Residents of towns along the Mississippi River are all too familiar with the effects of flooding on their communities. The disasters happen again and again, and people are eager for a path forward – and for solutions that look beyond levees. Guest host Ruth Ezell talka with Jo Anne Smiley, the mayor of Clarksville, Missouri, and Phil Stang, the mayor of Kimmswick, Missouri, about their goals moving ahead. Colin Wellenkamp, executive director of the Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative, also participates in the discussion.
David Crosby is a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer twice over: inducted in 1991 for his work as a founding member of The Byrds and again six years later for the folk-rock supergroup Crosby, Stills and Nash. But the 77-year-old isn’t stuck in the past. He’s collaborating with a new circle of younger musicians and has released four albums in five years, with another on the way. He performs May 15 in St. Louis at the Sheldon Concert Hall.
Alderman Jack Coatar joins St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann and Jason Rosenbaum in talking about what to expect in the next few months at the St. Louis Board of Aldermen.
Coatar represents the city’s 7th Ward, which includes neighborhoods like downtown St. Louis, Soulard, Lafayette Square and Compton Heights. He was elected to a full term on the board in 2017 after winning a 2015 special election.
CC Ice talks with producer Evie Hemphill about working on the Marvel movies, the intense and inherently risky nature of her chosen profession – and how growing up in Missouri has influenced her life and career.
This week marked the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Many Muslims locally and around the world are observing this holiday by daily fasting, increased religious observance and self-reflection. For the next few decades, the month will take place within the school year. The Missouri chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations released “An Educator’s Guide to Ramadan and Accommodating Muslim Students” to help schools better understand and accommodate Muslim students during this time.
As journalists who frequently produce stories focused on the environment, St. Louis Public Radio’s Eli Chen and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Bryce Gray are no strangers to the Mississippi River and its critical role in their city. Now they’ve traveled all 2,300-plus miles of it, following the Big Muddy from Minnesota to Louisiana and bringing home an even deeper understanding of the waterway. Chen and Gray returned earlier this month from a weeklong Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources trip along the Lower Mississippi. The experience was part of a fellowship that also included exploration of the Upper Mississippi in 2018.
The latest local reminder of an ongoing nationwide epidemic came over the weekend as at least 19 people were injured and two people killed in St. Louis during multiple incidents involving guns. Guest host Jim Kirchherr talks with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Stu Durando about his new book “Under the Gun: A children’s hospital on the front line of an American crisis.”
St. Louis-based author Terry Baker Mulligan, who wrote the award-winning memoir “Sugar Hill: Where the Sun Rose Over Harlem,” joins guest host Jim Kirchherr to discuss her new book “These Boys are Killing Me: Travels and Travails With Boys Who Take Risks,” and what lessons she’s learned from her experience as a mother.
It’s been about a year since New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive women around the country were busy taking on powerful Democratic incumbents during the 2018 midterms. St. Louisan Cori Bush was one of them, and her challenge of longtime Congressman Lacy Clay fell short in the primaries. But she and the three other candidates whose campaigns are featured in the new Netflix documentary “Knock Down The House” say 2018 was just the beginning. Bush and fellow progressive Amy Vilela, of Nevada, were both in St. Louis last week for the film’s premiere in select theaters including the Tivoli. In this episode of "St. Louis on the Air," they talk with producer Evie Hemphill.
Edwina Sandys, a sculptor and Winston Churchill's granddaughter, joins guest host Jim Kirchher to discus the sculpture she created in Fulton commemorating her grandfather's famous "Iron Curtain" speech, her artistic process and more.
Ahead of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s season finale, music director designate Stéphane Denève and CEO Marie-Hélène Bernard recap Denève’s first season at Powell Hall as music director designate and what’s in store for next season.
The St. Louis Public Radio politics editor joins guest host Jim Kirchherr for an update on the news that broke this week about the ambitious plan that had aimed to consolidate St. Louis and St. Louis County governments.
Sauce Magazine managing editor Catherine Klene and staff writer Matt Sorrell talk up some of the latest additions to the St. Louis region’s food-and-beverage community.
The idea of autonomous vehicles, or AVs, used to seem rather futuristic. But if the latest technological advancements and general cultural buzz about self-driving cars are any indication, AVs are moving ever closer to becoming everyday transportation reality along U.S. roadways. What that shift could mean for all sorts of sectors and communities is on the minds of regional leaders who are gathering Tuesday for a town hall in St. Louis. The free event is aimed at fostering dialogue “about the full range of the impacts of AVs,” from workforce implications to environmental effects and more.
State Rep. Maria Chappelle-Nadal returned to Politically Speaking to talk with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum about the leadership change in St. Louis County — and several issues percolating in the Missouri General Assembly.
The University City Democrat represents the 86th District in the Missouri House, which takes in parts of University City, Wellston, Pagedale and Hanley Hills.
After spending eight years in the Missouri Senate representing a slew of municipalities in central and north St. Louis County, Chappelle-Nadal chose to run for another term in the Missouri House last year.
NPR political editor Domenico Montanaro joins St. Louis Public Radio’s Shahla Farzan to discuss some of the latest hot-button political issues, how he goes about covering politics in increasingly politically contentious times and how teaching high school English prepared him to go on air.
Free Comic Book Day dates back to 2002 and was started to help bring new readers into independent comic book stores. Local shops and libraries across the city and county will observe the event and offer visitors free comics. Apotheosis Comics & Lounge owner and resident comic book expert Martin Casas; Jim Mahfood, a St. Louis native who worked on “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”; and Maggie Thurston, an indie comic artist, talk about the celebration and comics in general
St. Louis Public Radio’s Shahla Farzan takes a closer look at the biggest regional story of the week: the indictment and resignation of former St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger. Joining the conversation is St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Jacob Barker, one of the journalists behind much of the reporting that detailed reasons why Stenger was indicted.
For native St. Louisan Bret Narayan, April was a big month. The first-term 24th Ward Alderman was sworn into office and is believed to be the first Asian Pacific American to serve on the city’s governing board. And with May being Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Narayan is partnering with the Office of the St. Louis City Recorder of Deeds to celebrate the contributions of some of his fellow citizens. He talks with guest host Sharon Stevens alongside Anna Crosslin, president and CEO of the International Institute of St. Louis, and Harold Law, who first came to the United States in 1956 as a Chinese refugee and has since played integral civic roles in the local Asian American community.
Seven-time Emmy winner Ed Asner and playwright Jeff Cohen discuss the play "The Soap Myth," a play about an elderly Holocaust survivor on a mission, with "St. Louis on the Air" guest host Sharon Stevens.