going down, while equipment efficiency continues to improve. Even if electric rates are stable where you are, solar provides climate protecting clean, renewable power. Could this be the time you consider going solar?                        

               

Lisa Cagle of Grow Solar St. Louis and Chris Krusa of Grow Solar Metro East talk with Earthworms host Jean Ponzi about these program offerings for the St. Louis region, and about the benefits of solar in general. Check the program websites for details, including Power Hour presentations around town.

Supported by program contractor StraightUp Solar, and in partnership with municipalities, Grow Solar is bringing discounted costs and convenient, thorough solar option info to STL region communities in both Missouri and Illinois. Residential installs can combine group-buy cost-cuts with federal, local and utility incentives and rebates. At Power Hour events, solar experts will evaluate individual sites for solar power potential, on the roof or on the ground.

Music: Mister Sun's tune Hunters Permit, performed live at KDHX
THANKS to Andy Heaslet, fellow Green Being and audio engineer.

Related Earthworms Conversations: Set The PACE St. Louis: Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Financing (January 2017)

All Electric America? (August 2016)

American Solar Challenge: Sun-Powered Collegiate Racers (July 2016)

Big Muddy Canoe Trips Are Reintroducing St. Louisans To Their Mighty Mississippi

5 years 2 months ago
Despite its ever-present vastness along the Missouri-Illinois border, the Mississippi River is easy for locals to take for granted. And all too often, residents completely avoid the river. It’s one thing to drive above it on a highway or eat a meal at a restaurant overlooking the water; relatively few actually travel its meandering length. But the people behind Big Muddy Adventures are aiming to change that, one canoe trip at a time. Host Sarah Fenske talks with the company’s founder and lead guide, Mike Clark, who is better known as “Muddy Mike," and Roo Yawitz, general manager of Big Muddy Adventures. And, producer Evie Hemphill talks with some enthusiastic recent canoe passengers.

The Intersection Of Politics, Policy And Car-Centric Culture At Regional Trouble Spots

5 years 2 months ago
Every city has its nightmare intersections, and many residents could likely cite a personal nemesis or two. In the greater St. Louis area, the crossroads of North Grand Boulevard and Interstate 64 in Grand Center, and Eager and Hanley in Brentwood, may well come to mind among other notoriously tricky traffic spots. Frequently stressful for drivers and non-drivers alike, these sections of public infrastructure can seem like a permanent fixture of civic life, along with the honking, confusion and rage they trigger. But change can sometimes happen. In this episode, host Sarah Fenske takes a closer look at some of the region’s worst intersections – and discusses how planners work to address trouble spots in an age of crumbling infrastructure across the U.S. The conversation also touches on what residents can do to help address problematic roads and contribute to smoother, safer streets for all. Joining the discussion are Scott Ogilvie, who is a transportation policy planner for the City of St. Louis, and Kea Wilson, a St. Louis-based communications manager for Strong Towns.

Hannah Kelly

5 years 2 months ago
State Rep. Hannah Kelly is the latest guest on the Politically Speaking podcast. The Mountain Grove Republican talked to St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Julie O’Donoghue about some of the important issues for her rural Missouri district. Kelly represents portions of Wright and Webster Counties. She has served in the Missouri House since 2017.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - Rural Mental Health

5 years 2 months ago
Children’s mental health is a big concern as the risk of suicide and opioid addiction rates rise among teens. But in rural areas, where mental health providers are scarce, spotting problems falls to teachers. Now a new national research center is looking to help rural schools.

Adorable And Endangered: Somali Wild Ass Born At St. Louis Zoo, 1 Of Only 68 in North America

5 years 2 months ago
On July 30, St. Louis gained a new resident — Tobias, the Somali wild ass. His birth is special, since he is part of a subspecies that is both critically endangered in the wild and underrepresented in zoos nationwide. In this segment, Sarah Fenske talks with Tim Thier, the acting curator of antelope at Saint Louis Zoo, about the Somali wild ass and the zoo's conservation efforts in the Horn of Africa.

Monday, August 26, 2019 - Times Beach

5 years 2 months ago
Every September, former residents of Times Beach gather at Route 66 State Park near Eureka to remember their old town. It was once home to several thousand people but was so contaminated by dioxin in the 1970s that the EPA bought it out, tore it down and burned the earth in an incinerator. Former residents say Times Beach is a cautionary environmental lesson that should not be forgotten.

Botanical Garden Staff Return From Conservation Trip In Kyrgyzstan

5 years 2 months ago
Earlier this week, members of the Missouri Botanical Garden horticulture staff returned from a research trip in the Central Asia country of Kyrgyzstan. Host Sarah Fenske talks to Megan Engelhardt, manager of the Botanical Garden's Seed Bank, and horticulturist Dave Gunn, about how the staff went about bringing seeds back to add to the Botanical Garden’s seed bank to propagate.

New Football Team, St. Louis Battlehawks Will Play At The Dome in 2020

5 years 2 months ago
The XFL is a planned professional U.S. football league with the mission of reimagining America’s favorite sport. The league originally debuted in 2001, and only lasted one season. XFL games are set to begin again in February 2020. The St. Louis BattleHawks were one of the league’s eight teams announced this week. In this interview, Sarah Fenske learns about the XFL resurgence by talking with the BattleHawks team president, Kurt Hunzeker.

Missouri Democrats at a crossroads

5 years 2 months ago
The latest episode of Politically Speaking explores the state of the Missouri Democratic Party — and what some of the party’s leadership feels needs to be done to reverse its decline. St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum, Jo Mannies, Julie O’Donoghue and Jaclyn Driscoll chart out why Missouri Democrats went from dominating the state’s politics to being nearly completely out of power. Many Democrats believe that state Auditor Nicole Galloway’s 2020 gubernatorial bid is the first big step towards engineering a comeback.